Jubé

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Jubé (Rood Screen) by Antoine Beaucorps
Saint-Étienne-du-Mont
Place Sainte-Geneviève
Quartier de la Sorbonne, 5th arrondissement
Paris, July 2002

“The most unusual feature of the church is the Jubé or Rood screen, created in about 1530, the only existing example in Paris. It is an elaborate sculptural screen which separates the nave from the choir. The screen was used as a platform to read the scripture to the ordinary parishioners. They were very common during the Middle Ages, but were largely abolished in the 17th and 18th centuries under a decree of the Council of Trent (1545-1563) which aimed at making the ceremonies in the choir more visible to the ordinary parishioners in the nave. The screen was designed by Antoine Beaucorps, and while its purpose is Gothic, its decoration is French Renaissance. It takes the form of an arched bridge facing the choir with three arcades. A tribune for readings occupies the center facing the nave. Two very elegant spiral stairways give access to the tribune from the sides. The decoration includes two statues of ‘Renommées’, or ‘Renowned ones’, based on classical Roman statues, holding olive branches and crowns.” (Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, Wikipedia)