The second of two bodies buried in lead sarcophagi was recovered from beneath Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was almost certainly identified two years after its discovery. The preserved cadaver, discovered during a preliminary excavation to repair the fire-damaged church tower, is most likely that of the French aristocratic poet Joachim du Bellay, who died in 1560.
After archaeologists affiliated with the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) found the two graves in 2022, the research team from the Forensic Institute of the University Hospital of Toulouse identified the first individual, who reportedly had “exceptionally good teeth”, such as religious dignitary Antoine de la Porte via a bronze epitaph on the sarcophagus. De la Porte died in December 1710 at the age of 83. The second individual was initially described as a young, aristocratic cavalier (with significantly poor teeth in comparison) based on pelvic structure. Since entering the site to prepare it for restorations, Inrap has located more than 100 graves and excavated 80 of them beneath the cathedral. All but one of the bodies recovered were male, often an elite layperson or a member of the clergy.
In one recent update from Inrap, University of Toulouse Professor Eric Crubézy explained that the second person “died in the 16th century in his fourth decade of chronic tuberculous meningitis – an age rarely seen in the funerals of important people in the cathedral.”
“Our attention was focused on Joachim du Bellay, a distinguished horseman and tubercle poet who died in 1560, whose autopsy revealed signs of chronic meningitis,” Crubézy continued.
Remarkably, du Bellay was preserved in a different way than de la Porte. His skeleton was found with the top half of the skull sawed off and plant material was identified in the sarcophagus, indicating that he had been autopsied and then embalmed.
The poet was born in 1522 into a noble family in the French province of Anjou and died at the age of 37 or 38, having suffered from chronic health problems throughout his life and endured occasional deafness. He is best remembered for co-leading the French Renaissance literary movement La Pléiade with Pierre de Ronsard and Jean-Antoine de Baïf, and for publishing the group’s 1549 manifesto. Defense and illustration of the French language (“Defense and illustration of the French language”).
Du Bellay is also credited with popularizing the writing of sonnets, especially love sonnets, in French.
