In Rennes, a new vision of the history of death

Constructed in 1369, this Dominican convent became one of the principal burial sites for the parliamentary aristocracy of Rennes. Approximately 900 burials were unearthed by the archaeologists, including that of Louise de Quengo, a 17th century Lady found mummified in her lead coffin. Today, Rozenn Colleter, an Inrap researcher affiliated with the Molecular Anthropology and Computer Generated Imagery laboratory (CNRS/Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier), and her colleagues, are revisiting the exhaustive study of 606 of these graves and refute the formerly accepted hypothesis that funeral practices were secularized from the Middle Ages to the Modern period. They present their findings in an article in PLOS ONE.

Lead coffins and hearts

During the excavation, the Inrap archaeologists unearthed five lead coffins and five lead urns. The latter contained hearts. Their inscriptions were compared with archives and permitted the identification of seven individuals, all nobles.

Four of the lead hearts bear inscriptions dating from 1584 to 1655, showing that this practice continued for nearly 70 years. Among the five hearts contained in the urns, four are very well preserved and bear evidence of embalmment.

One of the lead coffins was that of Louise de Quengo, a benefactor of the convent who was more than 65 years old when she died on March 10, 1656. Her very simple religious attire attests to a desire to be associated with a church dedicated to the poor. The heart of Toussaint de Perrien, her husband, was set on top of her coffin. He had died seven years before her and was buried 200 km from Rennes in a convent that he had founded. The study of the body of Louise de Quengo shows that only her heart was removed.

Study of a deceased population from the 14th to the 18th century

Archaeologists distinguish two burial periods at the Jacobins convent.The individuals buried from the 14th to 15th century show no evidence of post-mortem interventions. From the 16th to 18th century, approximately 1250 subjects were interred, 483 of whom were studied in depth. According to the archives of the time, which mention the burial of 113 subjects, nobles composed 74% of this population, clergy members 8%, and 4% were of the Third Estate, the rest being undetermined. Among the 483 remains studied, only 18 subjects (twelve complete skeletons, one cadaver and five hearts) and 18 scattered bones bear evidence of post-mortem interventions (craniotomy, opening of the thorax and/or the abdomen and/removal of the heart).

Secularized death in the Modern era?

The evolution of funeral practices from the Middle Ages to the Modern era is considered as a process of secularization. Certain interment procedures that were initially religious and reserved for kings during the Medieval period, would have been gradually extended to many nobles with the intention, very contemporary, of preserving the body and presenting a peaceful image of the deceased to the family.

At the Jacobins convent, however, at which many nobles were buried, only 2.7% of the sample bears evidence of post-mortem intervention. Furthermore, these interventions, craniotomy and heart removal, are acts that mutilate the bodies. The influence of religious dogma is very visible. In the case of Louise de Quengo and her husband, the burials were inversed and complementary – the heart of one with the body of the other and vice versa – and thus prove the attachment between the spouses. The two religious centers of which they were benefactors are also honored. The multiplication of burial sites increased the number of masses and prayers honoring the dead. In addition, removing just the heart represented a middle ground between numerous funeral services and the integrity of the body advocated in the papal bull issued by Boniface VIII in 1299.

We also know that lead coffins, which had been known since the end of Roman times, were intentionally ostentatious and preserved bodies that had not been treated, which was a sign of saintliness. The intention was clearly to preserve the body, but not to display it. This practice was also valorized by Council of Trent, which equated the Resurrection of the Flesh with the resurrection of flesh.

A multidisciplinary approach, with medical examiners, radiologists and anthropologists contributing to the work of archaeologists, permitted an exhaustive study of this convent in Brittany and a new vision of the history of death.

Eric Crubezy (directeur du laboratoire AMIS) et Rozenn Colleter (anthropologue) devant la dépouille de Louise de Quengo mise au jour dans un cercueil en plomb du XVII^e siècle au couvent des Jacobins à Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine).

© Patrice Gérard, CNRS, Inrap

Urnes en plomb (reliquaires) en cours d'ouverture par l’institut médico-légal de Rangueil de Toulouse, découverts dans un cercueil en plomb mis au jour dans le couvent des Jacobins, Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), 2015. 

© Patrice Gérard, CNRS, Inrap

Scanner du cœur du seigneur de Brefeillac et Toussaint de Perrien,  époux de Louise de Quengo, dont le corps a été mis au jour dans le couvent des Jacobins, Rennes (Ile-et-Vilaine), 2015.
Le scanner révèle l'état de conservation exceptionnel de l’organe à l'intérieur de l'enveloppe en tissu. Les deux ventricules ont été remplis de matière d'embaumement par les chirurgiens de XVII^e s.

© CHU Rangueil, Inrap

Cercueils en plomb contenant des squelettes découverts au couvent des Jacobins, Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine).
Ces squelettes étaient assez bien conservés, des pratiques d’embaumements rituels ont pu être observés.

© Rozenn Colleter, Inrap

Dégagement d'un cercueil en plomb découvert au couvent des Jacobins, Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), 2015.
Les cercueils en plombs sont ouverts à la scie sauteuse et les archéologues travaillent avec des combinaisons étanches pour se protéger des particules de métaux lourds, de possibles gaz de décomposition et des champignons potentiellement présents dans ces milieux confinés. 

© Hervé Paitier, Inrap

Cœur en plomb retrouvé sur le cercueil de Louise de Quengo, dame de Brefeillac,  découvert au couvent des Jacobins à Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), 2015. 

L’identification du corps a été rendue possible grâce aux inscriptions sur le reliquaire en plomb. 

© Rozenn Colleter, Inrap

Scanner d'un corps exceptionnellement bien conservé découvert dans un cercueil de plomb mis au jour au couvent des Jacobins, à Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), 2015.
Un premier scanner du corps entier habillé est réalisé (ImagET, Mordelles, 35) pour évaluer le degré de conservation des tissus organiques, non visibles sous les habits.

© Rozenn Colleter, Inrap

Cercueil en plomb découvert au couvent des Jacobins, Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), 2015.
Ce cercueil est de forme trapézoïdale avec un couvercle en bâtière orné d’une croix ancrée. La cuve a été accidentellement perforée à la tête par un engin mécanique avant l’intervention des archéologues. 

© Rozenn Colleter, Inrap

Étude d'un corps exceptionnellement bien conservé découvert dans un cercueil de plomb mis au jour au couvent des Jacobins, à Rennes (Ille-et-Vilaine), 2015.
L'étude à lieu à l’Institut médico-légal du CHU de Rangueil à Toulouse où il est d’abord déshabillé vêtement par vêtement pour respecter au maximum l’intégrité du costume.

© Rozenn Colleter, Inrap