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Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris (French: [nɔtʁ(ə) dam paʁi] ; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame,[a] is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Several attributes set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style, particularly its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and colourful rose windows, and the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration.[5] Notre-Dame also stands out for its three pipe organs (one historic) and its immense church bells.[6]

Notre-Dame de Paris
South façade and the nave of Notre-Dame in 2017, two years before the Notre-Dame fire
48°51′11″N 2°20′59″E / 48.8530°N 2.3498°E / 48.8530; 2.3498
LocationParvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul-II, Paris
CountryFrance
DenominationRoman Catholic
TraditionRoman Rite
Websitewww.notredamedeparis.fr
History
Former name(s)Replaced the Cathedral of Etienne
StatusCathedral, minor basilica
Founded24 March 1163 to 25 April 1163 (laying of the cornerstone)
Founder(s)Maurice de Sully
Consecrated19 May 1182 (high altar)
Relics heldCrown of Thorns, a nail from the Cross, and a sliver of the Cross
Architecture
Functional statusClosed/Under renovation after the 2019 fire
Architectural typeGothic
StyleFrench Gothic
Years built1163–1345
Groundbreaking1163 (1163)
Completed1345
Specifications
Length128 m (420 ft)
Width48 m (157 ft)
Nave height35 metres (115 ft)[1]
Number of towers2
Tower height69 m (226 ft)
Number of spires1 (the third, completed 16 December 2023)[2]
Spire height96 m (315 ft)
MaterialsLimestone
Bells10 (bronze)
Administration
ArchdioceseParis
Clergy
ArchbishopLaurent Ulrich
RectorOlivier Ribadeau Dumas
Laity
Director of musicSylvain Dieudonné[3]
Organist(s)Philippe Lefebvre (since 1985); Olivier Latry (since 1985); and Vincent Dubois [de; fr; ko] (since 2016)
CriteriaI, II, III
Designated1991
Part ofParis, Banks of the Seine
Reference no.600
Official nameCathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
TypeCathédrale
Designated1862[4]
Reference no.PA00086250

Built during medieval France, construction of the cathedral began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely completed by 1260, though it was modified in succeeding centuries. In the 1790s, during the French Revolution, Notre-Dame suffered extensive desecration; much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. In the 19th century, the coronation of Napoleon and the funerals of many of the French Republic's presidents took place at the cathedral. The 1831 publication of Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame de Paris (in English: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) inspired interest which led to restoration between 1844 and 1864, supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. On 26 August 1944, the Liberation of Paris from German occupation was celebrated in Notre-Dame with the singing of the Magnificat. Beginning in 1963, the cathedral's façade was cleaned of soot and grime. Another cleaning and restoration project was carried out between 1991 and 2000.[7]

The cathedral is a widely recognized symbol of the city of Paris and the French nation. In 1805, it was awarded honorary status as a minor basilica. As the cathedral of the archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the archbishop of Paris (currently Laurent Ulrich). In the early 21st century, approximately 12 million people visited Notre-Dame annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris.[8] The cathedral is renowned for its Lent sermons, a tradition founded in the 1830s by the Dominican Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire. These sermons have increasingly been given by leading public figures or government-employed academics.

Over time, the cathedral has gradually been stripped of many decorations and artworks. However, the cathedral still contains Gothic, Baroque, and 19th-century sculptures, 17th- and early 18th-century altarpieces, and some of the most important relics in Christendom – including the Crown of Thorns, and a sliver and nail from the True Cross.

On 15 April 2019, while Notre-Dame was undergoing renovation and restoration, its roof caught fire and burned for 15 hours. The cathedral sustained serious damage. The flèche (the timber spirelet over the crossing) was destroyed, as was most of the lead-covered wooden roof above the stone vaulted ceiling.[9] This contaminated the site and nearby environment with lead.[10] Restoration proposals suggested modernizing the cathedral, but the French National Assembly rejected them, enacting a law in July 2019 that required the restoration preserve the cathedral's "historic, artistic and architectural interest".[11] The task of stabilizing the building against potential collapse was completed in November 2020.[12] The cathedral is expected to reopen on 8 December 2024; the date was confirmed by President Macron.[13]

Key dates edit

  • 4th centuryCathedral of Saint Étienne, dedicated to Saint Stephen, built just west of present cathedral.[14]
  • 1163 – Bishop Maurice de Sully begins construction of new cathedral.[14]
  • 1182 or 1185Choir completed, clerestory with two levels: upper level of upright windows with pointed arches, still without tracery, lower level of small rose windows.
  • c. 1200 – Construction of nave, with flying buttresses, completed.
  • c. 1210–1220 – Construction of towers begins.
  • c. 1210–1220 – Two new traverses join towers with nave. West rose window complete in 1220.
  • After 1220 – New flying buttresses added to choir walls, remodeling of the clerestories: pointed arched windows are enlarged downward, replacing the triforia, and get tracery.
  • 1235–1245 – Chapels constructed between buttresses of nave and choir.
  • 1250–1260 – North transept lengthened by Jean de Chelles to provide more light. North rose window constructed.[15]
  • 1270 – South transept and rose window completed by Pierre de Montreuil.[16]
  • 1699 – Beginning of major redecoration of interior in Louis XIV style by Hardouin Mansart and Robert de Cotte.[17]
  • 1725–1727 – South rose window, poorly built, is reconstructed. Later entirely rebuilt in 1854.
  • 1790 – In the French Revolution the Revolutionary Paris Commune removes all bronze, lead, and precious metals from the cathedral to be melted down.[16]
  • 1793 – The cathedral is converted into a Temple of Reason and then Temple of the Supreme Being.
  • 1801–1802 – With the Concordat of 1801, Napoleon restores the use of the cathedral (though not ownership) to the Catholic Church.
  • 1804 – On 2 December, Napoleon crowns himself Emperor at Notre-Dame.
  • 1805 – The cathedral is conceded the honor of minor basilica by Pope Pius VII, making it the first minor basilica outside of Italy.[18]
  • 1844–1864 – Major restoration by Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc with additions in the spirit of the original Gothic style.[19]
  • 1871 – In final days of the Paris Commune, Communards attempt unsuccessfully to burn the cathedral.
  • 1944 – On 26 August, General Charles de Gaulle celebrates the Liberation of Paris with a special Mass at Notre-Dame.
  • 1949 – On 26 April, the Archbishop of Paris, Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, crowns the venerated image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the name of Pope Pius XII.
  • 1963 – Culture Minister André Malraux orders the cleaning of the cathedral façade of centuries of grime and soot.
  • 2019 – On 15 April, a fire destroys a large part of the roof and the flèche.
  • 2021 – Reconstruction begins two years after the fire that destroyed a large part of the roof and the flèche.
  • 2024 - Expected reopening of the Cathedral to occur on 8 December. [13]

History edit

 
Outline of the primitive Cathedral of Notre-Dame in 1150, on the spot of the nave, the transept and the choir of the current building. The Cathedral of Saint Étienne was located to the west, at the level of today's parvis.
Construction sequence from 12th century to present-day, created by Stephen Murray and Myles Zhang

It is believed that before the arrival of Christianity in France, a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter stood on the site of Notre-Dame. Evidence for this includes the Pillar of the Boatmen, 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.[14] The entrance was situated about 40 metres (130 ft) 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, 70 metres (230 ft) long—and separated into nave and four aisles by marble columns, then decorated with mosaics.[7][20]

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.[21][b] A baptistery, 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 in the 18th century.[23]

In 1160, the Bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully,[23] decided to build a new and much larger church. He summarily demolished the earlier cathedral and recycled its materials.[21] Sully decided that the new church should be built in the Gothic style, which had been inaugurated at the royal abbey of Saint Denis in the late 1130s.[20]

Construction edit

The chronicler Jean de Saint-Victor [fr] 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 in the presence of King Louis VII and Pope Alexander III.[24][25] Four phases of construction took place under bishops Maurice de Sully and Eudes de Sully (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, a county northwest of Paris, and presumably brought up the Seine by ferry.[26]

 
Cross-section of the double supporting arches and buttresses of the nave, drawn by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc as they would have appeared from 1220 to 1230.[27]

The first phase began with the construction of the choir and its two ambulatories. According to Robert of Torigni, the choir was completed in 1177 and the high altar consecrated on 19 May 1182 by Cardinal Henri de Château-Marçay, the Papal legate in Paris, and Maurice de Sully.[28][failed verification] 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. 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.[7] Heraclius of Caesarea called for the Third Crusade in 1185 from the still-incomplete cathedral.

Louis IX deposited the relics of the passion of Christ, which included the Crown of thorns, a nail from the Cross and a sliver of the Cross, which he had purchased at great expense from the Latin Emperor Baldwin II, in the cathedral during the construction of the Sainte-Chapelle. An under-shirt, believed to have belonged to Louis, was added to the collection of relics at some time after his death.

Transepts were added 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 oversaw the completion of the transepts, and continued work on the nave, which was nearing completion at the time of his 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.[29]

 
Arrows show forces in vault and current flying buttresses (detailed description).

Another significant change came in the mid-13th century, when the transepts were remodelled in the latest Rayonnant style; in the late 1240s Jean de Chelles added a gabled portal to the north transept topped 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 depicts scenes from the lives of Saint Stephen 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.[30][29] Master builders Pierre de Chelles, Jean Ravy [fr], Jean le Bouteiller, and Raymond du Temple [fr] 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 15-metre (49 ft) 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. 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 larger windows. The date of the first buttresses is not known with 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,"[31] 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.[31] 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.[7]

John of Jandun recognized the cathedral as one of Paris's three most important buildings [prominent structures] in his 1323 Treatise on the Praises of Paris:

That most glorious church of the most glorious Virgin Mary, mother of God, deservedly shines out, like the sun among stars. And although some speakers, by their own free judgment, because [they are] able to see only a few things easily, may say that some other is more beautiful, I believe, however, respectfully, that, if they attend more diligently to the whole and the parts, they will quickly retract this opinion. Where indeed, I ask, would they find two towers of such magnificence and perfection, so high, so large, so strong, clothed round about with such multiple varieties of ornaments? Where, I ask, would they find such a multipartite arrangement of so many lateral vaults, above and below? Where, I ask, would they find such light-filled amenities as the many surrounding chapels? Furthermore, let them tell me in what church I may see such a large cross, of which one arm separates the choir from the nave. Finally, I would willingly learn where [there are] two such circles, situated opposite each other in a straight line, which on account of their appearance are given the name of the fourth vowel [O]; among which smaller orbs and circles, with wondrous artifice, so that some arranged circularly, others angularly, surround windows ruddy with precious colours and beautiful with the most subtle figures of the pictures. In fact, I believe that this church offers the carefully discerning such cause for admiration that its inspection can scarcely sate the soul.

— Jean de Jandun, Tractatus de laudibus Parisius[32]

15th–18th century edit

On 16 December 1431, the boy-king Henry VI of England was crowned king of France in Notre-Dame, aged ten, the traditional coronation church of Reims Cathedral being under French control.[33]

During the Renaissance, the Gothic style fell out of style, and the internal pillars and walls of Notre-Dame were covered with tapestries.[34]

In 1548, rioting Huguenots damaged some of the statues of Notre-Dame, considering them idolatrous.[35]

The fountain [fr] in Notre-Dame's parvis was added in 1625 to provide nearby Parisians with running water.[36]

Since 1449, the Parisian goldsmith guild had made regular donations to the cathedral chapter. In 1630, the guild began donating a large altarpiece every year on the first of May. These works came to be known as the grands mays.[37] The subject matter was restricted to episodes from the Acts of the Apostles. The prestigious commission was awarded to the most prominent painters and, after 1648, members of the Académie Royale.

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.

Today, thirteen of the grands mays hang in Notre-Dame although these paintings suffered water damage during the fire of 2019 and were removed for conservation.

An altarpiece depicting the Visitation, painted by Jean Jouvenet in 1707, was also located in the cathedral.

The canon Antoine de La Porte commissioned for Louis XIV six paintings depicting the life of the Virgin Mary for the choir. At this same time, Charles de La Fosse painted his Adoration of the Magi, now in the Louvre.[38] Louis Antoine de Noailles, archbishop of Paris, extensively modified the roof of Notre-Dame in 1726, renovating its framing and removing the gargoyles with lead gutters. Noailles also strengthened the buttresses, galleries, terraces, and vaults.[39] 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.[34] Lastly, Jacques-Germain Soufflot was tasked with the modification of the portals at the front of the cathedral to allow processions to enter more easily.

French Revolution and Napoleon edit

After the French Revolution in 1789, Notre-Dame and the rest of the church's property in France was seized and made public property.[40] The cathedral was rededicated in 1793 to the Cult of Reason, and then to the Cult of the Supreme Being in 1794.[41] 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.[7][42] Many of the heads were found during a 1977 excavation nearby, and are on display at the Musée de Cluny. For a time the Goddess of Liberty replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars.[43] 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.[7] The cathedral came to be used as a warehouse for the storage of food and other non-religious purposes.[35]

With the Concordat of 1801, Napoleon Bonaparte 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, who restored the cathedral's interior. Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine made quasi-Gothic modifications to Notre-Dame for the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the French within the cathedral. The building's exterior was whitewashed and the interior decorated in Neoclassical style, then in vogue.[44]

19th-century restoration edit

In the decades after the Napoleonic Wars, Notre-Dame fell into such a state of disrepair that Paris officials considered its demolition. Victor Hugo, who admired the cathedral, wrote the novel Notre-Dame de Paris (published in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame) in 1831 to save Notre-Dame. The book was an enormous success, raising awareness of the cathedral's decaying state.[7] The same year as Hugo's novel was published, however, anti-Legitimists plundered Notre-Dame's sacristy.[45] In 1844 King Louis Philippe ordered that the church be restored.[7]

The architect who had hitherto been in charge of Notre-Dame's maintenance, Étienne-Hippolyte Godde, was dismissed. In his stead, Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who had distinguished themselves with the restoration of the nearby Sainte-Chapelle, were appointed in 1844. The next year, Viollet-le-Duc submitted a budget of 3,888,500 francs, 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. 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 flèche, to replace the original 13th-century flèche, which had been removed in 1786.[46] The decoration of the restoration included a bronze roof statue of Saint Thomas that resembles Viollet-le-Duc, as well as the sculpture of mythical creatures on the Galerie des Chimères.[35]

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 9 metres (30 ft). Master glassworkers meticulously copied styles of the 13th century, as written about by art historians Antoine Lusson and Adolphe Napoléon Didron.[47]

During the Paris Commune of March through May 1871, the cathedral and other churches were closed, and some two hundred priests and the Archbishop of Paris were taken as hostages. In May, during the Semaine sanglante of "Bloody Week", as the army recaptured the city, the Communards targeted the cathedral, along with the Tuileries Palace 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 hospital, filled with hundreds of patients.[48]

20th century edit

 
Façade of Notre-Dame in the 1930s

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 and General Philippe Leclerc.

In 1963, on the initiative of culture minister André Malraux 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.[49]

On 19 January 1969, vandals placed a North Vietnamese flag at the top the flèche, and sabotaged the stairway leading to it. The flag was cut from the flèche by Paris Fire Brigade Sergeant Raymond Belle in a daring helicopter mission, the first of its kind in France.[50][51][52]

The Requiem Mass of Charles de Gaulle was held in Notre-Dame on 12 November 1970.[53] The next year, on 26 June 1971, Philippe Petit walked across a tight-rope strung between Notre-Dame's two bell towers entertaining spectators.[54]

After the Magnificat of 30 May 1980, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the parvis of the cathedral.[55]

The Requiem Mass of François Mitterrand was held at the cathedral, as with past French heads of state, on 11 January 1996.[56]

The stone masonry of the cathedral's exterior had deteriorated in the 19th and 20th century due to increased air pollution in Paris, which accelerated erosion of decorations and discoloured the stone. By the late 1980s, several gargoyles and turrets had also fallen or become too loose to safely remain in place.[57] 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.[57][58] A discreet system of electrical wires, not visible from below, was also installed on the roof to deter pigeons.[59] The cathedral's pipe organ was upgraded with a computerized system to control the mechanical connections to the pipes.[60] The west face was cleaned and restored in time for millennium celebrations in December 1999.[61]

21st century edit

 
Notre-Dame in May 2012. From top to bottom, nave walls are pierced by clerestory windows, arches to triforium, and arches to side aisles.

The Requiem Mass of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, former archbishop of Paris and Jewish convert to Catholicism, was held in Notre-Dame on 10 August 2007.[62]

The set of four 19th-century bells at the top of 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.[63][64] 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.[65][66] 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.[67] A €6 million renovation of the cathedral's flèche 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.[68][69]

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.[70] During that anniversary year, on 21 May 2013, Dominique Venner, a historian and white nationalist, placed a letter on the church altar and shot himself, dying instantly. Around 1,500 visitors were evacuated from the cathedral.[71]

French police arrested two people on 8 September 2016 after a car containing seven gasoline canisters was found near Notre-Dame.[72]

On 10 February 2017, French police arrested four persons in Montpellier already known by authorities to have ties to radical Islamist organizations on charges of plotting to travel to Paris and attack the cathedral.[73] 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.[74][75]

2019 fire edit

On 15 April 2019 the cathedral caught fire, destroying the flèche and the "forest" of oak roof beams supporting the lead roof.[9][76][77] 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 detectors immediately signaled the fire to a cathedral employee, who did not summon the fire brigade 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.[78] 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.[79]

Firefighters arrived in less than ten minutes.[80]

The cathedral's flèche 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 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 brought the fire under control.[78]

The main structure was intact; firefighters saved the façade, towers, walls, buttresses, and stained glass windows. The Great Organ, which has over 8,000 pipes and was built by François Thierry in the 18th century was also saved but sustained water damage.[81] Because of the ongoing renovation, the copper statues on the flèche had been removed before the fire.[82] The stone vaulting that forms the ceiling of the cathedral had several holes but was otherwise intact.[83]

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 working on the site.[84] 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.[85]

President Emmanuel Macron said approximately 500 firefighters helped to battle the fire. One firefighter was seriously injured and two police officers were hurt during the blaze.[86]

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.[87]

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.[88]

Eight members of the cathedral choir, a number limited by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, performed inside the building in December 2020 for the first time since the fire more than a year and a half prior. A video of the event aired later, just before midnight on 24 December 2020.[89]

Stabilization of the building edit

The roof reduced to piles of char at the top of the mostly intact vaults

Immediately after the fire, President Macron promised that Notre-Dame would be restored, and called for the work to be completed within five years.[90][91][92][93] An international architectural competition was also announced to redesign the flèche and roof.[94] The hasty flèche 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 flèche, and neglecting to frame its response more holistically as an inclusive social process encompassing the whole building and its long-term users.[95][96] 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.[97] The law, which passed on 11 May 2019, was hotly debated in the French National Assembly, 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.[98]

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 100-metre (330 ft) flèche 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 flèche identical to the original. French culture minister Franck Riester promised that the restoration "will not be hasty."[99] 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".[11]

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. 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.[100][101] 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.[102]

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.[103] A large crane, 84 metres (276 ft) high, was put in place next to the cathedral to help remove the scaffolding.[104] Later, wooden support beams were added to stabilise the flying buttresses and other structures.[105]

On 10 April 2020, the archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, and a handful of participants, all in protective clothing to prevent exposure to lead dust, performed a Good Friday service inside the cathedral.[106] Music was provided by the violinist Renaud Capuçon; the lectors were the actors Philippe Torreton and Judith Chemla.[107] Chemla gave an a cappella rendition of Ave Maria.[108]

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 80-metre-tall (260 ft) crane. The phase was completed in November 2020.[109]

Heading reconstruction edit

In February 2021, the selection of oak trees to replace the flèche 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 50 to 90 centimetres (20 to 35 in) and a height of 8 to 14 metres (26 to 46 ft), 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.[110]

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.[111] The oaks used to make the framework are tested and selected by Sylvatest.[112]

On September 18, 2021, the public agency overseeing the Cathedral stated that the safety work was completed, the cathedral was now fully secured, and that reconstruction would begin within a few months.[113]

Research edit

In 2022, a preventive dig carried out between February and April before the construction of a scaffold for reconstructing the cathedral's flèche unearthed several statues and tombs under the cathedral.[114] One of the discoveries included a 14th-century lead sarcophagus that was found 65 feet below where the transept crosses the church's 12th-century nave.[115] On April 14, 2022, France's National Preventive Archaeological Research Institute (INRAP [fr]) 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.[116] Another significant discovery was an opening below the cathedral floor, likely made around 1230 when the Gothic cathedral was first under construction; inside were fragments of a choir screen dating from the 13th century that had been destroyed in the early 18th century.[117] In March 2023, in another significant discovery, archaeologists uncovered thousands of metal staples in various parts of the cathedral, some dating back to the early 1160s. The archaeologists concluded that "Notre Dame is now unquestionably the first known Gothic cathedral where iron was massively used to bind stones as a proper construction material."[118][119][120]

Colour and controversy edit

The colour of the restored interior will be "a shock" to some returning visitors, according to General Jean-Louis Georgelin, the French army officer heading the restoration. "The whiteness under the dirt was quite spectacular".[121] The stone was sprayed with a latex solution to lift off accumulated grime and soot. However, the cleaning of the church interior with latex solutions was criticized by Michael Daley of Artwatch UK, referring to the earlier cleaning of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London. He asked, "Is there any good basis for wishing to present an artificially brightened and ahistorical white interior?" [122] Jean-Michel Guilemont of the French Ministry of culture responded, "The interior elevations will regain their original colour, since the chapels and side aisles were very dirty. Of course it is not a white colour. The stone has a blonde colour, and the architects are very attentive to obtaining a patina which respects the centuries".[123]

Towers and the flèche edit

The two towers are 69 metres (226 ft) high. 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.[124]

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).

The cathedral's flèche (or spirelet) was located over the transept. The original flèche 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 recreated it, making a new version of oak covered with lead. The entire flèche weighed 750 tonnes.

Following Viollet-le-Duc's plans, the flèche was surrounded by copper statues of the twelve Apostles‍—‌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,[125] 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.[126] While in place, they had faced outwards towards Paris, except one: the statue of Saint Thomas, the patron saint of architects, faced the flèche, and had the features of Viollet-le-Duc.

The rooster weathervane at the top of the flèche contained three relics: a tiny piece from the Crown of Thorns 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, to protect the congregation from lightning or other harm. The rooster with relics intact was recovered in the rubble shortly after the fire.[127]

Iconography–the "poor people's book" edit

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, at the time, illiterate. To add to the effect, all of the sculpture on the façades was originally painted and gilded.[128]

The tympanum over the central portal on the west façade, facing the square, vividly illustrates the Last Judgment, 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, and the left portal shows the lives of saints who were important to Parisians, particularly Saint Anne, the mother of the Virgin Mary.[129]

The exteriors of cathedrals and other Gothic churches were also decorated with sculptures of grotesques or monsters. These included the gargoyle, the chimera, a mythical hybrid creature which usually had the body of a lion and the head of a goat, and the Strix or stryge, a creature resembling an owl or bat, which was said to eat human flesh. The strix appeared in classical Roman literature; it was described by the Roman poet Ovid, who was widely read in the Middle Ages, as a large-headed bird with transfixed eyes, rapacious beak, and greyish white wings.[130] 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.[131]

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.[128]

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 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.[131] On each side of the west façade, there are statues of Ecclesia and Synagoga. The statues represent supersessionism, the Christian belief that Christianity has replaced Judaism.[132]

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. They were replaced with figures in the Gothic style, designed by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, during the 19th-century restoration.

Stained glass – rose windows edit

The stained glass windows of Notre-Dame, particularly the three rose windows, 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.[133]

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, known as Saint Louis.[134]

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 with a dragon, and Saint Eustace. The third and fourth circles also have some depictions of Old Testament subjects. The third circle has some medallions with scenes from the New Testament Gospel of Matthew which date from the last quarter of the 12th century. These are the oldest glass in the window.[134]

Additional scenes in the corners around the rose window include Jesus' Descent into Hell, Adam and Eve, the Resurrection of Christ. Saint Peter and Saint Paul are at the bottom of the window, and Mary Magdalene and John the Apostle 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, based upon a similar window at Chartres Cathedral.[134]

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. 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.[134]

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, are without human figures and use abstract grisaille 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.[135] The rector of the Cathedral noted that one rose window would have to be dismantled, as it was unstable and at risk.[136] Most of the other damaged windows were of much less historical value.[136]

Burials and crypts edit

Unlike some other French cathedrals, Notre-Dame was originally constructed without a crypt. In the medieval period, burials were made directly into the floor of the church, or in above-ground sarcophagi, some with tomb effigies (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.

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 was discovered.[137] 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 French 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.[138][139]

Great organ edit

 
The great organ

One of the earliest organs 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. During the restoration of the cathedral by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, 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 stops upon the suggestions of titular organist Louis Vierne; in 1924, an electric blower was installed, which was financed by Rolls-Royce 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′) in 1968 and Jean-Loup Boisseau after 1975, all upon the orders of Pierre Cochereau. 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.

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. During the fire of 2019, 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 substantial dust) in the fire of April 2019, but will need cleaning.

I. Grand-Orgue
C–g3
II. Positif
C–g3
III. Récit
C–g3
IV. Solo
C–g3
V. Grand-Chœur
C–g3
Résonnance expressive
C–g3
Pédale
C–f1(keys go to g1, but f#1 and g1 silent)
  • Violon-Basse 16
  • Bourdon 16
  • Montre 8
  • Viole de Gambe 8
  • Flûte harmonique 8
  • Bourdon 8
  • Prestant 4
  • Octave 4
  • Doublette 2
  • Fourniture harmonique II-V 4
  • Cymbale harmonique II-V 2 2/3
  • Bombarde 16
  • Trompette 8
  • Clairon 4
  •  
  • Chamades:
  • Chamade 8
  • Chamade 4
  •  
  • Chamade Recit 8
  • Cornet Recit V (from c)
  • Montre 16
  • Bourdon 16
  • Salicional 8
  • Flûte harmonique 8
  • Bourdon 8
  • Unda maris 8 (from c)
  • Prestant 4
  • Flûte douce 4
  • Nazard 2+23
  • Doublette 2
  • Tierce 1+35
  • Fourniture V
  • Cymbale V
  • Clarinette basse 16
  • Clarinette 8
  • Clarinette aiguë 4
  • Récit expressif:
  • Quintaton 16
  • Diapason 8
  • Flûte traversière 8
  • Viole de Gambe 8
  • Bourdon céleste 8 (from c)
  • Voix céleste 8 (from c)
  • Octave 4
  • Flûte Octaviante 4
  • Quinte 2+23
  • Octavin 2
  • Bombarde 16
  • Trompette 8
  • Basson-Hautbois 8
  • Clarinette 8
  • Voix humaine 8
  • Clairon 4
  •  
  • Récit classique: (from f)
  • Cornet V 8
  • Hautbois 8
  •  
  • Chamades:
  • Basse Chamade 8
  • Dessus Chamade 8
  • Chamade 4
  • Chamade Régale 8
  •  
  • Basse Chamade GO 8
  • Dessus Chamade GO 8
  • Chamade GO 4
  •  
  • Trémolo
  • Bourdon 32 (lowest octave acoustic)
  • Principal 16
  • Montre 8
  • Flûte harmonique 8
  • Quinte 5+13
  • Prestant 4
  • Tierce 3+15
  • Nazard 2+23
  • Septième 2+27
  • Doublette 2
  • Cornet II-V 2 2/3
  • Grande Fourniture II 2 2/3
  • Fourniture V
  • Cymbale V
  • Cromorne 8
  •  
  • Chamade GO 8
  • Chamade GO 4
  •  
  • Cornet Récit V
  • Hautbois Récit 8 (above stops: f-g3, outside swell box)
  • Principal 8
  • Bourdon 8 *
  • Prestant 4 *
  • Quinte 2+23 *
  • Doublette 2 *
  • Tierce 1+35 *
  • Larigot 1+13
  • Septième 1+17
  • Piccolo 1
  • Plein jeu III-V 2/3
  • Tuba magna 16
  • Trompette 8
  • Clairon 4
Cornet V 8

(pulls out stops with asterisks)

  • Bourdon 16
  • Principal 8
  • Bourdon 8
  • Prestant 4
  • Flûte 4
  • Neuvième 3+59
  • Tierce 3+15
  • Onzième 2+1011
  • Nazard 2+23
  • Flûte 2
  • Tierce 1+35
  • Larigot 1+13
  • Flageolet 1
  • Fourniture III
  • Cymbale III
  • Basson 16
  • Basson 8
  • Voix humaine 8
  •  
  • Chimes
  • Tremblant
  • Principal 32
  • Contrebasse 16
  • Soubasse 16
  • Quinte 10+23
  • Flûte 8
  • Violoncelle 8
  • Tierce 6+25
  • Quinte 5+13
  • Septième 4+47
  • Octave 4
  • Contre-Bombarde 32
  • Bombarde 16
  • Basson 16
  • Trompette 8
  • Basson 8
  • Clairon 4
  •  
  • Chamade GO 8
  • Chamade GO 4
  • Chamade Récit 8
  • Chamade Récit 4
  • Régale 2/16

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 edit

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 return to the Clicquot practice of having several titulaires, and also to guarantee that no one organist would have so much influence over the organ.

Bells edit

Emmanuel's volley solo

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 liberation of Paris, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the September 11 attacks.

The bells are made with bronze 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.[140] 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.[141] 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.[142] The current belfries date to the 19th-century restoration.

Before the French 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.[142] 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 three times a day, both practices which continue today. During the French 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 in the medieval flèche, three clock bells on the north transept in the 18th century, and six bells added in the 19th century – three in the reconstructed flèche and three within the roof to be heard in the sanctuary.[143] These were destroyed during the 2019 fire.

Clock edit

 
One of four clock faces of Notre-Dame's 19th-century clock (right). Chimes for the 18th-century clock were once held in a north transept turret, similar to the one pictured left on the south transept.

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.[147]

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 1.34 metres (4 ft 5 in) clock face was installed inside the church below the organ platform.[148]

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 flèche 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 2019 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.[149][150]

Ownership edit

Until the French Revolution, Notre-Dame was the property of the archbishop of Paris and therefore the Roman Catholic Church. It was nationalized on 2 November 1789 and since then has been the property of the French state.[151] 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 of charge to visitors. The archdiocese does not receive subsidies from the French state.[152][153]

Gallery edit

See also edit

Notes edit

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ The name Notre Dame, meaning "Our Lady" was frequently used in names of churches including the cathedrals of Chartres, Rheims and Rouen.
  2. ^ The growth of the population of Paris and other French cities was characteristic of Western Europe during the Renaissance of the 12th century. It is thought that the population of Paris grew from 25,000 in 1180 to 50,000 in 1220, making it the largest European city outside of Italy.[22]
  3. ^ Notre-Dame's belfry was used as the model for this diagram. The stonework, however, was not drawn to be accurate. See Billon 1821, p. 148 and Doré 2012, p. 203.

Citations edit

  1. ^ Watkin, David (1986). A History of Western Architecture. Barrie and Jenkins. p. 134. ISBN 0-7126-1279-3.
  2. ^ Libert, Lucien (16 December 2023). "Notre-Dame rooster back on Paris cathedral's spire as renovation enters final stage". Reuters. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Musique Sacrée à Notre-Dame de Paris". msndp. from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  4. ^ Mérimée database 1993
  5. ^ Ducher 1988, pp. 46–62.
  6. ^ Chavis, Jason. "Facts on the Notre Dame Cathedral in France". Travel Tips - USA Today. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
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References edit

English-language edit

  • Bruzelius, Caroline (December 1987). "The Construction of Notre-Dame in Paris". The Art Bulletin. 69 (4): 540–569. doi:10.1080/00043079.1987.10788458. JSTOR 3050998.
  • Davis, Michael T. "Splendor and Peril: The Cathedral of Paris, 1290–1350." The Art Bulletin (1998) 80#1 pp: 34–66.
  • Herrick, James A. (2004). The Making of the New Spirituality. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 0-8308-3279-3.
  • Inglis, Erik (2003). "Gothic Architecture and a Scholastic: Jean de Jandun's Tractatus de laudibus Parisius". Gesta. 42 (XLII/1): 63–85. doi:10.2307/25067075. JSTOR 25067075. S2CID 190312592.
  • 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., 1986
  • Follett, Ken (2019). Notre-Dame: a short history of the meaning of cathedrals. New York: Viking. ISBN 9781984880253.
  • Myers, Bernard S. Art and Civilization. New York City: McGraw-Hill, 1957
  • Riley, Henry T. (1851). The fasti; Tristia; Pontic epistles; Ibis; and, Halieuticon of Ovid. London: H.G. Bohn. LCCN 2010554460.
  • Sandron, Dany; Tallon, Andrew (2013). Notre Dame Cathedral: Nine Centuries of History. Translated by Cook, Lindsay; Tallon, Andrew. University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press (published 5 April 2020). ISBN 9780271086224.
  • Stone, Daniel (2001). The Polish–Lithuanian State, 1386–1795. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-98093-1.
  • Williamson, Paul (1995). Gothic Sculpture, 1140–1300. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-030006-338-7. OCLC 469571482.
  • Wright, Craig. Music and ceremony at Notre Dame of Paris, 500–1550 (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

French-language edit

  • Billon, Jean-Baptiste-Benjamin (1866). Campanologie: Étude sur les Cloches et les Sonneries Françaises et Étrangères. Caen: F. Le Blanc-Hardel. pp. 111–113.
  • Cabezas, Hervé (1988). "Du "vitrail archéologique"". Revue d'archéologie moderne et d'archéologie générale. 6.
  • Delisle, Léopold, ed. (1873). Chronique de Robert de Torigni, abbé du Mont-Saint-Michel. Le Brument.
  • Doré, Joseph, ed. (2012). Notre-Dame de Paris. La grâce d'une cathédrale. Strasbourg: La Nuée Bleue (published 4 October 2012). ISBN 978-2809907988.
  • Ducher, Robert (1988). Caractéristique des Styles. Flammarion. ISBN 2-08-011539-1.
  • Duvergier, Jean-Baptiste (1825). Collection complète des lois, décrets, ordonnances, réglements, et avis du Conseil d'État (1 ed.). Guyot et Scribe.
  • Gueffier, Claude-Pierre (1763). Description historique des curiosités de l'eglise de Paris, contenant le détail de l'édifice, tant extérieur qu'intérieur, le trésor, les chapelles, tombeaux, épitaphes, et l'explication des tableaux, avec les noms des peintres, etc. Paris: Chez C. P. Gueffier, Pere, Libraire, Parvis Notre-Dame, à la Libéralité.
  • Henriet, Jacques (2005). A l'aube de l'architecture gothique. University of Franche-Comté Press. ISBN 9782848671178.
  • Lassus, Jean-Baptiste; Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1843). Projet de restauration de Notre-Dame de Paris. Imprimerie Lacombe.
  • Leproux, Guy-Michel (2001). La peinture à Paris sous le règne de François Ier. Sorbonne. ISBN 9782840502104.
  • Lissagaray, Prosper-Olivier (200). Histoire de la Commune de 1871 (1876). Paris: La Decouverte/Poche. ISBN 978-2-70-714520-8.
  • Lours, Mathieu (2018). Dictionnaire des Cathédrales (in French). Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot. ISBN 978-2755-807653.
  • Mignon, Olivier (2015). Architecture des Cathédrales Gothiques (in French). Éditions Ouest-France. ISBN 978-2-7373-6535-5.
  • Mortet, Victor (1888). Étude historique et archéologique sur la cathédrale et le palais épiscopal de Paris du vie au xiie siècle. A. Picard.
  • Pisani, Paul (1908). L'Église de Paris et la Révolution. Al. Picard.
  • Renault, Christophe and Lazé, Christophe, Les Styles de l'architecture et du mobilier, (2006), Gisserot; ISBN 9-782877-474658
  • Teulet, Alexandre (1862). Relations politiques de la France et de l'Espagne avec l'Écosse au XVIe siècle. Vol. 1. Renouard.
  • Tonazzi, Pascal. Florilège de Notre-Dame de Paris (anthologie), Editions Arléa, Paris, 2007, ISBN 2-86959-795-9
  • de Villefosse, René Héron (1980). Solennités, fêtes et réjouissances parisiennes. Association pour la publication d'une histoire de Paris. ISBN 9782859620028.
  • Trintignac, Andre and Coloni, Marie-Jeanne, Decouvrir Notre-Dame de Paris, Les Editions du Cerf, Paris, 1984 ISBN 2-204-02087-7
  • Viollet-le-Duc, Eugène (1868). Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle. Édition BANCE.
  • Wenzler, Claude (2018). Cathédales Cothiques – un Défi Médiéval. Éditions Ouest-France. ISBN 978-2-7373-7712-9.

Online references edit

  • . Vol. 22. Stanford Libraries. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.

External links edit

  • "Monument historique – PA00086250". Mérimée database of Monuments Historiques (in French). France: Ministère de la Culture. 1993. Retrieved 17 July 2011.
  • Official website of Notre-Dame de Paris (in English) also (in French)
  • Official website of Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris
  • Official site of Music at Notre-Dame de Paris (in English) also (in French)
  • Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral Fire
  • Further information on the Organ with specifications of the Grandes Orgues and the Orgue de Choeur
  • Tridentine Mass celebrated in Notre-Dame in 2017

notre, dame, paris, this, article, about, french, cathedral, other, uses, disambiguation, french, nɔtʁ, paʁi, meaning, lady, paris, referred, simply, notre, dame, medieval, catholic, cathedral, Île, cité, island, seine, river, arrondissement, paris, france, ca. This article is about the French cathedral For other uses see Notre Dame de Paris disambiguation Notre Dame de Paris French nɔtʁ e dam de paʁi meaning Our Lady of Paris referred to simply as Notre Dame a is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Ile de la Cite an island in the Seine River in the 4th arrondissement of Paris France The cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture Several attributes set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style particularly its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress its enormous and colourful rose windows and the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration 5 Notre Dame also stands out for its three pipe organs one historic and its immense church bells 6 Notre Dame de ParisSouth facade and the nave of Notre Dame in 2017 two years before the Notre Dame fire48 51 11 N 2 20 59 E 48 8530 N 2 3498 E 48 8530 2 3498LocationParvis Notre Dame Place Jean Paul II ParisCountryFranceDenominationRoman CatholicTraditionRoman RiteWebsitewww wbr notredamedeparis wbr frHistoryFormer name s Replaced the Cathedral of EtienneStatusCathedral minor basilicaFounded24 March 1163 to 25 April 1163 laying of the cornerstone Founder s Maurice de SullyConsecrated19 May 1182 high altar Relics heldCrown of Thorns a nail from the Cross and a sliver of the CrossArchitectureFunctional statusClosed Under renovation after the 2019 fireArchitectural typeGothicStyleFrench GothicYears built1163 1345Groundbreaking1163 1163 Completed1345SpecificationsLength128 m 420 ft Width48 m 157 ft Nave height35 metres 115 ft 1 Number of towers2Tower height69 m 226 ft Number of spires1 the third completed 16 December 2023 2 Spire height96 m 315 ft MaterialsLimestoneBells10 bronze AdministrationArchdioceseParisClergyArchbishopLaurent UlrichRectorOlivier Ribadeau DumasLaityDirector of musicSylvain Dieudonne 3 Organist s Philippe Lefebvre since 1985 Olivier Latry since 1985 and Vincent Dubois de fr ko since 2016 UNESCO World Heritage SiteCriteriaI II IIIDesignated1991Part ofParis Banks of the SeineReference no 600Monument historiqueOfficial nameCathedrale Notre Dame de ParisTypeCathedraleDesignated1862 4 Reference no PA00086250Built during medieval France construction of the cathedral began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely completed by 1260 though it was modified in succeeding centuries In the 1790s during the French Revolution Notre Dame suffered extensive desecration much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed In the 19th century the coronation of Napoleon and the funerals of many of the French Republic s presidents took place at the cathedral The 1831 publication of Victor Hugo s novel Notre Dame de Paris in English The Hunchback of Notre Dame inspired interest which led to restoration between 1844 and 1864 supervised by Eugene Viollet le Duc On 26 August 1944 the Liberation of Paris from German occupation was celebrated in Notre Dame with the singing of the Magnificat Beginning in 1963 the cathedral s facade was cleaned of soot and grime Another cleaning and restoration project was carried out between 1991 and 2000 7 The cathedral is a widely recognized symbol of the city of Paris and the French nation In 1805 it was awarded honorary status as a minor basilica As the cathedral of the archdiocese of Paris Notre Dame contains the cathedra of the archbishop of Paris currently Laurent Ulrich In the early 21st century approximately 12 million people visited Notre Dame annually making it the most visited monument in Paris 8 The cathedral is renowned for its Lent sermons a tradition founded in the 1830s by the Dominican Jean Baptiste Henri Lacordaire These sermons have increasingly been given by leading public figures or government employed academics Over time the cathedral has gradually been stripped of many decorations and artworks However the cathedral still contains Gothic Baroque and 19th century sculptures 17th and early 18th century altarpieces and some of the most important relics in Christendom including the Crown of Thorns and a sliver and nail from the True Cross On 15 April 2019 while Notre Dame was undergoing renovation and restoration its roof caught fire and burned for 15 hours The cathedral sustained serious damage The fleche the timber spirelet over the crossing was destroyed as was most of the lead covered wooden roof above the stone vaulted ceiling 9 This contaminated the site and nearby environment with lead 10 Restoration proposals suggested modernizing the cathedral but the French National Assembly rejected them enacting a law in July 2019 that required the restoration preserve the cathedral s historic artistic and architectural interest 11 The task of stabilizing the building against potential collapse was completed in November 2020 12 The cathedral is expected to reopen on 8 December 2024 the date was confirmed by President Macron 13 Contents 1 Key dates 2 History 2 1 Construction 2 2 15th 18th century 2 3 French Revolution and Napoleon 2 4 19th century restoration 2 5 20th century 2 6 21st century 2 7 2019 fire 2 7 1 Stabilization of the building 2 7 2 Heading reconstruction 2 7 3 Research 2 8 Colour and controversy 3 Towers and the fleche 4 Iconography the poor people s book 5 Stained glass rose windows 6 Burials and crypts 7 Great organ 7 1 Organists 8 Bells 9 Clock 10 Ownership 11 Gallery 12 See also 13 Notes 13 1 Footnotes 13 2 Citations 14 References 14 1 English language 14 2 French language 14 3 Online references 15 External linksKey dates edit4th century Cathedral of Saint Etienne dedicated to Saint Stephen built just west of present cathedral 14 1163 Bishop Maurice de Sully begins construction of new cathedral 14 1182 or 1185 Choir completed clerestory with two levels upper level of upright windows with pointed arches still without tracery lower level of small rose windows c 1200 Construction of nave with flying buttresses completed c 1210 1220 Construction of towers begins c 1210 1220 Two new traverses join towers with nave West rose window complete in 1220 After 1220 New flying buttresses added to choir walls remodeling of the clerestories pointed arched windows are enlarged downward replacing the triforia and get tracery 1235 1245 Chapels constructed between buttresses of nave and choir 1250 1260 North transept lengthened by Jean de Chelles to provide more light North rose window constructed 15 1270 South transept and rose window completed by Pierre de Montreuil 16 1699 Beginning of major redecoration of interior in Louis XIV style by Hardouin Mansart and Robert de Cotte 17 1725 1727 South rose window poorly built is reconstructed Later entirely rebuilt in 1854 1790 In the French Revolution the Revolutionary Paris Commune removes all bronze lead and precious metals from the cathedral to be melted down 16 1793 The cathedral is converted into a Temple of Reason and then Temple of the Supreme Being 1801 1802 With the Concordat of 1801 Napoleon restores the use of the cathedral though not ownership to the Catholic Church 1804 On 2 December Napoleon crowns himself Emperor at Notre Dame 1805 The cathedral is conceded the honor of minor basilica by Pope Pius VII making it the first minor basilica outside of Italy 18 1844 1864 Major restoration by Jean Baptiste Lassus and Eugene Viollet le Duc with additions in the spirit of the original Gothic style 19 1871 In final days of the Paris Commune Communards attempt unsuccessfully to burn the cathedral 1944 On 26 August General Charles de Gaulle celebrates the Liberation of Paris with a special Mass at Notre Dame 1949 On 26 April the Archbishop of Paris Emmanuel Celestin Suhard crowns the venerated image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the name of Pope Pius XII 1963 Culture Minister Andre Malraux orders the cleaning of the cathedral facade of centuries of grime and soot 2019 On 15 April a fire destroys a large part of the roof and the fleche 2021 Reconstruction begins two years after the fire that destroyed a large part of the roof and the fleche 2024 Expected reopening of the Cathedral to occur on 8 December 13 History edit nbsp Outline of the primitive Cathedral of Notre Dame in 1150 on the spot of the nave the transept and the choir of the current building The Cathedral of Saint Etienne was located to the west at the level of today s parvis source source source source source source Construction sequence from 12th century to present day created by Stephen Murray and Myles ZhangIt is believed that before the arrival of Christianity in France a Gallo Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter stood on the site of Notre Dame Evidence for this includes the Pillar of the Boatmen discovered beneath the cathedral in 1710 In the 4th or 5th century a large early Christian church the Cathedral of Saint Etienne was built on the site close to the royal palace 14 The entrance was situated about 40 metres 130 ft west of the present west front of Notre Dame and the apse was located about where the west facade is today It was roughly half the size of the later Notre Dame 70 metres 230 ft long and separated into nave and four aisles by marble columns then decorated with mosaics 7 20 The last church before the cathedral of Notre Dame was a Romanesque remodeling of Saint Etienne that although enlarged and remodeled was found to be unfit for the growing population of Paris 21 b A baptistery 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 in the 18th century 23 In 1160 the Bishop of Paris Maurice de Sully 23 decided to build a new and much larger church He summarily demolished the earlier cathedral and recycled its materials 21 Sully decided that the new church should be built in the Gothic style which had been inaugurated at the royal abbey of Saint Denis in the late 1130s 20 Construction edit The chronicler Jean de Saint Victor fr 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 in the presence of King Louis VII and Pope Alexander III 24 25 Four phases of construction took place under bishops Maurice de Sully and Eudes de Sully 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 a county northwest of Paris and presumably brought up the Seine by ferry 26 nbsp Cross section of the double supporting arches and buttresses of the nave drawn by Eugene Viollet le Duc as they would have appeared from 1220 to 1230 27 The first phase began with the construction of the choir and its two ambulatories According to Robert of Torigni the choir was completed in 1177 and the high altar consecrated on 19 May 1182 by Cardinal Henri de Chateau Marcay the Papal legate in Paris and Maurice de Sully 28 failed verification 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 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 facade were put in place and the first traverses were completed 7 Heraclius of Caesarea called for the Third Crusade in 1185 from the still incomplete cathedral Louis IX deposited the relics of the passion of Christ which included the Crown of thorns a nail from the Cross and a sliver of the Cross which he had purchased at great expense from the Latin Emperor Baldwin II in the cathedral during the construction of the Sainte Chapelle An under shirt believed to have belonged to Louis was added to the collection of relics at some time after his death Transepts were added 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 oversaw the completion of the transepts and continued work on the nave which was nearing completion at the time of his death in 1208 By this time the western facade 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 facade 29 nbsp Arrows show forces in vault and current flying buttresses detailed description Another significant change came in the mid 13th century when the transepts were remodelled in the latest Rayonnant style in the late 1240s Jean de Chelles added a gabled portal to the north transept topped 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 depicts scenes from the lives of Saint Stephen 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 30 29 Master builders Pierre de Chelles Jean Ravy fr Jean le Bouteiller and Raymond du Temple fr 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 15 metre 49 ft 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 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 larger windows The date of the first buttresses is not known with 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 31 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 31 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 7 John of Jandun recognized the cathedral as one of Paris s three most important buildings prominent structures in his 1323 Treatise on the Praises of Paris That most glorious church of the most glorious Virgin Mary mother of God deservedly shines out like the sun among stars And although some speakers by their own free judgment because they are able to see only a few things easily may say that some other is more beautiful I believe however respectfully that if they attend more diligently to the whole and the parts they will quickly retract this opinion Where indeed I ask would they find two towers of such magnificence and perfection so high so large so strong clothed round about with such multiple varieties of ornaments Where I ask would they find such a multipartite arrangement of so many lateral vaults above and below Where I ask would they find such light filled amenities as the many surrounding chapels Furthermore let them tell me in what church I may see such a large cross of which one arm separates the choir from the nave Finally I would willingly learn where there are two such circles situated opposite each other in a straight line which on account of their appearance are given the name of the fourth vowel O among which smaller orbs and circles with wondrous artifice so that some arranged circularly others angularly surround windows ruddy with precious colours and beautiful with the most subtle figures of the pictures In fact I believe that this church offers the carefully discerning such cause for admiration that its inspection can scarcely sate the soul Jean de Jandun Tractatus de laudibus Parisius 32 nbsp Plan of the cathedral made by Eugene Viollet le Duc in the 19th century Portals and nave to the left a choir in the center and apse and ambulatory to the right The annex to the south is the sacristy nbsp 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 nbsp 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 safely within the buttresses nbsp Later flying buttresses of the apse of Notre Dame 14th century reached 15 metres 49 ft from the wall to the counter supports 15th 18th century edit On 16 December 1431 the boy king Henry VI of England was crowned king of France in Notre Dame aged ten the traditional coronation church of Reims Cathedral being under French control 33 During the Renaissance the Gothic style fell out of style and the internal pillars and walls of Notre Dame were covered with tapestries 34 In 1548 rioting Huguenots damaged some of the statues of Notre Dame considering them idolatrous 35 The fountain fr in Notre Dame s parvis was added in 1625 to provide nearby Parisians with running water 36 Since 1449 the Parisian goldsmith guild had made regular donations to the cathedral chapter In 1630 the guild began donating a large altarpiece every year on the first of May These works came to be known as the grands mays 37 The subject matter was restricted to episodes from the Acts of the Apostles The prestigious commission was awarded to the most prominent painters and after 1648 members of the Academie Royale 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 Today thirteen of the grands mays hang in Notre Dame although these paintings suffered water damage during the fire of 2019 and were removed for conservation An altarpiece depicting the Visitation painted by Jean Jouvenet in 1707 was also located in the cathedral The canon Antoine de La Porte commissioned for Louis XIV six paintings depicting the life of the Virgin Mary for the choir At this same time Charles de La Fosse painted his Adoration of the Magi now in the Louvre 38 Louis Antoine de Noailles archbishop of Paris extensively modified the roof of Notre Dame in 1726 renovating its framing and removing the gargoyles with lead gutters Noailles also strengthened the buttresses galleries terraces and vaults 39 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 34 Lastly Jacques Germain Soufflot was tasked with the modification of the portals at the front of the cathedral to allow processions to enter more easily nbsp Henry VI of England s coronation in Notre Dame as King of France aged ten during the Hundred Years War His accession to the throne was in accordance with the Treaty of Troyes of 1420 nbsp La Descente du Saint Esprit illustration depicting Notre Dame from the Hours of Etienne Chevalier by Jean Fouquet c 1450 nbsp A Te Deum in the choir of Notre Dame in 1669 during the reign of Louis XIV The choir was redesigned to make room for more lavish ceremonies nbsp The western facade and parvis of Notre Dame in 1699 On the left is the old baptistery The fountain is in the square French Revolution and Napoleon edit After the French Revolution in 1789 Notre Dame and the rest of the church s property in France was seized and made public property 40 The cathedral was rededicated in 1793 to the Cult of Reason and then to the Cult of the Supreme Being in 1794 41 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 facade mistaken for statues of French kings were beheaded 7 42 Many of the heads were found during a 1977 excavation nearby and are on display at the Musee de Cluny For a time the Goddess of Liberty replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars 43 The cathedral s great bells escaped being melted down All of the other large statues on the facade with the exception of the statue of the Virgin Mary on the portal of the cloister were destroyed 7 The cathedral came to be used as a warehouse for the storage of food and other non religious purposes 35 With the Concordat of 1801 Napoleon Bonaparte 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 who restored the cathedral s interior Charles Percier and Pierre Francois Leonard Fontaine made quasi Gothic modifications to Notre Dame for the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the French within the cathedral The building s exterior was whitewashed and the interior decorated in Neoclassical style then in vogue 44 nbsp Cult of Reason is celebrated at Notre Dame during the French Revolution 1793 nbsp Arrival of Napoleon at the east end of Notre Dame for his coronation as Emperor of the French on 2 December 1804 nbsp The coronation of Napoleon on 2 December 1804 at Notre Dame as portrayed in the 1807 painting The Coronation of Napoleon by Jacques Louis David19th century restoration edit In the decades after the Napoleonic Wars Notre Dame fell into such a state of disrepair that Paris officials considered its demolition Victor Hugo who admired the cathedral wrote the novel Notre Dame de Paris published in English as The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1831 to save Notre Dame The book was an enormous success raising awareness of the cathedral s decaying state 7 The same year as Hugo s novel was published however anti Legitimists plundered Notre Dame s sacristy 45 In 1844 King Louis Philippe ordered that the church be restored 7 The architect who had hitherto been in charge of Notre Dame s maintenance Etienne Hippolyte Godde was dismissed In his stead Jean Baptiste Lassus and Eugene Viollet le Duc who had distinguished themselves with the restoration of the nearby Sainte Chapelle were appointed in 1844 The next year Viollet le Duc submitted a budget of 3 888 500 francs 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 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 fleche to replace the original 13th century fleche which had been removed in 1786 46 The decoration of the restoration included a bronze roof statue of Saint Thomas that resembles Viollet le Duc as well as the sculpture of mythical creatures on the Galerie des Chimeres 35 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 9 metres 30 ft Master glassworkers meticulously copied styles of the 13th century as written about by art historians Antoine Lusson and Adolphe Napoleon Didron 47 During the Paris Commune of March through May 1871 the cathedral and other churches were closed and some two hundred priests and the Archbishop of Paris were taken as hostages In May during the Semaine sanglante of Bloody Week as the army recaptured the city the Communards targeted the cathedral along with the Tuileries Palace 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 Hotel Dieu hospital filled with hundreds of patients 48 nbsp The western facade of Notre Dame in 1841 showing the building in an advanced state of disrepair before the major restoration by Eugene Viollet le Duc nbsp Proposed doorway decoration by Jean Baptiste Antoine Lassus and Eugene Viollet le Duc plate engraved by Leon Gaucherel nbsp The southern facade of Notre Dame at the beginning of the restoration work photo from 1847 by Hippolyte Bayard nbsp Model of the fleche and forest of wooden roof beams made for Viollet le Duc 1859 Museum of Historic Monuments Paris nbsp The western facade of Notre Dame in the early 1860s towards the end of the restoration The fleche was rebuilt and the statues of the kings were partially restored 20th century edit nbsp Facade of Notre Dame in the 1930sDuring 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 and General Philippe Leclerc In 1963 on the initiative of culture minister Andre Malraux and to mark the 800th anniversary of the cathedral the facade was cleaned of the centuries of soot and grime restoring it to its original off white colour 49 On 19 January 1969 vandals placed a North Vietnamese flag at the top the fleche and sabotaged the stairway leading to it The flag was cut from the fleche by Paris Fire Brigade Sergeant Raymond Belle in a daring helicopter mission the first of its kind in France 50 51 52 The Requiem Mass of Charles de Gaulle was held in Notre Dame on 12 November 1970 53 The next year on 26 June 1971 Philippe Petit walked across a tight rope strung between Notre Dame s two bell towers entertaining spectators 54 After the Magnificat of 30 May 1980 Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the parvis of the cathedral 55 The Requiem Mass of Francois Mitterrand was held at the cathedral as with past French heads of state on 11 January 1996 56 The stone masonry of the cathedral s exterior had deteriorated in the 19th and 20th century due to increased air pollution in Paris which accelerated erosion of decorations and discoloured the stone By the late 1980s several gargoyles and turrets had also fallen or become too loose to safely remain in place 57 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 57 58 A discreet system of electrical wires not visible from below was also installed on the roof to deter pigeons 59 The cathedral s pipe organ was upgraded with a computerized system to control the mechanical connections to the pipes 60 The west face was cleaned and restored in time for millennium celebrations in December 1999 61 21st century edit nbsp Notre Dame in May 2012 From top to bottom nave walls are pierced by clerestory windows arches to triforium and arches to side aisles The Requiem Mass of Cardinal Jean Marie Lustiger former archbishop of Paris and Jewish convert to Catholicism was held in Notre Dame on 10 August 2007 62 The set of four 19th century bells at the top of 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 63 64 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 65 66 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 67 A 6 million renovation of the cathedral s fleche 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 68 69 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 70 During that anniversary year on 21 May 2013 Dominique Venner a historian and white nationalist placed a letter on the church altar and shot himself dying instantly Around 1 500 visitors were evacuated from the cathedral 71 French police arrested two people on 8 September 2016 after a car containing seven gasoline canisters was found near Notre Dame 72 On 10 February 2017 French police arrested four persons in Montpellier already known by authorities to have ties to radical Islamist organizations on charges of plotting to travel to Paris and attack the cathedral 73 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 74 75 2019 fire edit Main article Notre Dame fire On 15 April 2019 the cathedral caught fire destroying the fleche and the forest of oak roof beams supporting the lead roof 9 76 77 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 detectors immediately signaled the fire to a cathedral employee who did not summon the fire brigade 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 78 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 79 Firefighters arrived in less than ten minutes 80 The cathedral s fleche 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 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 brought the fire under control 78 The main structure was intact firefighters saved the facade towers walls buttresses and stained glass windows The Great Organ which has over 8 000 pipes and was built by Francois Thierry in the 18th century was also saved but sustained water damage 81 Because of the ongoing renovation the copper statues on the fleche had been removed before the fire 82 The stone vaulting that forms the ceiling of the cathedral had several holes but was otherwise intact 83 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 working on the site 84 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 85 President Emmanuel Macron said approximately 500 firefighters helped to battle the fire One firefighter was seriously injured and two police officers were hurt during the blaze 86 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 87 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 88 Eight members of the cathedral choir a number limited by COVID 19 pandemic restrictions performed inside the building in December 2020 for the first time since the fire more than a year and a half prior A video of the event aired later just before midnight on 24 December 2020 89 nbsp The 2019 fire destroyed Notre Dame s wooden roof and fleche but left the outer structure largely intact nbsp The fleche aflame during the 2019 fire before its collapse nbsp Animation showing the south facade before and after the fire scaffolding had been erected as part of renovations underway when the fire started nbsp The area directly under the crossing and two other cells of vaulting collapsed nbsp In red the destroyed partsStabilization of the building edit source source source source source source source source The roof reduced to piles of char at the top of the mostly intact vaultsImmediately after the fire President Macron promised that Notre Dame would be restored and called for the work to be completed within five years 90 91 92 93 An international architectural competition was also announced to redesign the fleche and roof 94 The hasty fleche 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 fleche and neglecting to frame its response more holistically as an inclusive social process encompassing the whole building and its long term users 95 96 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 97 The law which passed on 11 May 2019 was hotly debated in the French National Assembly 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 98 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 100 metre 330 ft fleche 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 fleche identical to the original French culture minister Franck Riester promised that the restoration will not be hasty 99 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 11 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 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 100 101 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 102 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 103 A large crane 84 metres 276 ft high was put in place next to the cathedral to help remove the scaffolding 104 Later wooden support beams were added to stabilise the flying buttresses and other structures 105 On 10 April 2020 the archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit and a handful of participants all in protective clothing to prevent exposure to lead dust performed a Good Friday service inside the cathedral 106 Music was provided by the violinist Renaud Capucon the lectors were the actors Philippe Torreton and Judith Chemla 107 Chemla gave an a cappella rendition of Ave Maria 108 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 80 metre tall 260 ft crane The phase was completed in November 2020 109 Heading reconstruction edit In February 2021 the selection of oak trees to replace the fleche 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 50 to 90 centimetres 20 to 35 in and a height of 8 to 14 metres 26 to 46 ft 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 110 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 111 The oaks used to make the framework are tested and selected by Sylvatest 112 On September 18 2021 the public agency overseeing the Cathedral stated that the safety work was completed the cathedral was now fully secured and that reconstruction would begin within a few months 113 Research edit In 2022 a preventive dig carried out between February and April before the construction of a scaffold for reconstructing the cathedral s fleche unearthed several statues and tombs under the cathedral 114 One of the discoveries included a 14th century lead sarcophagus that was found 65 feet below where the transept crosses the church s 12th century nave 115 On April 14 2022 France s National Preventive Archaeological Research Institute INRAP fr 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 116 Another significant discovery was an opening below the cathedral floor likely made around 1230 when the Gothic cathedral was first under construction inside were fragments of a choir screen dating from the 13th century that had been destroyed in the early 18th century 117 In March 2023 in another significant discovery archaeologists uncovered thousands of metal staples in various parts of the cathedral some dating back to the early 1160s The archaeologists concluded that Notre Dame is now unquestionably the first known Gothic cathedral where iron was massively used to bind stones as a proper construction material 118 119 120 nbsp Ongoing stabilization of Notre Dame in February 2020 nbsp Stabilization of Notre Dame and removal of roof debris and scaffolding in February 2020 nbsp Front view of Notre Dame in January 2023 nbsp Southwest corner of the Notre Dame in September 2023Colour and controversy edit The colour of the restored interior will be a shock to some returning visitors according to General Jean Louis Georgelin the French army officer heading the restoration The whiteness under the dirt was quite spectacular 121 The stone was sprayed with a latex solution to lift off accumulated grime and soot However the cleaning of the church interior with latex solutions was criticized by Michael Daley of Artwatch UK referring to the earlier cleaning of Saint Paul s Cathedral in London He asked Is there any good basis for wishing to present an artificially brightened and ahistorical white interior 122 Jean Michel Guilemont of the French Ministry of culture responded The interior elevations will regain their original colour since the chapels and side aisles were very dirty Of course it is not a white colour The stone has a blonde colour and the architects are very attentive to obtaining a patina which respects the centuries 123 Towers and the fleche edit nbsp Towers on west facade 1220 1250 nbsp The gallery of chimeras pictured in 1910 by Georges Redon nbsp The 19th century fleche nbsp The rooster reliquary at the top of the fleche It was found lightly damaged in the rubble after the 2019 fire nbsp The fleche from above in 2013 nbsp Statue of Thomas the Apostle with the features of restorer Eugene Viollet le Duc at the base of the flecheThe two towers are 69 metres 226 ft high 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 124 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 Main article Spire of Notre Dame de Paris The cathedral s fleche or spirelet was located over the transept The original fleche 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 Eugene Viollet le Duc recreated it making a new version of oak covered with lead The entire fleche weighed 750 tonnes Following Viollet le Duc s plans the fleche was surrounded by copper statues of the twelve Apostles 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 125 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 126 While in place they had faced outwards towards Paris except one the statue of Saint Thomas the patron saint of architects faced the fleche and had the features of Viollet le Duc The rooster weathervane at the top of the fleche contained three relics a tiny piece from the Crown of Thorns 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 to protect the congregation from lightning or other harm The rooster with relics intact was recovered in the rubble shortly after the fire 127 Iconography the poor people s book editSee also List of sculptures in Notre Dame de Paris 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 at the time illiterate To add to the effect all of the sculpture on the facades was originally painted and gilded 128 nbsp Illustration of the Last Judgment central portal of west facade nbsp The martyr Saint Denis holding his head over the Portal of the Virgin nbsp The serpent tempts Adam and Eve on the Portal of the Virgin nbsp Archangel Michael and Satan weighing souls during the Last Judgment central portal west facade nbsp A strix on the west facade nbsp Gargoyles were the rainspouts of the cathedral nbsp Chimera on the facade nbsp Allegory of alchemy central portal nbsp Ecclesia and Synagoga statues on each side of the west facadeThe tympanum over the central portal on the west facade facing the square vividly illustrates the Last Judgment 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 and the left portal shows the lives of saints who were important to Parisians particularly Saint Anne the mother of the Virgin Mary 129 The exteriors of cathedrals and other Gothic churches were also decorated with sculptures of grotesques or monsters These included the gargoyle the chimera a mythical hybrid creature which usually had the body of a lion and the head of a goat and the Strix or stryge a creature resembling an owl or bat which was said to eat human flesh The strix appeared in classical Roman literature it was described by the Roman poet Ovid who was widely read in the Middle Ages as a large headed bird with transfixed eyes rapacious beak and greyish white wings 130 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 131 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 128 Amid all the religious figures some of the sculptural decoration was devoted to illustrating medieval science and philosophy The central portal of the west facade 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 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 131 On each side of the west facade there are statues of Ecclesia and Synagoga The statues represent supersessionism the Christian belief that Christianity has replaced Judaism 132 Many of the statues particularly the grotesques were removed from the facade in the 17th and 18th centuries or were destroyed during the French Revolution They were replaced with figures in the Gothic style designed by Eugene Viollet le Duc during the 19th century restoration Stained glass rose windows edit nbsp The earliest rose window on the west facade about 1225 nbsp The west rose window about 1225 nbsp North rose window about 1250 nbsp North rose window including lower 18 vertical windowsThe stained glass windows of Notre Dame particularly the three rose windows 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 133 The two transept windows are larger and contain a greater proportion of glass than the rose on the west facade 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 known as Saint Louis 134 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 with a dragon and Saint Eustace The third and fourth circles also have some depictions of Old Testament subjects The third circle has some medallions with scenes from the New Testament Gospel of Matthew which date from the last quarter of the 12th century These are the oldest glass in the window 134 Additional scenes in the corners around the rose window include Jesus Descent into Hell Adam and Eve the Resurrection of Christ Saint Peter and Saint Paul are at the bottom of the window and Mary Magdalene and John the Apostle 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 Gerenthe under the direction of Eugene Viollet le Duc based upon a similar window at Chartres Cathedral 134 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 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 134 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 are without human figures and use abstract grisaille 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 135 The rector of the Cathedral noted that one rose window would have to be dismantled as it was unstable and at risk 136 Most of the other damaged windows were of much less historical value 136 Burials and crypts editFor the Archeological Crypt located outside of Notre Dame see Parvis Notre Dame Place Jean Paul II See also Category Burials at Notre Dame de Paris Unlike some other French cathedrals Notre Dame was originally constructed without a crypt In the medieval period burials were made directly into the floor of the church or in above ground sarcophagi some with tomb effigies 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 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 was discovered 137 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 French 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 138 139 nbsp Eudes de Sully was the first bishop to be buried in Notre Dame His copper covered sarcophocus was placed in the middle of the choir where it remained for almost five centuries nbsp The tomb of bishop Matifort died 1304 located behind the high altar is the only surviving medieval funerary sculpture at Notre Dame nbsp Burial vault under the choir of Notre Dame c 1746 Pictured left to right are the tombs of Archbishops Vintimille and Bellefonds the funerary urn of Archbishop Noailles and two unidentified tombs nbsp 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 while holding an olive branch as a sign of peace The inscription reads Puisse mon sang etre le dernier verse May my blood be the last shed Great organ edit nbsp The great organOne of the earliest organs at Notre Dame built in 1403 by Frederic 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 Francois Thierry and later rebuilt by Francois Henri Clicquot During the restoration of the cathedral by Eugene Viollet le Duc Aristide Cavaille 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 stops upon the suggestions of titular organist Louis Vierne in 1924 an electric blower was installed which was financed by Rolls Royce CEO Claude Johnson An extensive restoration and cleaning was carried out by Joseph Beuchet in 1932 which mostly included changes to the Recit 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 in 1968 and Jean Loup Boisseau after 1975 all upon the orders of Pierre Cochereau In autumn 1983 the electric combination system was disconnected due to short circuit risk Between 1990 and 1992 Jean Loup Boisseau Bertrand Cattiaux Philippe Emeriau Michel Giroud and the Societe 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 Resonnance expressive using pipework from the former Petite Pedale by Boisseau which can now be used as a floating division the organ case and the facade 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 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 During the fire of 2019 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 substantial dust in the fire of April 2019 but will need cleaning I Grand OrgueC g3 II PositifC g3 III RecitC g3 IV SoloC g3 V Grand ChœurC g3 Resonnance expressiveC g3 PedaleC f1 keys go to g1 but f 1 and g1 silent Violon Basse 16Bourdon 16Montre 8Viole de Gambe 8Flute harmonique 8Bourdon 8Prestant 4Octave 4Doublette 2Fourniture harmonique II V 4Cymbale harmonique II V 2 2 3Bombarde 16Trompette 8Clairon 4 Chamades Chamade 8Chamade 4 Chamade Recit 8Cornet Recit V from c Montre 16Bourdon 16Salicional 8Flute harmonique 8Bourdon 8Unda maris 8 from c Prestant 4Flute douce 4Nazard 2 2 3Doublette 2Tierce 1 3 5Fourniture VCymbale VClarinette basse 16Clarinette 8Clarinette aigue 4 Recit expressif Quintaton 16Diapason 8Flute traversiere 8Viole de Gambe 8Bourdon celeste 8 from c Voix celeste 8 from c Octave 4Flute Octaviante 4Quinte 2 2 3Octavin 2Bombarde 16Trompette 8Basson Hautbois 8Clarinette 8Voix humaine 8Clairon 4 Recit classique from f Cornet V 8Hautbois 8 Chamades Basse Chamade 8Dessus Chamade 8Chamade 4Chamade Regale 8 Basse Chamade GO 8Dessus Chamade GO 8Chamade GO 4 Tremolo Bourdon 32 lowest octave acoustic Principal 16Montre 8Flute harmonique 8Quinte 5 1 3Prestant 4Tierce 3 1 5Nazard 2 2 3Septieme 2 2 7Doublette 2Cornet II V 2 2 3Grande Fourniture II 2 2 3Fourniture VCymbale VCromorne 8 Chamade GO 8Chamade GO 4 Cornet Recit VHautbois Recit 8 above stops f g3 outside swell box Principal 8Bourdon 8 Prestant 4 Quinte 2 2 3 Doublette 2 Tierce 1 3 5 Larigot 1 1 3Septieme 1 1 7Piccolo 1Plein jeu III V 2 3Tuba magna 16Trompette 8Clairon 4Cornet V 8 pulls out stops with asterisks Bourdon 16Principal 8Bourdon 8Prestant 4Flute 4Neuvieme 3 5 9Tierce 3 1 5Onzieme 2 10 11Nazard 2 2 3Flute 2Tierce 1 3 5Larigot 1 1 3Flageolet 1Fourniture IIICymbale IIIBasson 16Basson 8Voix humaine 8 ChimesTremblant Principal 32Contrebasse 16Soubasse 16Quinte 10 2 3Flute 8Violoncelle 8Tierce 6 2 5Quinte 5 1 3Septieme 4 4 7Octave 4Contre Bombarde 32Bombarde 16Basson 16Trompette 8Basson 8Clairon 4 Chamade GO 8Chamade GO 4Chamade Recit 8Chamade Recit 4Regale 2 16Couplers II I III I IV I V I III II IV II V II IV III V III V IV Octave grave general inversion Positif Grand orgue Tirasses Grand orgue Positif Recit Solo Grand Chœur en 8 Grand Orgue en 4 Positif en 4 Recit en 4 Solo en 4 Grand Chœur en 4 Sub and Super octave couplers and Unison Off for all manuals Octaves graves octaves aigues annulation 8 Octaves aigues Pedalier Additional features Coupure Pedalier Coupure Chamade Appel Resonnance Sostenuto for all manuals and the pedal Cancel buttons for each division 50 000 combinations 5 000 groups each Replay system Organists edit 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 Cavaille Coll s largest instrument After the death of Pierre Cochereau the cathedral authorities controversially decided to return to the Clicquot practice of having several titulaires and also to guarantee that no one organist would have so much influence over the organ Guillaume Maingot fr 1600 1609 Jacques Petitjean fr 1609 1610 Charles Thibault fr 1610 1616 Charles Racquet 1618 1643 Jean Racquet fr c 1643 1689 Mederic Corneille fr 1689 1730 Guillaume Antoine Calviere 1730 1755 Rene Drouart de Bousset 1755 1760 Charles Alexandre Jollage fr 1755 1761 Louis Claude Daquin 1755 1772 Armand Louis Couperin 1755 1789 Claude Balbastre 1760 1793 Pierre Claude Foucquet 1761 1772 Nicolas Sejan 1772 1793 Claude Etienne Luce fr 1772 1783 Jean Jacques Beauvarlet Charpentier 1783 1793 Antoine Desprez fr 1802 1806 Francois Lacodre dit Blin fr 1806 1834 Joseph Pollet fr 1834 1840 Felix Danjou 1840 1847 Eugene Sergent fr 1847 1900 Louis Vierne 1900 1937 Leonce de Saint Martin 1937 1954 Pierre Cochereau 1955 1984 Yves Devernay 1985 1990 Jean Pierre Leguay 1985 2015 Philippe Lefebvre since 1985 Olivier Latry since 1985 Vincent Dubois de fr ko since 2016 Bells editMain article Bells of Notre Dame de Paris source source Emmanuel s volley soloNotre Dame currently has ten bells The two largest bells Emmanuel and Marie are mounted in the south tower The eight others Gabriel Anne Genevieve Denis Marcel Etienne Benoit 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 liberation of Paris the fall of the Berlin Wall and the September 11 attacks The bells are made with bronze 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 140 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 141 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 142 The current belfries date to the 19th century restoration Before the French 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 142 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 three times a day both practices which continue today During the French 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 in the medieval fleche three clock bells on the north transept in the 18th century and six bells added in the 19th century three in the reconstructed fleche and three within the roof to be heard in the sanctuary 143 These were destroyed during the 2019 fire nbsp Circular utility door right of center in the ceiling below the north tower made for raising and lowering bells 142 nbsp The bourdon Emmanuel Notre Dame s largest and oldest bell cast in 1686 144 nbsp 1767 illustration of a bell headstock and mounting components left and Notre Dame s original south belfry right 145 c nbsp 1854 illustration by Pegard showing the 1850 belfry which is present today 146 nbsp The four 19th century bells which were retired in 2012 nbsp Nine new bells exhibited in the nave in February 2013 nbsp The second bourdon Marie mounted in the south belfryClock editSee also Bells of Notre Dame de Paris Striking clock nbsp One of four clock faces of Notre Dame s 19th century clock right Chimes for the 18th century clock were once held in a north transept turret similar to the one pictured left on the south transept 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 147 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 1 34 metres 4 ft 5 in clock face was installed inside the church below the organ platform 148 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 fleche 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 2019 fire Shortly after the fire French clockmaker Jean Baptiste Vior discovered an almost identical 1867 Collin Wagner movement in storage at Sainte Trinite 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 149 150 Ownership editUntil the French Revolution Notre Dame was the property of the archbishop of Paris and therefore the Roman Catholic Church It was nationalized on 2 November 1789 and since then has been the property of the French state 151 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 of charge to visitors The archdiocese does not receive subsidies from the French state 152 153 Gallery edit nbsp Notre Dame at the end of the 19th century nbsp An 1853 photo by Charles Negre of Henri Le Secq next to Le Stryge nbsp 19th century vestments nbsp A wide angle view of Notre Dame s western facade nbsp Notre Dame s facade showing the Portal of the Virgin Portal of the Last Judgment and Portal of St Anne nbsp A 2010 view of Notre Dame from Tour Montparnasse nbsp A wide angle view of Notre Dame s western facade nbsp Virgin of Paris 14th century The Statue of Virgin and Child inside Notre Dame de Paris nbsp Notre Dame s high altar with the kneeling statues of Louis XIII and Louis XIV nbsp South rose window of Notre Dame nbsp Flying buttresses of Notre Dame nbsp Memorial tablet to the British Empire dead of the First World War nbsp Tympanum of the Last Judgment nbsp Statue of Joan of Arc in Notre Dame s interior nbsp Close look of the details on the Tympanum of the Last Judgment 2016 nbsp Facade of Notre Dame nbsp French road system s Point Zero spot on the ground in front of Notre Dame since 1924 See also edit nbsp France portal nbsp Catholicism portal nbsp Architecture portalArchbishop s Palace of Paris destroyed 1831 Architecture of Paris List of tourist attractions in Paris Gothic cathedrals and churches List of destroyed heritage List of Gothic cathedrals in Europe List of historic churches in Paris List of tallest buildings and structures in the Paris region Musee de Notre Dame de Paris Notre Dame du Calvaire Paris Roman Catholic Marian churches Ship of Theseus Notre Dame de Roscudon ChurchNotes editFootnotes edit The name Notre Dame meaning Our Lady was frequently used in names of churches including the cathedrals of Chartres Rheims and Rouen The growth of the population of Paris and other French cities was characteristic of Western Europe during the Renaissance of the 12th century It is thought that the population of Paris grew from 25 000 in 1180 to 50 000 in 1220 making it the largest European city outside of Italy 22 Notre Dame s belfry was used as the model for this diagram The stonework however was not drawn to be accurate See Billon 1821 p 148 and Dore 2012 p 203 Citations edit Watkin David 1986 A History of Western Architecture Barrie and Jenkins p 134 ISBN 0 7126 1279 3 Libert Lucien 16 December 2023 Notre Dame rooster back on Paris cathedral s spire as renovation enters final stage Reuters Retrieved 23 December 2023 Musique Sacree a Notre Dame de Paris msndp Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 Merimee database 1993 Ducher 1988 pp 46 62 Chavis Jason Facts on the Notre Dame Cathedral in France Travel Tips USA Today Retrieved 24 April 2019 a b c d e f g h Historique de la construction in French Archived from the original on 2 August 2018 Retrieved 2 August 2018 Paris facts Paris Digest 2018 Archived from the original on 8 September 2018 Retrieved 15 September 2018 a b Breeden Aurelien 15 April 2019 Part of Notre Dame Spire Collapses as Paris Cathedral Catches Fire The New York Times Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 Peltier Elian Glanz James Cai Weiyi White Jeremy 14 September 2019 Notre Dame s Toxic Fallout The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 27 April 2023 a b Bandarin Francesco 2 August 2019 New law regarding Notre Dame says restoration must preserve its historic artistic and architectural interest The Art Newspaper Retrieved 26 October 2020 In pictures Notre Dame Cathedral rebuild hits milestone as melted scaffolding cleared France 24 26 November 2020 Retrieved 19 September 2021 a b Le Figaro November 29 2023 a b c Lours 2018 p 292 Chelles Jean de DigitalGeorgetown 1981 Notre Dame Cathedral North Rose Window repository library georgetown edu Retrieved 11 April 2022 a b Trintignac and Coloni 1984 p 45 Trintignac and Coloni 1984 p 60 Chow Hoi Yan Gabriel 2003 Basilicas PDF Canada p 17 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link Le Guide du Patrimoine en France Editions du Patrimoine Centre des Monuments Nationaux p 303 a b Notre Dame de Paris Une des premieres cathedrales gothiques de France PDF in French Retrieved 15 April 2019 a b Fourny Marc 12 December 2012 Les dix secrets de Notre Dame de Paris Le Point in French Archived from the original on 9 August 2018 Retrieved 15 April 2019 Paris a l epoque de Philippe Auguste philippe auguste com in French Archived from the original on 20 August 2018 Retrieved 16 April 2019 a b Rouche Michel 19 December 2012 Jubile de cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris La symbolique des cathedrales approche historique religieuse sociale La voix est libre in French Radio Notre Dame de Villefosse 1980 p 25 Henriet 2005 p 294 Leste Lasserre Christa 12 March 2020 Scientists are leading Notre Dame s restoration and probing mysteries laid bare by its devastating fire Science doi 10 1126 science abb6744 Viollet le Duc 1868 p 288 Delisle 1873 p 68 a b Bruzelius 1987 pp 540 69 Williamson 1995 a b Shea Rachel Hartigan 16 April 2019 Historian uses lasers to unlock mysteries of Gothic cathedrals National Geographic Archived from the original on 23 June 2015 Retrieved 18 April 2019 Inglis 2003 pp 63 85 Allmand C May 1982 The Coronations of Henry VI History Today Vol 32 no 5 Archived from the original on 28 July 2017 a b Notre Dame de Paris joyau de l art gothique celebre ses 850 ans Liberation in French 12 December 2012 permanent dead link a b c Chavis Jason Facts on the Notre Dame Cathedral in France USA Today Archived from the original on 23 October 2013 Retrieved 3 August 2013 Fontaines et reservoirs de Paris 400ansaqueducmedicis org in French Archived from the original on 13 April 2021 Retrieved 19 April 2019 Les grands Mays notredamedeparis fr L Adoration des mages in French The Louvre Retrieved 19 April 2019 Lassus amp Viollet le Duc 1843 p 18 Archives parlementaires Vol 22 pp 202 05 Duvergier 1825 p 281 Visiting Notre Dame Cathedral Herrick 2004 pp 75 76 Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris in French Foundation Napoleon Retrieved 25 April 2019 Limouzin Lamothe Roger 1964 La devastation de Notre Dame et de l archeveche de Paris en fevrier 1831 Revue d histoire de l Eglise de France 50 147 125 134 doi 10 3406 rhef 1964 1733 Mignon Olivier Architecture des Cathedrales Gothiques 2015 Editions Ouest France in French pg 18 Cabezas 1988 pp 118 20 Lissagaray 1896 p 338 Laurent Xavier 2003 Grandeur et misere du patrimoine d Andre Malraux a Jacques Duhamel 1959 1973 in French Librairie Droz ISBN 9782900791608 OCLC 53974742 SYND 19 1 69 VIET CONG FLAG REMOVED FROM NOTRE DAME YouTube Vietcong Flag Put Atop Notre Dame The New York Times 20 January 1969 Angel Julie July 2016 Breaking the Jump The Secret Story of Parkour s High Flying Rebellion Aurum Press pp 90 91 ISBN 978 1 78131 554 5 France mourns de Gaulle world leaders to attend a service at Notre Dame The New York Times 11 November 1970 Retrieved 24 April 2019 Sneaky Juggler Has Ball Up in Sky at Notre Dame Ogden Standard Examiner 27 June 1971 Gohn Pat 15 April 2019 Prayer of St John Paul II at Notre Dame from May 30 1980 Catholic Digest Retrieved 24 April 2019 Whitney Craig R 9 January 1996 Francois Mitterrand Dies at 79 Champion of a Unified Europe The New York Times Retrieved 10 November 2011 a b Simons Marlisle 9 April 1992 To Notre Dame s Rescue Sickly Gargoyles and All The New York Times p A4 Retrieved 16 April 2019 August Marilyn 7 April 1991 Notre Dame Church Will Get Face Lift Los Angeles Times Associated Press Retrieved 16 April 2019 Paris pigeons to get shock treatment at Notre Dame The Guardian 14 April 1998 Retrieved 16 April 2019 via Deseret News Whitney Craig R 3 April 1995 Notre Dame s Organ and Computer Are No Duet The New York Times p A4 Retrieved 16 April 2019 Bremner Charles 21 December 1999 Paris given a millennium makeover The Times p 15 Nicolas Sarkozy assistera aux obseques du cardinal Lustiger L Express in French 9 August 2007 Archived from the original on 15 February 2008 Retrieved 24 April 2019 de la Baume Maia 19 October 2011 A Melodic Emblem Falls Out of Tune The New York Times p A6 Retrieved 16 April 2019 New Notre Dame bells make harmonious history USA Today Associated Press 2 February 2013 Retrieved 16 April 2019 Breeden Aurelien 28 September 2017 In Paris Worn Out Notre Dame Needs a Makeover and Hopes You Can Help The New York Times Retrieved 16 April 2019 Walt Vivienne 27 July 2017 Notre Dame Cathedral Is Crumbling Who Will Help Save It Time Retrieved 16 April 2019 Sage Adam 10 March 2018 Paris s crumbling Notre Dame looks to wealthy foreigners for salvation The Times Retrieved 16 April 2019 Massive fire engulfs beloved Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Associated Press 15 April 2019 Retrieved 16 April 2019 Notre Dame cathedral Macron pledges reconstruction after fire BBC News 16 April 2019 Retrieved 16 April 2019 Paris s Notre Dame cathedral celebrates 850 years GIE ATOUT FRANCE Archived from the original on 14 July 2015 Retrieved 7 January 2015 Fremont Anne Laure 21 May 2013 Un historien d extreme droite se suicide a Notre Dame Le Figaro in French Archived from the original on 22 May 2013 Retrieved 21 May 2013 Hinnnant Lori Sotto Philippe 7 September 2017 Gas Containers Found Near Notre Dame U S News Retrieved 24 April 2019 McAuley James 10 February 2016 After Louvre attack France foils another terrorist plot The Washington Post Archived from the original on 13 February 2017 Retrieved 14 February 2017 Paris Inside Notre Dame during lockdown BBC News Archived from the original on 11 April 2018 Retrieved 15 April 2019 Notre Dame Paris Hundreds put in terror lockdown Queensland Time Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 Seiger Theresa Fire reported at Paris Notre Dame cathedral The Atlanta Journal Constitution Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 El Bawab Nadine 15 April 2019 Roof burns at Paris Notre Dame Cathedral as massive fire rages CNBC Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 a b Peltier Elian Glanz James Grondahl Mika Cai Weiyi Nossiter Adam Alderman Liz 16 July 2019 Notre Dame came far closer to collapsing than people knew This is how it was saved The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 15 November 2019 Bennhold Katrin Glanz James 19 April 2019 Notre Dame s Safety Planners Underestimated the Risk With Devastating Results The New York Times Archived from the original on 20 April 2019 Retrieved 20 April 2019 Landauro Inti 17 April 2017 Paris firefighters got on Notre Dame site in less than 10 minutes Reuters Archived from the original on 18 April 2019 Retrieved 23 April 2019 Garcia Navarro Lulu Wharton Ned 21 April 2019 After The Flames Notre Dame s Centuries Old Organ May Never Be The Same Again NPR Retrieved 21 April 2019 Notre Dame cathedral engulfed by fire BBC News 15 April 2019 Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 Notre Dame Cathedral Fire Paris France The Guardian Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 Mallet Victor 16 April 2019 Macron says he wants Notre Dame rebuilt in 5 years Financial Times Archived from the original on 10 December 2022 Retrieved 17 April 2019 France s AXA provided insurance cover for two Notre Dame contractors Reuters 16 April 2019 Retrieved 17 April 2019 Diebelius Georgia 15 April 2019 Firefighter and two police officers injured battling catastrophic Notre Dame fire Metro UK Retrieved 16 April 2019 Arts Entertainment Reuters com www reuters com Retrieved 16 September 2019 No Christmas Mass at Notre Dame for the first time since Napoleon The Hindu 25 December 2019 ISSN 0971 751X Retrieved 26 December 2019 via Reuters Notre Dame choir returns for first time since devastating fire for Christmas Eve concert CBS News 25 December 2020 Retrieved 26 December 2020 via Associated Press Le Parisien 16 April 2019 Notre Dame cathedral engulfed by fire BBC News 15 April 2019 Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 The Latest French leader vows to rebuild damaged Notre Dame Associated Press 15 April 2019 Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 Years Decades Uncertainty over time needed to rebuild Notre Dame AFP com 16 January 2012 Retrieved 16 April 2019 Henley Jon 17 April 2019 France announces contest to redesign Notre Dame spire The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 17 April 2019 Otero Pailos Jorge 19 April 2019 In Notre Dame we find a heritage that invites us to breathe and reflect A spire competition is the wrong approach The Art Newspaper ISSN 0960 6556 Retrieved 13 May 2019 Bandarin Francesco 30 April 2019 Notre Dame Should Be Rebuilt As It Was The Art Newspaper ISSN 0960 6556 Retrieved 13 May 2019 Collective Tribune 29 April 2019 Notre Dame Monsieur le president ne dessaisissez pas les experts du patrimoine Le Figaro in French Retrieved 13 May 2019 Rescan Manon 11 May 2019 Le projet de loi pour la restauration de Notre Dame adopte par l Assemblee nationale Ce projet de loi prevoit des derogations aux regles d urbanisme pour respecter le calendrier voulu par Emmanuel Macron Le Monde in French Retrieved 13 May 2019 Marshall Alex 10 May 2019 Glass Golden Flames or a Beam of Light What Should Replace Notre Dame s Spire The New York Times Klar Rebecca 25 December 2019 Notre Dame rector sees maybe 50 percent chance cathedral can be saved The Hill Bacon John Notre Dame Cathedral empty for Christmas may never recover from devastating fire USA Today Radio France International 10 October 2019 Builders back at Paris s Notre Dame after COVID 19 shutdown France 24 27 April 2020 Retrieved 5 May 2020 LCI News 20 December 2019 The Notre Dame Fire One Year Later The Wall Street Journal 2 April 2020 Retrieved 10 March 2021 Veneration de la Sainte Couronne d epines a Notre Dame de Paris in French KTO TV 10 April 2020 Archived from the original on 28 October 2021 via YouTube Vincendon Salome 10 April 2020 Vendredi saint a Notre Dame BFM TV L emouvante interpretation de l Ave Maria chante par la comedienne Judith Chemla BFM TV YouTube Channel BFM TV 10 April 2020 Archived from the original on 28 October 2021 Incendie de Notre Dame de Paris le delicat demontage de l echafaudage commence Le Monde in French 8 June 2020 Retrieved 8 June 2020 A la recherche des chenes pour reconstruire la fleche de Notre Dame Le Figaro in French 16 February 2021 Two Years Later Here s the Latest With Notre Dame s Restoration Architectural Digest 13 April 2021 Retrieved 15 April 2021 The selection of these first oaks trees is an important step on the road to the rebirth of the cathedral says Dominique Jarlier president of the National Federation of Forestry Municipalities It s part of a huge transformation CBT le controle non destructif du bois au service de son usage efficient www leboisinternational com in French 7 June 2022 Retrieved 5 October 2023 Notre Dame Cathedral ready for restoration after post fire safety work completed France 24 18 September 2021 Retrieved 19 September 2021 Willsher Kim 14 April 2022 Extraordinary ancient tombs and statues unearthed beneath Notre Dame Cathedral The Guardian Paris Retrieved 15 April 2022 Solomon Tessa 15 April 2022 A Mysterious Sarcophagus Discovered Beneath Notre Dame Will Soon Be Opened ARTnews Mysterious sarcophagus found below fire damaged Notre Dame cathedral will soon be opened and its secrets revealed CBS 14 April 2022 Solomon Tessa 17 March 2022 700 Year Old Sarcophagus Discovered Beneath Notre Dame Cathedral ARTnews Cassella Carly 19 March 2023 Notre Dame s Fire Reveals a Major Surprise Hidden in Its Architecture ScienceAlert Ouellette Jennifer 5 January 2024 Notre Dame cathedral first to use iron reinforcements in 12th century Ars Technica Retrieved 6 January 2024 l Heritier Maxime Azema Aurelia Syvilay Delphine Delque Kolic Emmanuelle Beck Lucile Guillot Ivan Bernard Mathilde Dillmann Philippe 2023 Notre Dame de Paris The first iron lady Archaeometallurgical study and dating of the Parisian cathedral iron reinforcements PLOS ONE 18 3 e0280945 Bibcode 2023PLoSO 1880945L doi 10 1371 journal pone 0280945 PMC 10016711 PMID 36920957 The Art Newspaper Notre Dame s fresh interior cleaned with controversial latex paste will deliver a shock restoration chief promises 22 November 2022 Notre Dame s fresh interior cleaned with controversial latex paste will deliver a shock restoration chief promises The Art Newspaper 22 November 2022 The Art Newspaper 22 November 2022 Marcel Aubert Notre Dame de Paris sa place dans l histoire de l architecture du xiie au xive siecle H Laurens 1920 p 133 in French Saunders Father William 18 October 2019 What are the Symbols of the Four Evangelists Catholic Exchange Retrieved 23 June 2019 Buncombe Andrew 15 April 2019 Notre Dame s historic statues safe after being removed just days before massive fire The Independent Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 Retrieved 15 April 2019 Notre Dame weathervane comes home to roost Catholic Herald Catholic News Agency 18 April 2019 Archived from the original on 18 April 2019 Retrieved 27 April 2019 a b Viollet le Duc Eugene Dictionnaire Raisonne de l architecture Francaise du XIe au XVI siecle Volume 6 Project Gutenburg Renault and Laze 2006 page 35 P Ovidius Naso Fasti book 6 www perseus tufts edu VI 131 Riley 1851 p 216 tr Retrieved 27 April 2023 a b Wenzler 2018 pp 97 99 From Notre Dame to Prague Europe s anti Semitism is literally carved in stone Jewish Telegraphic Agency 20 March 2015 Retrieved 29 April 2023 West rose window of Notre Dame de Paris Notre Dame Cathedral West Rose Window Detail Digital and Special Collections Georgetown University Library 1981 Archived from the original on 5 August 2018 Retrieved 5 August 2018 a b c d The South Rose official site of Notre Dame de Paris in French Archived from the original on 3 August 2018 Retrieved 3 August 2018 Le Figaro 17 April 2019 a b Guyonnet Paul 16 April 2019 Notre Dame Les vitraux des rosaces ont survecu a l incendie Huffington Post France Retrieved 16 April 2019 Busson Didier 1998 Carte archeologique de la Gaule 75 Paris Paris Academie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres pp 445 446 ISBN 2 87754 056 1 Penin Marie Christine Tombes et sepultures dans les cimetieres et autrex lieux Retrieved 1 January 2021 Gueffier 1763 Follett 2019 pp 24 25 Lehr Andre 2005 Campanology Textbook in German Translated by Schafer Kimberly pp 70 71 Archived from the original on 25 January 2022 Retrieved 3 January 2021 a b c Sandron 2005 Dore 2012 pp 200 208 Dore 2012 p 203 Diderot Denis ed 1767 Fonte des cloches Encyclopedie in French Vol Planches 4 Paris Chez Briasson David Le Breton Dictionnaire raisonne de l architecture francaise du XIe au XVIe siecle Beffroi Wikisource fr wikisource org in French p 193 Retrieved 27 April 2023 Sandron Dany Tallon Andrew 2020 Notre Dame Cathedral Nine Centuries of History University Park Pennsylvania USA The Pennsylvania University Press Gilbert Antoine P M 1821 Description historique de la Basilique metropolitaine de Paris ornee de gravures Paris Chez Adrien Le Clere Imprimeur de S Em Mgr le Cardinal Archeveque de Paris quai des Augustins no 35 p 151 Replica clock find sparks hope for Notre Dame restoration CTV News AFP News Agency 26 June 2019 Retrieved 7 June 2020 Watchmaker finds model to replace Notre Dame s destroyed clock Online video in French and English AFP News Agency 25 June 2019 Retrieved 7 June 2020 A qui appartient la cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris BFM TV in French 16 April 2019 Retrieved 17 April 2019 Loi du 9 decembre 1905 concernant la separation des Eglises et de l Etat in French Government of France Retrieved 29 April 2019 Communique of the Press and Communication Service of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris November 2014 References editEnglish language edit Bruzelius Caroline December 1987 The Construction of Notre Dame in Paris The Art Bulletin 69 4 540 569 doi 10 1080 00043079 1987 10788458 JSTOR 3050998 Davis Michael T Splendor and Peril The Cathedral of Paris 1290 1350 The Art Bulletin 1998 80 1 pp 34 66 Herrick James A 2004 The Making of the New Spirituality InterVarsity Press ISBN 0 8308 3279 3 Inglis Erik 2003 Gothic Architecture and a Scholastic Jean de Jandun s Tractatus de laudibus Parisius Gesta 42 XLII 1 63 85 doi 10 2307 25067075 JSTOR 25067075 S2CID 190312592 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 1986 Follett Ken 2019 Notre Dame a short history of the meaning of cathedrals New York Viking ISBN 9781984880253 Myers Bernard S Art and Civilization New York City McGraw Hill 1957 Riley Henry T 1851 The fasti Tristia Pontic epistles Ibis and Halieuticon of Ovid London H G Bohn LCCN 2010554460 Sandron Dany Tallon Andrew 2013 Notre Dame Cathedral Nine Centuries of History Translated by Cook Lindsay Tallon Andrew University Park Pennsylvania The Pennsylvania State University Press published 5 April 2020 ISBN 9780271086224 Stone Daniel 2001 The Polish Lithuanian State 1386 1795 University of Washington Press ISBN 0 295 98093 1 Williamson Paul 1995 Gothic Sculpture 1140 1300 Yale University Press ISBN 978 030006 338 7 OCLC 469571482 Wright Craig Music and ceremony at Notre Dame of Paris 500 1550 Cambridge University Press 2008 French language edit Billon Jean Baptiste Benjamin 1866 Campanologie Etude sur les Cloches et les Sonneries Francaises et Etrangeres Caen F Le Blanc Hardel pp 111 113 Cabezas Herve 1988 Du vitrail archeologique Revue d archeologie moderne et d archeologie generale 6 Delisle Leopold ed 1873 Chronique de Robert de Torigni abbe du Mont Saint Michel Le Brument Dore Joseph ed 2012 Notre Dame de Paris La grace d une cathedrale Strasbourg La Nuee Bleue published 4 October 2012 ISBN 978 2809907988 Ducher Robert 1988 Caracteristique des Styles Flammarion ISBN 2 08 011539 1 Duvergier Jean Baptiste 1825 Collection complete des lois decrets ordonnances reglements et avis du Conseil d Etat 1 ed Guyot et Scribe Gueffier Claude Pierre 1763 Description historique des curiosites de l eglise de Paris contenant le detail de l edifice tant exterieur qu interieur le tresor les chapelles tombeaux epitaphes et l explication des tableaux avec les noms des peintres etc Paris Chez C P Gueffier Pere Libraire Parvis Notre Dame a la Liberalite Henriet Jacques 2005 A l aube de l architecture gothique University of Franche Comte Press ISBN 9782848671178 Lassus Jean Baptiste Viollet le Duc Eugene 1843 Projet de restauration de Notre Dame de Paris Imprimerie Lacombe Leproux Guy Michel 2001 La peinture a Paris sous le regne de Francois Ier Sorbonne ISBN 9782840502104 Lissagaray Prosper Olivier 200 Histoire de la Commune de 1871 1876 Paris La Decouverte Poche ISBN 978 2 70 714520 8 Lours Mathieu 2018 Dictionnaire des Cathedrales in French Editions Jean Paul Gisserot ISBN 978 2755 807653 Mignon Olivier 2015 Architecture des Cathedrales Gothiques in French Editions Ouest France ISBN 978 2 7373 6535 5 Mortet Victor 1888 Etude historique et archeologique sur la cathedrale et le palais episcopal de Paris du vie au xiie siecle A Picard Pisani Paul 1908 L Eglise de Paris et la Revolution Al Picard Renault Christophe and Laze Christophe Les Styles de l architecture et du mobilier 2006 Gisserot ISBN 9 782877 474658 Teulet Alexandre 1862 Relations politiques de la France et de l Espagne avec l Ecosse au XVIe siecle Vol 1 Renouard Tonazzi Pascal Florilege de Notre Dame de Paris anthologie Editions Arlea Paris 2007 ISBN 2 86959 795 9 de Villefosse Rene Heron 1980 Solennites fetes et rejouissances parisiennes Association pour la publication d une histoire de Paris ISBN 9782859620028 Trintignac Andre and Coloni Marie Jeanne Decouvrir Notre Dame de Paris Les Editions du Cerf Paris 1984 ISBN 2 204 02087 7 Viollet le Duc Eugene 1868 Dictionnaire raisonne de l architecture francaise du XIe au XVIe siecle Edition BANCE Wenzler Claude 2018 Cathedales Cothiques un Defi Medieval Editions Ouest France ISBN 978 2 7373 7712 9 Online references edit Archives parlementaires Vol 22 Stanford Libraries Archived from the original on 17 April 2019 Retrieved 24 April 2019 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cathedrale Notre Dame de Paris nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Notre Dame de Paris Monument historique PA00086250 Merimee database of Monuments Historiques in French France Ministere de la Culture 1993 Retrieved 17 July 2011 Official website of Notre Dame de Paris in English also in French Official website of Friends of Notre Dame de Paris Official site of Music at Notre Dame de Paris in English also in French Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral Fire Further information on the Organ with specifications of the Grandes Orgues and the Orgue de Choeur Tridentine Mass celebrated in Notre Dame in 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Notre Dame de Paris amp oldid 1216074163, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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