You get off the Métro at Porte de Bagnolet station and walk a few minutes down rue de Bagnolet. Then, Kazam! You find yourself on place Saint Blaise, something of a village square, worthy of so many in rural France still today, above which towers a 12th-13th century church of the same ilk: Saint Germain de Charonne.

The Germain (Herman) in question, Bishop of Auxerre in the early 5th century, should not to be confused with his somewhat later counterpart, Paris Bishop and homonym for whom Saint Germain des Prés was named.

Legend has it that it was here that the earlier Germain met and blessed, in 429 A.D., Genevieve of Nanterre. Six years old at the time, she later attained saintly status by 1) helping convince pagan Frankish King Clovis to convert to Christianity and make Christianity the State Religion, and 2) organizing supplies for the Parisians when they were besieged by Attila the Hun – and, for good measure, warding off that rogue and his gang thanks to her divine powers.

Legend de-bunkers are now claiming that the encounter probably didn’t take place here since, travelling from Auxerre to Paris, Germain would probably have avoided trudging up this escarpment. The revisionists are also saying that it was not Sainte Genevieve (Patron Saint of Paris, by the way) who dissuaded Attila’s hordes from taking Paris; they would simply have turned south having learned that the city of Orleans offered richer booty.

Be that as it may, and with due respect for revisionist debunkers, it seems sure that a shrine was early built on this spot. After the village of Charonne grew in size and importance (its vineyards satisfied both ecclesiastic and secular needs for wine), the church before you was erected in the 12th and 13th centuries, simultaneously with Notre Dame Cathedral in “downtown” Paris.

Though rebuilt several times in the last 800 years, Saint Germain de Charonne retains its rustic and Romanesque cachet. Step inside through a neo-classical (18th century?) doorway, and you’ll see in the first two bays – beneath the belfry – column capitals recalling the middle Middle Ages, including such motifs as… grapes! The general impression is definitely rural; today a bustling and somewhat yuppie-trendy part of Paris, to which it was only attached in 1860, Charonne counted in 1800 less than 600 inhabitants.

Step back outside, now (hopefully in sunshine), and check out the cemetery. This, with that at Saint Pierre atop Montmartre, is the only remaining Medieval church-linked burial ground in intra muros Paris today. Unlike the smart Romans, Medieval Parisians buried their dead cheek-by-jowl with parish churches, in shallow tombs that led to epidemics, not to mention the stink.

My favorite tomb in the Charonne cemetery is that of François Bègue nicknamed Magloire. It has a rather ornate life-sized cast-iron statue of an elderly fellow (he died at 87 years) with a cane in his left hand and a rose in the other. Born in 1750, he was something of a street actor, traditional chiropractor and ... prevaricator. He claimed – and a plaque since removed on his tomb claimed – that he was the personal secretary of Revolutionary Robespierre. Apparently not so.

But he seemed to have liked his drink and it is said that he was buried here with a liter-bottle of wine in his coffin. True? Well, that’s one Saint Germain de Charonne legend I have yet to hear debunked!

Visit the church online at:
par.stgch.free.fr

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^* Paris-based Arthur Gillette guides theme- and period-specific strolls to help visitors discover “Paris Through The Ages.” If interested in taking one, or more, contact him on Armedv@aol.com.