Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
on the
Île de la Cité
Île de la Cité (; English: City Island) is an island in the river Seine in the center of Paris. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of the Roman governor. In 508, Clovis I, the first King of the Franks, established his palace ...
(an island in the Seine River), in the
4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, is considered one of the finest examples of
French Gothic architecture
French Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathedra ...
. Several of its attributes set it apart from the earlier
Romanesque style
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later ...
, particularly its pioneering use of the
rib vault and
flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
, its enormous and colourful
rose windows
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...
, and the
naturalism and abundance of its
sculptural
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
decoration. Notre Dame also stands out for its musical components, notably its three pipe
organs
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...
(one of which is historic) and its immense
church bells
A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and ...
.
Construction of the cathedral began in 1163 under Bishop
Maurice de Sully Maurice de Sully (died 11 September 1196) was Bishop of Paris from 1160 until his retirement in 1196. He was responsible for the construction of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.
Biography
He was born to poor parents at Sully-sur-Loire (Soliacum), ne ...
and was largely completed by 1260, though it was modified frequently in the centuries that followed. In the 1790s, during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, Notre-Dame suffered extensive
desecration
Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual.
Detail
Many consider acts of desecration to ...
; much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. In the 19th century, the
coronation of Napoleon I
Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French on Sunday, December 2, 1804 (11 Frimaire, Year XIII according to the French Republican calendar), at Notre-Dame de Paris in Paris. It marked "the instantiation of hemodern empire" and was a "tran ...
and the funerals of many of the
French Republic's presidents took place at the cathedral.
The 1831 publication of
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
's novel ''Notre-Dame de Paris'' (known in English as ''
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story of ...
'') inspired popular interest in the cathedral, which led to a major restoration project between 1844 and 1864, supervised by
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
. On August 26, 1944, the
Liberation of Paris from German occupation was celebrated in Notre-Dame with the singing of the
Magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...
. Beginning in 1963, the cathedral's façade was cleaned of centuries of soot and grime. Another cleaning and restoration project was carried out between 1991 and 2000.
The cathedral is one of the most widely recognized symbols of the city of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and the
French nation. In 1805, it was awarded the honorary status of a
minor basilica
In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...
. As the cathedral of the
archdiocese of Paris
The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. ...
, Notre-Dame contains the ''
cathedra
A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...
'' of the
archbishop of Paris (
Laurent Ulrich
Laurent Bernard Marie Ulrich (born 7 September 1951) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who became Archbishop of Paris in May 2022.
Ulrich has been a bishop since 2000 and was Archbishop of Lille from 2008 to 2022. He was vice president ...
).
In the early 21st century, approximately 12 million people visited Notre-Dame annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris.
The cathedral has long been renowned for its
Lent
Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...
sermons, a tradition founded in the 1830s by the
Dominican Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire
Jean-Baptiste Henri-Dominique Lacordaire (12 May 1802 – 21 November 1861), often styled Henri-Dominique Lacordaire, was a French ecclesiastic, preacher, journalist, theologian and political activist. He re-established the Dominican Order in p ...
. In recent years, these sermons have increasingly often been given by leading public figures or government-employed academics.
Over time, the cathedral has gradually been stripped of many of its original decorations and artworks. However, the cathedral still contains several noteworthy examples of Gothic,
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
, and 19th-century sculptures, a number of 17th- and early 18th-century altarpieces, and some of the most important relics in
Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
– including the
Crown of Thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the in ...
, a
sliver of the true cross and a nail from the true cross.
On 15 April 2019, while Notre-Dame was undergoing renovation and restoration, its roof
caught fire and burned for about 15 hours. The cathedral sustained serious damage as a result. The
flèche
Flèche or Fleche may refer to:
*Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire
*Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition
*Flèche (fencing)
The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée.
Background
...
(the timber spirelet over the
crossing) was destroyed, as was most of the lead-covered wooden roof above the stone
vaulted
In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...
ceiling.
This resulted in contamination of the site and the nearby environment with lead. After the fire, many of the proposals for restoration suggested modernizing the cathedral's design, but the
French National Assembly
The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...
rejected this approach, enacting a law on 29 July 2019 that required the restoration to preserve the cathedral's "historic, artistic and architectural interest".
The task of stabilizing the building against possible collapse was completed in November 2020, and reconstruction began in 2021. The
government of France has said it hopes the reconstruction can be completed by Spring 2024, in time for the opening of the
2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
[Radio France International, 10 October 2019] President
Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
confirmed on 14 April 2021 that the cathedral site will be formally returned to the church on 15 April 2024, and that the first mass since the fire will be held in the cathedral nave on that day, even if the reconstruction has not been finished by then.
Key dates
* 4th century –
Cathedral of Saint Étienne, dedicated to Saint Stephen, built just west of present Cathedral.
* 1163 – Bishop
Maurice de Sully Maurice de Sully (died 11 September 1196) was Bishop of Paris from 1160 until his retirement in 1196. He was responsible for the construction of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.
Biography
He was born to poor parents at Sully-sur-Loire (Soliacum), ne ...
begins construction of new cathedral.
* 1185 – Choir completed.
* c. 1200 – Construction of nave, with flying buttresses, completed; flying buttresses added to choir walls.
* c. 1210–1220 – Construction of towers begins.
* c. 1210–1220 – Two new traverses join towers with nave. West rose window complete in 1220.
* 1235–1245 – Chapels constructed between buttresses of nave and choir.
* 1250–1260 – North transept lengthened by
Jean de Chelles
Jean (or Jehan) de Chelles (working 1258–1265) was a master mason and sculptor who was one of the architects at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. On the exterior wall of the south transept a stone plaque is signed ''Johanne Magistro'' and ...
to provide more light. North rose window constructed.
* 1270 – South transept and rose window completed by
Pierre de Montreuil.
[Trintignac and Coloni (1984) p. 45]
* 1699 – Beginning of major redecoration of interior in
Louis XIV style
The Louis XIV style or ''Louis Quatorze'' ( , ), also called French classicism, was the style of architecture and decorative arts intended to glorify King Louis XIV and his reign. It featured majesty, harmony and regularity. It became the officia ...
by
Hardouin Mansart
Jules Hardouin-Mansart (; 16 April 1646 – 11 May 1708) was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Invalides (1690), and the Grand T ...
and
Robert de Cotte.
* 1725–1727 – South rose window, poorly built, is reconstructed. Later entirely rebuilt in 1854.
* 1790 – In the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
the Revolutionary
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
removes all bronze, lead, and precious metals from the cathedral to be melted down.
* 1793 – The cathedral is converted into a
Temple of Reason and then Temple of the Supreme Being.
* 1801–1802 – With the
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation ...
,
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
restores the use of the cathedral (though not ownership) to the Catholic Church.
* 1804 – On December 2, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor at Notre-Dame.
* 1805 – The cathedral is conceded the honor of
minor basilica
In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...
by
Pope Pius VII
Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a m ...
, making it the first minor basilica outside of Italy
* 1844–1864 – Major restoration by
Jean-Baptiste Lassus
Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus (19 March 1807 – 15 July 1857) was a French architect who became an expert in restoration or recreation of medieval architecture. He was a strong believer in the early Gothic architecture style, which he thought as a ...
and
Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
with additions in the spirit of the original Gothic style.
* 1871 – In final days of the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
, Communards attempt unsuccessfully to burn the Cathedral.
* 1944 – On August 26, General
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
celebrates the
Liberation of Paris with a special mass at Notre-Dame.
* 1949 – On April 26, the Archbishop of Paris,
Emmanuel Célestin Suhard
Emmanuel Célestin Suhard (; April 5, 1874 – May 30, 1949) was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1940 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1935. He was instrumental in the found ...
, crowns the venerated image of
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...
in the name of
Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...
.
* 1963 – Culture Minister
André Malraux
Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed by P ...
orders the cleaning of the cathedral façade of centuries of grime and soot.
* 2019 – On April 15, a fire destroys a large part of the roof and the spire.
* 2021 – Reconstruction begins two years after the fire that destroyed a large part of the roof and the spire.
History
It is believed that before the arrival of
Christianity in France
Christianity in France is the largest religion in the country. France is home to The Taizé Community, an ecumenical Christian monastic fraternity in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy. With a focus on youth, it has become one of the world ...
, a
Gallo-Roman
Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...
temple dedicated to
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
stood on the site of Notre-Dame. Evidence for this includes the
Pillar of the Boatmen
The Pillar of the Boatmen (french: Pilier des nautes) is a monumental Roman column erected in Lutetia (modern Paris) in honour of Jupiter by the guild of boatmen in the 1st century AD. It is the oldest monument in Paris and is one of the earliest ...
, discovered beneath the cathedral in 1710. In the 4th or 5th century, a large early Christian church, the
Cathedral of Saint Étienne, was built on the site, close to the royal palace. The entrance was situated about west of the present west front of Notre-Dame, and the apse was located about where the west façade is today. It was roughly half the size of the later Notre-Dame, long—and separated into
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and four
aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...
s by marble columns, then decorated with
mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s.
The last church before the cathedral of Notre-Dame was a
Romanesque remodeling of Saint-Étienne that, although enlarged and remodeled, was found to be unfit for the growing population of Paris.
A
baptistery
In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
, the
Church of Saint-John-le-Rond, built about 452, was located on the north side of the west front of Notre-Dame until the work of
Jacques-Germain Soufflot
Jacques-Germain Soufflot (, 22 July 1713 – 29 August 1780) was a French architect in the international circle that introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon, Paris, Panthéon in Paris, built from 1755 onwards, original ...
in the 18th century.
In 1160, the
Bishop of Paris,
Maurice de Sully Maurice de Sully (died 11 September 1196) was Bishop of Paris from 1160 until his retirement in 1196. He was responsible for the construction of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.
Biography
He was born to poor parents at Sully-sur-Loire (Soliacum), ne ...
,
[ decided to build a new and much larger church. He summarily demolished the earlier cathedral and chose to recycle its materials.][ Sully decided that the new church should be built in the ]Gothic style
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
, which had been inaugurated at the royal abbey of Saint Denis in the late 1130s.[
]
Construction
The chronicler recorded in the ''Memorial Historiarum'' that the construction of Notre-Dame began between 24 March and 25 April 1163 with the laying of the cornerstone
The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.
Over tim ...
in the presence of King Louis VII
Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...
and Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III (c. 1100/1105 – 30 August 1181), born Roland ( it, Rolando), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 September 1159 until his death in 1181.
A native of Siena, Alexander became pope after a con ...
. Four phases of construction took place under bishops Maurice de Sully and Eudes de Sully
]
Eudes de Sully (french: Odon de Sully, Odo de Sully; la, Odo de Soliaco) (died 1208) was Bishop of Paris, from 1197 to 1208. He is considered to be the first to have put emphasis on the Elevation liturgy during the Catholic Mass. He worked to ...
(not related to Maurice), according to masters whose names have been lost. Analysis of vault stones that fell in the 2019 fire shows that they were quarried in Vexin
Vexin () is an historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to south ...
, a county northwest of Paris, and presumably brought up the Seine by ferry.
The first phase began with the construction of the choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...
and its two ambulatories. According to Robert of Torigni
Robert of Torigni (also known as Roburtus de Monte) (c. 1110–1186) was a Norman monk, prior, abbot and twelfth century chronicler.
Religious life
Robert was born at Torigni-sur-Vire, Normandy c. 1110 most probably to an aristocratic family but ...
, the choir was completed in 1177 and the high altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganis ...
consecrated on 19 May 1182 by Cardinal Henri de Château-Marçay, the Papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title ''legatus'') is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic ...
in Paris, and Maurice de Sully. The second phase, from 1182 to 1190, concerned the construction of the four sections of the nave behind the choir and its aisles to the height of the clerestories
In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both.
Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...
. It began after the completion of the choir but ended before the final allotted section of the nave was finished. Beginning in 1190, the bases of the façade were put in place, and the first traverses were completed. Heraclius of Caesarea
Heraclius or Eraclius ( 1128 – 1190/91), was archbishop of Caesarea and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Origin and early career
Heraclius was from the Gévaudan in Auvergne (province), Auvergne, France. Like his later rival William of Tyre he stu ...
called for the Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
in 1185 from the still-incomplete cathedral.
Louis IX
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...
deposited the relics of the passion of Christ, which included the Crown of thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the in ...
, a nail from the Cross and a sliver of the Cross, which he had purchased at great expense from the Latin Emperor
The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was recovered by the Byzantine Greeks in 126 ...
Baldwin II, in the cathedral during the construction of the Sainte-Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
...
. An under-shirt, believed to have belonged to Louis, was added to the collection of relics at some time after his death.
The decision was made to add transepts
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
at the choir, where the altar was located, in order to bring more light into the centre of the church. The use of simpler four-part rather than six-part rib vaults meant that the roofs were stronger and could be higher. After Bishop Maurice de Sully's death in 1196, his successor, Eudes de Sully
]
Eudes de Sully (french: Odon de Sully, Odo de Sully; la, Odo de Soliaco) (died 1208) was Bishop of Paris, from 1197 to 1208. He is considered to be the first to have put emphasis on the Elevation liturgy during the Catholic Mass. He worked to ...
oversaw the completion of the transepts, and continued work on the nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
, which was nearing completion at the time of his own death in 1208. By this time, the western façade was already largely built, though it was not completed until around the mid-1240s. Between 1225 and 1250 the upper gallery of the nave was constructed, along with the two towers on the west façade.
Another significant change came in the mid-13th century, when the transepts were remodelled in the latest Rayonnant
In French Gothic architecture, Rayonnant () is the period from about the mid-13th century to mid-14th century. It was characterized by a shift away from the High Gothic search for increasingly large size toward more spatial unity, refined decora ...
style; in the late 1240s Jean de Chelles
Jean (or Jehan) de Chelles (working 1258–1265) was a master mason and sculptor who was one of the architects at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. On the exterior wall of the south transept a stone plaque is signed ''Johanne Magistro'' and ...
added a gabled portal to the north transept topped off by a spectacular rose window. Shortly afterward (from 1258) Pierre de Montreuil executed a similar scheme on the southern transept. Both these transept portals were richly embellished with sculpture; the south portal features scenes from the lives of Saint Stephen
Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...
and of various local saints, while the north portal featured the infancy of Christ and the story of Theophilus in the tympanum, with a highly influential statue of the Virgin and Child in the trumeau
A trumeau is the central pillar or mullion supporting the tympanum of a large doorway, commonly found in medieval buildings.''Merriam-Webster Dictionary''"trumeau"/ref> An architectural feature, it is often sculpted.
Gallery
File:Trumeau.jpg, T ...
. Master builders Pierre de Chelles
Pierre de Chelles was a French architect from the late 13th and early 14th centuries. He was one of the architects of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. He completed the choir began in 1300, the high flying buttresses above the apse, and the bui ...
, , Jean le Bouteiller, and succeeded de Chelles and de Montreuil and then each other in the construction of the cathedral. Ravy completed de Chelles's rood screen and chevet chapels, then began the flying buttresses of the choir. Jean le Bouteiller, Ravy's nephew, succeeded him in 1344 and was himself replaced on his death in 1363 by his deputy, Raymond du Temple.
Philip the Fair opened the first Estates General in the cathedral in 1302.
An important innovation in the 13th century was the introduction of the flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
. Before the buttresses, all of the weight of the roof pressed outward and down to the walls, and the abutments supporting them. With the flying buttress, the weight was carried by the ribs of the vault entirely outside the structure to a series of counter-supports, which were topped with stone pinnacles which gave them greater weight. The buttresses meant that the walls could be higher and thinner, and could have much larger windows. The date of the first buttresses is not known with any great precision beyond an installation date in the 13th century. Art historian Andrew Tallon, however, has argued based on detailed laser scans of the entire structure that the buttresses were part of the original design. According to Tallon, the scans indicate that "the upper part of the building has not moved one smidgen in 800 years," whereas if they were added later some movement from prior to their addition would be expected. Tallon thus concluded that flying buttresses were present from the outset. The first buttresses were replaced by larger and stronger ones in the 14th century; these had a reach of fifteen metres (50') between the walls and counter-supports.
File:Plan.cathedrale.Paris.png, Plan of the cathedral made by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
in the 19th century. Portals and nave to the left, a choir in the center, and apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...
and ambulatory
The ambulatory ( la, ambulatorium, ‘walking place’) is the covered passage around a cloister or the processional way around the east end of a cathedral or large church and behind the high altar. The first ambulatory was in France in the 11th ...
to the right. The annex to the south is the Sacristy.
File:Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris - 15.jpg, Early six-part rib vaults of the nave. The ribs transferred the thrust of the weight of the roof downward and outwards to the pillars and the supporting buttresses.
File:P1180494 Paris IV Notre-Dame détail sud rwk.jpg, The massive buttresses which counter the outward thrust from the rib vaults of the nave. The weight of the building-shaped pinnacles helps keep the line of thrust
The line of thrust is the locus of the points, through which forces pass in a retaining wall or an arch. It is the line, along which internal forces flow
flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es of the apse of Notre-Dame (14th century) reached 15 metres (50') from the wall to the counter-supports.
John of Jandun John of Jandun or John of Jaudun (French Jean de Jandun, Johannes von Jandun, or Johannes de Janduno, circa 1285–1328) was a French philosopher, theologian, and political writer. Jandun is best known for his outspoken defense of Aristotelia ...
recognized the cathedral as one of Paris's three most important buildings rominent structuresin his 1323 ''Treatise on the Praises of Paris'':
On 16 December 1431, the boy-king Henry VI of England
Henry VI (6 December 1421 – 21 May 1471) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. The only child of Henry V, he succeeded to the English thron ...
was crowned king of France in Notre-Dame, aged ten, the traditional coronation church of Reims Cathedral
, image = Reims Kathedrale.jpg
, imagealt = Facade, looking northeast
, caption = Façade of the cathedral, looking northeast
, pushpin map = France
, pushpin map alt = Location within France
, ...
being under French control.
During the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
, the Gothic style fell out of style, and the internal pillars and walls of Notre-Dame were covered with tapestries.
In 1548, rioting Huguenots
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...
damaged some of the statues of Notre-Dame, considering them idolatrous
Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...
.
in Notre-Dame's parvis
A parvis or parvise is the open space in front of and around a cathedral or church, especially when surrounded by either colonnades or porticoes, as at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is thus a church-specific type of forecourt, front yard or ...
was added in 1625 to provide nearby Parisians with running water.
King Louis XIV, on the insistence of his father, Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
, decided in 1699 to make extensive modifications to Notre-Dame. He tasked Robert de Cotte with the renovation. Cotte replaced the rood screen with a sumptuous and gilded wrought iron
Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag Inclusion (mineral), inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a ...
fence, opened up the choir and ambulatory, and removed the tombs in the nave. New furniture was produced as well as the current high altar, depicting Louis XIV and Louis XIII kneeling before a ''pietà
The Pietà (; meaning " pity", "compassion") is a subject in Christian art depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus after his body was removed from the cross. It is most often found in sculpture. The Pietà is a specific form ...
''.
Since 1449, the Parisian goldsmith guild had made regular donations to the cathedral chapter. In 1630, it was decided that the guild would donate a large altarpiece every year on the first of May. These works came to be known as the '' grands mays''. The subject matter was restricted to episodes from the Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its messag ...
. The prestigious commission was awarded to the most prominent painters and, after 1648, members of the Académie Royale
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
.
Seventy-six paintings had been donated by 1708, when the custom was discontinued for financial reasons. Those works were confiscated in 1793 and the majority were subsequently dispersed among regional museums in France. Those that remained in the cathedral were removed or relocated within the building by the 19th-century restorers.
Thirteen of the ''grands mays'' remain in Nôtre Dame:
* ''La Descente du Saint Esprit'' by Jacques Blanchard
Jacques Blanchard (1600–1638), also known as Jacques Blanchart, was a French baroque painter who was born in Paris. He was raised and taught by his uncle, the painter (ca. 1560–1630). Jacques’s brother and son, Jean-Baptiste Blanchar ...
, 1634
* ''Saint Pierre guérissant les malades de son ombre'' by Laurent de la Hyre
Laurent de La Hyre (; 27 February 1606 – 28 December 1656) was a French Baroque painter, born in Paris. He was a leading exponent of the neoclassical style of Parisian Atticism.
Life
La Hyre was greatly influenced by the work of Italian ...
, 1635
* ''La Conversion de saint Paul'' by Laurent de la Hyre, 1637
* ''Le Centenier Corneille aux pieds de saint Pierre'' by Aubin Vouet, 1639
* ''La Prédication de saint Pierre à Jérusalem'' by Charles Poerson, 1642
* ''Le Crucifiement de saint Pierre'' by Sébastien Bourdon
Sébastien Bourdon (2 February 1616 – 8 May 1671) was a French painter and engraver. His ''chef d'œuvre'' is ''The Crucifixion of St. Peter'' made for the cathedral of Notre Dame.
Biography
Bourdon was born in Montpellier, Fran ...
, 1643
* ''Le Crucifiement de saint André'' by Charles Le Brun
Charles Le Brun (baptised 24 February 1619 – 12 February 1690) was a French painter, physiognomist, art theorist, and a director of several art schools of his time. As court painter to Louis XIV, who declared him "the greatest French artist of ...
, 1647
* ''Saint Paul rend aveugle le faux prophète Barjesu et convertit le proconsul Sergius'' by Nicolas Loir
Nicolas Pierre Loir (1624, Paris – 1679, Paris), was a French painter and engraver of religious and historical allegories.
Biography
According to the RKD he was a pupil of Sébastien Bourdon and Simon Vouet, who later became a follower of ...
, 1650
* ''La Lapidation de saint Étienne'' by Charles Le Brun, 1651
* ''La Flagellation de Saint Paul et Silas'' by Louis Testelin
Louis Testelin (1615-1655) was a French painter.
Life
He was the son of Gilles Testelin, king's painter to Louis XIII of France, Louis XIII - this gave Gilles an ex officio home and studio in the Louvre.Georges Guillet de Saint-George, notice. L ...
, 1655
* ''Saint André tressaille de joie à la vue de son supplice'' par by Gabriel Blanchard
Gabriel Blanchard, known as Blanchard Le Neveu, (1630 in Paris, France – 1704) the only son of Jacques Blanchard, was born in Paris in 1630, and studied under his uncle, Jean Baptiste Blanchard. He was, in 1668, elected Academician on the mer ...
, 1670
* ''Le Prophète Agabus prédisant à saint Paul ses souffrances à Jérusalem'' by Louis Chéron
Louis Chéron (2 September 1660 – 26 May 1725) was a French painter, illustrator and art tutor.
Life
Chéron was born in Paris, into a French Protestant family of artists (his father being the miniaturist and engraver Henri Chéron and his el ...
, 1687
* ''Les fils de Sceva battus par le démon'' by Mathieu Elyas
Mathieu is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname
* André Mathieu (1929–1968), Canadian pianist and composer
* Anselme Mathieu (1828–1895), French Provençal poet
* Claude-Louis Mathieu (1783–1875), ...
, 1702
These paintings suffered water damage during the fire of 2019 and were removed for conservation.
An altarpiece depicting the ''Visitation,'' painted by Jean Jouvenet
Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet (1 May 1644 – 5 April 1717) was a French painter, especially of religious subjects.
Biography
He was born into an artistic family in Rouen. His first training in art was from his father, Laurent Jouvenet; a generation ea ...
in 1707, was also located in the cathedral.
The canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
Antoine de La Porte commissioned for Louis XIV six paintings depicting the life of the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
for the choir. At this same time, Charles de La Fosse
Charles de La Fosse (or Lafosse; 15 June 1636 – 13 December 1716) was a French painter born in Paris.
Life
He was one of the most noted and least servile pupils of Le Brun, under whose direction he shared in the chief of the great decorativ ...
painted his ''Adoration of the Magi'', now in the Louvre
The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...
. Louis Antoine de Noailles
Louis-Antoine de Noailles (27 May 16514 May 1729), second son of Anne, 1st duc de Noailles, was a French bishop and cardinal. His signing of the Unigenitus bull in 1728 would end the formal Jansenist controversy.
Biography
Louis-Antoine de Noa ...
, archbishop of Paris, extensively modified the roof of Notre-Dame in 1726, renovating its framing and removing the gargoyle
In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...
s with lead gutters. Noailles also strengthened the buttresses, galleries, terraces, and vaults. In 1756, the cathedral's canons decided that its interior was too dark. The medieval stained glass windows, except the rosettes, were removed and replaced with plain, white glass panes. Finally, Jacques-Germain Soufflot
Jacques-Germain Soufflot (, 22 July 1713 – 29 August 1780) was a French architect in the international circle that introduced neoclassicism. His most famous work is the Panthéon, Paris, Panthéon in Paris, built from 1755 onwards, original ...
was tasked with the modification of the portals at the front of the cathedral to allow processions to more easily enter it.
French Revolution and Napoleon
After the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
in 1789, Notre-Dame and the rest of the church's property in France was seized and made public property. The cathedral was rededicated in 1793 to the Cult of Reason
The Cult of Reason (french: Culte de la Raison) was France's first established state-sponsored atheistic religion, intended as a replacement for Roman Catholicism during the French Revolution. After holding sway for barely a year, in 1794 it ...
, and then to the Cult of the Supreme Being
The Cult of the Supreme Being (french: Culte de l'Être suprême) was a form of deism established in France by Maximilien Robespierre during the French Revolution. It was intended to become the state religion of the new French Republic and a re ...
in 1794. During this time, many of the treasures of the cathedral were either destroyed or plundered. The twenty-eight statues of biblical kings located at the west façade, mistaken for statues of French kings, were beheaded. Many of the heads were found during a 1977 excavation nearby, and are on display at the Musée de Cluny
The Musée de Cluny ("Cluny Museum", ), also known as Musée national du Moyen Âge – Thermes et hôtel de Cluny ("National Museum of the Middle Ages – Cluny thermal baths and mansion"), is a museum of the Middle Ages in Paris, Fr ...
. For a time the Goddess of Liberty replaced the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
on several altars. The cathedral's great bells escaped being melted down. All of the other large statues on the façade, with the exception of the statue of the Virgin Mary on the portal of the cloister, were destroyed. The cathedral came to be used as a warehouse for the storage of food and other non-religious purposes.[
With the ]Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation ...
, Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
restored Notre-Dame to the Catholic Church, though this was only finalized on 18 April 1802. Napoleon also named Paris's new bishop, Jean-Baptiste de Belloy
Jean-Baptiste Count de Belloy (9 October 1709, Morangles, Diocese of Beauvais – 10 June 1808, Paris) was an Archbishop of Paris and cardinal of the Catholic Church.
Biography
Belloy was born in the small village of Morangles, near Senlis, ...
, who restored the cathedral's interior. Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine
Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine (; 20 September 1762 – 10 October 1853) was a neoclassical French architect, interior decorator and designer.
Life and work
Starting in 1794 Fontaine worked in such close partnership with Charles Percier, o ...
made quasi-Gothic modifications to Notre-Dame for the coronation of Napoleon
Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French on Sunday, December 2, 1804 (11 Frimaire, Year XIII according to the French Republican calendar), at Notre-Dame de Paris in Paris. It marked "the instantiation of hemodern empire" and was a "transpa ...
as Emperor of the French
Emperor of the French (French: ''Empereur des Français'') was the title of the monarch and supreme ruler of the First and the Second French Empires.
Details
A title and office used by the House of Bonaparte starting when Napoleon was procla ...
within the cathedral. The building's exterior was whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime ( calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used ...
ed and the interior decorated in Neoclassical, then in vogue.
Restoration
In the decades after the Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
, Notre-Dame fell into such a state of disrepair that Paris officials considered its demolition. Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
, who admired the cathedral, wrote the novel ''Notre-Dame de Paris'' (published in English as ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story of ...
'') in 1831 to save Notre-Dame. The book was an enormous success, raising awareness of the cathedral's decaying state. The same year as Hugo's novel was published, however, anti-Legitimists
The Legitimists (french: Légitimistes) are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They r ...
plundered Notre-Dame's sacristy. In 1844 King Louis Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...
ordered that the church be restored.
The architect who had hitherto been in charge of Notre-Dame's maintenance, Étienne-Hippolyte Godde, was dismissed. In his stead, Jean-Baptiste Lassus
Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus (19 March 1807 – 15 July 1857) was a French architect who became an expert in restoration or recreation of medieval architecture. He was a strong believer in the early Gothic architecture style, which he thought as a ...
and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
, who had distinguished themselves with the restoration of the nearby Sainte-Chapelle
The Sainte-Chapelle (; en, Holy Chapel) is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.
...
, were appointed in 1844. The next year, Viollet-le-Duc submitted a budget of 3,888,500 francs
The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...
, which was reduced to 2,650,000 francs, for the restoration of Notre-Dame and the construction of a new sacristy building. This budget was exhausted in 1850, and work stopped as Viollet-le-Duc made proposals for more money. In totality, the restoration cost over 12 million francs. When Lassus died in 1857, Viollet-le-Duc was left sole architect of the project until its completion on 31 May 1864. Supervising a large team of sculptors, glass makers and other craftsmen, and working from drawings or engravings, Viollet-le-Duc remade or added decorations if he felt they were in the spirit of the original style. One of the latter items was a taller and more ornate spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
, to replace the original 13th century spire, which had been removed in 1786. The decoration of the restoration included a statue of Saint Thomas that resembles Viollet-le-Duc, as well as the sculpture of mythical creatures on the ''Galerie des Chimères''.[
The construction of the sacristy was especially financially costly. To secure a firm foundation, it was necessary for Viollet-le-Duc's labourers to dig . Master glassworkers meticulously copied styles of the 13th century, as written about by art historians Antoine Lusson and ]Adolphe Napoléon Didron
Adolphe Napoléon Didron (1806–1867) was a French art historian and archaeologist.
Biography
Adolphe Napoléon Didron was born in Hautvillers on 13 March 1806. He began his education as a student of law. He then completed his early studies at t ...
.
During the Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...
of March-May 1871, the Cathedral and other churches were closed down, and some two hundred priests and the Archbishop of Paris were taken as hostages. In May, during the Semaine sanglante
The ''semaine sanglante'' ("") was a weeklong battle in Paris from 21 to 28 May 1871, during which the French Army recaptured the city from the Paris Commune. This was the final battle of the Paris Commune.
Following the Treaty of Frankfurt ...
of "Bloody Week", as the army recaptured the city, the Communards targeted the cathedral, along with the Tuileries Palace
The Tuileries Palace (french: Palais des Tuileries, ) was a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine, directly in front of the Louvre. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs, f ...
and other landmarks, for destruction; the Communards piled the furniture together in order to burn the cathedral. The arson was halted when the Communard government realised that the fire would also destroy the neighbouring Hôtel-Dieu In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu ( en, hostel of God) was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris b ...
hospital, filled with hundreds of patients.
During the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the cathedral suffered some minor damage from stray bullets. Some of the medieval glass was damaged, and was replaced by glass with modern abstract designs. On 26 August, a special mass was held in the cathedral to celebrate the liberation of Paris from the Germans; it was attended by General Charles De Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
and General Philippe Leclerc
Philippe François Marie Leclerc de Hauteclocque (22 November 1902 – 28 November 1947) was a Free-French general during the Second World War. He became Marshal of France posthumously in 1952, and is known in France simply as le maréchal ...
.
In 1963, on the initiative of culture minister André Malraux
Georges André Malraux ( , ; 3 November 1901 – 23 November 1976) was a French novelist, art theorist, and minister of cultural affairs. Malraux's novel ''La Condition Humaine'' (Man's Fate) (1933) won the Prix Goncourt. He was appointed by P ...
and to mark the 800th anniversary of the cathedral, the façade was cleaned of the centuries of soot and grime, restoring it to its original off-white colour.
On 19 January 1969, vandals placed a North Vietnamese flag atop a spire of the Notre Dame, and sabotaged the stairway leading to it. The flag was cut from the spire by Paris Fire Brigade Sergeant Raymond Belle
Parkour () is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners (called ''traceurs'') attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing a ...
in a daring helicopter mission, the first of its kind in France.
The Requiem Mass
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
of Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
was held in Notre-Dame on 12 November 1970. The next year, on 26 June 1971, Philippe Petit
Philippe Petit (; born 13 August 1949) is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his unauthorized high-wire walks between the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and of Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973, as well as between the Twi ...
walked across a tight-rope strung up between Notre-Dame's two bell towers and entertained spectators.
After the Magnificat
The Magnificat (Latin for " y soulmagnifies he Lord) is a canticle, also known as the Song of Mary, the Canticle of Mary and, in the Byzantine tradition, the Ode of the Theotokos (). It is traditionally incorporated into the liturgical servic ...
of 30 May 1980, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
celebrated Mass on the parvis
A parvis or parvise is the open space in front of and around a cathedral or church, especially when surrounded by either colonnades or porticoes, as at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It is thus a church-specific type of forecourt, front yard or ...
of the cathedral.
The Requiem Mass of François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...
was held at the cathedral, as with past French heads of state, on 11 January 1996.
The stone masonry of the cathedral's exterior had deteriorated in the 19th and 20th century due to increased air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
in Paris, which accelerated erosion of decorations and discoloured the stone. By the late 1980s, several gargoyles and turrets had also fallen off or become too loose to remain in place. A decade-long renovation programme began in 1991 and replaced much of the exterior, with care given to retain the authentic architectural elements of the cathedral, including rigorous inspection of new limestone blocks. A discreet system of electrical wires, not visible from below, was also installed on the roof to deter pigeons. The cathedral's pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
was upgraded with a computerized system to control the mechanical connections to the pipes
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...
. The west face was cleaned and restored in time for millennium celebrations
The millennium celebrations were a worldwide, coordinated series of events to celebrate and commemorate the end of 1999 and the start of the year 2000 in the Gregorian calendar. The celebrations were held as marking the end of the 2nd millennium ...
in December 1999.
21st century
The Requiem Mass of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger
Aron Jean-Marie Lustiger (; 17 September 1926 – 5 August 2007) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Paris from 1981 until his resignation in 2005. He was made a cardinal in 1983 by Pope John Paul II. His life ...
, former archbishop of Paris and Jewish convert to Catholicism, was held in Notre-Dame on 10 August 2007.
The set of four 19th-century bells atop the northern towers at Notre-Dame were melted down and recast into new bronze bells in 2013, to celebrate the building's 850th anniversary. They were designed to recreate the sound of the cathedral's original bells from the 17th century. Despite the 1990s renovation, the cathedral had continued to show signs of deterioration that prompted the national government to propose a new renovation program in the late 2010s. The entire renovation was estimated to cost €100 million, which the archbishop of Paris planned to raise through funds from the national government and private donations. A €6 million renovation of the cathedral's spire began in late 2018 and continued into the following year, requiring the temporary removal of copper statues on the roof and other decorative elements days before the April 2019 fire.
Notre-Dame began a year-long celebration of the 850th anniversary of the laying of the first building block for the cathedral on 12 December 2012. During that anniversary year, on 21 May 2013, Dominique Venner
Dominique Venner (; 16 April 1935 – 21 May 2013) was a French historian, journalist and essayist. Venner was a member of the Organisation armée secrète and later became a European nationalist, founding '' Europe-Action'', before w ...
, a historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
and white nationalist, placed a letter on the church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
and shot himself, dying instantly. Around 1,500 visitors were evacuated from the cathedral.
French police arrested two people on 8 September 2016 after a car containing seven gas canisters was found near Notre-Dame.
On 10 February 2017, French police arrested four persons in Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
already known by authorities to have ties to radical Islamist organizations on charges of plotting to travel to Paris and attack the cathedral. Later that year, on 6 June, visitors were shut inside Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris after a man with a hammer attacked a police officer outside.
2019 fire
On 15 April 2019 the cathedral caught fire, destroying the spire and the "forest" of oak roof beams supporting the lead roof. It was speculated that the fire was linked to ongoing renovation work.
According to later studies, the fire broke out in the attic of the cathedral at 18:18. The smoke detector
A smoke detector is a device that senses smoke, typically as an indicator of fire. Smoke detectors are usually housed in plastic enclosures, typically shaped like a disk about in diameter and thick, but shape and size vary. Smoke can be detecte ...
s immediately signaled the fire to a cathedral employee, who did not summon the fire brigade
A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...
but instead sent a cathedral guard to investigate. Instead of going to the correct attic, the guard was sent to the wrong location, to the attic of the adjoining sacristy, and reported there was no fire. The guard telephoned his supervisor, who did not immediately answer. About fifteen minutes later the error was discovered, whereupon the guard's supervisor told him to go to the correct location. The fire brigade was still not notified. By the time the guard had climbed the three hundred steps to the cathedral attic the fire was well advanced. The alarm system was not designed to automatically notify the fire brigade, which was finally summoned at 18:51 after the guard had returned from the attic and reported a now-raging fire, and more than half an hour after the fire alarm had begun sounding.
Firefighters arrived in less than ten minutes.
The spire of the cathedral collapsed at 19:50, bringing down some 750 tonnes of stone and lead. The firefighters inside were ordered back down. By this time the fire had spread to the north tower, where the eight bells were located. The firefighters concentrated their efforts in the tower. They feared that, if the bells fell, they could wreck the tower, and endanger the structure of the other tower and the whole cathedral. They had to ascend a stairway threatened by fire, and to contend with low water pressure for their hoses. As other firefighters watered the stairway and the roof, a team of twenty climbed up the narrow stairway of the south tower, crossed to the north tower, lowered hoses to be connected to fire engines outside the cathedral, and sprayed water on the fire beneath the bells. By 21:45, they were finally able to bring the fire under control.
The main structure was intact; firefighters saved the façade, towers, walls, buttresses, and stained glass windows. The Great Organ, which has over 8,000 pipe
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circular ...
s and was built by François Thierry in the 18th century was also saved but sustained water damage. Because of the ongoing renovation, the copper statues on the spire had been removed before the fire. The stone vaulting that forms the ceiling of the cathedral had several holes but was otherwise intact.
Since 1905, France's cathedrals (including Notre-Dame) have been owned by the state, which is self-insured. Some costs might be recovered through insurance coverage if the fire is found to have been caused by contractors
A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...
working on the site. The French insurer AXA provided insurance coverage for two of the contracting firms working on Notre-Dame's restoration before the blaze. AXA also provided insurance coverage for some of the relics and artworks in the cathedral.
President Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Macron (; born 21 December 1977) is a French politician who has served as President of France since 2017. ''Ex officio'', he is also one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra. Prior to his presidency, Macron served as Minister of Econ ...
said approximately 500 firefighters helped to battle the fire. One firefighter was seriously injured and two police officers were hurt during the blaze.
An ornate tapestry woven in the early 1800s is going on public display for only the third time in recent decades. The decoration was rescued from Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral after the fire.
For the first time in more than 200 years, the Christmas mass was not hosted at the cathedral on 25 December 2019, due to the ongoing restoration work after the fire.
Eight members of the cathedral choir, a number limited by COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
restrictions, performed inside the building for the first time since the fire in December 2020. A video of the event aired later, just before midnight on 24 December 2020.
Stabilization of building and reconstruction
Immediately after the fire, President Macron promised that Notre-Dame would be restored, and called for the work to be completed within five years. An international architectural competition was also announced to redesign the spire and roof. The hasty spire competition announcement drew immediate criticism in the international press from heritage academics and professionals who faulted the French government for being too narrowly focused on quickly building a new spire, and neglecting to frame its response more holistically as an inclusive social process encompassing the whole building and its long-term users. A new law was immediately drafted to make Notre Dame exempt from existing heritage laws and procedures, which prompted an open letter to President Macron signed by over 1,170 heritage experts urging respect for existing regulations. The law, which passed on 11 May 2019, was hotly debated in the French National Assembly
The National Assembly (french: link=no, italics=set, Assemblée nationale; ) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (). The National Assembly's legislators are known a ...
, with opponents accusing Macron's administration of using Notre-Dame self-servingly for political grandstanding, and defenders arguing the need for expediency and tax breaks to encourage philanthropic giving.
President Macron suggested he was open to a "contemporary architectural gesture". Even before the competition rules were announced, architects around the world offered suggestions: the proposals included a spire made of carbon fibre, covered with gold leaf; a roof built of stained glass; a greenhouse; a garden with trees, open to the sky; and a column of light pointed upwards. A poll published in the French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' on 8 May 2019 showed that 55% of French respondents wanted a spire identical to the original. French culture minister Franck Riester
Franck Riester (born 3 January 1974) is a French politician who has been serving as Minister Delegate for Parliamentary Relations in the Government of Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne since July 2022. He previously served as Minister Delegate for ...
promised that the restoration "will not be hasty." On 29 July 2019, the French National Assembly enacted a law requiring that the restoration must "preserve the historic, artistic and architectural interest of the monument".
In October 2019, the French government announced that the first stage of reconstruction, the stabilising of the structure against collapse, would take until the end of 2020. Reconstruction could not begin before early 2021. President Macron announced that he hoped the reconstructed Cathedral could be finished by Spring 2024, in time for the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics. In December 2019, Monseigneur Patrick Chauvet, the rector of the cathedral, said there was still a 50% chance that Notre-Dame cannot be saved due to the risk of the remaining scaffolding falling onto the three damaged vaults.
The first task of the restoration was the removal of 250–300 tonnes of melted metal tubes, the remains of the scaffolding, which remained on the top after the fire and could have fallen onto the vaults and caused further structural damage. This stage began in February 2020 and continued through April 2020. A large crane, high, was put in place next to the cathedral to help remove the scaffolding. Later, wooden support beams were added to stabilise the flying buttresses and other structures.
On 10 April 2020, the archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit
Michel Aupetit (born 23 March 1951) is a French prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Paris from 2018 to 2021, when he resigned following reports of a relationship with a woman in 2012.
He was previously the Bishop of Nanterre b ...
, and a handful of participants, all in protective clothing to prevent exposure to lead dust, performed a Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
service inside the cathedral. Music was provided by the violinist Renaud Capuçon
Renaud Capuçon (born 27 January 1976) is a French classical violinist.
Since late 2016 he has been teaching at the Royal Northern College of Music.
Biography
Capuçon was born in Chambéry on 27 January 1976. He entered the conservatory in h ...
; the lectors were the actors Philippe Torreton
Philippe Torreton (born 13 October 1965) is a French actor.
Life and career
Born in Rouen, to a teacher mother, and filling station attendant father, Torreton grew up in a suburb of the city. A student at the lycée Val de Seine de Grand-Quevil ...
and Judith Chemla
Judith Chemla (; born 5 July 1985) is a French actress.
Life and career
In 2012, Chemla appeared in '' Camille Rewinds'', for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 38th César Awards.
On 10 April 2020, during the coronavi ...
. Chemla gave an a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
rendition of ''Ave Maria
The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary's ...
''.
A new phase of the restoration commenced on 8 June 2020. Two teams of workers began descending into the roof to remove the tangle of tubes of the old scaffolding melted by the fire. The workers used saws to cut up the forty thousand pieces of scaffolding, weighing altogether two hundred tons, which was carefully lifted out of the roof by an crane. The phase was completed in November 2020.
In February 2021, the selection of oak trees to replace the spire and roof timbers destroyed by the fire began. As many as a thousand mature trees will be chosen from the forests of France, each of a diameter of and a height of , and an age of several hundred years. Once cut, the trees must dry for 12 to 18 months. The trees will be replaced by new plantings.
Two years after the fire, a great deal of work had been completed but a news report stated that: "there is still a hole on top of the church. They’re also building a replica of the church’s spire". More oak trees needed to be shipped to Paris, where they would need to be dried before use; they will be essential in completing the restoration.
On September 18, 2021, the public agency overseeing the Cathedral stated that the safety work was completed and the cathedral was now fully secured, and that reconstruction would begin within a few months.
In 2022, a preventive dig carried out between February and April before the construction of a scaffold for reconstructing the cathedral's spire unearthed several statues and tombs under the cathedral. One of the discoveries included a 14th-century lead
sarcophagus
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
that was found 65 feet below where the transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
crosses the church’s 12th-century nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
. On April 14, 2022, France's National Archaeological Research Institute (INRAP) announced that the sarcophagus was extracted from the cathedral and that scientists have already peeked into the casket using an endoscopic camera, revealing the upper part of a skeleton. Another significant discovery was an opening below the cathedral floor, likely made around 1230 when the Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
cathedral was first under construction; inside were fragments of a choir screen
The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...
dating from the 13th century that had been destroyed in the early 18th century.
Towers and the spire
File:Notre Dame de Paris 2013-07-24.jpg, Towers on west façade (1220–1250)
File:The Rooftops of Notre Dame.jpg, The gallery of chimeras pictured in 1910 by Georges Redon
File:Flèche Notre-Dame de Paris.jpg, The 19th-century spire
A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...
File:Rooster on the spire of Notre Dame in Paris retusche.jpg, The rooster reliquary
A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including ''wikt:phylactery, phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it i ...
atop the spire. It was found lightly damaged in the rubble after the 2019 fire.
File:Spire of Notre-Dame de Paris, September 2013.jpg, The spire from above,
File:Notre-Dame de Paris 086.jpg, Statue of Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...
, with the features of restorer Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
, at the base of the spire
The two towers are high, and were the tallest structures in Paris until the completion of the Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower ( ; french: links=yes, tour Eiffel ) is a wrought-iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris, France. It is named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.
Locally nicknamed "'' ...
in 1889. The towers were the last major element of the cathedral to be constructed. The south tower was built first, between 1220 and 1240, and the north tower between 1235 and 1250. The newer north tower is slightly larger, as can be seen when they are viewed from directly in front of the church. The ''contrefort'' or buttress of the north tower is also larger.
The south tower was accessible to visitors by a stairway, whose entrance was on the south side of the tower. The stairway has 387 steps, and has a stop at the Gothic hall at the level of the rose window, where visitors could look over the parvis and see a collection of paintings and sculpture from earlier periods of the cathedral's history.
The fourteen bells of the cathedral are located in the north and south towers. (see '' Bells'' below)
A lead-roofed water reservoir between the two towers – behind the colonnade and the gallery and before the nave and the ''pignon'' (gable) – provides water for firefighting.
The cathedral's flèche
Flèche or Fleche may refer to:
*Flèche (architecture), a type of church spire
*Flèche (cycling), a team cycling competition
*Flèche (fencing)
The flèche is an aggressive offensive fencing technique used with foil and épée.
Background
...
(or spire) was located over the transept. The original spire was constructed in the 13th century, probably between 1220 and 1230. It was battered, weakened and bent by the wind over five centuries, and finally was removed in 1786. During the 19th-century restoration, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc decided to recreate it, making a new version of oak covered with lead. The entire spire weighed 750 tonnes.
Following Viollet-le-Duc's plans, the spire was surrounded by copper statues of the twelve Apostles
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
a group of three at each point of the compass. In front of each group is a symbol representing one of the four evangelists: a winged ox for Saint Luke, a lion for Saint Mark, an eagle for Saint John and an angel for Saint Matthew. Just days prior to the fire, the statues were removed for restoration. While in place, they had faced outwards towards Paris, except one: the statue of Saint Thomas, the patron saint of architects, faced the spire, and had the features of Viollet-le-Duc.
The rooster weathervane atop the spire contained three relics: a tiny piece from the Crown of Thorns
According to the New Testament, a woven crown of thorns ( or grc, ἀκάνθινος στέφανος, akanthinos stephanos, label=none) was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the in ...
in the cathedral treasury, and relics of Saint Denis and Saint Genevieve, patron saints of Paris. They were placed there in 1935 by Archbishop Jean Verdier
Jean Verdier, PSS (19 February 1864 – 9 April 1940) was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Paris from 1929 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1929.
Biography
Jean Verdier was born ...
, to protect the congregation from lightning or other harm. The rooster with relics intact was recovered in the rubble shortly after the fire.
Iconography – the "poor people's book"
The Gothic cathedral was a '' liber pauperum'', a "poor people's book", covered with sculptures vividly illustrating biblical stories, for the vast majority of parishioners who were illiterate. To add to the effect, all of the sculpture on the façades was originally painted and gilded.[Viollet-le-Duc, Eugéne, ''Dictionnaire Raisonné de l'architecture Française du XIe au XVI siecle'', Volume 6. (Project Gutenburg).]
File:Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris - 10.jpg, Illustration of the Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
,
central portal of west façade
File:Paris - Cathédrale Notre-Dame - Portail de la Vierge - PA00086250 - 003.jpg, The martyr Saint Denis, holding his head, over the Portal of the Virgin
File:Notre-Dame de Paris - Portail du Jugement dernier - détail 01.jpg, The serpent tempts Adam and Eve; part of the Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
on the central portal of west façade
File:DevilCentralGateNotreDameParis.jpg, Archangel Michael
Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...
and Satan weighing souls during the Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
(central portal, west façade)
File:Chimera of Notre-Dame de Paris, 26 April 2014.jpg, A strix
Strix may refer to:
* Strix (mythology), a legendary creature of ancient Roman mythology
* ''Strix'' (bird), a genus of large "earless" wood-owls
* Strix Ltd, manufacturer of kettle controls, thermostats and water boiling elements for domestic ap ...
on the west façade
File:Notre-Dame Rzygacze.JPG, Gargoyle
In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...
s were the rainspouts of the Cathedral
File:Gargoyle Point of View (3575829233).jpg, Chimera
Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to:
* Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals
* Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilici ...
on the façade
File:Alegoría de la alquimia en Notre-Dame.jpg, Allegory of alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
, central portal
The tympanum over the central portal on the west façade, facing the square, vividly illustrates the Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
, with figures of sinners being led off to hell, and good Christians taken to heaven. The sculpture of the right portal shows the coronation of the Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...
, and the left portal shows the lives of saints who were important to Parisians, particularly Saint Anne
According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...
, the mother of the Virgin Mary.
The exteriors of cathedrals and other Gothic churches were also decorated with sculptures of a variety of fabulous and frightening grotesques
Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...
or monsters. These included the gargoyle
In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from running down masonry walls ...
, the chimera
Chimera, Chimaera, or Chimaira (Greek for " she-goat") originally referred to:
* Chimera (mythology), a fire-breathing monster of Ancient Lycia said to combine parts from multiple animals
* Mount Chimaera, a fire-spewing region of Lycia or Cilici ...
, a mythical hybrid creature which usually had the body of a lion and the head of a goat, and the Strix
Strix may refer to:
* Strix (mythology), a legendary creature of ancient Roman mythology
* ''Strix'' (bird), a genus of large "earless" wood-owls
* Strix Ltd, manufacturer of kettle controls, thermostats and water boiling elements for domestic ap ...
or stryge, a creature resembling an owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
or bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
, which was said to eat human flesh. The ''strix'' appeared in classical Roman literature; it was described by the Roman poet Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
, who was widely read in the Middle Ages, as a large-headed bird with transfixed eyes, rapacious beak, and greyish white wings.[Frazer, James George (1933) ed., Ovid]
''Fasti''
VI. 131–, , tr. They were part of the visual message for the illiterate worshipers, symbols of the evil and danger that threatened those who did not follow the teachings of the church.
The gargoyles, which were added in about 1240, had a more practical purpose. They were the rain spouts of the cathedral, designed to divide the torrent of water which poured from the roof after rain, and to project it outwards as far as possible from the buttresses and the walls and windows where it might erode the mortar binding the stone. To produce many thin streams rather than a torrent of water, a large number of gargoyles were used, so they were also designed to be a decorative element of the architecture. The rainwater ran from the roof into lead gutters, then down channels on the flying buttresses, then along a channel cut in the back of the gargoyle and out of the mouth away from the cathedral.
Amid all the religious figures, some of the sculptural decoration was devoted to illustrating medieval science and philosophy. The central portal of the west façade is decorated with carved figures holding circular plaques with symbols of transformation taken from alchemy. The central pillar of the central door of Notre-Dame features a statue of a woman on a throne holding a sceptre
A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty.
Antiquity
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
The '' Was'' and other ...
in her left hand, and in her right hand, two books, one open (symbol of public knowledge), and the other closed (esoteric knowledge), along with a ladder with seven steps, symbolizing the seven steps alchemists followed in their scientific quest of trying to transform ordinary metals into gold.
Many of the statues, particularly the grotesques, were removed from the façade in the 17th and 18th centuries, or were destroyed during the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. They were replaced with figures in the Gothic style, designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
, during the 19th-century restoration.
Stained glass – rose windows
File:2016-02-23 15-56-57 paris.jpg, The earliest rose window, on the west façade (about 1225)
File:Paris Cathédrale Notre-Dame Innen Westliche Rosette 3.jpg, The west rose window (about 1225)
File:Gothic-Rayonnant Rose-6.jpg, North rose window (about 1250)
File:Paris Cathédrale Notre-Dame Innen Südliche Rosette 1.jpg, North rose window including lower 18 vertical windows
The stained glass windows of Notre-Dame, particularly the three rose windows
A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be e ...
, are among the most famous features of the cathedral. The west rose window, over the portals, was the first and smallest of the roses in Notre-Dame. It is 9.6 metres (32') in diameter, and was made in about 1225, with the pieces of glass set in a thick circular stone frame. None of the original glass remains in this window; it was recreated in the 19th century.
The two transept windows are larger and contain a greater proportion of glass than the rose on the west façade, because the new system of buttresses made the nave walls thinner and stronger. The north rose was created in about 1250, and the south rose in about 1260. The south rose in the transept is particularly notable for its size and artistry. It is 12.9 metres (42') in diameter; with the ''claire-voie'' surrounding it, a total of 19 metres (62'). It was given to the cathedral by King Louis IX of France
Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the ...
, known as Saint Louis.
The south rose has 94 medallions, arranged in four circles, depicting scenes from the life of Christ and those who witnessed his time on earth. The inner circle has twelve medallions showing the twelve apostles. (During later restorations, some of these original medallions were moved to circles farther out). The next two circles depict celebrated martyrs and virgins. The fourth circle shows twenty angels, as well as saints important to Paris, notably Saint Denis, Margaret the Virgin
Margaret, known as Margaret of Antioch in the West, and as Saint Marina the Great Martyr ( grc-gre, Ἁγία Μαρίνα) in the East, is celebrated as a saint on 20 July in the Western Rite Orthodoxy, Roman Catholic Church and Anglicanism, o ...
with a dragon, and Saint Eustace
Saint Eustace (Latinized Eustachius or Eustathius, Greek Εὐστάθιος Πλακίδας ''Eustathios Plakidas'') is revered as a Christian martyr.
According to legend, he was martyred in AD 118, at the command of emperor Hadrian.
Eusta ...
. The third and fourth circles also have some depictions of Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
subjects. The third circle has some medallions with scenes from the New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
Gospel of Matthew which date from the last quarter of the 12th century. These are the oldest glass in the window.
Additional scenes in the corners around the rose window include Jesus' Descent into Hell
In Christian theology, the Harrowing of Hell ( la, Descensus Christi ad Inferos, "the descent of Christ into Hell" or Hades) is an Old English and Middle English term referring to the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his re ...
, Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...
, the Resurrection of Christ
The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lord ...
. Saint Peter
Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
and Saint Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
are at the bottom of the window, and Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
and John the Apostle
John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee a ...
at the top.
Above the rose was a window depicting Christ triumphant seated in the sky, surrounded by his Apostles. Below are sixteen windows with painted images of Prophets. These were not part of the original window; they were painted during the restoration in the 19th century by Alfred Gérenthe, under the direction of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
, based upon a similar window at Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Roman Catholic church in Chartres, France, about southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Mostly con ...
.
The south rose had a difficult history. In 1543 it was damaged by the settling of the masonry walls, and not restored until 1725–1727. It was seriously damaged in the French Revolution of 1830
The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...
. Rioters burned the residence of the archbishop, next to the cathedral, and many of the panes were destroyed. The window was entirely rebuilt by Viollet-le-Duc in 1861. He rotated the window by fifteen degrees to give it a clear vertical and horizontal axis, and replaced the destroyed pieces of glass with new glass in the same style. The window today contains both medieval and 19th century glass.
In the 1960s, after three decades of debate, it was decided to replace many of the 19th-century grisaille windows in the nave designed by Viollet-le-Duc with new windows. The new windows, made by Jacques Le Chevallier Jacques Le Chevallier (July 26, 1896 – 1987) was a French glassmaker, decorative artist, illustrator, and engraver. He was mobilized during World War I; after the war he became a master artisan in the studio of Louis Barillet, with whom he remai ...
, are without human figures and use abstract ''grisaille
Grisaille ( or ; french: grisaille, lit=greyed , from ''gris'' 'grey') is a painting executed entirely in shades of grey or of another neutral greyish colour. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many g ...
'' designs and colour to try to recreate the luminosity of the cathedral's interior in the 13th century.
The massive fire left the three great medieval rose windows essentially intact, but with some damage. The rector of the Cathedral noted that one rose window would have to be dismantled, as it was unstable and at risk. Most of the other damaged windows were of much less historical value.
Burials and crypts
Unlike some other French cathedrals, Notre-Dame was originally constructed without a crypt
A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics.
Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...
. In the medieval period, burials were made directly into the floor of the church, or in above-ground sarcophagi
A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
, some with tomb effigies
A tomb effigy, usually a recumbent effigy or, in French, ''gisant'' (French language, French, "lying"), is a sculpted figure on a tomb monument depicting in effigy the deceased. These compositions were developed in Western Europe in the M ...
(French: ''gisant''). High-ranking clergy and some royals were buried in the choir and apse, while many others, including lower-ranking clergy and lay people, were buried in the nave or chapels. There is no surviving complete record of all of the burials made at this time.
In 1699, many of the choir tombs were disturbed or covered over during a major renovation project. Remains which were exhumed were reburied in a common tomb beside the high altar. In 1711, a small crypt measuring about six meters by six meters (20' x 20') was dug out in the middle of the choir which was used as a burial vault for the archbishops, if they had not requested to be buried elsewhere. It was during this excavation that the 1st century Pillar of the Boatmen
The Pillar of the Boatmen (french: Pilier des nautes) is a monumental Roman column erected in Lutetia (modern Paris) in honour of Jupiter by the guild of boatmen in the 1st century AD. It is the oldest monument in Paris and is one of the earliest ...
was discovered. In 1758, three more crypts were dug in the Chapel of Saint-Georges to be used for burials of canons of Notre-Dame. In 1765, a larger crypt was built under the nave to be used for burials of canons, beneficiaries, chaplains, cantors, and choirboys. Between 1771 and 1773, the cathedral floor was repaved with black and white marble tiles, which covered over most of the remaining tombs. This prevented many of these tombs from being disturbed during the Revolution.
In 1858, the choir crypt was expanded to stretch most of the length of the choir. During this project, many medieval tombs were rediscovered. Likewise the nave crypt was also rediscovered in 1863 when a larger vault was dug out to install a vault heater. Many other tombs are also located in the chapels.
File:Tombeau d'Eudes de Sully, détail.jpg, Eudes de Sully
]
Eudes de Sully (french: Odon de Sully, Odo de Sully; la, Odo de Soliaco) (died 1208) was Bishop of Paris, from 1197 to 1208. He is considered to be the first to have put emphasis on the Elevation liturgy during the Catholic Mass. He worked to ...
was the first bishop to be burried in Notre-Dame. His copper-covered sarcophocus was placed in the middle of the choir where it remained for almost five centuries.
File:1 Tomb in ambulatory, Notre Dame in Paris, ZM.JPG, The tomb of bishop Matifort (died 1304) located behind the high altar is the only surviving medieval funerary sculpture at Notre-Dame.
File:Relevé du caveau des archevêques de Paris dans le chœur de Notre-Dame.jpg, Burial vault under the choir of Notre-Dame c. 1746. Pictured left to right are the tombs of Archbishops Charles-Gaspard-Guillaume de Vintimille du Luc, Vintimille and Bellefonds
Bellefonds () is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France.
See also
*Communes of the Vienne department
The following is a list of the 266 communes of the Vienne department of France
...
, the funerary urn of Archbishop Noailles, and two unidentified tombs.
File:Chapelle Saint Denis, Notre Dame.jpg, The tomb of Archbishop Affre (1793–1848) in the Chapel of Saint-Denis. The sculpture depicts the archbishop's mortal wounding during the June Days uprising
The June Days uprising (french: les journées de Juin) was an uprising staged by French civilians from 22 to 26 June 1848. It was in response to plans to close the National Workshops, created by the Second Republic in order to provide work an ...
while holding an olive branch as a sign of peace. The inscription reads ''Puisse mon sang être le dernier versé!''—May my blood be the last shed!
Great organ
One of the earliest organs
In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...
at Notre-Dame, built in 1403 by Frédéric Schambantz, was rebuilt many times over the course of 300 years, however 12 pipes and some wood survive from this ancient instrument. It was replaced between 1730 and 1738 by François Thierry, and later rebuilt by François-Henri Clicquot
François-Henri (also Henry) Clicquot (1732 – 24 May 1790) was a French organ builder and was the grandson of Robert Clicquot and son of Louis-Alexandre Cliquot, who were also noted organ builders.
Clicquot was born in Paris, where he later ...
. During the restoration of the cathedral by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...
, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll built a new organ, using pipework from the former instruments. The organ was dedicated in 1868.
In 1904, Charles Mutin modified and added several stop
Stop may refer to:
Places
* Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Facilities
* Bus stop
* Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck d ...
s upon the suggestions of titular organist Louis Vierne
Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a '' Messe solennelle ...
; in 1924, an electric blower was installed, which was financed by Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
CEO, Claude Johnson. An extensive restoration and cleaning was carried out by Joseph Beuchet in 1932 which mostly included changes to the Récit. Between 1959 and 1963, the mechanical action with Barker levers was replaced with an electric action by Jean Hermann, and a new organ console was installed.
During the following years, the stoplist was gradually modified by Robert Boisseau (who added three chamade stops: 8′, 4′, and 2′/16′ - now 8' in 1968) and Jean-Loup Boisseau after 1975, respectively - all upon the orders of Pierre Cochereau
Pierre Eugène Charles Cochereau (9 July 1924 – 6 March 1984) was a French organist, improviser, composer, and pedagogue.
Cochereau was titular organist of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1955 to his death in 1984 and was responsibl ...
. In autumn 1983, the electric combination system was disconnected due to short-circuit risk.
Between 1990 and 1992, Jean-Loup Boisseau, Bertrand Cattiaux, Philippe Émeriau, Michel Giroud, and the Société Synaptel revised and augmented the instrument throughout. A new frame for the Jean Hermann console was created. Between 2012 and 2014, Bertrand Cattiaux and Pascal Quoirin restored, cleaned, and modified the organ. The stop and key action was upgraded, a new frame for selected components of the Hermann-Boisseau-Cattiaux console was created, a new enclosed division ("Résonnance expressive", using pipework from the former "Petite Pédale" by Boisseau, which can now be used as a floating division), the organ case and the façade pipes were restored, and a general tuning was carried out. The current organ has 115 stops (156 ranks) on five manuals and pedal, and more than 8,000 pipes
Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to:
Objects
* Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules
** Piping, the use of pipes in industry
* Smoking pipe
** Tobacco pipe
* Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...
.
In addition to the great organ in the west end, the quire of the cathedral carries a medium-sized choir organ of 2 manuals, 30 stops and 37 ranks in a 19th-century case from the 1960s. It was heavily damaged by waterlogging, but is at least partially reusable. It also had a 5-stop single-manual continuo organ, which was completely destroyed by water from firefighters.
It was reported that the great organ itself suffered very little damage (mostly to one Principal 32' pipe and loads of dust) in the fire of April 2019, but will need cleaning.
Couplers: II/I, III/I, IV/I, V/I; III/II, IV/II, V/II; IV/III, V/III; V/IV, Octave grave général, inversion Positif/Grand-orgue, Tirasses (Grand-orgue, Positif, Récit, Solo, Grand-Chœur en 8; Grand-Orgue en 4, Positif en 4, Récit en 4, Solo en 4, Grand-Chœur en 4), Sub and Super octave couplers and Unison Off for all manuals (Octaves graves, octaves aiguës, annulation 8′). Octaves aiguës Pédalier.
Additional features: Coupure Pédalier. Coupure Chamade. Appel Résonnance. Sostenuto for all manuals and the pedal. Cancel buttons for each division. 50,000 combinations (5,000 groups each). Replay system.
Organists
The position of titular organist ("head" or "chief" organist; French: ''titulaires des grandes orgues'') of the great organ of Notre-Dame is considered one of the most prestigious organist posts in France, along with the post of titular organist of Saint Sulpice in Paris, Cavaillé-Coll's largest instrument.
After the death of Pierre Cochereau, the cathedral authorities controversially decided to go back to the Clicquot practice of having several titulaires, and also to guarantee that no one organist would have so much influence over the organ.
* (1600–1609)
* (1609–1610)
* (1610–1616)
* Charles Racquet
Charles Racquet (1597–1664) was a French organist and composer, best known for his monumental organ ''Fantaisie''.
He came from a large family of Parisian organists and himself was appointed organist of Notre Dame de Paris at an early age, in 16 ...
(1618–1643)
* (c. 1643 – 1689)
* (1689–1730)
* Guillaume-Antoine Calvière (1730–1755)
* René Drouart de Bousset (1755–1760)
* (1755–1761)
* Louis-Claude Daquin
Louis-Claude Daquin (or D'Aquino, d'Aquin, d'Acquin; July 4, 1694 – June 15, 1772) was a French composer, writing in the Baroque and Galant styles. He was a virtuoso organist and harpsichordist.
Life
Louis-Claude Daquin was born in Paris to a f ...
(1755–1772)
* Armand-Louis Couperin
Armand-Louis Couperin (25 February 17272 February 1789) was a French composer, organist, and harpsichordist of the late Baroque and early Classical periods. He was a member of the Couperin family of musicians, of which the most notable were hi ...
(1755–1789)
* Claude Balbastre (1760–1793)
* Pierre-Claude Foucquet
Pierre-Claude Foucquet (1694 – February 13, 1772) was a French organist and harpsichordist.
Foucquet was born in Paris, the son of Pierre Foucquet and Anna-Barbe Domballe. He was born into a family of musicians. At age 18, he was appointed as ...
(1761–1772)
* Nicolas Séjan (1772–1793)
* (1772–1783)
* Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet Charpentier (1783–1793)
* (1802–1806)
* (1806–1834)
* (1834–1840)
* Félix Danjou
Jean-Louis-Félix Danjou (21 June 1812 – 4 March 1866) was a French organist, composer-arranger, and organist. He is best remembered for having discovered the Antiphonary of St. Benigne in 1847. and as founder of the ''Revue de la musique relig ...
(1840–1847)
* (1847–1900)
* Louis Vierne
Louis Victor Jules Vierne (8 October 1870 – 2 June 1937) was a French organist and composer. As the organist of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1900 until his death, he focused on organ music, including six organ symphonies and a '' Messe solennelle ...
(1900–1937)
* Léonce de Saint-Martin
Léonce Marie-Joseph, Comte de Saint-Martin-de-Paylha (31 October 1886 - 10 June 1954), shortened to and more well known by Léonce de Saint-Martin, was a French organist and composer.
Biography
He was born in Albi (Tarn). As the successor of ...
(1937–1954)
* Pierre Cochereau
Pierre Eugène Charles Cochereau (9 July 1924 – 6 March 1984) was a French organist, improviser, composer, and pedagogue.
Cochereau was titular organist of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris from 1955 to his death in 1984 and was responsibl ...
(1955–1984)
* Yves Devernay
Yves Marie-Édouard Devernay (Tourcoing 9 May 1937 – Tourcoing 10 December 1990) was a 20th-century French organist, improviser and composer.
Biography
First a pupil of Jeanne Joulain at the Roubaix conservatory, in 1958 he joined Rolande ...
(1985–1990)
* Jean-Pierre Leguay
Jean-Pierre Leguay (born 4 July 1939 in Dijon) is a French organist, composer and improviser. He studied with André Marchal, Gaston Litaize, Rolande Falcinelli (organ), Simone Plé-Caussade (counterpoint), and Olivier Messiaen (composition), ...
(1985–2015)
* Philippe Lefebvre (since 1985)
* Olivier Latry
Olivier Jean-Claude Latry (born 22 February 1962) is a French organist, improviser, and composer. He is professor of organ in the Conservatoire de Paris.
He became interested in the organ after listening to recordings by Pierre Cochereau. His ...
(since 1985)
* (since 2016)
Bells
Notre-Dame currently has ten bells. The two largest bells, Emmanuel and Marie, are mounted in the south tower. The eight others; Gabriel, Anne Geneviève, Denis, Marcel, Étienne, Benoît-Joseph, Maurice, and Jean-Marie; are mounted in the north tower. In addition to accompanying regular activities at the cathedral, the bells have also rung to commemorate events of national and international significance, such as the armistice of 11 November 1918
The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...
, the liberation of Paris, the fall of the Berlin Wall
The fall of the Berlin Wall (german: Mauerfall) on 9 November 1989, during the Peaceful Revolution, was a pivotal event in world history which marked the destruction of the Berlin Wall and the figurative Iron Curtain and one of the series of eve ...
, and the September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
.
The bells are made with bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...
for its resonance and resistance to corrosion. During the medieval period, they were often founded on the grounds of the cathedral so they would not need to be transported long distances. According to tradition, the bishop of Paris held a ceremony in which he blessed and baptized the bells, and a godparent formally bestowed a name on the bell. Most of the cathedral's early bells were named after the person who donated them, but they were also named after biblical figures, saints, bishops, and others.
After the baptism, the bells were hoisted into the towers through circular openings in the vaulted ceilings and mounted to headstocks to allow the bells to swing. Notre-Dame's bells swing on a straight swinging axis, meaning the axis of rotation is just above the crown of the bell. This style of ringing produces a clearer tone, as the clapper strikes the bell on the upswing, called a flying clapper. However, it also causes great horizontal forces, which can be up to one and a half times the weight of the bell. For this reason the bells are mounted within wooden belfries which are recessed from the towers' stone walls. These absorb the horizontal forces and prevent the bells from damaging the relatively brittle stonework.[Sandron 2005.] The current belfries date to the 19th century restoration.
Before the Revolution, it was common for the bells to break, and they were often removed for repairs or to be entirely recast, and sometimes renamed. The bell Guillaume, for example, was renamed three times and recast no less than five times between 1230 and 1770.
The practice of bell-ringing at Notre-Dame is recorded as early as 1198. By the end of the 14th century the bells were marking the civil hours, and in 1472 they began to call to prayer for the Angelus
The Angelus (; Latin for "angel") is a Catholic devotion commemorating the Incarnation of Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ o ...
three times a day, both practices which continue today. During the Revolution, most of the cathedral's bells were removed and melted down. While many of them bore the names of the medieval bells, most were relatively recent recastings made from most of the same metal. During the 19th century restoration, four new bells were made for the north tower. These were replaced in 2012 with nine as part of the cathedral's 850th anniversary celebration.
In addition to the main bells, the cathedral has also had smaller secondary bells. These included a carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoniou ...
in the medieval spire, three clock bells on the north transept in the 18th century, and six bells added in the 19th century – three in the reconstructed spire and three within the roof to be heard in the sanctuary. These were destroyed during the 2019 fire.
File:Notre-dame-de-paris-vue-interieure-salle-nord.jpg, Circular utility door (right of center) in the ceiling below the north tower made for raising and lowering bells
File:Bourdon Emmanuel in 2016 (36378821523).jpg, The bourdon Emmanuel, Notre-Dame's largest and oldest bell, cast in 1686
File:Encyclopedie volume 4-176pl7 (2).jpg, 1767 illustration of a bell headstock and mounting components (left) and Notre-Dame's original south belfry (right)
File:Coupe.beffroi.cathedrale.Paris.2.png, 1854 illustration by Pégard showing the 1850 belfry which is present today
File:Anciennes cloches de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris le 6 août 2014 - 02.jpg, The four 19th-century bells which were retired in 2012
File:Notre-Dame de Paris - Les nouvelles cloches - 001.jpg, Nine new bells exhibited in the nave in February 2013
File:Bourdon Marie.JPG, The second bourdon Marie mounted in the south belfry.
Clock
The first clocks used at Notre-Dame were clepsydras. These were used to tell the hours, which were marked by striking bells. In the 14th century Notre-Dame had two clepsydras running simultaneously, one in the cloister and one in the church itself. A lay chamberlain was responsible to keep the clocks filled with water and to notify a churchwarden when it was time to strike the bells for the hour.
In 1766, Guillot de Montjoye and Jean-Bernard de Vienne, canons and stewards of the church fabric, donated a mechanical clock to the cathedral. The movement was installed in a glass cabinet in the gallery beneath the north rose window and rang three bells placed outside above the north portal. Between 1812 and 1813, the clock and bells were moved to the north tower. A clock face was installed inside the church below the organ platform.
During Viollet-le-Duc's restoration in the 19th century, a new clock was made. The 1867 Collin-Wagner movement, measuring two metres (6.5 feet) across, was located in the forest underneath the central spire within a glass-enclosed room. This controlled four dormer clock faces visible on the transept roofs, two on each side. This clock was destroyed by the fire. Shortly after the fire, French clockmaker Jean-Baptiste Vior discovered an almost identical 1867 Collin-Wagner movement in storage at Sainte-Trinité Church in northern Paris. Olivier Chandez, who had been responsible for the upkeep of Notre-Dame's clock, described the find as "almost a miracle." While the clock cannot simply be installed in Notre-Dame itself, it is hoped that the clock can be used to create a new clock for Notre-Dame to the same specifications as the one which was destroyed.
Ownership
Until the French Revolution, Notre-Dame was the property of the archbishop of Paris and therefore the Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. It was nationalized on 2 November 1789 and since then has been the property of the French state. Under the Concordat of 1801, use of the cathedral was returned to the Church, but not ownership. Legislation from 1833 and 1838 clarified that cathedrals were maintained at the expense of the French government. This was reaffirmed in the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State, designating the Catholic Church as having the exclusive right to use it for religious purposes in perpetuity. Notre-Dame is one of seventy historic churches in France with this status. The archdiocese is responsible for paying the employees, for security, heating and cleaning, and for ensuring that the cathedral is open free to visitors. The archdiocese does not receive subsidies from the French state.[Communique of the Press and Communication Service of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-Paris, November 2014.]
Gallery
File:Paris - Cathédrale Notre-Dame - Trésor de la cathédrale - Ornements sacerdotaux -3.JPG, 19th-century vestments
Vestments are liturgical garments and articles associated primarily with the Christian religion, especially by Eastern Churches, Catholics (of all rites), Anglicans, and Lutherans. Many other groups also make use of liturgical garments; this ...
File:Notre-dame-looking-up-np.jpg, A wide angle view of Notre-Dame's western façade
File:Notre Dame Paris front facade lower.jpg, Notre-Dame's façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...
showing the Portal of the Virgin
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
, Portal of the Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
, and Portal of St-Anne
File:Notre dame view from Montparnasse Tower.jpg, A 2010 view of Notre-Dame from Tour Montparnasse
Tour Maine-Montparnasse (Maine-Montparnasse Tower), also commonly named Tour Montparnasse, is a office skyscraper located in the Montparnasse area of Paris, France. Constructed from 1969 to 1973, it was the tallest skyscraper in France until ...
File:Notre Dame de Paris.JPG, A wide angle view of Notre-Dame's western façade
File:Notre dame de paris, statua della nostra signora di parigi.JPG , Virgin of Paris
The Virgin of Paris or ''Notre-Dame de Paris'' is a near life-size stone statue, 1.8 metres tall, of the Virgin and Child created in the early 14th century. The statue was commissioned for, and remains in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, w ...
, 14th century. The Statue of ''Virgin and Child'' inside Notre-Dame de Paris
File:Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris maitre-autel.jpg, Notre-Dame's high altar with the kneeling statues of Louis XIII
Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...
and Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Vers ...
File:Rose du transept Sud Notre-Dame de Paris 170208 04.jpg, South rose window
Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...
of Notre-Dame de Paris
File:Notre-Dame - Eglise Cathédrale de Paris 2.jpg, Notre-Dame at the end of the 19th century
File:Notre Dame buttress.jpg, Flying buttress
The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es of Notre-Dame
File:050903 Paris 052 NotreDame memoriaInglesi.JPG, Memorial tablet to the British Empire dead of the First World War
File:Notre-Dame de Paris, Tympanum of of the Last Judgment.jpg, Tympanum of the Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
File:Joan of Arc-Notre Dame.jpg, Statue
A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...
in Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral interior
File:Close look of the details on the Tympanum of the Last Judgment.jpg, Close look of the details on the Tympanum of the Last Judgment (2016)
File:Facade of Notre-Dame de Paris - 2018-06-23.jpg, Façade of Notre-Dame de Paris.
File:Henri Le Secq near a Gargoyle.jpg, An 1853 photo by Charles Nègre
Charles Nègre (; 9 May 1820 – 16 January 1880) was a pioneering photographer, born in Grasse, France. He studied under the painters Paul Delaroche, Ingres and Drolling before establishing his own studio at 21 Quai Bourbon on the Île Saint-L ...
of Henri Le Secq
Jean-Louis-Henri Le Secq des Tournelles (18 August 1818 – 26 December 1882) was a French painter and photographer. After the French government made the daguerreotype open for public in 1839, Le Secq was one of the five photographers selected ...
next to Le Stryge
See also
* Archbishop's Palace of Paris
The Archbishop's Palace of Paris (french: :fr:Palais de l'Archevêché de Paris, Palais de l'Archevêché de Paris or the :fr:Palais épiscopal de Paris, Palais Archiépiscopal, italic=no) was the residence of the Archbishop of Paris, located jus ...
, destroyed 1831
* Architecture of Paris
The city of Paris has notable examples of architecture of every period, from the Middle Ages to the 21st century. It was the birthplace of the Gothic style, and has important monuments of the French Renaissance, Classical revival, the Flamboyant s ...
* Gothic cathedrals and churches
Gothic cathedrals and churches are religious buildings created in Europe between the mid-12th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The cathedrals are notable particularly for their great height and their extensive use of stained glass t ...
* List of destroyed heritage
This is a list of cultural heritage sites that have been damaged or destroyed accidentally, deliberately, or by a natural disaster, sorted by continent, then by country.
Cultural heritage can be subdivided into two main types—tangible and inta ...
* List of Gothic cathedrals in Europe This is a list of gothic cathedrals in Europe that are active Christians, Christian cathedrals (the seats of bishops), but also includes former cathedrals and churches built in the style of cathedrals, that are significant for their Gothic architect ...
* List of tallest buildings and structures in the Paris region
* Musée de Notre Dame de Paris
* Notre-Dame du Calvaire, Paris
* Roman Catholic Marian churches
Catholic Marian churches are religious buildings dedicated to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These churches were built throughout the history of the Catholic Church, and today they can be found on every continent including Antarctica. ...
* List of historic churches in Paris This is a list, not yet complete, of churches in Paris classified by the French Ministry of Culture as national historic monuments, They are listed by historical periods though many have features from several different periods.
Romanesque and Goth ...
Notes
Footnotes
Citations
References
English-language
*
* Davis, Michael T. "Splendor and Peril: The Cathedral of Paris, 1290–1350." ''The Art Bulletin'' (1998) 80#1 pp: 34–66.
*
*
* Jacobs, Jay, ed. ''The Horizon Book of Great Cathedrals''. New York City: American Heritage Publishing, 1968
* Janson, H. W. ''History of Art''. 3rd Edition. New York City: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery.
The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michael ...
, 1986
*
* Myers, Bernard S. ''Art and Civilization''. New York City: McGraw-Hill
McGraw Hill is an American educational publishing company and one of the "big three" educational publishers that publishes educational content, software, and services for pre-K through postgraduate education. The company also publishes referenc ...
, 1957
*
*
*
*
* Wright, Craig. ''Music and ceremony at Notre Dame of Paris, 500–1550'' (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
French-language
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Renault, Christophe and Lazé, Christophe, ''Les Styles de l'architecture et du mobilier'', (2006), Gisserot;
*
* Tonazzi, Pascal. ''Florilège de Notre-Dame de Paris (anthologie)'', Editions Arléa
Arléa is a French publishing house created in 1986.
Arléa publishes thirty new titles each year, including pocket ones. His catalog contains more than a thousand titles: the great classics of Antiquity (whether Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Sanskrit or ...
, Paris, 2007,
*
*Trintignac, Andre and Coloni, Marie-Jeanne, ''Decouvrir Notre-Dame de Paris'', Les Editions du Cerf, Paris, 1984
*
*
Online references
*
External links
*
Official website of Notre-Dame de Paris
also
Official website of Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris
List of Facts about Notre-Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris's Singers
Official site of Music at Notre-Dame de Paris
* Photos: ttps://www.flickr.com/photos/zachievenor/galleries/72157664340051094 Notre-Dame de Paris – The Gothic Cathedral Flickr
Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...
Notre Dame Cathedral Facts
Tridentine Mass celebrated in Notre-Dame in 2017
{{DEFAULTSORT:Notre Dame De Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris
Île de la Cité
12th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France
Churches completed in 1345
14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in France
Basilica churches in Paris
Paris, Notre-Dame de
Gothic architecture in France
Gothic architecture in Paris
Landmarks in France
Roman Catholic churches in the 4th arrondissement of Paris
Burial sites of the Pippinids
Burned buildings and structures in France
Ruins in Île-de-France
Monuments historiques of Paris
Monuments of the Centre des monuments nationaux