Anthropobiologist Eric Crubézy has just won the title of “Toulouse Resident of the Year 2024” thanks to his fabulous discovery. He managed to get the two “sarcophagi of Notre-Dame de Paris” that were exhumed after the fire to “talk”. Interview.
Did you expect to receive this award?
No, and I took it with emotion and a lot of humility. There were fifteen personalities from Toulouse and some beautiful people in the race. I knew some of them, including the researcher Jean-Philippe Girard; poet Juliette Mey; Paralympic swimmer Ugo Didier. I discovered others like Binobile, the psychiatric caregiver; Anaïs Barbeau, the blogger on wheels, Lilou Ruel, the freerunner… They have all achieved extraordinary things. The aim of this competition is to highlight them.
Some you must have discovered thanks to this prize?
That’s for sure. Not everyone is interested in anthropobiology. This award puts around fifteen people in the spotlight, including an even more important award that highlights the winner.
This prize rewards your entire career as well as your latest discovery in the ruins of Notre-Dame…
Yes, after the Notre-Dame fire, excavations were organized by INRAP (National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research). Two lead coffins were found at the crossing of the transept. The CAGT laboratory I founded (Toulouse Center for Anthropobiology and Genomics), now led by Ludovic Orlando, has real expertise in the field of biological anthropology. We had the assistance of Norbert Telmon, head of the Toulouse Forensic Medicine Department, to examine these burials, which had been transported to the Toulouse University Hospital.
Then you also personally worked on identifying one of the two deceased…
Namely the poet Joachim du Bellay. In order to understand who was buried at Notre-Dame, beyond this figure, it was also necessary to analyze how it functioned in the 16th century. At that time it was one of the largest dominions in France with high revenues. The 51 canons who depended on it and formed the chapter had a very special status: they benefited from this income, paid no taxes to the king and could not be excommunicated. A fee was also charged for the masses in Notre-Dame at this time; there were 110 per day, not including the high masses. We also had to understand who Joachim du Bellay was.
What did you find out about him?
Until this study, the legend of Joachim du Bellay arose after the defeat of Sedan in 1870. In the 19th century, people were looking for young men who had sung about France and its region and spoke French. Joachim du Bellay had written “La Défense et Illustration de la langue française”. He was one of the first poets to express himself in French rather than Latin and was considered an enemy of the Republic because of his association with the Church, where masses were always said in Latin. All of this contributed to the creation of his legend. I re-read all the biographies and discovered previously unpublished elements about his life.
Like what?
We know that he grew up in Paris, not Anjou, and that after a stay in Rome with an uncle, the representative of the Catholic Church, he arrived at Notre-Dame and was hated by the Chapter because he calls him Bizet, the One who he lives with, second person in the cathedral! When Joachim du Bellay died, his family demanded that he be buried in Notre-Dame, even though he had no right to do so and the chapter did not want this. I explain this confrontation.
Is digging graves your job?
Yes, I am also a teacher at the university. As part of my research, I am interested in the development of burial rites around the world over the last 12,000 years. Today I spend two months a year digging during my university holidays.
Do you have time for hobbies?
Since my job is a passion, I would say I spend my time having fun. Otherwise, I love cycling along the Canal du Midi. I also practice yoga to maintain my flexibility and continue to explore new things. I’m also a big rugby fan thanks to my dad who played rugby. It’s a chance to live in Toulouse and follow its fantastic team.
You also write…
Yes, I just published The Horseman of Notre Dame. This book is an investigation. It shows how we determined the grave of Joachim du Bellay. We also find his biography and his relationship to his chronic illness, meningeal tuberculosis, which he had to hide for a long time. I describe the writer, some of his poems were intended for Ronsard and Bizet, who accompanied him to the end of his life.