**Elodie Leschot**

Department of History of Art, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; elodie.leschot@unil.ch

Received: 12 August 2020; Accepted: 22 October 2020; Published: 2 November 2020

**Abstract:** Addressing the coronation issue in France always comes down to talking about Reims, its archbishop, its cathedral, and its Holy Ampulla. If these elements are indeed constitutive of the consecration ceremony, they only became so from the 13th century onwards. Before that, Reims had di fficulty asserting its alleged prerogative to welcome the consecration's ceremony. The practice of "festival crowing", practiced by monarchs to assert their authority, did not indeed help the metropolitan Reims to assert its monopoly. In this context, Saint-Denis sought recognition of his rights to host the royal ceremony. Saint-Denis has always been intimately connected to the monarchy and hosted Pepin the first consecration, Pepin the Short and his heirs, in 754. In the 12th century, Abbot Suger's arrival at Abbey's head marked a new impetus for the Abbey in this race for prestige. The Saint-Denis church's reconstruction and its liturgical organization demonstrate the grea<sup>t</sup> project that the Abbey pursued through the hosting of the ceremony's coronation of the Kings of France.

**Keywords:** Abbey of Saint-Denis; festival crowing; Abbot Suger (1122–1151); coronation; consecration
