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place, the event was the first time that he or any other king also commemorated the ceremony
with a foundation medal. The king’s exceptional interest in the ritual at Saint-Louis-des-Jésuites
was in part to be expected: he directed royal funds to the project and bore the same name as the
patron saint of the church. Yet the king’s attention to this particular event indicates that it carried
a much greater meaning than simply continuing the tradition of royal participation in the
ceremony. I suggest that Louis XIII used the ceremony to express his divine right to rule with
absolute authority, a meaning he conveyed directly with the foundation medals, which
established typological links between himself, St. Louis, and Old Testament kings.
Located on the lower left corner of the foundation stone, the portrait medal of Louis XIII
explicitly established this connection (fig. 36). Its most significant feature is the encircling Latin
legend, which reads: “Triumphs as David, builds as Solomon.” 37 The specific reference to the
biblical kings was quite appropriate because since the Middle Ages David and Solomon had been
the primary models for Christian princes. 38 David and Solomon were seen to have benefited
from the special blessing of God, having been appointed by God and each achieving victory over
his enemies with divine aid,. David was especially esteemed as a model for those kings seeking
both triumph and piety. A defender against tyranny with his victory over Goliath, David
appealed to later kings, who viewed their contemporary struggles with political and military
threats as analogous to the one the Philistine posed to the Israelites. 39 David’s religious devotion
revealed itself through his harp playing in praise of God, his desire to build a temple for the Ark
of the Covenant, and his atonement for his transgressions. 40
Like his father, King Solomon served as a model for rulers. His proverbial wisdom and
justice certainly provided much inspiration, but it was Solomon’s role as the builder of the
temple of Jerusalem that most exemplified his pious nature and his support of religion. 41 In some
instances Christian rulers seeking similar renown constructed churches to emulate the Old
Testament king, as Vasari intimated was the case when Grand Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici
remodeled the Florentine churches of S. Maria Novella and S. Croce. 42 Likewise King Philip II
of Spain, who was said to be like Solomon, constructed the Escorial in part to evoke the Jewish
temple. 43
While European rulers were frequently compared to the Old Testament kings, this
association with French monarchs had existed since the Carolingian period. 44 The Frankish
King Pepin (751-768) established the tradition of rulers modeling themselves on David,
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