Fête des Ânes de Sens

A medieval tradition born in Sens

The Fête de l'Âne is one of the most unique paraliturgical ceremonies of the Western Middle Ages. Its oldest preserved testimony comes precisely from Sens: a famous manuscript in the municipal library containing the Office des Fous, attributed to Pierre de Corbeil, Archbishop of Sens from 1200 until his death in 1222. This musical text, alternating learned Latin and refrains in the vernacular (the famous "Orientis partibus adventavit asinus"), constitutes the founding document of an entire medieval festive tradition.

The festival took place around January 1st, within the framework of the Saint-Étienne Cathedral, one of the very first Gothic cathedrals in Europe, begun as early as 1135. The vicars of the chapter erected a stage in the Saint-Étienne square and performed mysteries mixed with farces and burlesque scenes. A donkey was led in procession through the nave; clergy and people danced together around the animal, imitating its braying, before the festival concluded in the choir. The practice was so ingrained in customs that the ordinance of 1245, which attempted to ban it, could not eradicate it: the tradition persisted into the 16th century before falling into oblivion.

The donkey, a Christological animal

The donkey's centrality in medieval popular liturgy is no accident. As the quintessential Christ-bearer animal, it carried Christ on its back during the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and warmed the child in the Bethlehem manger. The natural cross formed by its coat on its back and shoulders was interpreted as a sign of its divine proximity. Pierre de Corbeil celebrated the animal's strength, speed, and nobility in his office: "Faster than the deer and the camel, it brought gold, incense, and myrrh to the Church." For medieval theologians, the Fête de l'Âne was an allegory for the speed with which Christ had spread divine truth throughout the world.

The Senonian renaissance since 2001

It was in January 2001 that the vocal and instrumental ensemble Obsidienne, directed by Emmanuel Bonnardot, and the City of Sens revived this forgotten tradition. Dubbed Fête des Ânes — Festival des Arts, these days immediately positioned the event as a multidisciplinary festival, combining medieval music, heritage, live performance, and cultural mediation, far from a static reenactment.

Since then, every third weekend of January, Sens transforms: the Gothic cathedral, the Palais Synodal, the Museums of Sens, the covered market, and the Place de la République form a natural setting for two days of free activities open to all audiences.

A multidisciplinary program rooted in the city

The Fête des Ânes unfolds its activities in various locations in the historic center of Sens. The program mixes the learned and the popular, young audiences and connoisseurs:

• Medieval music concerts in the Saint-Étienne Cathedral: the Obsidienne ensemble and invited ensembles perform repertoires of trouvères, Gregorian polyphony, and medieval liturgical chant in the exceptional acoustics of France's first Gothic cathedral.
• Conferences by historians at the Museums of Sens: specialists trace the history of the Office of the Circumcision, Pierre de Corbeil's manuscript, and the relationship between liturgy and popular festival in the medieval cathedral.
• Exhibition of the original manuscript of the Fête de l'Âne, preserved in the Sens library, a masterpiece of municipal heritage.
• Rides with donkeys from Morvan on the cathedral's parvis, allowing children and adults alike to meet the true heroes of the festival.
• Village des chérubins: a space dedicated to families, with medieval games, calligraphy workshops, illuminated puzzles, and storytelling for the youngest.
• Meeting with the master craftsman of the Guédelon medieval construction site, a historical partner of the event.
• Falconry shows under the mezzanine of the covered market, echoing the seigneurial practices of the Middle Ages.
• Street entertainment and parades in the city center: the town crier announces the festivities in the markets and on the Place de la République, street theater companies, and fire-eaters take over the alleys.
• Fire show on the Place de la République in the evening.
• Evening concert at the cathedral or theater (paid admission): each edition invites a leading musical ensemble for a closing concert — the ensemble Clément Janequin, Serge Bulot, or other artists specializing in ancient repertoires.
• Tasting of hypocras and gingerbread accompanying the musical entertainment.
• Medieval escape game in the lower hall of the Palais Synodal.

The Saint-Étienne Cathedral, a Gothic setting for the festival

It is hard to imagine a more appropriate setting than the Saint-Étienne Cathedral of Sens, a listed Historic Monument, to celebrate this medieval resurrection. Begun under the episcopate of Archbishop Henri Sanglier around 1135-1140, it is considered the first great Gothic cathedral built in France. It was here that Thomas Becket found refuge during his exile, where royal treaties were signed, and where the Treasury houses one of the richest collections of medieval textiles in Europe. Thematic guided tours led by historian Bernard Brousse connect Gothic architecture and the medieval cult of the donkey during the Festivals.

An identity-building event for Sens

Organized jointly by the City of Sens and the ensemble Obsidienne, the Fête des Ânes has become over two decades one of the most identity-defining cultural events in the Sénonais region. It attracts thousands of visitors each year from the Yonne, Île-de-France, and Burgundy regions, drawn by the historical depth of an event that has no equivalent in France: the only festival that still celebrates, in the very city that was its birthplace, the living heritage of the medieval Fête de l'Âne. Free for the vast majority of its activities, it embodies a vision of cultural mediation around medieval heritage that is both demanding and popular.