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NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL
Victor Hugo's Book of Strone
by Lisa Sanderson
Crusaders prayed here before going to their Holy wars; Mary, Queen of
Scots was married here and Napoleon crowned himself emperor here.
Notre-Dame Cathedral is perhaps the most impressive Gothic cathedral,
inspirational in its beauty and architecture.
Regarded by many as simply another tourist attraction, one of the 'sights'
of Paris, it takes the loud pre-recorded voice commanding 'Silence!' to
remind them that this is, indeed, primarily a house of worship.
The site of Notre-Dame was always regarded as sacred. In very early times
the Celts held services here. The Romans built a temple dedicated to
Jupiter on the island. After Christianity prevailed as the dominant
religion Childebert dedicated a basilica here to St.Etienne. A Romanesque
church stood on the site until 1163 when construction of Notre Dame began.
Maurice de Sully, the bishop of Paris, impressed by the Abbey of
Saint-Denis, wanted to build a great church to confirm Paris' position as
one of the dominant centers of Christendom. This would increase the
prestige of the capital immensely, it was thought. The 12th century was an
exciting time of increasing prosperity and power for France. Jerusalem had
been snatched from Islam and the First Crusade was still going.
Quality stone was available near Paris and the work began. Maurice was a
competent overseer who took charge of the construction, completing the
choir, apse and chancel. The King, Louis VII encouraged and supported the
construction, giving generous contributions.
Over the next five decades the north rose, transept facades and chapels of ambulatory were completed.
The Cathedral witnessed a scene of great grandeur when Mary, Queen of Scots,
was married here in only sixteen she was called by an observer 'a hundred
times more beautiful than a goddess in heaven' in her heavy blue velvet
robes and golden coronet.
The Baroque style came into fashion during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis
XV and the uplifting Gothic architecture of the great cathedral was regarded
as old-fashioned. During this period some of the lovely stained glass was
replaced with ordinary glass, tombs were destroyed and the interior was
white-washed.
More destruction occurred during the Revolution when many features of the
great Cathedral were stolen or defaced. Religion was regarded as elitist.
The Church was part of the Establishment, used to sustain the power of the
aristocracy. The gallery of Kings was smashed and the heads of the statues
were distributed to the Paris communes. The interior was even used as a
warehouse for the storage of food.
The Cathedral fell into disrepair until Victor Hugo who was only 28 wrote
his wonderful novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. This was the tragic love
story of the hunchback who lived in the cathedral and the beautiful and
soft-hearted Esmeralda. Victor Hugo described the Cathedrals of the middle
Ages as 'books of stone' and inspired people to become more interested in
Notre-Dame.
One young architect, Viollet-le-Duc, impressed by the novel, devoted much of
his life to the restoration of the cathedral. He restored the gallery of
kings and the gargoyles and designed the lofty spire and sacristy. He also
restored the interior, removing the white-washing.
As the great Victor Hugo wrote: "Each face, each stone of this venerable
monument is not only a page of the history of the country, but also of the
history of knowledge and art...."
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