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Saint Lambert's Cathedral, Liège

January 01, 1970

For the present cathedral of Liège, see Liège Cathedral.

St. Lambert's Cathedral (or in full, the Cathedral of Our Lady and St. Lambert; French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Lambert) was the cathedral of Liège, Belgium, until 1794, when its destruction began. This enormous Gothic cathedral, dedicated to Saint Lambert of Maastricht, occupied the site of the present Place Saint-Lambert in the centre of Liège.

Engraving of St. Lambert's Cathedral by Remacle Le Loup (1735)
St. Lambert's Cathedral and Palace, 18th century
St. Lambert's Cathedral, 1780

History edit

Saint Lambert, bishop of Maastricht, was assassinated in Liège about 705, and was initially buried in Maastricht. The site of his martyrdom became a place of pilgrimage, and his successor, Saint Hubert, returned the body and reburied it there. Shortly afterwards, the bishop's seat was transferred from Maastricht to Liège, and Lambert's shrine became a cathedral.

Several structures succeeded each other on the site. The first was a martyr's shrine or mausoleum (martyrium), commissioned by Saint Hubert. Unusually, it was oriented to the west, which may account for the existence of a west choir in later cathedral buildings. Two cathedrals followed. The first, built towards the end of the 8th century, was in Carolingian style.

In 978 Bishop Notger installed a chapter of sixty canons. He then built a new church from around the year 1000, in Ottonian style, with a special crypt for the relics of the martyred saint. The architecture was that of the Holy Roman Empire. The new cathedral had a massive westwork, two choirs at opposite ends, two transepts, each with a tower over the crossing, adding to the monumentality of the structure, and a cloister at the east end. It is noticeable from the groundplan that the entrances were in the north and south sides of the building, and not along the east–west axis.[1] Frederic of Lorraine, later Pope Stephen IX, was canon and archdeacon of this church[2] before being raised to the cardinalate by Pope Victor II.[3]

Many alterations were made to it during the decades 1140–1180.

The disgraced and excommunicated Emperor Henry IV, who died on 7 August 1106, was buried here by the Prince-Bishop Otbert, after the entrails and heart had been removed. The German bishops protested and declared that the cathedral would be considered contaminated as long as the body stayed there. Emperor Henry V therefore had his father's remains disinterred and moved to Speyer Cathedral, on 15 August 1106.[4]

During the night of 28/29 April 1185 a violent fire broke out in one of the houses next to the cloisters, to which it immediately spread, and from there to the rest of the cathedral, which was destroyed. Reconstruction began the next day, in the Gothic style, extensively using the previous foundations. Part of the cathedral had been restored by 1189, when the Archbishop of Cologne visited to reconsecrate the church. In 1197, the relics of Saint Lambert, which had been in safe storage since the fire, were reinstalled in the new building.

The reconstruction was far from complete, for lack of funds. Processions criss-crossed the diocese in an effort to raise the necessary money. In the middle of the 13th century Pope Innocent IV granted indulgences to anyone who helped with the rebuilding of the cathedral.

From 1391, work started on a tower 135 metres high, west of the south arm of the eastern transept, whose belltower was as high as the hill of the citadel, and for the rest of its existence was a landmark for all who approached the city. Its completion in 1433 marked the end of the major works.

St. Lambert's Cathedral was 96 metres long (or 173 metres including the cloisters). With the side chapels it was 37 metres wide. It was some 30 meters high to the top of the ceiling vault. In style, if not in size, it was comparable to the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. The sandstone towers that characterised the west front were closely related to those of the cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula in Brussels, and of the Grote Kerk in Breda, in the Netherlands, as well as of the Basilica of Our Lady in Tongeren.

The Archéoforum[1] of Liège, beneath Place Saint-Lambert, makes it possible to see the ruins of the cathedral, besides the traces of other occupations of the site from the prehistoric period up to the 18th century.

Notre-Dame-des-Fonts edit

The Notre-Dame-des-Fonts ("Our Lady's with the font") was a small church adjacent to the cathedral.[5] The church held a notable Baptismal font.[5] Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany, illegitimate daughter of Charles Edward Stuart, was baptised there on 29 October 1753.[6]

Destruction edit

 
"Bonaparte, Premier Consul" by Ingres. In the background St. Lambert's Cathedral is distinctly visible, although at this period it was already in the process of demolition by the revolutionaries of Liège.

In 1794, under the French régime, after the révolution liégeoise, the demolition of the cathedral, agreed the previous year, was put in hand. The Liège revolutionaries considered it a symbol of the power of the prince-bishop. Demolition began with the removal of the lead from the roof for use in the manufacture of arms and munitions, under the supervision of a "Commission destructive de la cathédrale". Consideration of the destruction of the great tower began in 1795. In 1803 the western towers were demolished. The site was entirely levelled in 1827, except for a section of masonry from the ancient passage between the cathedral and the bishop's palace, which was still standing in 1929.

Once the revolutionary mood had passed, another church had to be chosen to replace the destroyed cathedral. The collegiate church of St. Paul was selected as being, of those suitable, the nearest to the centre of the city, and this became the present Liège Cathedral (or St. Paul's Cathedral, Liège). After it had been sensitively modernised, there were transferred to it the numerous treasures that had been saved from the old cathedral – works of gold, ivory, manuscripts, sculptures and reliquaries – which can be seen displayed in the cloisters. The site is maintained today by the Institut du Patrimoine, the institute in charge of cultural heritage protection in Wallonia.[7] Some of the furnishings have furthermore been preserved in the village church of Terwagne.[8]

 

 

 

Notes edit

  1. ^ This may possibly be the consequence of a superstition that evil would come from the west, and that an entrance on that side might allow it to enter the house of God. Many religious buildings in the Meuse region have this feature.
  2. ^ Patrick Healy, The Chronicle of Hugh of Flavigny: Reform and the Investiture Contest in the Late Eleventh Century, (Ashgate Publishing, 2006), 50.
  3. ^ Charles Radding and Francis Newton, Theology, Rhetoric, and Politics in the Eucharistic Controversy, 1078–1079, (Columbia University Press, 2003), 89.
  4. ^ D. Droixhe, "Une histoire des Lumières au pays de Liège", les Editions de l'Université de Liège, 2007, p. 15
  5. ^ a b Beckwith, John (1964). Early Medieval Art: Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque. Thames and Hudson. p. 178. ISBN 0-500-20019-X.
  6. ^ Pininski, Peter (2010). Bonnie Prince Charlie. A Life. Amberley. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-84868-194-1.
  7. ^ Cathedral remains 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine at the website of the Institut du Patrimoine
  8. ^ Menne, Gilbert, ed. (2014). Le grand guide de Wallonie et de Bruxelles. Brussels: Racine. pp. 281–282. ISBN 978-94-014-1418-0.

Further reading edit

Philippe, Joseph, La Cathédrale Saint-Lambert de Liège: gloire de l'Occident et de l'art mosan, Liège: édition Eugène Wahle ISBN 2-87011-049-9

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Lambert's Cathedral, Liège.
  • Archéoforum de Liège (in French)
  • (in French)

50°38′44″N 5°34′27″E / 50.6455°N 5.57404°E / 50.6455; 5.57404

January 01, 1970
saint, lambert, cathedral, liège, present, cathedral, liège, liège, cathedral, help, expand, this, article, with, text, translated, from, corresponding, article, french, august, 2011, click, show, important, translation, instructions, view, machine, translated. For the present cathedral of Liege see Liege Cathedral You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French August 2011 Click show for important translation instructions View a machine translated version of the French article Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at fr Cathedrale Notre Dame et Saint Lambert de Liege see its history for attribution You may also add the template Translated fr Cathedrale Notre Dame et Saint Lambert de Liege to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation St Lambert s Cathedral or in full the Cathedral of Our Lady and St Lambert French Cathedrale Notre Dame et Saint Lambert was the cathedral of Liege Belgium until 1794 when its destruction began This enormous Gothic cathedral dedicated to Saint Lambert of Maastricht occupied the site of the present Place Saint Lambert in the centre of Liege Engraving of St Lambert s Cathedral by Remacle Le Loup 1735 St Lambert s Cathedral and Palace 18th century St Lambert s Cathedral 1780 Contents 1 History 1 1 Notre Dame des Fonts 2 Destruction 3 Notes 4 Further reading 5 External linksHistory editSaint Lambert bishop of Maastricht was assassinated in Liege about 705 and was initially buried in Maastricht The site of his martyrdom became a place of pilgrimage and his successor Saint Hubert returned the body and reburied it there Shortly afterwards the bishop s seat was transferred from Maastricht to Liege and Lambert s shrine became a cathedral Several structures succeeded each other on the site The first was a martyr s shrine or mausoleum martyrium commissioned by Saint Hubert Unusually it was oriented to the west which may account for the existence of a west choir in later cathedral buildings Two cathedrals followed The first built towards the end of the 8th century was in Carolingian style In 978 Bishop Notger installed a chapter of sixty canons He then built a new church from around the year 1000 in Ottonian style with a special crypt for the relics of the martyred saint The architecture was that of the Holy Roman Empire The new cathedral had a massive westwork two choirs at opposite ends two transepts each with a tower over the crossing adding to the monumentality of the structure and a cloister at the east end It is noticeable from the groundplan that the entrances were in the north and south sides of the building and not along the east west axis 1 Frederic of Lorraine later Pope Stephen IX was canon and archdeacon of this church 2 before being raised to the cardinalate by Pope Victor II 3 Many alterations were made to it during the decades 1140 1180 The disgraced and excommunicated Emperor Henry IV who died on 7 August 1106 was buried here by the Prince Bishop Otbert after the entrails and heart had been removed The German bishops protested and declared that the cathedral would be considered contaminated as long as the body stayed there Emperor Henry V therefore had his father s remains disinterred and moved to Speyer Cathedral on 15 August 1106 4 During the night of 28 29 April 1185 a violent fire broke out in one of the houses next to the cloisters to which it immediately spread and from there to the rest of the cathedral which was destroyed Reconstruction began the next day in the Gothic style extensively using the previous foundations Part of the cathedral had been restored by 1189 when the Archbishop of Cologne visited to reconsecrate the church In 1197 the relics of Saint Lambert which had been in safe storage since the fire were reinstalled in the new building The reconstruction was far from complete for lack of funds Processions criss crossed the diocese in an effort to raise the necessary money In the middle of the 13th century Pope Innocent IV granted indulgences to anyone who helped with the rebuilding of the cathedral From 1391 work started on a tower 135 metres high west of the south arm of the eastern transept whose belltower was as high as the hill of the citadel and for the rest of its existence was a landmark for all who approached the city Its completion in 1433 marked the end of the major works St Lambert s Cathedral was 96 metres long or 173 metres including the cloisters With the side chapels it was 37 metres wide It was some 30 meters high to the top of the ceiling vault In style if not in size it was comparable to the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris The sandstone towers that characterised the west front were closely related to those of the cathedral of Saints Michael and Gudula in Brussels and of the Grote Kerk in Breda in the Netherlands as well as of the Basilica of Our Lady in Tongeren The Archeoforum 1 of Liege beneath Place Saint Lambert makes it possible to see the ruins of the cathedral besides the traces of other occupations of the site from the prehistoric period up to the 18th century Notre Dame des Fonts edit The Notre Dame des Fonts Our Lady s with the font was a small church adjacent to the cathedral 5 The church held a notable Baptismal font 5 Charlotte Stuart Duchess of Albany illegitimate daughter of Charles Edward Stuart was baptised there on 29 October 1753 6 Destruction edit nbsp Bonaparte Premier Consul by Ingres In the background St Lambert s Cathedral is distinctly visible although at this period it was already in the process of demolition by the revolutionaries of Liege In 1794 under the French regime after the revolution liegeoise the demolition of the cathedral agreed the previous year was put in hand The Liege revolutionaries considered it a symbol of the power of the prince bishop Demolition began with the removal of the lead from the roof for use in the manufacture of arms and munitions under the supervision of a Commission destructive de la cathedrale Consideration of the destruction of the great tower began in 1795 In 1803 the western towers were demolished The site was entirely levelled in 1827 except for a section of masonry from the ancient passage between the cathedral and the bishop s palace which was still standing in 1929 Once the revolutionary mood had passed another church had to be chosen to replace the destroyed cathedral The collegiate church of St Paul was selected as being of those suitable the nearest to the centre of the city and this became the present Liege Cathedral or St Paul s Cathedral Liege After it had been sensitively modernised there were transferred to it the numerous treasures that had been saved from the old cathedral works of gold ivory manuscripts sculptures and reliquaries which can be seen displayed in the cloisters The site is maintained today by the Institut du Patrimoine the institute in charge of cultural heritage protection in Wallonia 7 Some of the furnishings have furthermore been preserved in the village church of Terwagne 8 nbsp nbsp nbsp Notes edit This may possibly be the consequence of a superstition that evil would come from the west and that an entrance on that side might allow it to enter the house of God Many religious buildings in the Meuse region have this feature Patrick Healy The Chronicle of Hugh of Flavigny Reform and the Investiture Contest in the Late Eleventh Century Ashgate Publishing 2006 50 Charles Radding and Francis Newton Theology Rhetoric and Politics in the Eucharistic Controversy 1078 1079 Columbia University Press 2003 89 D Droixhe Une histoire des Lumieres au pays de Liege les Editions de l Universite de Liege 2007 p 15 a b Beckwith John 1964 Early Medieval Art Carolingian Ottonian Romanesque Thames and Hudson p 178 ISBN 0 500 20019 X Pininski Peter 2010 Bonnie Prince Charlie A Life Amberley p 70 ISBN 978 1 84868 194 1 Cathedral remains Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine at the website of the Institut du Patrimoine Menne Gilbert ed 2014 Le grand guide de Wallonie et de Bruxelles Brussels Racine pp 281 282 ISBN 978 94 014 1418 0 Further reading editPhilippe Joseph La Cathedrale Saint Lambert de Liege gloire de l Occident et de l art mosan Liege edition Eugene Wahle ISBN 2 87011 049 9External links edit nbsp Belgium portal nbsp Catholicism portal nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to St Lambert s Cathedral Liege Archeoforum de Liege in French Tresor de la cathedrale de Liege in French 50 38 44 N 5 34 27 E 50 6455 N 5 57404 E 50 6455 5 57404 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Saint Lambert 27s Cathedral Liege amp oldid 1178578116, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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