Note 426 — PART II. (continued 3)

It is generally supposed that the gate took its name from a hospital standing a short distance without the walls, and destined for the reception either of lepers or of pilgrims arriving after nightfall. The prevalent opinion is that it bore the inscription Dei merito, translated as Dieu le mérite, which became corrupted into Dieu-Lumière. Under Louis XI. it certainly figures as Di Merito.