Rue de la Lanterne

Hidden within the heart of Paris, on the Île de la Cité, lies the Rue de la Lanterne. It’s a street steeped in history, a remnant of a time when Paris was a vastly different city. Rue de la Lanterne once formed a vital link, connecting the Seine River to the old north-south axis of Paris. It stretched from the Pont Notre Dame to the Rue de la Juiverie. This unassuming street was part of the main thoroughfare of medieval Paris and is now incorporated into the present-day Rue de la Cité. Before the construction of Pont Notre Dame, Rue de la Lanterne offered access to the Seine River at the Planches de Milbray. The street was raised to accommodate the bridge’s construction, requiring a descent of several steps to reach the Place Saint Denis de la Chartre and then the Rue de la Juiverie. Resourceful merchants set up shops on these very steps, capitalizing on the limited space available in the Île de la Cité during the Middle Ages. The Place Saint Denis de la Chartre served as the square in front of the Priory of Saint Denis de la Chartre. It possibly occupied the site of the northern gate of the Gallo-Roman city wall. During the Middle Ages, a small cross stood in the square. Those under the jurisdiction of the Priory would come to this cross to make amends. A tale is told of a woman named either Cochon or Laporte who was condemned for stealing a douzain from a purse during mass. Her punishment was to be publicly whipped naked in the square. Afterwards, she was led to the cross to beg forgiveness from God and Saint Barbe. Towards the end of the reign of François I, the Prior of Saint Denis de la Chartre attempted to create a new street through the monastery’s outbuildings. The area was divided into six lots and the Pope even authorized the sale of the monastery property. However, the project never came to fruition. The Rue de la Lanterne was also home to a variety of medieval houses with intriguing names. On the north side of the street, the houses included the Porc Épic (Porcupine), the Quatre Vents (Four Winds), and the Four Saint Denis de la Chartre (Oven of Saint Denis de la Chartre). This latter house was eventually divided and renamed La Couronne d’Or (The Golden Crown) and L’Image Sainte Barbe (The Image of Saint Barbe). Other houses were the Maison du Chapeau (House of the Hat), later divided into Fleur de Lys Couronnée and Ecu de Bretagne, and the Grand Godet (Large Goblet), which became Godet Blanc et Noir and Ecu de Pologne. Finally, there was the Paon Blanc (White Peacock), and on the corner with the Rue des Marmousets stood the house that gave the street its name: La Lanterne (The Lantern).