Famous people of Sens and the surrounding area

It’s very difficult to choose among the many famous people who have marked the history of Sens and the Senonais. Without going into too much detail about Brennus, who entered into history in 390 b.Chr. by taking over Rome at the head of the Senon tribe, here are a few of the most well-known:

Thomas Becket (b. London 1119 - d. Canterbury 1170): Thomas, the Archbishop of Canterbury, took refuge in Sens from 1166 to 1170 after having fled England because of a grave conflict with the English king, Henri II. He met with Pope Alexander III in Sens in 1164  when Henri II sent a delegation of four prelates to the Pope to ask for the Archbishop’s deposition. The Pope reconfirmed Thomas as Archbishop of Canterbury and assigned him to the Pontigny Abbey,where he stayed for two years before coming back to Sens. After he returned to England, he was assassinated on 29th December 1170. The chancel of the Cathedral of Canterbury was ravaged by fire on 5th September 1174. Guillaume de Sens was called upon to restore the chancel and to erect St. Thomas’ tomb.

Louis IX, called St. Louis (b. Poissy 1214 - d. Tunis 1270): Although St. Louis wasn’t born in Sens, many events link him to the former royal metropolis. His wedding to Marguerite de Provence on 27th May 1234 was a major event ; the coronation of Marquerite as Queen of France by the Archbishop Gautier took place the next day. He returned several times to Sens. In 1239, he carried the Holy Crown of Thorns, and later had the Sainte Chapelle built in Paris to house it.  In 1248, Louis, accompanied by his wife and brothers, left for the 7th Crusade from Sens. Again in March 1270, St. Louis left for the 8th Crusade from Sens, from which he did not return.

Jean Cousin the Elder (b. Soucy 1490 - d. Paris 1560) : Son of a wine-maker, the scultpor, paintor, and artist Jean Cousin grew up in the countryside not far away from Sens. When he was young, he could see the Sens cathedral where the building work was starting anew, after a stop during the Hundred Year's war. Later, he worked on the building work himself, and probably learned the art of stained-glass window making amongst the masters who worked on the cathedral. His most famous work, called "Eva Prima Pandora", was the first nude of the french painting history, and is now owned by the Louvre museum. A house in Sens bears his name but he never actually lived there. A statue, located in the Jean Cousin square was erigated in 1890. 

Aristide Bruant (b. Courtenay 1851 - Paris 1925): A former student at the Sens lycée, which he never forgot, he became the star singer and then the owner of the famous cabaret «  Le Chat Noir «  in Montmartre. He is buried near Sens, in Subligny.

Louis-Jacques Thénard a.k.a Baron Thénard (b. La Louptière 1777 - Paris 1857) : He studied at the academy of Sens. He was a well-known chemist at his time and discovered the hydrogen peroxide. 

 

Stéphane Mallarmé (Paris 1842 - Valvins 1898) : Called the « Prince of Poets » in 1896, Mallarmé lived in Sens in differents parts of his life. He joined the academy of Sens in 1856. Nowadays this school bears his name.