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Around and About Paris: Notre-Dame
You are bound to visit the cathedral of Notre
Dame during your first visit to Paris, and probably go back many times,
as this is, unquestionably, one of the beauty spots of Paris. How about
looking into some of its inside story, as described in Around and About
Paris , volume 1, in the chapter on the 4th arrondissement?
This
is part of the walk through the two islands: Bordering the esplanade to
the north is the Hôtel-Dieu, the oldest hospital in Paris and for
centuries its only one. When it was built in the 12th century, it was
situated on the southern side of the esplanade, from where it expanded
gradually to occupy the whole area between the Petit Pont and the Pont
au Double. The Bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully, undertook its
construction, at the same time as that of the cathedral of Notre Dame.
This enterprising man was born into a very poor family in
Sully-sur-Loire in 1120; in 1165 he baptised the Dauphin, the future
Philippe-Auguste.
An earlier
hospital and a chapel stood here back in the 9th century, both bearing
the name of Saint-Christophe. They too must have been swept away by the
Norsemen. Maurice de Sully ordered each canon of Notre Dame to
contribute a bed to the hospital when he died, a welcome initiative at
a time when five patients shared one bed, as was the case well into the
18th century. It was also only at this relatively recent date that
patients were separated according to sex and disease. The hospital
enjoyed the protection of the Crown and, when Philippe-Auguste left for
the Crusade, he magnanimously offered the hospital the straw of the
vacated horse stables as extra bedding. Saint Louis and his mother
Blanche de Castille ruled that anyone in need be admitted, regardless
of sex, nationality or religion, except those afflicted by contagious
diseases. By this time, efforts were also being made to reduce the
number of patients per bed to three, hence the sarcastic observation,
"Each bed is shared be three -- the ill, the dying and the dead."
In
the 17th century, the hospital expanded to the Left Bank, connected by
way of the Pont au Double. Bridges were often built upon at the time,
and the Pont au Double had a glass gallery, which served as a promenade
for the patients. A narrow corridor for pedestrians ran along the
hospital premises, allowing Parisians to cross the river for the price
of a double farthing, hence the name of the bridge. The hospital was
moved to its present location during the radical transformation of
Paris at the time of the Baron Haussmann.
And
now for Notre Dame. The cathedral is all the more venerated by visitors
as they believe it to be one of the oldest standing vestiges of
medieval Paris. However, most of what you see is the work of
Viollet-le-Duc dating from the 19th century only. Many of the
cathedral's treasures were simply done away with because they were no
longer in vogue, notably the gorgeous chancel screen, the high altar
and the tombs, all of which disappeared in 1699. In the middle of the
18th century, the fabulous 13th-century stained-glass windows were
replaced by plain glass so as to bring in more light, but some of the
original glass of the two rose windows is still there. The one on the
western façade was studded with gold stars against two angels, each
bearing a chandelier. On the night of Sexagesima, the chandeliers would
be lighted with candles and all the priests of Notre Dame in their
cassocks would gather on the parvis to sing litanies throughout the
night.
Whatever was spared
over the generations hitherto, was looted and profaned during the
French Revolution. The bare, dilapidated edifice that remained standing
was dedicated to Reason and the esplanade became known as Le Parvis de
la Raison. When Napoleon chose this symbolic shrine for his coronation
in 1804, the walls had to be draped with hangings to make up for their
bareness. That they were standing at all was a miracle, for the
cathedral had been earmarked for demolition and put up for sale. A
potential buyer had even been found, the 'Citoyen Simon', Claude-Henri
de Rouvroi Saint-Simon by his previous name, a member of the same
family as the duke and writer of Memoirs and the count who would
inspire the utopian Saint-Simonian sect a few decades later.
Fortunately circumstances prevented the sale of Notre Dame from
proceeding.
By the early 19th
century the Romantic movement had aroused a growing interest in
medieval values and a revival in taste for the Gothic, which had been
spurned only recently. Victor Hugo undoubtedly deserves most of the
credit for bringing the plight of Notre Dame to the attention of the
public in 1831 through his novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame. At his
instigation, a temporary restoration committee was set up by the poet
Alfred de Vigny, the painter Ingres and the Catholic politician
Montalembert.
A competition
for a contract to restore the cathedral was launched in 1844 and won
jointly by Viollet-le-Duc and Lassus, but the latter soon died and
Viollet-le-Duc alone remained in charge of the colossal enterprise. A
past master in the art of restoration, his conception was, however,
that restoring "does not mean maintaining a building. It has to be
re-established in a complete state that could never have existed
before." Thus the southern side of the cathedral, with the sacristy and
guard's house, are typically 19th-century and the dainty steeple,
together with its profusion of graceful floral designs, was 'homemade'
by Viollet-le-Duc. However, the gargoyles and the other statues on the
walls, all have a medieval appearance, as does the "Gothic" furniture
inside, most of it designed after old drawings.
Restoration
work finished in 1864 and the cathedral was consecrated on 31 May. By
May 1871 it was again under threat. 'The bloody week', the climax of
the civil war of the Commune, began on 24 May: all the benches and
barriers were piled up in the centre of the nave and sprayed with
petrol. The house doctors of the Hôtel-Dieu were alerted just in time
to rush in and extinguish the fire. It seems that Adolf Hitler too
intended to destroy Notre Dame to mark the end of his occupation of the
coveted city.
As you approach
the western façade, try to picture the polychrome statues of yore,
standing out against a background of gold. Twenty-eight statues are
lined up above the three portals, representing the 28 kings of Judah.
These are reproductions of the original medieval statues, smashed by
the Revolutionaries who mistook them for the Kings of France, an
understandable confusion shared by the inhabitants of the 15th century.
Indeed, an engraving from that time represents two passers-by admiring
what they take to be statues of Pépin le Bref and Charlemagne, while a
shrewd rogue takes advantage of their absent-mindedness to steal their
purse.
The Kings of Judah are
celebrated because Jesus descended from their dynasty; nevertheless,
the church's traditional animosity to the Jews is also evident:
engraved on the stone under this row of statues is the defeated
Synagogue, characteristically blindfolded, with the triumphant church
standing on her right (on our left).
There
is no doubt that Notre Dame was meant to please the ear as well as the
eye, and its two medieval towers resounded to the peals of many bells.
All the seven bells of the northern tower were melted down during the
Revolution. In the southern tower there were two huge bells -- Marie,
likewise gone, and Jacqueline, which as survived, a gift to the Lord
from Jean de Montagu for having blessed his wife Jacqueline with a
daughter. When the bell was brought down to be alloyed with bronze,
during the reign of Louis XIV, the ladies of the kingdom are said to
have brought along their own jewelry to be melted down at the same
time: this, according to some, accounts for the purity of Jacqueline's
peal.
Have you visited Notre-Dame? What stands out in your mind? Visit our Sightseeing
Discussion Board. Thirza Vallois is the author of Around and About
Paris, Vol. 1, 2, and 3.Her video, "Three Perfect Days in Paris," aired
on all United Airlines international flights throughout September 1998
and on scores of television channels throughout the year. She is an
agrégée of the Sorbonne (the most prestigious of French university
degrees) and made excellent use of her academic background during her
eight years of research dedicated to Paris, which has culminated in her
books.
Photo of gargoyle: (c) Terry Boyd Copyright (c) 1999 Paris New Media, L.L.C.
