La tombe du cardinal Hugues Aycelin (†1297) à Clermont : le manifeste d’une famille au faîte de son ascension
Résumé
This paper is dedicated to the little studied tomb of cardinal Hugues Aycelin, still located in the former Dominican church in Clermont. First, the author suggests a restitution of its original state based on early modern sources not taken into account by former studies. The sumptuousness of materials, the complexity of the iconographical programme (especially the depiction of funerary rituals) and the heraldic programme as well are unusual for the tomb of a prelate. They remind instead of tombs of lay princes of the Capetian sphere, while anticipating some monuments of the Avignon court. The tomb can be dated between 1307 and 1311 by several iconographical elements, and the patron can be identify as the cardinal’s brother, the archbishop Gilles Aycelin. The tomb he imagined for his brother was, first of all, a commemorative monument symbolizing the dazzling rise of their family.