If you have ever visited Paris I am certain you have
been to the Notre Dame cathedral. After the Eiffel Tower this is the second
most popular tourist attraction and undoubtedly the most beautiful one. So
today when the television showed flames erupting from the spires of Notre Dame
it was a heart wrenching moment for me. The cathedral caught fire, causing the
collapse of the spire and the roof and not only the ordinary Parisians but even
the President Emmanuel Macron was in tears. The spectacle of flames leaping from
the cathedral’s wooden roof, its spire glowing red then turning into a virtual
cinder stunned thousands of onlookers who gathered along the banks of the Seine,
gasping and covering their mouths in horror and wiping away tears. Though more
than 500 fire fighters were trying to save most of the cathedral but like on
several occasions in its history, once again this historic monument has been
ravaged by fire.
My love affair with the iconic cathedral started in
my school days when I read Victor Hugo’s famous novel The Hunchback of
Notre-Dame. The story of Quasimodo, the ugliest person in Paris and La
Esmerelda, a gypsy street dancer, and their strange love is still vivid in
my memory but the burning spire of the cathedral too will remain etched in the
same memory bank forever!
The cathedral of Notre Dame is considered to be one
of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Its innovative use
of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and colourful rose
windows, and the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural
decoration set it apart
from the earlier Romanesque style.
The cathedral was begun in 1160 under Bishop Maurice de
Sully and was largely complete by 1260, though it was modified
frequently in the ensuing centuries. In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration
during the French Revolution; much of its religious
imagery was damaged or destroyed. In 1804, the cathedral was the site of the
Coronation as Emperor of France, and witnessed the baptism of Henri,
Count of Chambord in 1821 and the funerals of several presidents of the Third
French Republic.
The Exterior
The Gothic cathedral
was a liber
pauperum, a "poor people's book", covered with
sculpture vividly illustrating biblical stories, for the vast majority of
parishioners who were illiterate. To add to the effect, all of the sculpture on
the façades was originally painted and gilded.
The tympanum over the central portal on the west facade, facing the
square, vividly illustrates the Last Judgement, 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.
Sculptures of a variety of fabulous
and frightening grotesques or monsters - 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 were all a part of the visual message for the
illiterate worshipers, symbols of the evil and danger that threatened those who
did not follow the teachings of the church.
The stained glass
windows of Notre-Dame, particularly the three rose windows, are among the most
famous features of the cathedral. While
they look brilliant from outside, from inside they are simply mesmerizing!
Gargoyles
The gargoyles were added in about 1240 and 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.
Broken gargoyles and fallen balustrades replaced by
plastic pipes and wooden planks were certainly eye sores. Water regularly seeps
through cracks in the lead-covered spire, weakening its wooden frame. Rain,
some of it acid, is slowly eroding the flying buttresses and their decorative
pinnacles, built with delicate limestone.
Bells
The cathedral has 10 bells. The
Emmanuel Bell dates back to 15th. Century and weighs 13 tons. It
rings for the coronation of French
kings along with major events like the visit of the Pope, and others to mark
the end of conflicts including World War I and World War II. It also rings in
times of sorrow and drama to unite believers at the Notre-Dame Cathedral, like
for the funerals of the French heads of state, massacres like such as the 11 September Twin Towers incident and it is
reserved for the Cathedral's special occasions like Christmas and Easter.
Another large bell in the south tower called Marie
and it weighs 8 tons. In the North Tower, there are eight bells varying in size
from largest to smallest. Gabriel is the largest bell there; it weighs four tons.
Jean Marie is the smallest bell of the cathedral and it weighs 0.780
tons. Each bell tolls with a different note and has a history of its own.
Paintings and sculptures
The walls are decorated with
sculptures of religious figures, some 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 scepter in her left hand, and in her right
hand, two books, one open (symbol of public knowledge), and the other closed
(esoteric knowledge), along with a ladder with seven steps, symbolizing the
seven steps alchemists followed in their scientific quest of trying to
transform ordinary metals into gold!
Many of the statues, particularly the
grotesques, were removed from facade in the 17th and 18th century, 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.
The cathedral has
about 50 “Mays” of Notre Dame, large paintings
that were commissioned that month nearly every year from 1630 to 1707. Thus
masterpieces like The Descent of the Holy
Spirit by Jacques Blanchard, Saint Pierre healing the sick of his shadow and The
Conversion of St. Paul by Laurent de la Hyre, The Centenary Cornelius at the
feet of St. Peter by Aubin Vouet , The Preaching of St. Peter in Jerusalem by Charles
Poerson and The son of Sceva defeated by the demon by
Matthew Elyas all between 1634 and 1702 are in display and many other
that are either used as replacement or too fragile for display.
Organ
This has changed several times since the 15th century. The current organ has 115 stops (156 ranks) on five manuals and pedal, and more than 8,000 pipes. The position of titular organist ("head" or "chief" organist) at Notre-Dame is considered one of the most prestigious organist posts in France, a position held by Vincent Dubois since 2016.
The Cathedral's flèche or spire, which
was destroyed in the April 2019 fire was located over the transept and altar.
The original spire was constructed in the 13th century. It was battered,
weakened and bent by the wind over five centuries, and finally was removed in
1786. During the 19th century restoration, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc decided to
recreate it, making a new version of oak covered with lead. The entire spire
weighed 750 tons and today it stands charred! A very tragic site! Now it is up
to the French Government, the organizations like UNESCO and the philanthropists
of the world to restore it to its past glory.
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