Saint Denis Carried his own Head







Saint Denis, Martyr, carried his own head

To his determined final resting spot,

A bishop, Martyr, who died by the blade,-

A man  who preached with zeal the Word of God.



He preached the word of God in pagan Gaul,

But Druid priests felt raging jealosy

At his converting far too many a soul

That clung to Christ henceforth with fervency.



He was beheaded on a Paris mount,

Which is now called  “Montmartre” with great pride

(the  Martyr's mount  in French) - a holy ground

And pilgrims  come to pray upon this site.



Legenda Aurea says: “How marvelous!”

He carried his own head - thing unheard of!

For miles the headless walked and still would bless

And preach to foe and friends of God’s great love,



Predicament and challenge,- artists sparred

Where was the halo of the saint  to beam ?

Above the the headless trunk that held his heart,

Or head which housed his sermons' glorious stream.



He walked across the fields, the farmers bowed

In awe, in reverece and wonderment,

He preached to them distinctly, clear and loud,

And urged the Christian faith to well defend.



Fromt thence the Christian faith took firmly root,

It kept on spreading, thriving as it grew,

Espoused and clung to by the multitude

Pour la plus grande gloire de Dieu.



The Patron is St. Denis of Paris

Protecting Paris with great  vigilance,

And pilgrims come to touch their rosaries

On relics of the Patron  saint of France.







He was decapitated and his body thrown

By vicious pagans in the river Seine,

But his disciples hidden in the town

Did fish him from the currents back again.









There - see the head he carries in his hands

As he marched forth  across some flowery field,

And he preached  fervently to foes and friends-

On soil well ploughed or ready to be tilled.



Go then dear learned church apologist

The annals of this saint to well review,

October 9th is Denis Martyr's feast,

Pour la us grande gloire de Dieu.



In Notre Dame's cathedral Denis is

Depicted with an angel richly clad

That stretches forth a slender  hand wherewith

To fondle Paris' patron's treasured head.



Paris’ St. Denis carried his own head!

Folks saw him carry it around - it’s true!-

Head Carrier is therefore his epithet,-

Cephalophorus - “Pour la plus grande gloire de Dieu"!





© Elizabeth Dandy









St. Denis died in AD 250 under Emperor Decius

Is buried in the basilica of the Frankish  kings

Pepin, Charlemagne, Clovis and all  Merovingian and Carolingian kings.








Author's Notes/Comments: 

Saint Denis (also called Dionysius, Dennis, or Denys) is a Christian martyr and saint. In the third century, he was Bishop of Paris. He was martyred in approximately A.D. 250, and is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as patron of Paris, France and as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers. The medieval and modern French name "Denis" derives from the ancient name Dionysius.

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