The Jacobins

In addition to Les Cordeliers, through the digital mapping of their burial sites, the Dominican Church of Les Jacobins visually emerges as a key location where women (and men) chose to be buried. While many of the tomb effigies from this church have been moved now to the abbey of Saint-Denis, in the Middle Ages, they were clustered in Les Jacobins. The practice of body division enabled the wealthy to have their hearts, and sometimes their other organs buried apart from the rest of their bodies. This was particularly appealing to women who had crossed borders to fulfill their familial duties of marrying distant men. Their multiple burial sites allowed them to bridge the divides between their natal and their marital lands – even in death.

For example, Queen Clémence de Hongrie, who died in 1328, had her body buried at Les Jacobins, but stipulated that her heart should be sent to Aix-en-Provence to be buried in the lands of her natal family. This practice enabled the women who had traveled great distances to straddle their natal and marital lands.

Present-day location: 160 Rue Saint-Jacques