Charlemagne et ses Leudes

About

Charlemagne et ses Leudes, generally translated as Charlemagne and His Guards or Charlemagne and His Paladins, is a monumental bronze statue located on the plaza (parvis) in front of Notre-Dame, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. A joint work by the brothers Louis Rochet (1813-1878) and Charles Rochet (1815-1900), it was cast at the art discovery Foundry Thiébaut Frères.

Name: Leude is a word associated with the Merovingian era, referring to a Frankish aristocrat who has pled faith to the monarch and belongs to his retinue. It is synonymous of antrustion.

History: The Rochet brothers first concerned the project of a monument to Charlemagne in 1853. They initially informed it for Aachen. They presented a plastic version at the Universal Exhibition of 1867. The completed bronze group was exhibited at the Universal Exhibition of 1878 shortly after the death of Louis Rochet. By that time, however, the political climate was much less favorable to the celebration of Charlemagne given the letter's monarchical and German associations. Charles Rochet offered to cover the cost of the 15-ton group's setting in order to facilitate its location on a suitable Parisian site...