In 18th-Century Paris, St. Andre des Art was a neighborhood situated between Rue St. Jacques and “les rues du petit Pont,” its eastern borders, and Rue Dauphine, its western border. To the south, “les rues nerve des losses S. Germain des Pres, des bosses de M. le Prince, des Franc-Bourgeois, la Place Saint Michel, [and] rue S. Hyacinthe” enclose the neighborhood (218).
As religious organizations played a predominate role in shaping the culture of this neighborhood in the medieval times, its legacy has lived on and continued to influence the common people in this area in the 18th Century. Churches and convents — les Chanoines Réguliers Premontres, l’Eglise des Corderliers, couvent des Grands Augustins, la chapelle de S. Sevrein— distribute across the neighborhood and were frequented by politicians, the kings, and artists. Some churches also actively engaged in the life of the locals. La Paroisse S. Benoit, located on Rue Cloture S. Benoit and established in 1185, was not only the residence for priests, but also a sanctuary for the poor people in Paris(246-247). M. de Valiere, a priest of the cloister of St. Benoit, created Ecoles des
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Indeed, churches like St. Benoit and Ecole des Savoyards and convents like Jacobin’s Le College de l’Ordre and Les Grands Augustins no longer exist, and roads like Rue du Bator, Rue de Portes, and Rue du Foin have been carved up for the creation of the Haussmann boulevard St. Germain. Yet a few other remnants constructed during the Medieval times are still visible. Although the exteriority of Eglise St. Severein has lost its luster over time, the Gothic elements of stained-glass windows and the gargoyles still inspire a sense of awe. La Chapelle de S. Come, now being part of the Universite Paris Descartes, also preserves its medieval