Saint-Denis - Name

Name

Until the 3rd century, Saint-Denis was a large settlement called Catcolacus or Catculliacum, probably meaning "estate of Catullius", a Gallo-Roman landowner. About 250 CE, the first bishop of Paris, Saint Denis, was martyred on Montmartre hill and buried in Catolacus. Later, his grave became a shrine and a pilgrimage centre, with the building of the Abbey of Saint Denis, and the settlement was renamed Saint-Denis.

In 1793, during the French Revolution, Saint-Denis was renamed Franciade in a gesture of rejection of religion. In 1803, however, under the Consulate of Napoléon Bonaparte, the city reverted to its former name of Saint-Denis.