Owner of lead coffin buried under Notre Dame Cathedral

When excavations at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris uncovered two lead coffins hidden beneath the cathedral’s nave in early 2022, archaeologists immediately recognized their significance. Lead, a metal that resists moisture and decay, has long been a coffin material for the upper class, even covering the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II. Because the two individuals buried at Notre Dame were placed in such opulent coffins, experts concluded that they were likely high-ranking members of French society, Smithsonian September 19 news.

The team answered some of the questions surrounding the coffin’s owner in December 2022. Using inscriptions on one coffin, they identified the person inside as Antoine de la Porte, a high priest who died in 1710 at the age of 83. But they knew almost nothing about the other individual, a man in his 30s nicknamed “the knight” based on his disfigured remains, likely because he spent so much time in the business.

Now, after nearly two years of research, scholars propose the true identity of the remains is Joachim du Bellay, a prominent French Renaissance poet who died in 1560. Some compelling evidence has led researchers to link the “horseman” to du Bellay. The poet’s horsemanship is well documented. He once rode from Paris to Rome, a remarkable feat while suffering from tuberculosis, Eric Crubézy, a biological anthropologist at France’s University of Toulouse III, said at a press conference on September 17.

Du Bellay was in poor health throughout his life. Meanwhile, the knight’s remains show signs of chronic meningitis caused by tuberculosis of the bone, both of which were rare at the time. “He fits all the criteria for the portrait,” Crubézy said. “He was a very accomplished knight, suffering from both diseases, which are mentioned in some of his poems.” The du Bellay family was of royal descent and close to the Pope.

Official records show that du Bellay, a relative of a French cardinal named Jean du Bellay, was buried in the Saint-Crépin chapel of Notre Dame Cathedral after his death at the age of 37. But an excavation carried out in 1758 failed to find the poet’s remains.

According to a statement from the French National Institute of Archaeological Research (INRAP), scholars suspect that du Bellay’s remains were moved to the transept of Notre Dame later, possibly in 1569, after his works were fully published, or were moved temporarily. The location where the coffin was found previously housed another coffin in an area usually reserved for high-ranking officials.

However, not all researchers are convinced that the skeleton belongs to du Bellay. Christophe Besnier, an archaeologist at INRAP and the leader of the excavation team, said that isotope analysis of the horseman’s teeth showed that he grew up in Paris or the Lyon region. Du Bellay was born in Anjou. In response, Crubézy said that du Bellay was raised by Jean du Bellay, who was the bishop of Paris, and therefore spent much of his time in the French capital.