Before 580	An oratory and hostel are built on the Left Bank of the Seine at the junction of two major Roman roads (the present day rue St. Jacques and rue Galande).
580	Gregory of Tours stays at the hostel while in Paris for a meeting, and encounters a drunk lying asleep on the floor when he goes to sing the midnight office at the Basilica of St. Julien the Martyr.
Late 9th century	The Normans attack Paris and leave St. Julien in ruins. (Some sources give the date of St. Julien's destruction as the winter of 885-886, around the time of the Battle of the Petit Chatelet).
ca. 1045?	King Henri I signs a charter giving the ruined church to the Bishop of Paris. (The exact date of Henri's charter is not known. Various sources give it as 1020, 1031, 1045, and 1050). At this time the church is still known as St. Julien the Martyr. It later passes into secular hands.
1120	The owners, Etienne de Vitry and Hugues de Monteler, give St. Julien to the Abbey of Longpont, a dependant of Cluny Abbey in Burgundy. In the charter documenting the donation, the name of St. Julien the Confessor, first bishop of Le Mans is added to that of St. Julien the Martyr. A priory of 50 monks is founded on the site.
1150	Thibaud, Bishop of Paris, confirms the donation of St. Julien and takes the priory under his protection.
1151	Pope Eugene III confirms the donation by Papal Bull, in which he refers to St. Julien as a capella (chapel) and also mentions the cemetery attached to it. (Some interpret this to mean that the ruined basilica had been rebuilt on a modest scale by this time).
ca. 1170	The monks of Longpont begin to rebuild St. Julien in an Early Gothic style.
ca. 1200	The University of Paris, which has been operating unofficially in the Latin Quarter since Peter Abelard and his students left the Cathedral School at Notre Dame and began holding classes on the Left Bank in the early 12th century, receives its official charter from the king. St. Julien, located in the heart of the district, becomes an important University center, where General Assemblies and the election of the Rector are held. Also around this time, a small chapel which is later known as the Chapel of St. Blaise and St. Louis is built just to the south of St. Julien.
ca. 1240	Rebuilding of St. Julien is completed. (Some sources give 1220 as the completion date, others believe it was not completed until the last quarter of the 13th century).
1288	The first recorded General Assembly of the University of Paris is held at St. Julien on the Friday before the Feast of the Ascension.
13th century	The Priory of St. Julien becomes prosperous, and in addition to its connection to the University, various guilds use it as their headquarters.
End of the 13th century	As the center of the University gradually shifts towards Mt. Ste. Genevieve, the Priory of St. Julien loses revenues and its prosperity declines.
1476	The Chapel of Saint Blaise and St. Louis is sold and becomes the seat of the carpenters' and masons' guilds.
1524	A student riot takes place in St. Julien following the election of the Rector. The church sustains heavy damage which the monks cannot afford to repair, and also deteriorates due to neglect.
1601	The false acacia tree (robinia pseudoacacia) is planted near the north aisle of the church by the botanist Jean Robin, Director of the Jardin de l'Apothecaires, who brought it from Guyana. (Other sources argue that the tree was not planted until 1680. The plaque that stands near the tree today gives the date as 1602).
1640	This is the date engraved on the bell of St. Julien, and perhaps the represents the date at which it was given to the church.
1651	St. Julien is in such bad condition that two bays of the south aisle and the nave are torn off and replaced by a courtyard and the present west front. The vault is rebuilt, and the spire on the roof is torn down.
April 1655	The Priory is dissolved and the church becomes the property of the Hôtel Dieu. The transfer is confirmed by Papal Bull in 1659 and by letters signed by Louis XVI in 1697.
1770	The Chapel of St. Blaise and St. Louis is demolished. Later on, houses are built on the site which reuse the foundations of the chapel and part of an old Gothic window.
1793	St. Julien becomes the property of the State at the Revolution. It is deconsecrated and used as a warehouse.
1805	St. Julien is restored to the Hôtel Dieu by Imperial decree but remains closed to worship, and continues to be used for storage.
1825	Restoration work is done on the church. During the course of the work Merovingian sarcophagi are discovered around the walls, showing that the area around the church was once an ancient cemetery.
1826	St. Julien is reconsecrated and opened to worship as the chapel of the Augustinian Sisters of the Hôtel Dieu.
1840	Additional restoration work is performed. More Merovingian tombs and artifacts are found.
1884-1886	Excavations in the nearby rue Galande and rue Dante uncover tombs and artifacts from the Late Roman and Merovingian periods which are believed to be part of the ancient cemetery surrounding St. Julien. (More tombs will be discovered in the rue Dante in 1901).
1877	The church is again deconsecrated and transferred to the authority of the Administration of Public Assistance. It is nearly demolished to make room for a new street, but is declared an historic monument and saved.
1889	St. Julien becomes the church of the Melkites. (The plaque above the west entrance gives the date as 1892). Additional repairs and restoration work are done at this time.
ca. 1900	The iconostasis is placed across the middle of the choir of St. Julien, bisecting it and closing off the apse. (Later in the 20th century, the iconostasis will be shifted eastward to the opening of the apse, revealing the second archway of the choir).
1899-1920's	St. Julien is photographed by the French photographer Eugene Atget, known for his documentary photographs of Old Paris. In his photographs can be seen the remains of some of the old buildings belonging to the old priory, as well as the annex of the Hôtel Dieu which stood near the church.
1909	The annex of the Hôtel Dieu standing next to St. Julien is torn down.
April 1921	French Dadaists Tristan Tzara and André Breton host an "Excursion" to St. Julien as part of the "Saison Dada 1921."
1928	The Square René Viviani, the park adjacent to St. Julien which is named for the first French Minister of Labor, is opened to the public.
1938-39	The barrel vault over the nave is redone.
1995	A fountain designed by the French sculptor Georges Jeanclos which depicts the legend of St. Julien the Hospitaller is placed in the Square René Viviani near the church.

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St. Julien le Pauvre url: http://www.people.ku.edu/~asnow/ Webmaster: A. Snow This site last updated 05/24/2004.