We found the head of Henry IV

Terror in full at the sacking of the basilica of Saint-Denis, the embalmed body of the Vert Galant had been desecrated and stole his skull.

from: Pierre Belet and Stephen Gabet - Paris Match

  
The auctioneer's hammer hits the table, "mummified head, 3 francs. Sold sold. ? "Three francs! Joseph-Emile Bourdais, the dealer who has acquired Montmartre the macabre subject during an auction at Hotel Drouot, this October 31, 1919, not long to persuade it to this ridiculous price, away the head of King's most popular history of France. It has, therefore, arguments to make. First, having been embalmed, this head is that of a personage of high rank. Then the amount of junk notes similarities with Henri IV: a mole at the corner of the nose, a scar - marking a first assassination attempt in 1594 - the upper lip.
... Bourdais juxtaposes pictures of his mummy and various portraits of the monarch. Same profile, same shape of the skull. The result is troubling. For him, no doubt. It was Henri IV. Above all, it relies on historical events to explain the presence of the head in an auction room. After his sudden death May 14, 1610, Henry IV was buried like all the kings of France at St Denis. But in October 1793 during the Terror, the Revolution has decided, as Alexander Dumas wrote, "to continue the monarchy even in his grave." The royal necropolis was sacked. The remains of Louis XV, who had been embalmed because of contagious disease, is putrefying liquid. That of Louis XIV is "black as ink."

Le Vert Galant, it is almost intact. A witness reported that, at the opening of the coffin, "his body was found in a good state of preservation and facial features perfectly recognizable. Then, as his descendants, Henry IV is thrown into a mass grave outside the basilica. This is the signal of pillage. We jump into the pit and is hard to kings of teeth, fingers, hair ... Archives describe a doctor leaving with a skull under his arm, others speak of Henry IV "cut to pieces in saber." Joseph-Emile Bourdais is convinced that's where the head has been torn off and stolen.

He will spend the rest of his life trying to prove it. But at the time, DNA and modern techniques are still unknown. Nobody takes seriously the relationship without self or diplomas. He died in 1946 and nobody knows where the mummified head ... This funny story, we become aware two years ago at the home of the academician Jean-Pierre Babelon, author of "Henry IV" (ed. Fayard) authoritative. Documentary filmmakers, we are interested in this king who is preparing to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death. Jean-Pierre Babelon, explaining the dealer stands.

The puzzle we are passionate about. Such a relic does not throw. Someone, somewhere, has probably retained. We find the records of the sale of the Hotel Drouot, then a book published by Joseph-Emile Dinard Bourdais. But anything that puts us on the trail head, but a 1955 article: A journalist was found in the dealer's sister. The old lady kept under his bed and never coming out "that the days of spring cleaning." After that, it seems to disappear permanently.

Jean-Pierre Babelon saves us from discouragement in finding a letter in its archives: someone several years ago, he was asked about the alleged head of Henry IV ... We will contact the sender of the message.

At the end of the line, the man is embarrassed, "Yes, I am concerned at the head of Bourdais. No, I do not know anything more ... "Strange. That sounds wrong. We explain that we are looking to head to authenticate. We talk to Dr Philippe Charlier, a forensic pathologist specializing in anthropology funeral, author of "Doctor of the Dead" (Ed. Fayard), which will lead the scientific study. After some correspondence, our contact finally admitted: "Yes, I who. ? "Unbelievable. ! We have located the mummy!

His memories and secrets

The old man who welcomes us home, January 22, 2010, is of extreme courtesy. In the attic of his home province, Jacques Bellanger has stored his memories and secrets. He and his wife hiding in a closet that they affectionately call "the monarch": "Nobody knew, not even our children. It is not easy to get home a human head. ? "Carefully, the old man grabbed a small wooden crate. "It's been at least twenty years since I did not come out of this stand. It is moving. ? He opens the box. Appears when the mummified head, leathery but incredibly well preserved. Her face is both expressive and terrifying. "I bought the sister of Joseph-Emile Bourdais in 1955, in this case, surrounded by the towel. I paid 5000 francs at the time. I only handled three or four times over five years. ? "With a smile, the man adds:" Ten years ago, I should never have admitted that I had. I kept hoping to solve the puzzle myself. But losing his head at age 84, it gets worse, do not you think? ? "

He and his wife are eager to know. If this is indeed the king's head, the old man asks us to give it to the direct descendant of Henri IV, the senior Capetian, Prince Louis de Bourbon, so that the family and the state can the dignified burial at Saint-Denis. If we fail to put a name on the mummy, loads up to us to find a museum or school of medicine who accepts such a gift. When contacted, the representative of the Bourbon family offers us his help and participation in expert fees. Authenticate a relic costs several thousand euros. We surround ourselves as specialists. Jean-Pierre Babelon is naturally taken into confidence and then it was the turn of Jacques Perot, a conservative heritage specialist Henri IV.

Science side, Dr. Charlier and his team are ready to take action. Genetic comparisons of the DNA are possible because of beard and a piece of finger Henri IV, stolen during the Revolution, are preserved in museums.

Research at the National Archives also restores our hope. In 1817, under the Restoration, a quarter of a century after the profanation, Louis XVIII ordered to retrieve the bodies dumped in mass grave to give back to his ancestral burial worthy of their rank. After pickaxes and shovels, bones. But one thing surprised the commissioners at the time: "Three bodies are found without their tops. ? In other words, without their heads. It has indeed stolen the heads of kings at Saint-Denis. So why not that of Henry IV?.

Back in the capital, the head will undergo a complete check-up: toxicology, facial reconstruction, Genetics, dating, microscopy, dissecting microscope, scanner ... A total of 19 scientists will look at the mummy. Dr. Philippe Charlier coordinate operations. Rather positive initial findings: "This is an old man of European type. ? Henry IV died at age 56. In the seventeenth century it was already an old age ...

"The head has been pulled after death. ? This observation confirms the famous scar on his mouth and detects, at the corner of the nose, a mole similar to that sported Henri IV.

However, further causes trouble. The sovereign does earring on any of his portraits, and the mummy is pierced lobe. Above, a detail does not stick. The mummified head has no skull sawn ... But when a king died, the embalmers sawed him the skull to remove the brain and fill it with herbs and spices. This is confirmed by a witness in 1793: "The corpse, seen as a mummy dry skull was sawed. ? "It was Alexandre Lenoir, a curator in charge of heritage against looting of works of art that describes Henry IV out of his coffin. That's probably why nobody ever thought the dealer ...  

If the skull is sawed, it may be trepanned, that is to say holes. At the time, a single surgeon used this method to remove the brain and anoint the head. It was Jacques Guillemeau. The physician of Henry IV, exactly. But on the monitor screen, the mummy shows an intact skull. Or sawed or drilled. The brain is even indoors, in the form of dried residue. Dr Charlier concluded: "This goes against the identity of Henry IV. But sometimes the family demanded that does not touch the brain. We can not say anything for now. ? "

Each embalmer had his technique. Find how the head was mummified would therefore identify the practitioner, and why the patient. And bronchoscopy examination with a dissecting microscope revealed no trace of herbs or spices. Dr Charlier will then detect them by their odor. Picturesque location: the high-tech world of luxury cosmetics, two "noses" to sniff perfume that we hope to be Henry IV, Henry IV who, according to Queen Margot, reeked of garlic. Verdict: animal scents, but no efflux of specific herbs or spices mummies.

For the first time, the hypothesis of a natural mummification is discussed. It is suddenly very far from Henri IV ... Only a genetic study could end the doubt. Three institutions - the castle of Pau, the museum Tavet Delacour-Pontoise and the museum Bertrand Chateauroux - we were allowed to make withdrawals from their relics of Henri IV. After several weeks, another disappointment. DNA, too fragmented, is not legible. It was not until the end of all tests, including toxicology and carbon-14 dating. Shuffled laboratories in exam rooms, we can only follow scientific protocol.

 Hope comes with the composite sketch made by Jean-Noel Vignal. Using a scientific process that has proven itself in major criminal cases, this brilliant doctor of anthropology has reconstructed the face of the mummy images from the scanner. "If it is not Henri IV, his double! ? "Dr Charlier agree. He was superimposed images from the scanner, pictures of the mummy and portraits of Henri IV. And he confirmed:

"At this level of agreement is not a coincidence. ? But he adds: "It is not enough to conclude, and there

is always this mystery about the embalming. ? "

The embalming is our Achilles heel. The solution will appear by typing keywords on the Internet. We find a sentence from the "Histoire des Girondins" by Lamartine: Henry IV was "embalmed with the art of the Italians." We give information to Dr Charlier. Immediately, everything is illuminated. In Florence, which was originally Marie de Medici, wife of Henry IV, it was customary to embalm the princes never mutilate their heads. This was confirmed by recent excavations in the tombs of the Medici. Better: Dr. Charlier in the archives of Italy on behalf of the doctor who embalmed Henri IV. A certain Pierre Pigray (1563-1612), trained in Italian methods. This corresponds perfectly to the observations made on the mummy. The only contradictory evidence has shattered: he claimed to have seen when in 1793 the corpse of Henry IV with the skull sawn Alexandre Lenoir was lying.

And that's not all. Toxicology tests are positive. The head and the relics are even traces of lead, which lined the walls of the royal coffin. Moreover, scientists have found the mummy of plaster residues, probably left a deposit when making a death mask. Further evidence: carbon 14. The mummified head has been dated between 1450 and 1640. Everything fits now. Including lobe pierced: Through research, Nicole Garnier, curator of Mus?e Cond? in Chantilly, has found a picture where Henry IV wears a ring in his ear.

We found the head of the Vert Galant!

Fun of all the junk from Montmartre was right. In a cemetery in Paris, a photograph of him and the mummified head appears on his tombstone, as a message to posterity, for us not forget the day her truth burst. Despite the year, the sun and weather, the picture has hardly yellowed under the glaze. Four hundred years after King's death, Joseph-Emile Bourdais can now rest in peace. Henry will again be buried at Saint-Denis. Forever this time.


A trader relics

How the mummified head did it come from Saint-Denis in 1793, to Joseph-Emile Bourdais, in 1919? Soon, a suspect emerges: Alexandre Lenoir, the conservative Heritage, who became famous for saving works of art of revolutionary vandalism. But he was also known to be fond of remains of illustrious men. At Saint-Denis, with others, he used unsparingly in coffins. Lenoir has thus been an incredible collection of royal relics. After his death, we even found a box of bones has since returned to Saint-Denis. It was placed near the coffins of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI.

Inside the body, bones listed in his own hand: the scapula of Hugh Capet, the jaw of Catherine de Medici, the tibia of Charles VI ... The man has the ideal profile of the thief head. Emmanuel Schwartz, curator at the Ecole des Beaux Arts, "Lenoir desecrated the graves of famous people for pleasure and has made trafficking of human remains. Henry IV would have been ideal for him, the most beautiful trophies. The castle of the Counts of Erbach, Germany, is still a reliquary containing the remains of kings of France sold by Lenoir. There's even a fake skull of Henri IV! Lenoir sometimes selling fake relics, and he had to boast of holding the real head of the king ...

It remains to find the link between him and the sale of 1919. The archives reveal that the Drouot mummified head came from a painter named Emma Chick-Nallet, died without heirs, and whose cases were dispersed at auction by a lumber-room, ten years after his death. However, the grand-son of Alexander Lenoir, Lenoir Alfred, was a painter and sculptor. Of the same generation Emma Nallet-Poussin, he attended the same schools, has exhibited in galleries and the same has always known. Perhaps the head of Henry IV did it become one day the center of a passionate love?

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