Notre Dame Cathedral: History and Interpretation
The Cathedral of Notre Dame is the superlative example of Gothic architecture, sculpture and design. It was built between 1163 and 1267 in successive stages, as described in class. The building (which may be seen from several views by clicking here), was the brainchild of Maurice de Sully, who began to raise funds for it immediately upon his election to the office of Bishop of Paris in 1160. Sully had come to Paris to study in the famous cathedral school, where he most likely heard the teachings of such famous scholars as Peter Abelard and Thomas Beckett. He was also very likely acquainted with Abbot Suger, and certainly knew his splendid Abbey of St. Denis very well. Suger's creation had dazzled the Parisian public during the previous decade. It was obvious to Sully (as well as King Louis VII) that the centre of Paris warranted a building of equal or greater grandeur.
Sully enlisted the assistance of the powerful Chapter of Notre Dame, a secular group of influential and moneyed men (mostly lawyers and royal bureaucrats) who undertook the responsibility of raising funds for each successive campaign of construction. Since they weren't priests, the Chapter members could go about taxing the city population as they saw fit. The further the Cathedral progressed, the more they were justified in taxing the public. This was a happy situation for the Parisians though, since the Cathedral was attracting workers and admirers from across Europe -- the money they earned and spent brought great commercial prosperity to the city, justifying more taxation....and on it went. A painting from an illuminated manuscript of the early 1400's shows us an imaginary view of the construction of the ancient Temple of Solomon, a building that had enormous legendary importance, but which had been built, then destroyed way back in Biblical times. In the picture, various types of stone cutters and carvers can be seen practicing their trades, while King Solomon looks on from a balcony. The artist has imagined the ancient biblical event in entirely contemporary terms, suggesting the extent to which the medieval people believed they were very close to re-creating a moment of artistic perfection that had previously only existed in the glorious age of the Hebrew kings. When Maurice de Sully died in 1193, he was succeeded by another man of the same name (although no relation), Eudes de Sully. Eudes was from a noble background and was able to augment the Chapter's fund-raising efforts with his own considerable fortunes.
>>Here's the link for the web-site I've mentioned in class -- it's a great source for more info on Notre Dame.
There is a great deal of technical knowledge implicit to Gothic architecture. The term Gothic itself is only a word that was applied several centuries after the fact by some Italian writers of the 1500's, but it is a word that art historians have found to be useful in characterizing the "modern" architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries. The most fundamental concept in terms of cathedral design is the importance of admitting light into the building. Unlike the dark and gloomy interiors of ancient Roman temples, Abbot Suger argued that Christian structures should be eternally penetrated by divine light, in order to suggest the way that God's creation is eternally infused with his Holy Spirit. Suger, Sully and their theologians and architects quickly discovered that an immensely tall and skeletal structure would allow for huge areas of stained glass, while also providing a metaphoric expression of the Heavenly Jerusalem. In this sense, the Cathedral was designed to look as if it were a magical apparition - a miracle in stone and glass. A view of the "elevation" of Notre Dame reveals three main stories, the tallest of which is the "clerestory", which is literally made of glass with only the most light and delicate stone pillars supporting the rib-vaulted ceiling. The seeming thinness of the walls and vaults relied upon additional support provided from "flying buttresses" on the exterior.
As in the Abbey church of St. Denis, it was important to have sacred relics for the common people to worship as they visited the cathedral. A number of relics (of dubious origin!) had been brought back during the first, second and third crusades, and these became the focal point of the side chapels that were built around the eastern end of Notre Dame. The chapels were connected by a wide 2-aisled ambulatory which served as a corridor for visiting pilgrims. Indeed, the entire cathedral may be thought of as a kind of reliquery on an enormous scale.
The western facade of Notre Dame is full of imagery and symbolism connected to royal patronage and the importance of secular powers in maintaining and defending the church. It is an enormous piece of political propaganda - the towers are meant to remind the medieval visitor of feudal castles, which had been the most fearsome symbol of absolute power across Europe for centuries. The gallery of Kings was intended to represent the 28 Old Testament Kings from whom it was believed that Chirst had directly descended, but it was certainly meant also to suggest the current king of France (Louis VII) and his illustrious anscestors, right back to Clovis. Now the two great powers in society, church and nobility, could be seen to have come together to form an all-powerful unity in the name of God and the Virgin Mary.
The rose windows, found on the west, north and south facade, as well as in smaller form at the top of each of the large clerestory windows throughout the church, reminds the visitor of the rose of Mary's purity, as well as the crown of thorns, which symbolized Christ's suffering at the hands of man. Thorns and roses are (of course) both a product of the same plant, but are complete opposites. Medieval theologians taught that Christ had been as pure as a rose before His crucifixion, but became King of Heaven at the exact moment that He was tormented with the crown of thorns. That thorny crown thereby sybolized the dreadful burden Christ undertook when He became King of Heaven. From that moment on, all kings, including the newly powerful Capetian line of France, were subject to His authority and were expected to assume the same thorny responsiblities conferred by the crown. The double meaning of the rose window is a masterpiece of medieval symbolic intricacy and carried a chillingly powerful message to the 13th century visitor.
Like the interior elevation, the western facade consists of three horizontal stories and three vertical sections - a rational grid of the type never seen before in sacred architecture. This quality suggests the influence of the mystical geometry studied by Suger and his fellow schoolmen: the holy number three must gain in mystical significance through its multiplication. Modules based on proportions of 3 and 4 (also a holy number: the 4 apostles, the 4 seasons, etc.) are present throughout the building, forming an endless game of multiplication towards infinity. Look at the proportions of the interior and groundplan. Squint a little and you'll begin to appreciate the repitition of proportions based on the numbers 3 and 4, visible right down to the smallest details.
The three portals through which the visitor may enter the cathedral are in themselves highly intricate works of art. They are decorated with sculpture, most prominently on the "tympanum" over each of the three entryways. The left-hand tympanum illustrates Mary enthroned as Queen of Heaven (an image that no doubt brought to mind the infamous Eleanor of Aquitaine and Blanche of Castille), flanked by King Louis VII on the right and Maurice de Sully on the left. A third figure on the left may represent a certain Dean of the Chapter, or even a Master Mason, it is uncertain. The central portal depicts the Last Judgement, literally the end of time when all souls are judged -- a powerful reminder of virtue to the kings and nobles who entered the cathedral through this symbolically secular western end. As the sun sets every day to the west, so the sun will set on human history when the Last Judgement comes. The compassionate figure of Christ in the center of the doorway offers the visitor the only hope of escaping this dreadful judgement. The portal to the right is framed by a triangular element and is the tympanum dedicated to Mary herself. Here she is shown crowned Queen of Heaven by a grown up figure of Christ.