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 IN SEARCH FOR THE "DEFINITE REFERENCE": CATHEDRAL OF NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS AND GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

In April 2019, the fire of the Notre-Dame de Paris increased the interest to the
monument yet this attention is a short moment in the 860 years of history behind it.
This thesis focuses on how and in what ways the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris
was received as a reference in architectural history, urban history, literature and
conservation. The aim is to search the place where the monument stands throughout
history in three contexts: an urban context, as an object of Paris and a novel, 1831
Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo; as an object of restoration, in the context of
the history of architectural conservation in the nineteenth century and lastly; as an
object of study, and search for the building in architectural history survey books. In
1991, UNESCO registered the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris as a world heritage
site by officially stating that the monument constitutes "a definite reference in the
diffusion of Gothic architecture". How “definite” is its place in the historiography of
Gothic architecture will be assessed based on the review of the printed works. The
final discussion will return back to Hugo’s famous "This will kill that!" expression
and discuss the reception of the cathedral today.
Keywords: Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, Gothic architecture, Restoration
History, Heritage, History of Architecture
v
2019'da yangına maruz kalan Notre Dame de Paris Katedrali'ne ilgi artışı
gözlemlenmiş olup, bu ilginin yapının 860 senelik geçmişinde kısa bir andan ibaret
oluşu da bir gerçektir. Bu tez Notre Dame de Paris Katedrali'nin mimarlık tarihi,
kentsel tarih, edebi ve koruma nezdinde nasıl ve ne amaçlarla ele alındığına
odaklanmaktadır. Tezin amacı yapının tarih boyunca üç bağlamda nerede ve nasıl yer
aldığını araştırmaktır: kentsel bağlamda, bir Paris ve Victor Hugo'nun 1831 Notre-
Dame de Paris adlı eseri ve objesi olarak; on dokuzuncu yüzyıl mimari koruma
bağlamı içerisinde bir restorasyon objesi olarak; mimarlık tarihi etüt kitaplarında bir
araştırma objesi olarak. 1991 senesinde UNESCO Notre Dame de Paris Katedrali'ni
dünya mirası listesine kaydetmiş olup, resmi olarak "Gotik mimarinin yayılımında
kesin referans" olarak tanımlamıştır. Bu "kesin" yargının gotik mimarlık tarihi
yazımında ki yeri basılmış eserlerin içeriğinde incelenmektedir. Hugo'nun meşhur
sözü olan "Bu onu öldürür!"'e sonuç kısmında dönüş yapılacak, Katedralin
günümüzdeki yeri tartışılacaktır.
AnahtarKelimeler : Notre Dame de Paris Katedrali, Gotik mimari, Restorasyon
tarihi, Miras, Mimarlık Tarihi
vi
To those watching from above...
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ACKNOWLEDMENTS I would like to, first and foremost, thank my advisor Pelin Yoncacı Arslan for her unlimited patience, positivity and encouragement. I am extremely grateful for my previous advisor Lale Özgenel for her sincere and honest guidance. They have both laid an incredible path in front of me. I am grateful to my dissertation committee members Elvan Altan Altuğ, Namık Günay Erkal and Çağla Caner Yüksel for their invaluable and insightful remarks since the beginning. The first steps of my architectural history journey began with Ela Kaçel who not only thought me the subject but also encouraged me to become a historian like herself. All of this is thanks to you and your belief in me. I am grateful to the staff at BNF who created a safe place for endless research and to the people who cherish and protect Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, along all other beautiful Gothic monuments around the world every day. I would like to thank the people whom I consider family; Naz Costante, Ertan Özçelik and Neslişah Mamati. Your friendship means more to me than you can imagine, you are my chosen family. To my friends I made along the way, Aylin Atacan and Senem Yıldırım Evsen. I am saddened to not have met you earlier in life but nonetheless, thankful for all the memories. Murat Hüsfer, thank you for a lifetime of friendship. Fernaz Öncel and Emre Gökdel, thank you for your positivity and the laughter you brought along. My deepest and endless personal gratitude goes to my family; mum and dad, you have been nothing but encouraging, patient and full of love all my life. I am grateful every day to be your daughter, I cannot be more proud. Thank you to my brother for the laughter but most importantly for my nephew and niece. Thank you to my extended family and in-laws for their support. To my dear husband Güney Topsakal, you have been and continue to be my safe haven, my best friend and greatest support.
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Thank you for the endless discussions on Gothic architecture, for staying up with me, being patient with me. You have believed in me even when I doubted myself. Thank you for a million more reasons. I dedicate this dissertation to my loved ones who are no longer with us but still watching from above; my grandparents whom I think about every day. Papy, I would have loved nothing more to discuss this topic with you endlessly. To my beautiful and free spirited aunt Sophie, and the great-great uncle Cardinal Verdier who inspired all this. My Cheshire, you are forever missed and in my heart.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PLAGIARISM ........................................................................................................ iii
ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iv
ÖZ ........................................................................................................................... v
DEDICATION........................................................................................................ vi
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................... vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ ix
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ xi
CHAPTERS
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1
1.1. Notre-Dame as a Definite Reference ........................................................ 1
1.2. The Gothic in Architectural History Writing ............................................ 7
1.3. Aim and Structure of the Study ...............................................................24
2. NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS IN HISTORY .....................................................28
2.1. The Site: Point Zero, the Île de la Cité .....................................................28
2.2. The Building: Notre-Dame de Paris.........................................................50
2.3. An Era of Restoration in France ..............................................................66
3. THE 19TH CENTURY FRENCH RESPONSE TO NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS
......................................................................................................................75
3.1. Le Style Troubadour, The French Emphasis on Classic Times.................75
3.2. Victor Hugo and his Troubadourian War Against the Demolisseurs ........86
3.3. Hugo's Paris and Notre-Dame .................................................................92
3.4. Fatality and the Written Word ............................................................... 110
3.5. A New Hope for the Cathedral .............................................................. 114
3.5.1. Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc's Report .............................................. 117
3.6. Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionary ................................................................... 127
3.7. Lectures on Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc ........................................... 139
4. NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS AS A VISUAL REFERENCE .......................... 151
4.1. Auguste Choisy's Engineering Evolution ............................................... 151
x
4.2. Bannister Fletcher's Corpus .................................................................. 157
4.2.1. Changes throughout editions ...................................................... 162
4.3. Kimball & Edgell's Illustrations of Gothic Architecture ........................ 176
4.4. Nikolaus Pevsner's History of Spatial Expression ................................. 185
4.5. Visual Representations of Notre-Dame in the books ............................. 191
5. NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT ........................ 198
5.1. The Global Survey Books ..................................................................... 198
5.2. Spiro Kostof's Cross-Cultural History ................................................... 200
5.3. Gérard Monnier's Response to "Que-sais-je?" ....................................... 208
5.4. Global Time-Cuts by Ching, Jarzombek and Prakash ............................ 215
5.5. Richard Ingersoll's "Democratic" World Architecture ........................... 224
6. CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 234
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................ 257
APPENDICES...................................................................................................... 271
A. BOOK I CHAPTER I - "LA GRAND'SALLE" DESCRIPTIONS ............... 271
B. BOOK II CHAPTER II - "LA PLACE DE GRÈVE" DESCRIPTIONS ....... 273
C. BOOK III CHAPTER I - "NOTRE-DAME" DESCRIPTIONS.................... 276
D. BOOK III CHAPTER II - "PARİS À VOL D'OİSEAU" DESCRIPTIONS . 285
E. DRAWINGS OF NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS CATHEDRAL ..................... 308
F. CURRICULUM VITAE .............................................................................. 309
G. TURKISH SUMMARY / TÜRKÇE ÖZET ................................................. 311
H. THESIS PERMISSON FORM / TEZ İZİN FORMU ................................... 324
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1. The Cathedral of Paris ............................................................................ 1
Figure 1.2. The Cathedral of Paris burning. .............................................................. 2
Figure 1.3.The Spire of the Cathedral of Paris .......................................................... 3
Figure 1.4. Notre Dame as a "definite reference". ..................................................... 5
Figure 1.5. "Victor Hugo saved Notre Dame". ......................................................... 6
Figure 1.6. Notre-Dame de Paris, Western Façade ................................................... 8
Figure 1.7. Evolution from the dome to the rib ........................................................11
Figure 1.8. Notre-Dame de Paris, Western Façade ..................................................22
Figure 1.9. The Interior of the Cathedral of Paris ....................................................27
Figure 2.1.1. A map depicting the settlement of Lutetia, 5th century ........................28
Figure 2.1.2.The archaeological crypt under the parvis of the Cathedral of Notre-
Dame de Paris .......................................................................................30
Figure 2.1.3. Drawings of Roman era findings of the excavation in 1847 in the Parvis
of Notre-Dame de Paris ........................................................................31
Figure 2.1.4. Map of the Paris enclosure, the main axes and the Cathedral during the
reign of Philippe Augustus, 1180-1223. ................................................35
Figure 2.1.5. A map of Paris focusing on every street, church and Île de la Cité
before the French Revolution, 1740 ......................................................41
Figure 2.1.6. Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel.. .........................................................42
Figure 2.1.7. An image of the Church of Madeleine, ca.1890. .................................42
Figure 2.1.8. A map of Paris, showing the two main axes passing throughÎle de la
Cité in 1802 and the quays of the Seine River. ......................................43
Figure 2.1.9. A map of Paris, showing the two main axes passing through Île de la
Cité in 1802. .........................................................................................44
Figure 2.1.10. Haussmann's main urban projects on the Île de la Cité. .....................46
Figure 2.1.11. Haussmann's main urban projects on the Île de la Cité and its
surrounding...........................................................................................46
Figure 2.1.12. Haussmann's main urban projects in Paris. .......................................47
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Figure 2.1.13. Distribution of touristic attractions in Paris, 1994. ............................ 49
Figure 2.1.14.Point Zéro in the Place du Parvis de Notre-Dame. ............................. 50
Figure 2.2.1. Basilica of St.-Denis Ambulatory, the "prototype" of Gothic style...... 52
Figure 2.2.2..Notre-Dame de Paris in 1177 ............................................................. 52
Figure 2.2.3. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1245. ............................................................ 54
Figure 2.2.4. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1300. ............................................................ 54
Figure 2.2.5. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1350. ............................................................ 56
Figure 2.2.6..The construction phases of Notre-Dame de Paris ............................... 57
Figure 2.2.7. Drawing of a depiction of the "Fête de la Raison". ............................. 58
Figure 2.2.8 A section of the south tower. ............................................................... 59
Figure 2.2.9. The northern rose window of Notre-Dame de Paris. ........................... 60
Figure 2.2.10. The western façade of Notre-Dame de Paris. .................................... 61
Figure 2.2.11. Western portals of Notre-Dame de Paris........................................... 62
Figure 2.2.12. Scaffolding of the spire under construction of the Cathedral of Paris,
1853 / Statue of Saint Thomas on the spire. .......................................... 63
Figure 2.2.13. Interior view of the main nave of Notre-Dame de Paris. ................... 64
Figure 2.2.14. Interior view of Notre-Dame de Paris. ............................................. 65
Figure 2.3.1. Jean-Lubin Vauzelle, "The chapel of the Petits-Augustins repurposed as
part of the Musée des Monuments Français", 1804. .............................. 68
Figure 2.3.2. François Gérard, "Le Sacre de Charles X", 1827 ................................ 71
Figure 3.1.1. Eugène Delacroix's "La Liberté guidant le peuple", 1830 ................... 76
Figure 3.1.2.Fleury-François Richard's "Valentine of Milan Weeping for the Death of
her Husband Louis of Orléans", 1802. .................................................. 77
Figure 3.1.3.Anne-Louis Girodet's "Ossian Receiving the Ghosts of French Heroes",
1802.. ................................................................................................... 79
Figure 3.1.4.Pierre-Henri Révoil & Michel Philibert Genod, "Pharamond Lifted on a
Shield by the Franks", 1841-1845 ......................................................... 80
Figure 3.1.5.(Left) Hubert Robert, "The cloister of the English Augustinian Convent
of Notre-Dame-de-Sion de Paris", Late 18th c. ...................................... 82
Figure 3.1.6.Hubert Robert, "The Fire of Hôtel-Dieu in Paris 1772", Late 18th c. . . 82
Figure 3.1.7.Pierre Joseph Lafontaine, "Intérieur d'église gothique", 1785 .............. 83
Figure 3.1.8. Scenes from Notre-Dame de Paris [the novel] by Auguste Couder, 1833
............................................................................................................. 85
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Figure 3.1.9.Inside the House of Lords by Augustus Pugin, 19th c. ..........................86
Figure 3.2.1.Guerre aux Démolisseurs! by Victor Hugo, 1825................................88
Figure 3.3.1. Victor Hugo's Manuscript of Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831 - Book I
Chapter I ...............................................................................................93
Figure 3.3.2.Jean Fouquet, "La Descente du Saint-Esprit", 1450. ............................94
Figure 3.3.3. Viollet-le-Duc, "Notre-Dame in 1482", 1877. From Victor Hugo,
Notre-Dame de Paris. ...........................................................................97
Figure 3.3.4.Victor Hugo's Manuscript of Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831 - Book III
Chapter I. ..............................................................................................99
Figure 3.3.5.The portals before the nineteen th century restoration / Notre-Dame de
Paris' Western Façade in 2014 ............................................................ 100
Figure 3.3.6.Victor Hugo's Manuscript of Notre-Dame de Paris - Book III Chapter II,
1831. .................................................................................................. 101
Figure 3.3.7.Notre-Dame de Paris, circa 15thcentury. ............................................ 102
Figure 3.3.8.Henri Eugène Callot's Paris and Notre-Dame de Paris, 1900 .............. 104
Figure 3.3.9.View from Place de Grève, and Notre-Dame in 1652 ........................ 106
Figure 3.3.10.Île de la Cité, ca. 1550 (Coloured) ................................................... 109
Figure 3.4.1. Victor Hugo, "ANAΓKH", 1831 ........................................................ 112
Figure 3.5.1. First edition of Notre-Dame de Paris' Cover, 1831 ............................ 116
Figure 3.5.2. The spire of Notre-Dame de Parisz in 1680. ..................................... 117
Figure 3.5.3. Lassus & Viollet-le-Duc's Project de Restauraiton de Notre-Dame
de Paris, 1843 / Main entrance of the monument depicted by L.
Gaucherel .......................................................................................... .118
Figure 3.5.4. South façade of the Cathedral under restoration in 1846 ................... 119
Figure 3.5.5. "Paris Reblanchi", Journal amusant No:6, 1856 ................................ 120
Figure 3.5.6. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1780 before the restoraiton .......................... 123
Figure 3.5.7.Notre-Dame de Paris in 1860 during the restoraiton .......................... 124
Figure 3.5.8. Viollet-le-Duc's drawing of the Western façade of Notre-Dame de Paris
in 1856 / The choir in the 13th century by Viollet-le-Duc.................... 125
Figure 3.6.1.Dictionnaire Raisonné de l'Architecture Française du XIe au XVIe
siècle by Viollet-le-Duc ...................................................................... 129
Figure 3.6.2.Entry of "Architecture" in the Dictionnaire Raisonné, 1854 ............... 132
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Figure 3.6.3."Coupe / Plan d'une Travée" & "Exterior and Interior of Notre-Dame de
Paris" in the Dictionnaire Raisonné by Viollet-le-Duc, 1854 ............... 134
Figure 3.6.4." Cathédrale Idéale adopted from Reims Cathedral" in Dictionnaire
Raisonné by Viollet-le-Duc, T.2, p.323, 1854 ..................................... 136
Figure 3.6.5.(Left) Notre-Dame de Paris Plan towards 1230in Dictionnaire Raisonné,
T.2, p.294 by Viollet-le-Duc, 1854 / (Right) Notre-Dame de Paris'
Exterior in Dictionnaire Raisonné, T.2, p.290 by Viollet-le-Duc, 1854 .....
........................................................................................................... 138
Figure 3.7.1. Cover of Entretiens sur l'Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc, 1863.. ....... 140
Figure 3.7.2."Table of Contents" of Lectures on Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc(B.
Bucknall Trans.), 1877 ....................................................................... 141
Figure 3.7.3. Acropolis in Entretiens sur l'Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc, 1863. .. 142
Figure 3.7.4. Gothic Decorative Elements, Entretiens sur l'Architecture by Viollet-le-
Duc, 1863 ........................................................................................... 145
Figure 3.7.5."Notre-Dame de Paris, How it should have been", Entretiens sur
l'Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc, 1863 ................................................ 147
Figure 4.1.1.Tome 2, Contents page of Histoire de l'Architecture by Auguste Choisy,
1899 ................................................................................................... 152
Figure 4.1.2.Sections of Amiens Cathedral by Choisy, Histoire del'Architecture,
1899 ................................................................................................... 154
Figure 4.1.3. Partial section of Notre-Dame de Paris by Choisy ............................ 157
Figure 4.2.1. A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method by Fletcher &
Fletcher, 1896 .................................................................................... 159
Figure 4.2.2. Diagram Table of A History of Architecture on the Comparative
Method by Fletcher & Fletcher, 1896 ................................................. 159
Figure 4.2.3. Contents of A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method,
1896 ................................................................................................... 161
Figure 4.2.4. Contents page of the fourth edition of A History of Architecture on the
Comparative Method, 1901 ................................................................ 164
Figure 4.2.5. Contents page of the fifthedition of A History of Architecture on the
Comparative Method, 1905 ................................................................ 165
Figure 4.2.6. Tree of Architecture by Bannister Fletcher in thefifthEdition of A
History of Architecture on the Comparative Method, 1905 ................. 166
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Figure 4.2.7. Principles of GothicConstruction, 1901 ............................................ 168
Figure 4.2.8. English Gothic Examples I - English Gothic Examples III ................ 171
Figure 4.2.9. Comparative Views of Models of Continental Cathedrals ................. 174
Figure 4.2.10. Comparative Plan of English (Salisbury) and French (Amiens) Types
of Cathedrals ...................................................................................... 176
Figure 4.3.1.The contents page in A History of Architecture, 1918 ....................... 178
Figure 4.3.2. Comparative Plans of Gothic Cathedrals in France, Germany, Italy and
England .............................................................................................. 180
Figure 4.3.3. Arrangement of Monuments and Details to Illustratethe Development
of the Buttress and the Development of the Façade ............................. 182
Figure 4.3.4.West Façade of the Amiens Cathedral and the interior view of the apse..
........................................................................................................... 185
Figure 4.4.1.Contents page in An Outline of European Architecture, 1948... ......... 188
Figure 4.4.2.St.-Denis Abbey by Pevsner .............................................................. 189
Figure 4.4.3. Nave of Notre-Dame, Chartres, Reims and Amiens. ......................... 190
Figure 4.5.1. Notre-Dame de Paris' bayas it existed originally by Choisy .............. 191
Figure 4.5.2. French Gothic Examples I & III ....................................................... 193
Figure 4.5.3. West Front of Notre Dame de Paris & Interior, looking East in Notre-
Dame .................................................................................................. 194
Figure 4.5.4. Sections and Systems of Gothic Buildings ........................................ 196
Figure 4.5.5. Paris: Nikolaus Pevsner's drawing of Notre Dame's plan.Top Half -
Ground Floor; Lower Half - Upper Floor ............................................ 197
Figure 5.2.1. Contents page of A History of Architecture, 1985 ............................ 201
Figure 5.2.2. Cathedral of Notre-Dame d'Amiens' view of the west façade ............ 203
Figure 5.2.3.The Strasbourg Cathedral .................................................................. 204
Figure 5.2.4. Chartres Cathedral's plan and images from pages 335-338 ................ 206
Figure 5.2.5.The upper hall of the Sainte-Chapelle, Paris ...................................... 207
Figure 5.3.1. Cover of Histoire de l'Architecture, 2021. ......................................... 209
Figure 5.3.2. Contents page of Histoire de l'Architecture by G. Monnier, 2021 .... 211
Figure 5.3.3. The plan of the ideal chevet in a gothic church by Villard de
Honnecourt, Histoire de l'Architecture, 2021 ...................................... 213
Figure 5.3.4. Plan of Notre-Dame de Paris bu Gérard Monnier, 2021 .................... 213
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Figure 5.4.1.The "Time-Cuts"explanation of A Global History ofArchitecture, 2011
........................................................................................................... 216
Figure 5.4.2.First "Contents" page in A Global History of Architecture ................ 217
Figure 5.4.3.A map of Europe during the High Middle Ages / Reconstruction of St.-
Denis at the time of Abbot Suger ........................................................ 219
Figure 5.4.4. Durham Cathedral's plan, partial section and interior ........................ 221
Figure 5.4.5. Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Reims' section and plan / Western façade
of Amiens Cathedral / Western façade of Cathedral of Notre-Dame of
Reims, France .................................................................................... 223
Figure 5.5.1. Contents page of World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History, 2013
........................................................................................................... 225
Figure 5.5.2. St-Denis' western façade, the plan of the choir and the viewinto the
chevet in the survey ............................................................................ 227
Figure 5.5.3. Chartres Cathedral and its plan from Ingersoll's book ....................... 228
Figure 5.5.4.Notre Dame de Paris in World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History,
2013 ................................................................................................... 230
Figure 5.5.5. Notre-Dame de Paris in the foot note time table in World Architecture:
A Cross-Cultural History, 2013 .......................................................... 231
Figure 6.1.The statues of Cathedral of Paris found in 1977, displayed at the Cluny
Museum ............................................................................................. 236
Figure 6.2. (Left) Quasimodo saving Esmeralda, 1832 / (Right).Hugo depicted as
resting on "his" cathedral, 1841 .......................................................... 238
Figure 6.3. Map of Paris, focusing on the Banks of the Seine, 1991 ...................... 240
Figure 6.4. Cathedral of Chartres as a "reference point" ........................................ 244
Figure 6.5. Left) Notre Dame de Paris, 1851 by Henri le Secq (Middle) Apse of
Notre-Dame de Paris, Viewed from the Bank of La Tournelle 1860-70 by
Charles Soulier (Right) The Red Door by Charles Marville, 1852....... 245
Figure 6.6.(Left) Maximilien Luce's 'The Quia Saint-Michel & Notre-Dame,1901.
(Right) Henri Matisse's 'Notre-Dame, une fin d'après-midi', 1902 ....... 245
Figure 6.7. Edward Hopper, "Notre Dame de Paris", 1907 .................................... 246
Figure 6.8. A screenshot of Augute & Louis Lumière's "Paris" documentary
dating 1896 ........................................................................................ 246
Figure 6.9. The Hunchback of Notre Dame' 1939 movie poster ............................ 247
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Figure 6.10. Movie poster and screenshot of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre
Dame, 1996 ........................................................................................ 248
Figure 6.11. The nine new bronze belles are displayed in 2013 ............................. 249
Figure 6.12. Ubisoft's 'Assasin's Creed: Unity' Game screenshot of Notre-Dame de
Paris ................................................................................................... 250
Figure 6.13. "Dame de coeur" light show on the western façade of Notre-Dame de
Paris, 2017 .......................................................................................... 250
Figure 6.14.(Left) The spire of Notre-Dame under restoration, before thefire of 2019.
(Right) The spire of the Notre-Dame Cathedral during the early stages of
the 2019 fire. ...................................................................................... 253
Figure 6.15. Notre-Dame' roof burning during the fire of April 15, 2019 ............... 254
Figure 6.16. Notre-Dame's restoration project, 2021.............................................. 254
Figure 6.17. Notre Dame's spire burning during the 15th April 2019 fire ................ 255
Figure 6.18. The damage on the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral afterthe fire of
2019 ................................................................................................... 256
1
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Figure 1.1. The Cathedral of Paris. (Source: Personal archive)
1.1. Notre-Dame de Paris as a Definite Reference
On 15 April 2019 around 18.50 a fire broke out under the timber roof of the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris (Figure 1.1) which was under restoration, resulting
in a fire that lasted more than three hours and the evacuation of the Île de la Cité
(Figure 1.2). Around 19.50 the nineteenth century spire designed and constructed by
Viollet-le-Duc collapsed and the fire moved inside the north tower whilst the world
2
watched through live footage and shared the event through 8.6 million messages via
social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram).1 Due to the structural equilibrium
achieved in the Gothic monument, if in any case the damage to the north tower
would have increased it would have resulted in its collapse and then the whole
edifice would have been destroyed since the thirteen tons Emmanuel (the bell) would
have caused irreparable damage upon its fall.2
Figure 1.2. The Cathedral of Paris burning. (Source:
https://numismag.com/en/2019/04/15/notre-dame-de-paris-on-fire/)
Even though the images that were broadcasted made it seem like the monument did
in fact almost collapse, the general structure managed to evade further damage. The
Crown of Thorns that is believed to be the one that Jesus Christ wore during his
1Retrieved June 17 2022 from https://www.visibrain.com/fr/blog/les-reseaux-sociaux-pleurent-notredame-
de-paris-depuis-l-incendie/
2Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/16/world/europe/notredame.
html
3
crucifixion, the Tunic of St. Louis, the famous Cockerel3 that was located on the
spire that fell and more of the artefacts that makes the monument even more popular,
were saved and archived.4 The world watched as one of the most iconic and
recognized Gothic edifice was burning. (Figure 1.3.)
Figure 1.3. The Spire of the Cathedral of Paris. (Source: Personal archive)
Notre-Dame de Paris has been one of the most visited monuments in the world and
was the most visited one in Paris for a long time, before its forced closure after the
fire of 2019.According to a study by Douglas G. Pearce (1997), the island known as
Île de la Citéwhich is housing the Cathedral, was the leading tourist destination,
estimated to welcome twelve million visitors a year with Notre-Dame de Paris being
the main focus. Before the 2019 fire, the monument's had approximately 30.000
visitors a day. But why is the Cathedral that famous? Why is it one of the most
visited monuments in the world? What made it so significant?
3The cockerel, the symbol of France was located amongst the relics. It was placed lastly placed by my
great great-uncle the Archbishop of Paris Cardinal Jean Verdier who is buried in the Cathedral. He
served as archbishop from 1929 to 1940.
4Retrieved June 6, 2022, fromhttps://metro.co.uk/2019/04/16/notre-dame-crown-thorns-st-louis-tunicsaved-
cathedral-fire-9219579/
4
Cathedrals, are Christian churches that contain the cathedra [Latin for "seat"] for the
bishop and these monuments were not the result of only a king's wish or a bishop's
desire, but were actually the result of a whole community's time, work, effort,
money, and belief. They were erected by the men and women who believed that the
Gothic cathedral was the "House of God" or "Heaven on Earth" that will protect
them, connect them and give a glimpse of the heaven that they so desired. The
European Middle Ages was an epoch of faith that left its imprint upon all aspects of
medieval thought, but more so on architecture. With faith guiding the people in their
daily lives, art and architecture tended to be more spiritual, and religious rather than
secular. This tendency turned the role of the churches and cathedrals, imperative on
the day-to-day lives of every medieval society, putting these religious monuments at
the centre of everything: from culture to city.5 The term Gothic made its first
appearance during the Renaissance by writers such as Giorgio Vasari who used the
word as a derogatory term to describe late Medieval art and architecture, which he
attributed to the Goths and regarded it as "monstrous and barbarous" (Sankovitc,
2001, p.29).Even Molière wrote: "Le fade goût des monuments gothiques, Ces
monstres odieux des siècles ignorants, Que de la barbarie ont vomis les
torrents."(Kimball & Edgell, 2012, p.275).6
Whole communities, towns and cities came together to build these architectural
masterpieces most of which will survive the test of time. The characteristics of
Gothic architecture, in general, were a combination of resolutions that Romanesque
architecture and its predecessors had not yet found to its problems: the possibility of
verticality and diffusion of the load through buttresses resulting in non-load bearing
walls resulting in larger openings. These new structural answers to previous
problems alongside pointed arches, stained glasses with traceries and the previously
unimaginable heights gave us a unique architectural style. Gothic architecture was
5See André Grégoire's Histoire du moyen-âge (395-1270) pour la classe de troisième (1895), Robert
A. Scott's The Gothic Enterprice: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral (2003) and Otto
von Simson's The Gothic Cathedral: Origin of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval Concept of
Order (1956) for further information.
6"The besotted taste of Gothic monuments, these odious monsters of ignorant centuries, which the
torrents of barbary spewed forth.".
5
considered as a language as they were used to depict important events and characters
of the Bible, teaching religion and history to a highly illiterate population. Not only
do we express ourselves through language but in a sense "... [it] is the foundation of
civilization."7. Victor Hugo brought these two elements of expression together in
1831 when he used Notre-Dame de Paris as his protagonist in his novel. The novel is
not only considered a masterpiece of the Romantic Movement but also an expression
of admiration towards one of "the most beautiful example of French Gothic
architecture."8
Figure 1.4. Notre Dame as a "definite reference". (Source:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/600/)
In 1862 the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris became part of the Monument
Historiquelist and in 1991, UNESCO registered the edifice as a world heritage site.
UNESCO included the Cathedral as part of the "Paris, Banks of the Seine" by
officially stating that the monument constitutes "a definite reference in the spread of
Gothic construction". Definite, meaning free of uncertainty or obscurity, creates a
sense of absolutism resulting in the absolute knowledge that the Cathedral of Paris,
alongside Sainte Chapelle, was one of the main reasons of the spreading of this style
in the Middle Ages (Figure 1.4). The monument certainly became popular over time,
becoming a focal point in novels and paintings, being in the background of almost all
Parisian movies, being the main character in some of those movies and turned into
the main character of a musical based on one of said novels. The 1831 novel by
Victor Hugo and the resulting restoration of the monument is still the main reason for
7 Levy, S. (Producer), & Villeneuve, D. (Director). (2016). Arrival (Motion Picture). United States of
America: Paramount Pictures.
8 Retrieved June 14, 2022, fromhttps://whc.unesco.org/en/news/2102
6
its place in popular culture yet this popularity was not achieved through simply Hugo's book as it was claimed by the official site of the Cathedral: "Victor Hugo saved Notre Dame" (Figure 1.5). This study illustrates and discusses the "definite reference" concept in the canon of French and English written architectural history, beginning from the nineteenth century when Victor Hugo published his novel with the same name in 1831: Notre-Dame de Paris, 1482 which resulted a decade later in the extensive restoration project under the management of Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. Beside the restoration and the novel with the same name, in its 860 years of existence, Notre-Dame's history can be followed through documentation as well as read through its stones. What made the medieval cathedral important in the nineteenth century and forward? The people did not have the same relationship or even interaction with a cathedral in those times, the connection is even less understandable yet during the nineteenth century, Europeans, especially the French, began to re-evaluate said monuments, began to preserve and restore them to their glorious past-selves. The answer to this question will be researched through the writings of architectural historians from the nineteenth century and forward, to be read between the lines of what occurred during that century that made them revisit the forgotten medieval times and their recent fascination with grand Gothic cathedrals, focusing on the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris and its status of "definite reference". Figure 1.5. "Victor Hugo saved Notre Dame". (Source: www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/la-cathedrale)
7
The primary aim is to understand the reference identification of Notre-Dame de Paris
Cathedral, developing the research on how a literary piece, a novel shaped a nation's
architectural identity and the multidisciplinary impact on Paris during the nineteenth
century by asking the following questions: firstly, how did the Gothic style, the
architectural expression of the Middle Ages and its ideologies, was perceived around
the time of the 1789 French Revolution and its aftermath; secondly, how did Victor
Hugo's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' reinstated an interest to the national
architectural style of the past, and finally, how did Gothic architecture resurfaced;
and at what capacity did the "definite reference" existed and was impacted at the
height of the restoration era, bringing the Cathedral of Paris to the twenty-first
century and the fire of 2019.
1.2. The Gothic in Architectural History Writing
Before finding the answers to these questions or focusing on a more global approach
of architectural history and eventually the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris's place
in it, a look at some of the literature that focused on Gothic architecture is necessary
starting with two historians who approached the subject in a more global point of
view since 2000s. Leland M. Roth's Understanding Architecture: It's Elements,
History and Meaning (1993) reads more like an essay rather than an architectural
history text book. Divided into two parts and twenty one chapters, the Gothic chapter
began with a quote from Otto von Simson's; "House of God" and continued with the
history of the style and focused on key monuments. St.-Denis is the first monument
in the chapter to be looked at in detail, there are some mentions of Notre-Dame de
Paris and then Roth skipped to Amiens Cathedral to which he called it a classic
example of High Gothic era. Travels in the History of Architecture (2009) by Robert
Harbison, one of the most read survey books of the 2000s was unique in the sense
that the author approached the subjects aided by literature, art and history in order to
contextualize and illustrate each period of style. The author even wanted to include
non-conformist examples of the sites. The name 'travel' comes from the desire to
make the reader walk alongside the written word. In a traditional manner, the
chapters were divided into chronological styles including Gothic. In the Gothic
chapter the typical story of the starting point being St.-Denis was included. The
8
reason that it was chosen was that even though explanations were given and the
development of the style was discussed yet Notre-Dame de Paris' name was not
included in the chapter.
Figure 1.6. Notre-Dame de Paris, Western Façade (Source: Smith, R. 1884, p.74.)
Looking at books that focused on Gothic art and architecture,9 one of the earliest
references was Architecture: Gothic and Renaissance (1884) by Roger T. Smith,an
English architect and scholar. Published only twenty years after the completion of
Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral's restoration by Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc, the text
was written in an introductory level, for students of architecture as well as other
artistic people, as was mentioned in the preface, and was given as a source book in
many Gothic architectural books; such as the ones by Otto von Simson and by José
9 For further reading see Panofsky, E. (1951). Gothic Architecture & Scholasticism. New York: New
American Library.;Frankl, P. (1962). Gothic Architecture. New Haven and London: Yale University
Press.; Snyder, J.C. ( 1989). Medieval Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture 4th - 14th Century. New
York: Harry N. Abrams.; Camille, M. (1996). Gothic Art: Visions and Revelations of the Medieval
World. London: Calmann and King Lmt.; Toman, R. (1999). The Art of Gothic: Architecture,
Sculpture, Painting. New York: Konemann.; Charles, V., & Carl, K. (2016). Gothic Art.New York:
Parkstone International.; Prina, F. (2011) The Story of Gothic Architecture. New York: Prestel
Publishing.
9
Bracons. The book categorizes the two architectural styles through their location in
thirteen chapters. The first nine chapters focuses on Gothic architecture, including an
introductory analysis of the Gothic style. Smith described Gothic as the "Christian
Pointed" (Smith, 1884, p.1) and stated that it prevailed throughout the continent for
three centuries. The author stated that the "most important specimens of Gothic
architecture are the cathedrals..." (Smith, 1884, p.6), After the second chapter; "The
Buildings of the Middle Ages" where Smith began with a simplified version of how a
cathedral was arranged, planned and structurally brought to existence and continuing
with secular buildings of the era, he focuses on "Gothic Architecture in Great
Britain". The three chapters that are dedicated to English Gothic are listing the
different eras and styles, plans and terminologies as well as architectural elements
such as arches, vaults and spires. In chapter six, "Gothic Architecture in Western
Europe, France - Chronological Sketch", Smith compares English and French Gothic
architecture, as well as categorising the style into three: Primitive (13th c.),
Secondaire (14th c.), and Tertaire (15th c.). He considers the northern side of France
to be the cradle of Gothic (Smith, 1884, p.71). The western façade of Notre-Dame
de Paris Cathedral (Figure 1.6) was mentioned in great detail. Remarkably, however,
he called Chartres, Reims, Amiens, Laon and Beauvais - excluding the Parisian
Cathedral, as "grand examples of French first pointed." (Smith, 1884, p.73). Notre-
Dame de Paris was neither a "definite reference" nor a grand example in the 1880s.
The chapter continued with gothic architectural elements accompanied by French
examples.
Louis Gonse, the French art historian, who published L'ArtGothique: l'architecture,
la peinture, la sculpture, le décor only six years later in 1890, wanted to emphasize
the importance of presenting an overall picture of the l'art national during the Gothic
era - from the beginning of the twelfth century to the end of the fifteenth. The author
first shared his view on the name given to the style by Vasari in a derogatory manner.
He, was not satisfied as the name of the style should simply be l'Artfrançais, le 'style
français', just as it was during the Middle Ages (1890, p.III). The book was divided
into thirteen chapters, beginning with the evolution of the style from the Romanesque
period until the sixteenth century. Civil architecture, military architecture, painting,
sculpture and furniture all found their own chapters. Gonse attributed the
10
advancement of the historical knowledge of the Middle Ages to Viollet-le-Duc
himself, even stating that he was the reason behind many fundamental laws that are
indisputable (1890, p.36). The author, as many others did, placed the Cathedral of
Paris in the "transition period," yet still calling it the most important and beautiful
work of the early art (1890, p.120). The fifth chapter was divided into three parts;
the last one being "Les Grandes Cathédrales". Gonse began the part with Notre-
Dame de Chartres: "Ogival art has left more homogeneous, more brilliant works than
certain parts of this building; yet it has produced nothing more lively, more
grandiose, more proud, more original." (1890, p.156). After Notre-Dame de Chartres
and Saint-Ètienne de Bourges, the author continued with Notre-Dame de Paris with a
short historical background. Gonse claimed that the Cathedral was perhaps the one
that offers the most unity and perfection; its imposing severity equalling that of
Chartres Cathedral with a more careful execution in all its parts; that the monument
is worthy of the capital, of the historical greatness of the monarchy, the very image
of the patrie and one of the most sublime expressions of its genius (1890, p.166).
The passage continues with the façade of the monument, proclaiming it without
hesitation as the queen of the Gothic façades: majestic; and that none other had
presented such a complete harmony.
Four years later, Gaston Cougny's 1894 book titled L'Art du Moyen Age could be
considered as an inclusive text compared to its contemporaries; the author included
not only Byzantine art but also Muslim art as a subtitle alongside with Gothic art. In
seven chapters, Cougny went over art found in the catacombs and in the basilicas,
continuing with Byzantine, Muslim and Romanesque art before Gothic art was
discussed in the fifth chapter. In the text, the author calls Gothic art, l'artfrançais,
just as Louis Gonse wanted to. Unlike his predecessor Gonse, Cougny fails to
mention Notre-Dame de Paris whilst discussing the French cathedrals but once; to
give as an example of early Gothic era alongside Senlis, Saint-Leu, Sens and others.
Yet when he began writing about Rayonnant Gothic, which covers the years from
1230s to 1420s, the author then gave the Cathedral of Paris as an example for that
style. The construction of these parts may coincide with the Rayonnant era but one
could argue this claim to be incorrect. The style's name means "Radiant" and its main
purpose was to bring in light through large, almost wall like stained-glasses as one
11
could observe in St.-Chapelle, Paris or King's College Church in Cambridge. This
natural light element was lacking in Notre-Dame due to its stained-glasses and was
eve criticized and modified in later centuries.
A well known student of Viollet-le-Duc, the French architect and restorer Édouard
Corroyer'sL'ArchitectureGothique (1903) was divided into four parts: Religious
architecture, Monastic architecture, Military and finally Civil architecture. In the
introductory part of the book, the author wrote that Gothic architecture was not the
product of a spontaneous generation; it was the uninterrupted, regular and logical
continuation of Romanesque architecture, just as the latter only followed the ancient
traditions at its origin and successively transformed them according to the needs and
customs of the time (1903, p.8). The influence of the dome of the Romans and the
Byzantines that turned into the rib vault was mentioned many times (Figure 1.7).
Certain monuments, including Notre-Dame de Paris were depicted in a more detailed
manner. Accompanied with a plan of the Cathedral, dates of construction phases,
influences, sections, architectural elements, the façade and more, were included in
the text.
Figure 1.7. Evolution from the dome to the rib vault (Source: Corroyer, E. 1903, pp. 22-23.)
Thirty years later, in 1934 François Benoit's L'Architecture: L'Occidentmédiéval,
Romano-gothique et Gothique,the author wrote that Gothic was a complete and
12
homogeneous style which represents both a conception of construction and a
conception of effect. It is original because it is unique (1934, p.9). Benoit stated that
there were three phases can be distinguished in Gothic architecture. In the first phase,
Gothic was represented only by its vaulting method, the ribbed crossing; apart from
this, which was very often applied only to part of the building, everything was
absolutely Romanesque. The same applies to the second stage, except that the Gothic
part was increased by the adoption of a rudimentary system of structure. In the last
period it dominated; but Romanesque survivals were numerous. The author differed
from the other French writers when he claimed that Abbot Suger himself called upon
"masters from various countries" when he was constructing Saint-Denis, so the style
should not be credited to the Île-de-France. Benoit later on stated that in the fifteenth
century every region begun to incorporate their own decorative spin to the style. A
logical classification of the Gothic schools lead to the distinction of four groups: The
first was formed by two premier schools: France and England. According to the
author the French school was the one that had the most exact understanding of the
Gothic principles: it was the one that perfected their formula; it was the one that
came closest to the integral realisation and to the classical perfection. The secondary
schools were composed by German, Italian and Spanish schools and the last one was
called "Écoles à la suite", formed by Irish, Scandinavian countries, Poland, Portugal,
Hungary and many more including the colonized areas in the East (1934, p.63).
Benoit gave monuments as references in the footnotes just as Raoul Rosières did,
including Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral as well as many others. The Cathedral of
Paris was included by photographs as well. Andrew Martindale's Gothic Art (1967)
was divided into four time-cuts: "The Age of Transition 1146-1240"; "The Preeminence
of Paris 1280-1350"; "Italian Art of the Mid-thirteenth to Mid-fourteenth
Century" and "European Art 1350-1400". These chapters were all looking at the
architecture, sculptural program and paintings of each era that they were focusing on.
After Abbey of St.-Denis and Laon Cathedral, Notre-Dame de Paris was discussed;
what are the differences and similarities between previous Gothic monuments, the
innovations such as the flying buttresses and many different architectural elements
that eventually resulted in Chartres Cathedral.
13
During the research process, one can observe books that focused more on Gothic art
and architecture in France and, Mérimée's essay was one of the earliest to be
published. Prosper Mérimée (1803-1870)10 - a French historian and archaeologist -
would become an important activist in the preservation and the archiving of
architectural monuments, especially medieval ones. In an essay from 1837 titled
Essai sur l'architecture religieuse du moyen age, particulièrementen France,
Mérimée claimed that if we studied the monuments from the Roman era to the
Renaissance, the history of each style would be the same; as if their evolution and
decadence were subject to a general law. They would be simple at first, becoming
more ornate as time passes and when they would have acquired all the richness and
elegance, perfecting the style they would begin to decline since ornamentation
becomes the main goal. When one tires from the ornamentation, they began to look
elsewhere for a more powerful and reliable sense. Abandoned and forgotten styles reemerge,
certain architectural elements are chosen from amongst them and a new style
and system is composed, much like a palace built from the ruins of an ancient temple
(1837, pp.5-6). Mérimée then continued to study the differences and similarities of
Byzantine architecture and Gothic architecture through their transition periods,
pointing out the influence that the East exerted on the emerging French architecture.
According to him, during the eleventh century, a renaissance of art occurred, guided
by the "Christian society" (1837, p.11). Mérimée resumed his essay by categorizing
the elements that formed the architecture of the eleventh century into five:
"Memories, or the imitation of Roman architecture.", "Imitation of Greek Revival
and Oriental architecture.", "The mystical ideas and conventions of certain religious
bodies.", "The needs of the climate and national customs." and lastly, "The national
taste.". Some of these categories were highlighted with examples of certain
architectural elements and specific churches that possessed them, located in France.
Upon focusing on Gothic architecture in France, or as he called it architecture ogive,
Mérimée stated that in the beginning the "ogive / rib" could only be observed in the
10ProperMérimée. Inlarousse.fr. Retrieved May 31, 2017, from
http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/personnage/Prosper_M%C3%A9rim%C3%A9e/132828 Prosper
Mérimée (1803-1870) was a French writer, archaeologist and historian. He became the second
Inspector General of Historic Monuments, after Vitet. The official database of French monuments
called the Base Mérimée is named after him. He was considered an important figure in architectural
preservation history. He, accompanied by his friend George Sand, discovered the lost medieval
tapestry called "The Lady and the Unicorn" which would later be exhibited in the Musée National du
Moyen Âge in Paris, which he aid for its creation in the first place.
14
interiors of the monuments, its usage limited to arches and vaults. For a long time
assigned to certain interior parts of the building, it was not until very late that it was
used in the damping of doors and especially windows, as well as in the decoration
itself (1837, p.36). According to the author Gothic architecture was tried on
considerable monuments which contributed to its characteristic of greatness. With
the new sense of nationalization in France, a large number of constructions were
happening, helping this sense of grandeur. Mérimée wrote that Gothic art appeared
with a new system: choosing the appropriate elements that were already in use in
Romanesque architecture; knowing how to compose a whole of these elements, and
transforming them by putting them into practice with its principle being lightness
(1837, p.43). As a conclusion Mérimée stated the evolution of the style trough
centuries, indicating that Gothic architecture found its highest splendour during the
fourteenth century; boldness of plan, skill of execution, finesse of work, it possesses
all these qualities. Its system is complete, homogeneous; it has schools and principles
(1837, p.49). The author mentioned some churches and cathedrals of Europe as
examples for the architectural elements yet there is no mentioned of the Cathedral of
Paris. Although he was a close friend of Viollet-le-Duc, his preference to not include
the Cathedral could be the result of it not yet being under restoration at the time.
Once the restoration project begun on the monument, Daniel Ramée's 1846, Histoire
de l'architecture de Francedepuis les Romains jusqu'auseizième siècle - which as the
title suggests, focuses on the period between the Romanesque and the sixteenth
century, was published. He began by stating that among the monumental ruins
scattered in various parts of France one can easily find the traces of the people who
have successively occupied this country (1846, p.7). He too mentions the influence
of the East on Gothic architecture, specifically the Byzantine architecture's influence
is mentioned. According to Ramée, the Gothic architecture of the thirteenth century
manifested in stone to the highest degree the religious and independent inspiration of
the thought and genius of Christianity (1846, p.13). A statement that could be
contradictory as one could argue the high point of Gothic architecture in France to be
during the fourteenth century. In twelve chapters the author discussed Romanesque
architecture, the definition of Gothic architecture, the transition period and each
century with their unique additions. These chapters are constructed in a Q&A manner
15
in which the author asked a question and gave the answer in order to provide an
easier read to the students or enthusiast of the subject. An introductory level lecture,
without focusing on any specific monument but rather to a more general information
yet still including Paris' Cathedral when given as an example accompanied by other
edifices.
Thirty years after the completion of the restoration project of Lassus and Viollet-le-
Duc, in 1894 Raoul Rosières - a French historian, wrote L'Évolution de
l'architectureen France, using twenty-three chapters that begun with the architecture
of the Gallic all the way to contemporary times to when the book was published. The
author, on the chapter focusing on Gothic architecture, stated that three things struck
him upon his observation of Romanesque churches: their narrowness, their low
height and semi-darkness state. All which will find a solution during the Gothic era.
According to Rosières,for Gothic art, the twelfth century was the time of the first
draft, that is to say of reckless ardour, rashness, empiricism and adventure (1894,
p.92). He too mentioned the influence of the East, specifically the Byzantine
influence upon Gothic architecture. The text does not focus on any certain monument
yet gave multiple examples to each architectural element, novelty and evolution
through footnotes. Rosières, in the introduction, mentioned Victor Hugo and his
pamphlets as well as his novel and their effects on the conservation of the gothic
monuments and Viollet-le-Duc and his contributions to the field of restoration since
the ramifications of the restoration could now be observed. René Schneider who was
a professor of the history of French and Italian art, wrote L'ArtFrançais: Moyen Âge
- Renaissance in 1923 which consisted of three major parts: Romanesque art, Gothic
art and Renaissance art. Gothic art was divided into three chapters; the first focusing
on Gothic architecture, the second one focusing on sculpture and paintings of the
thirteenth century and the last on sculpture and paintings of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries. Schneider began the chapter on Gothic architecture stating that
whatever Romanesque art expected or sensed, Gothic art delivered, achieved. It was
the apogee of French art in the Middle Ages, and the most French that they had with
that of the eighteenth century. The author is rare in his praise of Paris' Cathedral,
emphasizing that the city will have the biggest, most beautiful church even though he
will call the twelfth century Cathedral, an archaic one, in later pages (1923, p.60).
16
The text continues with chronological information regarding the development of the
style with examples from churches and cathedrals. Émile Bayard, the French
illustrator responsible for Victor Hugo's Les Misérables poster for the musical
depicting Cosette, wrote in 1929 a book titled L'Art de Reconnaîtrel'architecture
Française. In thirteen chapters the author wrote about French art and architecture,
their transition periods, their differences and developments under new reigns and
regimes. On the third chapter which is about Gothic architecture, the text focuses on
the three periods of the style: Ogival primaireouenlancette, Ogival secondaireou
rayonnant and Ogival tertiaire, fleuriou flamboyant. The difference of this approach
to other books is that Notre-Dame de Paris, Chartres, Reims and Amiens Cathedrals
are all placed into the same time period and style. The majority of historians would
agree that the capital's Cathedral and the others would be categorized in different eras
due to their differences. An approach that not many had taken nor would take.
A century after the completion of the restoration project of the Cathedral, in 1966,
Whitney S. Stoddard published Art & Architecture in Medieval France. The content
consisting of five parts began with "Romanesque France", continuing with "Early
Gothic of the Twelfth Century" where Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral was discussed
in detail. In the latter, the author wrote in the historical background that Gothic style
was the result of Romanesque elements that were synthesized with innovation and
that those innovations were the result of experimenting architects of the Early Gothic
era. Stoddard wrote about Chartres and its School which became the "center of the
study of liberal arts." (Stoddard, 1966, p.95), geometry being an important part of
that education. He mentioned Otto von Simson's previously discussed book many
times throughout the chapter, how Simson viewed the Gothic cathedral as "an image
of the 'Celestial Kingdom' or as 'the symbol of the Kingdom of God on earth."
(Stoddard, 1966, p.99). The next chapters are all dedicated to individual monuments
in a chronological order, starting with St.-Denis, continuing with the Cathedral of
Sens which was considered as the first Gothic cathedral, the Cathedrals of Noyon
and Laon respectively, then the Cathedral of Notre-Damede Paris. The author claims
that the Parisian Cathedral was an exception in the Early Gothic era due to its size.
Its location that he deemed "dramatic" alongside the Seine River with its parvis "has
made Notre-Dame perhaps the best-known monument in western Europe."
17
(Stoddard, 1966, p.137). Light was the main objective of Abbot Suger when he redesigned
the choir of the Abbey, resulting in the same purpose for the following
cathedral constructions. Simson conformed this ideology in his book as well and
according to Stoddard Notre-Dame's interior remained relatively dark considering its
enlarged clerestory windows. The height of the monument and its innovative flying
buttresses seems to have given the Cathedral of Paris "a truly Gothic spirit."
(Stoddard, 1966, p.145). According to the author, the fame of Chartres Cathedral,
that is mentioned, highlighted and even dedicated an entire book by many historians
was established through the presence of the Sacred Tunic worn by Mary (Stoddard,
1966, p.145). Stoddard even quoted Simson: "The Gothic cathedral of Chartres was
the work of France and of all France no other great sanctuary had ever been before."
(Stoddard, 1966, p.174). Chartres would become much taller than Noyon and Laon
and even taller than Notre-Dame de Paris and would be considered an important
example of French Gothic architecture. Its location, much like the capital's cathedral,
is impressive and can be found atop the highest point in the city. The Key to Gothic
Art by José Bracons was published in 1988 originally in Spanish two years prior to
its translation. The first image in the introductory pages was the Royal Doors of
Chartres Cathedral with Notre-Dame de Paris' west façade (Figure 1.8) following on
the next page. The Parisian Cathedral is considered to be an important example of the
early Gothic phase. As was mentioned in other books, Notre Dame de Paris was the
largest building that was ever built until that time (Bracons, 1988, p.20). Yet once
again, this text states: "The perfection of the interior plan of the Chartres cathedral in
France..." (Bracons, 1988, p.21), and once again it was called one of the most perfect
examples of Gothic architecture. Bracons states that light was the connection
between God and humanity, a notion similarly shown and written in Simson's book.
There are many aspects in which the style was understood, including but not limited
to sculpture, painting and other artistic mediums.
During the research, one can also observe books that are dedicated to particular
monument types or even a single edifice. The first example of this is Auguste Rodin
who dedicated a book in 1914, to a specific monument type and called it Les
Cathédrales de France without including the Cathedral of Paris. This was mentioned
in the Avertissement part, stating that Rodin's text should be considered as an attempt
18
to awaken sensibilities and intelligences through general observations, specified in a
few large images. In the 109 pages long introduction by Charles Morice, it was stated
that when they say cathedral, they mean only the French cathedral as by its origin as
well as by its originality, the Cathedral is French (1914, p.VII). This sentiment had
been supported by Rodin himself; "Our French cathedrals are very beautiful! But
their beauty is no longer easy to understand... The Cathedral is the synthesis of the
country. ...all France is in our Cathedrals, as all Greece is in short form in the
Parthenon." (1914, p.8). This comparison will be repeated in the twelfth chapter
dedicated to Chartres Cathedral, stating that the monuments was the Acropolis of
France. The choice of not including the Cathedral of Paris, the most famous of the
cathedrals of France into the discussion was made on purpose yet a sufficient
explanation for that choice was not given.
One of the most cited sources upon the research, was Otto von Simson's The Gothic
Cathedral Origins of Gothic Architecture and the Medieval Concept of Order
(1956). The book was divided into three parts: "Gothic Design and the Medieval
Concept of Order", "The Birth of the Gothic" and "The Consummation". According
to von Simson, Gothic architecture was an image, or at least the text tried to
understand it as such, as a representation of supernatural reality. He was quoted
repeatedly for stating that Gothic cathedrals were "the House of God.", a fearful
reality yet they became a convention since they are mostly intact and in use even
today, making them too accessible, unlike the nostalgic ruins of the past that are
beyond repair. The author's main concern was to understand "the reason of its origin
and the meaning of its message." (von Simson, 1956, p.xx). He claimed that he
confined himself to the first period of Gothic architecture, beginning from the Abbey
of St.-Denis to the Cathedral of Chartres, two monuments that were the only ones
described and depicted at length (von Simson, 1956, p.xix). In the first part, von
Simson asked himself the question of what is Gothic? Instead of giving a traditional
answer such as rib vaults, pointed arches, flying buttresses, etc., he claimed that
Gothic architecture consisted of two aspects: "the use of light and the unique
relationship between structure and appearance." (von Simson, 1956, p.3). The use of
light which transformed these monuments into a diaphanous architecture was
discussed at length alongside the importance of geometry that was at the core of its
19
structural and aesthetical beauty: "an overwhelming importance of this geometrical
element in Gothic architecture." (von Simson, 1956, p.4). The second part of the
book, "The Birth of the Gothic" started with St.-Denis. This was where the detailed
discussion of how and why Gothic emerged through Abbot Suger's design of the
chevet took place. The last chapter of this part was titled: "Sens and Chartres West",
and it begins by stating that Sens Cathedral was the first Gothic cathedral. The
monument was discussed, compared and its importance was displayed. The rest of
the chapter was focusing on the west side of Chartres Cathedral since that façade, the
Royal Portal "has for Gothic sculpture the same significance that the Cathedral of
Sens and the choir of St.-Denis have for Gothic architecture." (von Simson, 1956,
p.148). The last part of the book focuses solely on the Notre-Dame de Chartres, a
choice that was and will be repeated by other historians as they consider the
monument to be one of the most perfect representations of the style. A book that was
given as a resource in Otto von Simson's work was Emile Mâle'sThe Gothic Image:
Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century, a text that is focusing mostly on
the sculptural and other art forms that developed alongside Gothic architecture. Mâle
stated that sacred art was organized under fixed rules, that there was a science to it:
"This science was transmitted by the Church to the lay sculptors and painters of the
thirteenth century who religiously guarded the sacred traditions..." (Mâle& Nussey,
1972, p.1). The author discusses the importance of geometry through Dante and its
effect on the cathedral design yet the majority of the text is focusing on symbolisms.
The Cathedral of Paris and many other edifices were given as a reference when
sculpture and other art forms were being discussed, without focusing on a specific
monument.
In 2003 Robert A. Scott's The Gothic Enterprice: A Guide to Understanding the
Medieval Cathedral was published with the aim to compile a book that was different
than others that choose to be devoted to a single building or a set of them. The
authors aim was to understand the very idea of the cathedral itself; what did a
cathedral stand for, what sort of cultural monument was it, etc. The professor asked
himself three questions that he wanted to be able to answer: Why did these buildings
were erected and how were they build in the first place and lastly what were they
used for? In this book Scott separated the contents into five parts: in the first part
20
titled "A Grand Understanding", the author focused on describing the complex era of
cathedral building and how they were built, in Europe that occurred especially
between 1134 and 1550. The second chapter, "History", observed the economical and
social aspects of this era which resulted in these monuments. Part three; "The Gothic
Look" brought on a list of architectural elements and features that defined what it
was that made them Gothic? The fourth chapter "The Religious Experience" was
exploring how the human factor had a role in these monuments. The last chapter of
the book was titled The Gothic Community and was about understanding the role
these monuments played in medieval society. The Parisian Cathedral was only
mentioned in passing, construction dates, height and one single photograph depiction
a part of the roof. Philip Ball's Universe of Stone: A Biography of Chartres
Cathedral (2008) did indeed study a single building yet the majority of the work
tried to understand the meaning behind Gothic cathedrals. The author dived into
symbolisms, history, engineering methods, architectural elements, light, geometry,
cosmology and even literature, which created a more informed and comprehensive
understanding of these monuments and in which circumstances were they
constructed. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was mentioned multiple times
but always in comparison to the Cathedral of Chartres.
In the twenty texts included in the research phase that were published in between
1837 and 2009, the number of times the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was
considered to be a "definite reference" to Gothic architecture or even was considered
to be as important as other edifices was rare. Many authors focusing on art and
architecture of the Middle Ages did not mention the monument in their work. This
may be the result of an increase of interest towards the monument due to Victor
Hugo's novel resulting in a decline of the necessity for referencing it. Through the
novel, Notre-Dame came to be known world-wide, books were written about the
edifice, studies were conducted about it increased in numbers and scholars focused
on it. This popularity, and approachability may have shattered the illusion behind the
monument, resulting in a lack of interest thus hindering the necessity of mentioning
the Cathedral as an example.
21
The most referred monument, Chartres Cathedral was called a "grand example",
"perfect", had chapters dedicated solely to the edifice. In 1862 the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame de Chartres became part of the Monument Historiquelist at the same
time as the capital's Cathedral yet UNESCO registered the edifice as a world heritage
site, as an individual monument in 1979, twelve years prior to the inclusion of Notre-
Dame de Paris in 1991, not as a single monument but as part of the "Seine, Banks of
Paris" site. The ICOMOS World Heritage List No:81 stated that Chartres Cathedral
was "the reference point par excellence of French gothic art." and that it was "the
most authentic and most complete example which has been left to us...". In the
criterions the monument was stated as "the complete and perfected expression...",
that it had "exerted a considerable influence on the development of the gothic art
both within and outside of France.", and that the edifice was "at once a symbol and a
basic building type: the most elucidating example which one could choose to define
the cultural, social and aesthetic reality of the Gothic cathedral.". The importance of
Chartres seems to be not only as an architectural masterpiece but also as a
"reference", a guide to the style itself. Was it the power of Victor Hugo's Parisian
novel which will lead to the restoration project of Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc or the
different media platforms that will eventually publicize the Cathedral of Notre-Dame
de Paris enough for UNESCO to try to reclaim the status in 1991? Was its
popularity, its place as a "definite reference" or simply the fact that it is the capital's
Cathedral that would make it the best known and most visited cathedral in the world
and did this popularity impacted its place in architectural historiography?
22
Figure 1.8. Notre-Dame de Paris, Western Façade (Source: Bracons, J. 1990, p.5.)
The questions above will be researched in this dissertation through the analyses of
the building in three contexts: as "an object of Paris", as "an object of restoration"
and as "an object of study". The first context was the immediate urban context of the
Île de laCité where the Cathedral was built in Gothic style in the south-eastern part of
the small island in the middle of the River Seine. The site, meaning the island on
which the monument is located, the history of the monument and its description.
Urban, historical and political aspects are all discussed with Notre-Dame de Paris,
always as the main actor. The second context in which the edifice was analyzed was
as "an object of restoration", focusing on Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc's project report.
The fictive context of Victor Hugo's famous novel; Notre-Dame de Paris where the
building is one of the protagonists. The beginning of the nineteenth century showed a
curiosity towards the past which manifested in many different movements and styles.
One of them being an artistic style called Le Style Troubadour that focused on
France's near history and the thirteenth century medieval era which was considered
23
to be the origins of Romanticism and later the beginnings of Gothic Revival. The
destructive aftermath of the French Revolution and this historic curiosity were key
moments in the history of preservation and restoration since it led to many artefacts
including architectural pieces to be documented, listed, archived and exhibited in
museums, such as the Musée des monuments français which was opened by
Alexandre Lenoir in 1795. An ideology of preservation arised: all that was lost
during the Revolution and purposeful vandalism led to classifying historic
monuments and funding restoration projects one of which will be the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame de Paris. In 1844, Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc were appointed as the
architects that would be responsible for the restoration project and they prepared an
extensive report for the process that they would wish to follow. The project was
completed in 1864. The third context was as "an object of study" and search for and
review the Cathédrale de Paris in the canon of architectural history survey books.
Viollet-le-Duc was one of the first architect who theorized architecture, and because
of him being one of the principal architects on the restoration project of the
Cathedral, his dictionary and lectures on architecture became the subject of this
work. Auguste Choisy's Histoire de l'architectureand Gérard Monnier's Histoire de
l'architecturewere chosen as part of the French context. The French architectural
historians, although not lacking in numbers did not produce as much survey books of
architectural history as the English written ones. Bannister Fletcher's A History of
Architectureon the Comparative Method, Kimball and Edgell's AHistory of
Architecture, Nikolaus Pevsner's An Outline of European Architecture, Kostof'sA
History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals, Ching & Jarzombek and Prakash's A
Global History of Architecture and lastly with Richard Ingersoll's World
Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History were all chosen to dissect in a similar
manner: looking at the contents of the survey book, researching the manner in which
Gothic architecture was depicted, focusing on Notre-Dame de Paris and lastly the
visual representation of Gothic in these survey books once again focusing on the
Cathedral.
24
1.3. Aim and structure of the Study
The aim of the dissertation is to observe and uillustrate the status of the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame de Paris as a "definite reference" in the architectural survey
historiography. To answer the validity of UNESCO's claim about the definiteness of
the Cathedral's importance in the spread of the Gothic construction, this study asks
questions such as how were the Middle Ages, Gothic architecture and the
Cathedralwere viewed during the French Revolution and the nineteenth century art
and architectural context as well as how was it perceived by the nineteenth century
and forward architectural historiography context. The scope of the thesis is the
nineteenth century concept of nostalgia and patrimoine, French literature and books
by important figuresof the era as well as nineteenth century architectural survey to
the globalization of architectural historiography. The method of this dissertation is
searching for and following a pattern in architectural survey books about the Middle
Ages, Gothic architecture, and the placement of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de
Paris, by analyzing the contents, studying in detail the authors approach to Gothic
and the monument itself and searching thourough the visual representation of those
chapters.
This thesis consists of six chapters. In Chapter I, Introduction, he main research
question of the dissertation and aim of the study are outlined. The reasons behind
selecting the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris as the main object of analysis, and
why it is being viewed as a "definite reference" in this study are clarified. The
chapter is concluded with the construction or the thesis.
Chapter II Notre-Dame de Paris in History focuses on the geographical, historical,
urban and descriptive context of the Cathedral of Paris starting with the site analysis:,
Île de la Cité where Paris began and eventually the Cathedral was constructed
beginning from the prehistoric times to the nineteenth century until Napoleon III's
and Baron Haussmann's renovations. The history of the monument is written, as well
as the beginnings of Gothic architecture, Abbot Suger's St.-Denis. A detailed
historical background of the edifice has been researched; all the construction,
renovations, alterations and vandalism that it endured alongside the political
25
background occurring at the same time including the French Revolution of 1789,
dechristianization of France, the Cults that took over Notre-Dame de Paris,
concluding it with the Concordat of 1801. A description of the monument with both
the exterior and the interior, the spire and the West façade is given in this chapter.
France's era of restoration is included in this chapter since the restoration project was
an important part of the discussion behind the main question of the dissertation. How
did this terminology came into existence, how was it applied and how did it effect
the Cathedral are part of the study.
Chapter III The 19th Century French Response to Notre-Dame de Parisbegins with
the art and architectural scene of the late eighteenth, early nineteenth centuries of
France, the Troubadour style and the rise of Romanticism leading to Gothic Revival
is discussed leading the way for Victor Hugo. Besides the detailed review of the
novel depicting Notre-Dame de Paris and Paris itself, Hugo's Guerre aux
Demolisseurs! is included in the chapter in order to show how he did not only write
about one monument but that he wanted to save all that he considered national
heritages. In the novel section, besides the Book III Chapters I-II where the
monument and the city are described in great detail, almost all other monumental or
Parisian descriptions are discussed as well as the plot of the novel, the main character
being the Cathedral itself. Hugo chose to write about his recent visit to the edifice's
tower where he came upon a word: "ANAΓKH", translated as fatality. The word, the
meaning and its connection to the famous "This will kill that!"are discussed in this
part of the chapter. Viollet-le-Duc's texts, the Dictionary of French Architecture
From Eleventh to Sixteenth Century alongside Entretiens Sur L'Architecture are both
included as a starting point to understand how Gothic architecture was viewed and
the where did Notre-Dame stood in architectural writing in the nineteenth century
French context.
Chapter IV Notre-Dame de Paris as a Visual Reference begins with Auguste
Choisy's survey Histoire de L'Architectureand continues with Fletcher's A History of
Architecture Upon the Comparative Method.The contents of the booksare discussed
alongside the nationalistic approach and lack of inclusivity, the heavily criticized
Eurocentric and imperialistic approach to the history of architecture. For this
26
discussion to be complete, the different editions of Fletcher's book and their changes
are also included in this part of the chapter. The same method of research is followed
with Kimball and Edgell's AHistory of Architecture, Nikolaus Pevsner's An Outline
of European Architecture - even though it is not a global architectural history it is
still part of the canon of the field.Gothic architecture is researched in a more detailed
manner alongside its visual representations focusing on Notre-Dame de Paris
Cathedral and its statue of visual reference.
Chapter V Notre-Dame de Paris in the Global Context includes books written after
the 1950s. Kostof'sA History of Architecture: Settings and Rituals, Monnier's
Histoire de l'Architecture, Ching & Jarzombek and Prakash's A Global History of
Architecture and lastly with Richard Ingersoll's World Architecture: A Cross-
Cultural History are researched from a Gothic architectural stand to understand how
Gothic architecture was viewed and the where did Notre-Dame stood in architectural
writing in a global context.
The last part Chapter VIConclusion conclude the research and findings of the
dissertation bringing the Cathedral of Notre-Dame to the twenty-first century, in
search of the reasons behind its popularity before the fire of 15 April 2019. (Figure
1.9.)
27
Figure 1.9. The Interior of the Cathedral of Paris, 2017. (Source: Personal archive)
28
CHAPTER II
NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS IN HISTORY
2.1. The Site:Point Zero, the Île de la Cité
To understand the phenomena that is the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in not
only architectural history writing but in general as well, one has to study its past
including the island on which it was erected. The island called Île de la Cité, where
the cathedral is located has a long history starting with the Prehistoric era. Today the
city's island - a direct translation, is a ship-shaped, seventeen hectares settlement,
filled in whenever it was deemed necessary, resulting in a land one kilometre long
and 300 meters wide at the largest part.
Figure 2.1.1 A map depicting the settlement of Lutetia and the two main axes, 5th century.
(Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
29
According to Yvan Combeau'sHistoire de Paris11, during the Iron Age, the Parisii,
who will give the name to the city, settled on the Île de la Cité (2016, p.2) and on the
first century BC Romans established their capital Lutetia (Lutèce) at the same
location. Emperor Julian wrote: “It [Lutetia] occupies an island in the middle of the
river; wooden bridges link it to the two banks…” (Combeau, 2016, p.6), giving us
the name of the new town.12
The new settlement built by the Romans consisted of two main axes (Figure 2.1.1):
the main axe and the secondary (north-south); these roads held a commercial
importance and the port located at the Petit Pont on the river Seine linked the North
of France to the rest of the country (Combeau, 2016, p.3). According to Alistair
Horne, a British journalist / historian who wrote Seven Ages of Paris13,
thisenabledParis to"...dominate commerce in the north, making her a natural capital
for trade early in the Middle Ages… nearby stone quarries enabled her rulers to float
down vast quantities of building material to construct her walls and fortifications.”.
(2002, pp.2-3). The walls in question were built by the Romans themselves at the
beginning of the second century; they had been the first of six enclosures in history.
The fore mentioned north - south axes would become one of the main roads of the
island called Rue de la Cité.
Archaeological remains suggest (Figures 2.1.2-2.1.3) that a Gallo-Roman pagan
temple dedicated to Jupiter and the Emperor Tiberius was constructed on the site that
would one day become a Christian basilica. The temple was discovered in 1711
under the current Cathedral (Dubech&d'Espezel, 1926, p.18). Christianity appears
tangibly in the middle of the third century with the first church being built during the
11Combeau's book is part of a series called "Que sais-je? by PUF (Presses universitaires de France)
that began in 1941 with over 3,900 titles in different subjects. A book titled "Histoire de
L'Architectureby Gérard Monnier (2021) is further examined in 5.3. in this dissertation.
12The two bridges were called Grand-Pont (Today called Pont Notre-Dame) and Petit-Pont. They
existed in some form or another since antiquity. Julien’s texts were written in the second half of the
fourth century. There are currently eight bridges connecting the island to the Right and Left Banks of
the river and a singular one connecting the island to the Île Saint-Louis. For further reading see Horne,
A. (2002).Seven Ages of Paris. London: Pan Macmillan.
13 Horne's book discusses seven different periods of Paris' history: starting from the time of Philippe
Auguste (1180 - ) and ending at 1969 with De Gaulle.
30
fourth, a church with a basilica plan. When the first German attack begun, the
population of the city was forced to migrate to the island, resulting in the
demolishing of large monuments on the Left Bank in order to consolidate the city
walls. Clovis I (509-511) and his son Childebert (511-558) built many churches and
abbeys on the Left Bank, solidifying the city’s religious impact. The name Lutèce
disappears with Civitas Parisiorum; Cité des Parisii taking its place before being
called Paris permanently. After the attacks and the fire that took over the city in 585,
the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne was built under Childebert as a Merovingian Church,
intersecting the future spot of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris (Combeau,
2016, pp.5-9).14
Figure 2.1.2 A photograph of the archaeological crypt under the parvis of the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame de Paris. (Source: Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain)
A church called Notre-Dame was located by the choir and transept of the current
building, which was destroyed by the Viking invasions that took place during the
ninth century.15 The Saint-Étienne Cathedral was directly in front of the west façade
14Combeauwrote that it was on the east of Notre-Dame de Paris, actually meaning that it was across
the roman remains where the future Cathedral will be built.
15Retrieved January,5 2022, fromHarris, B. & Zucher, S. (2019). "Before the fire: Notre Dame,
Paris.". https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/special-topics-art-history/arches-at-risk-cultural31
(Hubert, 1964, p.17) and was lastly mentioned in 1130. It was at the time, in ruins
and eventually destroyed for opening the necessary space for the current monument.
Nothing exists above ground of this cathedral, its foundations remain under the
square of Notre-Dame de Paris.16 The new Cathedral, Notre-Dame de Paris'
construction site would take over the southeast part of the island for several
centuries.
Figure 2.1.3. Drawings of Roman era findings of the excavation in 1847 in the Parvis of
Notre-Dame de Paris. (Source: MuséeCarnavalet, Histoire de Paris)
heritage-education-series/xa0148fd6a60f2ff6:ruins-reconstruction-and-renewal/a/before-the-firenotre-
dame-paris.
16 For further reading on the subject seeAubert, M.M. (1939)."Les anciennes églises épiscopales de
Paris, Saint-Étienne et Notre-Dame, au XIe siècle et au début du XIIe.". Comptes rendus des séances
de l'Académie de sinscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 83e année, N.3, pp.319-327.
32
Robert A. Scott, in his book The Gothic Enterprise set apart multiple chapters to
describe the medieval conditions that help us comprehend the circumstances that
eventually led to the Gothic cathedrals. According to Scott, daily life was lived out in
fear of bloodshed, of violence and brutality, fear of starvation, of dying and fear
about one's fate in the hereafter (Scott, 2003, p.211); the name Dark Ages thus seems
justifiable. Life expectancy was low,17 more than ninety percent of people who lived
then were dependent on agriculture, which made them vulnerable to weather. Crop
failures sent economic shock waves throughout the country (Scott, 2003, p.211).
Besides natural disturbances - such as weather, contaminated water sources, and nonconsumable
crops - wars and taxes were significant problems that the Medieval
society faced. According to the author, in order to comprehend cathedral-building, an
understanding of the medieval institution of kingship is fundamental. After the
collapse of the Roman Empire, kings began to emerge in Western Europe.
Carolingians took a position of charge and soon created an empire in which Christian
elements were fused into the daily life. Carolingian monarchs followed and dictated
basic forms of economy and commerce, defined how wealth was accumulated,
distributed, and how and to what extent it was spent, which helps to understand the
amount of wealth that was invested into building monumental churches. The
medieval society, was attracted to the ruling classes that ensured their safety, peace
and justice. Another function of this creation of kingships was clerical, involving
responsibility for managing relations among the monarch, the people, and God, the
King playing the role of mediator, aiming to get in the good grace of the deity for
himself and his peasants (Scott, 2003, p.49).
The ruling class, or in this case the king, desired to win the favour of God and
publicly display his ability to ensure the protection and favour of a divinity within his
kingdom. An act of sacrifice was necessary - a sacrifice consisting of sharing the
treasure and / or building monuments in the interest of ensuring the protective
17 The life expectancy in Europe during the Middle Ages will increase, especially during the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Art of Gothic: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting. ed. Rolf
Toman, p. 262.: "In the year 1000 the population of Europe can be estimated to have been about 42
million. By 1300 that population had reached about 73 million. Between 1300 and 1340, with a series
of devastating wars, famines, and economic disasters, the rate of population growth began to
decrease. With the Black Death, between 1347 and 1351, population growth ended, and indeed
reversed, with the population falling to about 51 million..."
33
presence of a deity. The greater the sacrifice to God, the more powerful the king and
his kingdom. Carolingian monarchy's collapse, and the fear of God's wrath led to a
social system in which people worked and fought for nobles who gave them
protection and the use of land in return thus the feudal system was established. And
from the viewpoint of economic production and consumption there were only two
classes: "...those who owned land and those who did not. Land was the main source
of wealth, and that wealth was obtained through the exploitation of the peasants who
farmed it." (Scott, 2003, p.60). Eventually, the exploitation ended due to civil unrest,
leaving the feudal lords to think of ways of improving agricultural productivity and
peace. Slowly, peasants were given more land, more share, and more rights which
led to surpluses that would be sold in the market places.
As the changes appeared slowly during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the
medieval society's economical aspects prospered. Not only farmers were necessary
for the feudal lords but also a new urban class of merchants and traders emerged,
called the middle class. Towns were forming, the countryside gradually left its place
to these towns with a much more urban vibe. Urbanity and the population growth
caused the feudal lords to not being able to provide the secure atmosphere that was
required, and kings and bishops that were not lost completely started to get back in
the picture. The land-based economy moved from self-sufficiency to surplus, which
led peasants to move to cities which then increased the authority of urban
magistracies, anddisempowering the feudal lords. With the weakening of feudal
lords' authority, the monastic order that depended on them also weakened.
Monasticism slowly faded and a "new religious sensibility [that] emphasized good
works in this life a necessity for entry into the next" emerged (Scott, 2003, p.66).
With the redefinition of the Christian thought, the basilicas that will be a big part of
"town peoples" day-to-day lives began to be located in town centres, especially near
market places for convenience. Slowly the cathedral became one with the city:
Chartres Cathedral, the church of Chartres, Wells Cathedral of Wells, and Notre-
Dame de Paris of Paris, contrary to most of the monasteries that would preferably be
located outside of the town limits.
34
During Philippe II’s reign (1180-1223), an accelerated construction phase began in
the city – the King concentrated on reconstructing his capital (towards the last decade
of his life): He, who was considered a builder and a “unifier of the city” quadrupled
his domain, yet in the meantime the city was still recovering from the Norse
invasions and both bridges that were located on the city island burnt down, the Left
Bank suffering the most with churches in ruins (Figure 2.1.4). Philippe Auguste was
determined to improve Paris and with a decree in 1186, he ordered the re-pavement
of the main roads, starting with La Rue Barillerie18, facing the Palais de la Citéand
the main axes leading to the city gates and ports (Combeau, 2016, p.14).19 The Royal
Palace's20restoration - across the old Cathedral of Saint-Étienne, restoration by
Robert le Pieux – became a symbol of royal authority (Combeau, 2016, p.11). This is
the time in history when Paris became the principal residence of the kings and the
term Palais de la Cité (Royal Palace) was commonly used.
Towards the sixteenth century, the capital had a growth spurt where new roads were
built, hotels and suburbs (faubourgs). The outside of the enclosure had seen such an
incline in construction that the efficiency of the Charles V wall declined. The city
was divided into sixteen quartiers, the first being called Notre-Dame (Combeau,
2016, pp.21-22).21 Gothic being the primary architectural style of France during the
Middle Ages began to be replaced by Italian art and architecture (Renaissance)
towards the end the sixteenth century.
18Le Grand-Rue-Saint-Martin, Saint-Jacques, Saint-Antoine and Grand-Rue-Saint Honoré, two of the
main axes of the time were also amongst the first roads to be paved.
19The roads had not been paved since the Roman Era, the absence of hygiene and the smells were the
main reasons for the King’s decision.
20 The Palace was where the King placed the royal archives, the treasury and the courts making it the
palace of the Kingdom of France.
21Thetwentyarrondissementswill be createdduring Louis XIV’sreign in 1702.
35
Figure 2.1.4. Map of the Paris enclosure, the main axes and the Cathedral during the reign of
Philippe Augustus, 1180 - 1223. (Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
When Louis XV died in 1774, Louis XVI succeeded the throne from his grandfather
with "A heavy legacy, with ruined finances, unhappy subjects, and a faulty and
incompetent government.” (Roberts, 2004, p.34).The state was almost bankrupted
and the taxation system proved to be insufficient. In 22 February 1787 the Assemblée
des Notables (Assembly of Notables) was called upon for an emergency
meeting22where a new land tax was to be discussed but because it included a firsttime
tax on the property of nobles and the clergy, they could not reach an agreement
22 The Assembly consisted of members of nobles, clergy, bourgeoisie, and chosen bureaucrats selected
by the King himself in a Curia Regis manner. They were mainly chosen to discuss current events and
served only as a consultative purpose since the regime of the time was absolute monarchy.
36
and the États-Généraux23was called upon. The purpose of the tax was to lessen the
national debt that was burdening France, yet the noble and clergy classes did not
agree with the new tax. On 27 of December 1788, Louis XVI granted a double
représentation to the Third Estate, since the tiers represented ninety-six percent of
the nation, they thought it was their right to behold as much voting power as the
other two Estates. The King, whilst giving the opening speech declared that the
double representation right was revoked and that the voting would occur by ordres,
meaning that even though they represented the vast majority of the population and
were the only Estate paying taxes and effected by poverty, if the other two Estates
were to vote the same, the tiers-état would not have any say in the matter. On July
17, 1789, the tiers-état declared itself independent after being rejected their double
representation, and proceeded to create the Assemblée Nationalestating that they
were the soul representation of the nation.24
On July 9th, the Assembly changed its name to National Constituent Assembly
(l'AssembléeNationaleConstituante) and started to act as a constitution drafter and
function as a governing body. On July 14, 1789, upon the fall of Bastille prison, the
Assemblée became the effective government of France. Soon they began to enact a
social and economic reform. The same year on November the 2nd they declared that
the property of the Church was "at the disposal of the nation."(Mcmanners, 1969,
p.27).The bond between Church and monarchy, and the fact that under the
23 The États was called Estates since it consisted of three "ordres" or "états": First estate being the
clergy, the most powerful of the three of them, the second one consisting of the noble class, and the
last one called Tiers État consisting of commoners or mostly the bourgeois. The États appeared during
the thirteenth century and was created as a result of feudal rights, for the king to be able to hear feudal
leaders’ opinions and concerns, reunited by kings during periods of political and financial crisis. Louis
XVI summoned the États-Généraux on August 8, 1788 and the États gathered on the 5th of May, 1789
in Versailles. As was the case with the Assemblée des Notables, the Estate-General served a
consultative purpose only.
24 They were soon joined by member of the other estates. The King's attempt to stop the separation
and order to close the Salle des États - where the to move the meeting to a nearby tennis court and
eventually take an oath called Serment du Jeu de Pomme or Tennis Court Oath in English, on 20 June
1789. They vowed to never separate and to meet whenever until the constitution of the kingdom is
established. The oath itself was a revolutionary act, a shift of power stating that the political authority
was the nation and not the monarch himself. The act of solidarity forced Louis XVI to order the rest of
the clergy and nobility that did not join the Assemblée at first, to join them in an attempt to maintain
the illusion that he still held control over the nation.
37
AncienRégime25, the Church had been the single largest landowner in France caused
resentments towards the Church, weakening its authority and power, starting at the
États-Générauxin May 1789 (Mcmanners, 1969, p.50).
On June 21st 1791, the King and his family tried to flee Paris albeit unsuccessfully,
the Assembly eventually "temporarily relieved the King from his task." (Shusterman,
2013, pp.187-221), resulting in the royal family becoming prisoners. On September
21 1792, the monarchy was abolished, ending two hundred and three years of
consecutive Bourbon rule over France. Louis XVI was beheaded on January 21,
1793 at the Place de la Révolution,26 both literally and metaphorically severing the
ties of the Monarchy, the State and the Church resulting in a dechristianization
movement.
Justin Dunn wrote an article (2012) on the matter of the separation which started a
dechristianization movement in France that will not only affect the clergymen but
also the religious monuments themselves: “…the process of dechristianization is an
exceedingly important piece of the puzzle for anyone who wishes to study the French
Revolution.” (Dunn, 2012, p.28). The dechristianization movement in France
provided an opportunity to show [their] resentments against the Catholic Church and
its clergy, endangering the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. By the end of the
decade, almost thirty thousand clergy had been forced to leave France or they would
be executed (Lewis, 1993, p.96). In September 1793, Joseph Fouché, a former priest
now a representative of the National Convention, arrived at Nièvre and started to
implement reforms to "...expend the effort to remove Catholicism, and eventually all
of Christianity, from French society.” (Dunn, 2012, p.26). The society which
historically was very traditional and religious,was now being forcefully secularized.
Under the AncienRégimethe state and church were united, daily life was administered
by priests and the church bells; births, marriages and deaths were registered by the
church, and it held “the monopoly on primary and secondary education…”
25Ancien Régime was the political and social system of the Kingdom of France from the Middle Ages
(~c.15th century) until 1792.
26 Place de la Révolution iscalled Place de la Concorde today.
38
(Anderson, 2007, p.143).27 The church was extremely wealthy and powerful
considering the aforementioned taxing system where the church did not pay taxes but
collected them and the French parliamentary system where the church made up the
whole of the First Estate. A new law called Constitution Civile du Clergé passed on
12 July 1790 that caused immediate subordination of the Catholic Church in France
to the French government and within the law there was a clause that obliged the
clergy to take an oath - later on called the Church Oath - stating the individual’s
allegiance to France. It was, in a sense, a fidelity oath that required every single
priest in France to make a public declaration on whether or not they, the nation of
France, had authority over all religious matter. “The Civil Constitution of the Clergy
divided public sentiment in regard to religion and its role in society more than almost
anything else in French History.” (Dunn, 2012, p.27).
In October 1793, the Christian calendar was replaced with one that started 22nd of
September 1792. Frank Tallett (1991) claimed that the campaign of
dechristianization, which was at its highest point during the winter of 1793 and
spring of 1794; contained a number of different activities: the change of the
Gregorian calendar to a Revolutionary one, the removal of, or even destruction of
plates, statues and other elements of religious monuments, the vandalism of church
bells, shrines and other "external signs of worship" as Tallett wrote, their closure all
together and the enforced abdications (1991, pp.1-2). The danger in which the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris found itself becoming abundant as it was the first
edifice that would be vandalised, representing the capital, the crown and of course,
the Church itself. Church ceremonies were banned, causing religious services to be
conducted in private homes. New religious cults began to emerge called, Culte de la
Raison (an atheist cult) and Culte de l'ÊtreSuprême(a deist cult).28Instead of
27Anderson (2007) also wrote that “In rural areas, not only was the village church the center for the
spiritual care of the locals but also it served as the hub of administrative affairs. The church put order
into every aspect of country life: the tolling of the church bells ordained the rhythm of the daily cycle,
resounding throughout the village when it was time to rise, at noon when it was the hour for a break,
and at vespers, in the evening, when it was appropriate to pause and say a prayer. The sound of the
bell was also the alarm alerting the populace of a fire or warning of mischief in the village.”
28Cultede la Raison (Autumn 1793 - Spring 1794), or Cult of Reason (Spring - Summer 1794) was a
belief system that was established in France and had been intended as a replacement for Christianity
during the French Revolution. Jacques Hébert and others founded the "Worship of Reason" which
rejected the existence of a deity, and aimed the "dechristianisation" of France which was motivated by
39
celebrating Christian holidays, the date of the Revolution, festivals of Reason and
Supreme Being were scheduled (Helmstadler, 1997, p.251). The Roman Catholic
Church had been the official religion under the monarchy, yet since the
Directoireswere anti-religious republicans, Christianity became frowned upon.
Even though they did not approve, the Directory did not attempt to impose any
religious views unlike Robespierre during the Reign of Terror. Some historians
suggests that the dechristianization movement was “one of the chief causes of the
Terror…” (Dunn, 2012, p.28). The first state sponsored atheistic religion called Culte
de la Raison was the natural result of resentment towards the Catholic Church, that
existed by owning ten percent of the land of the kingdom and not paying taxes. After
the King's execution, the Church's claim declined even further. In a way, the Cult of
Reason was an opposition of the Catholic Church and a replacement for Roman
Catholicism (McGowan, 2012, p.14 & Fremont-Barnes, 2007, p.237).29
The 1789 Revolution ended with the Consulate - the government where Napoleon
Bonaparte was elected First Consul in 1799.30 Napoleon, with a coup, declared
himself as the head of a more autocratic, authoritarian and centralized republican
government. On May 18, 1804 Napoleon was granted the title of L'Empereur des
Françaisand was crowned on 2 December 1804 at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de
Paris (Dwyer, 2015, p.40). Three years before his coronation in the Cathedral, he
began to re-establish calm and order after years of chaos under the Revolution. He
made peace with the Catholic Church, and masses were held again in Notre-Dame de
Paris (Héron de Villefosse, 1955, p.299). The easing reached a high point when
Napoleon signed an agreement between Pope Pius VII and himself, on 15 July 1801
political and economic concerns. Le Culte de L'ÊtreSuprêmeor The Cult of the Supreme Being, a form
of deism established in France by Maximilien Robespierre during the Revolution. It was intended to
become the state religion of the new French Republic which ended with Robespierre being sent to the
guillotine.
29 The cult was a deliberate attempt to counter the unsuccessful efforts at dechristianization, and the
atheistic Cult of Reason, which reached its high point in the winter of the previous year.
30 Almost in a constitutional dictatorship manner. Napoleon established a political system that
historian Martyn Lyons called "dictatorship by plebiscite". Lyons, M. (1994), Napoleon Bonaparte
and the Legacy of the French Revolution. New York: St. Martin's Press, p.111.
40
in Paris. The agreement was called the Concordat of 1801 (Knight, 1867).It remained
in effect until 1905 and it sought reconciliation between revolutionaries and
Catholics. One of the most important events was the return of the Cathedral to the
Catholic church in 18 April 1802,31 the ramifications of the years of neglect,
vandalism and the Revolution could finally be assessed and resolved.Just as the
Cathedral was used as a symbol of life after the revolution, with the cults obtaining
and using it for their new order, Napoleon used the monument for his reign, to show
his authority and power. He created a symbolic stage for his political agenda where
he would rule as an emperor just like the Romans but also like the kings of near past,
crowned in God's house under His will.
Paris, during the French Revolution did not experience many architectural or urban
changes (Figure 2.1.5), instead many hotels and churches were abandoned or
vandalised, and the city experienced dismay and destruction over the previous
decade. After he crowned himself Emperor, Napoleon I (1804-1804/1815) began a
series of projects to turn Paris into ancient Rome, a capital worthy of an empire. He
wanted "...to make Paris the most beautiful city in the world." (Guerrini, 1970,
p.60).Napoleon's preferred style was "a continuation of pre-1789 classicism with an
emphasis on the neo- classical."(Sutcliffe, 1993, p.69), a role befitted to Paris as an
imperial, military city. With him Paris shed some of its medieval aspects by
demolishing of the Grand Châtelet, and by erecting triumphal arches. To emphasize
Napoleon's rule over "Ancient Rome", Arc de Triomphe de L’Étoileand du Carrousel
(Figure 2.1.6) were designed and constructed by Percier and Fontaine. The imitations
of the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Arch of Constantine in Rome (Loyer, 1999,
p.34).
During the French Revolution, the relationship between church and state was severed
which resulted in the destruction of church properties. The Romantic Movement
aided a sort of religious revival that occurred in France, resulting with the Concordat
of 1801 by Napoleon I, a decree which was concerned with the state in which some
31The Concordat of 1801 and the meaning behind the "return" of the Cathedral are explained on pages
35 and 36.
41
churches were in. He ordered for their restoration especially the ones that were
affected from the Revolution of 1789. Napoleon I amended the relationship and even
ordered the construction to be finished for the Church of the Madeleine in the
Neoclassical style (Figure 2.1.7). In 1802 (Figure 2.1.8) he ordered the construction
of the quays of the Seine River, starting from the Quai d’Orsay because of the floods
of the previous winter that left the Champs-Élysées partly submerged (Horne, 2002,
p.192). An explosion, the assassination attempts on Napoleon I which occurred in
1800, gave him the excuse to demolish the ruined houses and the rest of the medieval
buildings, enlarging the narrow streets that were leading to the Louvre. The first iron
bridge was built connecting the Institute and the Louvre, and a number of public
housing were realised (Horne, 2002, p.189).32 According to Horne, Napoleon’s own
admission of lack of time prevented him from creating what he desired. If he had
twenty more years, he would have changed the city so much that one would not be
able to remember the old city.
Figure 2.1.5. A map of Paris focusing on every street, church and Île de la Cité before the
French Revolution, 1740. (Source: M. De la Grive, BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
32 Horne stated that Napoleon I "conceived the present-day system of odd and even numbers on
alternate sides, with every street numbering from its position relative to the Seine." (2002, p.189).
42
Figure 2.1.6. Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel. (Source: https://en.
wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paris_-_Jardin_des_Tuileries_-_Arc_de_Triomphe_du_Carrousel_-
_PA00085992_-_003.jpg)
Figure 2.1.7. An image of the Church of Madeleine, ca. 1890. (Source: US Library of
Congress/ Public Domain)
43
Figure 2.1.8. A map of Paris, showing the two main axes passing through Île de la Cité in
1802 and the quays of the Seine River. (Source: http://informationsdocuments.
com/environnement/ coppermine15x/displayimage.php?pid=39613)
At the time, one could have observed Paris' narrow streets, confined by high rows of
houses, blocking the light, rendering it difficult to walk with traffic and the mud and
the narrow channel down the centre use as a sewer and drainage canal (Fiero, 2003,
pp.32-34). The Emperor, wanting to improve the capital, lessen traffic, and have the
ability to take control of the city in case of a coup / revolution 33, ordered new wide
and spacious streets to be built and ordered the parvis, square in front of the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris to be enlarged (Figure 2.1.9). The demolition of
many churches, and the transfer of a part of the Hôtel-Dieu 34 - a hospital dating from
651 - created an extra eighty metres in front of the monument (Combeau, 2016,
p.40). One of the last things the Emperor ordered, which is significant for our
discussion is his opening of the square of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral where his
nephew would be crowned in 1852.
33 As a military man, Napoleon studied the tactics of the revolutionaries during the 1789 Revolution.
They were using the narrow streets of Paris to barricade themselves against the royal troops.
34 Hôtel is a building typology configured around a courtyard protected in turn by a high wall with an
imposing entrance, usually built on two levels.
44
Figure 2.1.9. A map of Paris, showing the two main axes passing through Île-de-la-Cité in
1802. (Source: http://informations-documents.com/environnement/
coppermine15x/displayimage.php?pid=39613)
Louis Philippe, the Duc d'Orléans took over - after Charles X (1824-1830) - and
reigned for eighteen years in the form of a constitutional monarchy. The period
became known as the July Monarchy / Monarchie de Juillet (1830-1848). Paris at the
time of Louis Philippe I was the city described in Victor Hugo's Les Misérables and
Honoré de Balzac''sLa ComédieHumaine.35Victor Prosper Considerant (1808-1893),
a social reformer described Paris in 1845 very harshly, that the city was miserable,
sick and that sunlight was rare. The description which was cited in Moncan's Le
Paris d'Haussmann was stating that Paris was a terrible place where plants die, and
out of seven children, four would die in the same year (2002, p.10). Louis Philippe's
reign may have been short yet his urban improvements were important as they are
the continuation of the foundation of Napoleon I's grand project which will result in
the collaboration of Napoleon III and Haussmann in the nineteenth century. The
King was aware of the state in which his capital was, as described by Considerant, so
he was adamant about cleaning the city. He ordered a new bridge called Le Pont
35 Hugo's famous novel Les Misérables looks into the events of the June Rebellion that took place on
the fifth and sixth of June 1832. Honoré de Balzac's La ComédieHumaine looks into the society in the
periods of the Restoration and the July Monarchy.
45
Louis-Philippe, the project of clearing around Hôtel de Ville, a new street the length
of the Île de la Cité, a new street called Rue Soufflot, clearing a space around the
Panthéon (Maneglier, 1990, pp.16-18).
After the revolution, the Second Republic government emerged and as their president
- only president - was elected by popular vote, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte (1808-
1873). He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I. Since he served the required fouryear
term and could not be re-elected a second time, he arranged a coup d'état in
1851 and then on the forthy-eighth anniversary (2 December 1852) of his uncle's
coronation, he took the crown and throne, an era known as the Seconde Empire
Français and the renovations of Paris begun.
Napoleon III (Louis Napoléon, reigned between 1852-1870) came to power and with
him the largest renovations the capital had seen began. The Emperor appointed
Georges Eugène Haussmann as his préfet de la Seine in 1853, a post he would retain
until 1870. He gave himself a task: to transform, modernize or as he said, to
transfigure Paris (Malet, 1953, p.475). In the Baron’s Mémoires, the emperor rushed
to show him a map of Paris, on which one could observe the traces made by
Napoleon in blue, red, yellow and green – chosen according to their urgency, the
different new roads that he was proposing to be constructed (Haussmann, 1890-93,
T.2., p.53).36
He started work immediately but before he could begin, the prefect ordered new
maps to be drawn since the existing ones were not completely accurate and in order
to realize this, the surveyors had to find a way for uninterrupted vision of the city for
measurements. Haussmann constructed timber towers higher than the highest houses
(Chapman, 1953, p.181). David P. Jordan wrote that the strategic concerns were
important in the transformation of the capital but it was important to look further into
what constitutes as strategic: “Pacification through the manipulation of urban space,
social control by the artificial creation of real-estate values, all accomplished… The
36The Baron wrote his memoires in three tomes, recording his life in a chronological manner.
46
urbanisation of Paris was nothing less than a transformation of the political and
social geography and culture of the capital.” (1992, p.99).
Figure 2.1.10. Haussmann's main urban projects on the Île de la Cité(Source:
commons.wikimedia.org "Paris-cite-haussmann.jpg / Public Domain)
Figure 2.1.11. Haussmann's main urban projects on the Île de la Cité and its surrounding
(Source: commons.wikimedia.org "Paris-cite-haussmann.jpg / Public Domain)
47
Since the Emperor detested the Gothic / Medieval style and both him and his prefect
preferred classical, geometric forms, Paris gradually became a neoclassic city.
Twenty thousand houses were demolished whilst the double amount was being built
(Horne, 2002, p.267) (Figure 2.1.11).
Figure 2.1.12. Haussmann's main urban projects in Paris (Source: commons.wikimedia.org
"Paris-cite-haussmann.jpg / Public Domain)
48
His most disturbing and noticeable transformation occurred on the Île de la Cité
(Figures 2.1.10 / 2.1.11) especially after 1865 when the old centre turned into an
open-air museum of monuments: Apart the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, the Palais de
Justice which he designed, La Place de la Dauphin and some houses located
between the Cathedral and the Seine River, everything else was demolished
(Champigneulle, 1962, pp.81-88). Two main roads located on the island were
enlarged, the Rue de la Barillerie(later named Bld du Palais, in 1864) and the Rue
d'Arcole. The Rue de la Barillerie was enlarged in order to accommodate the Bld du
Centre on the Right Bank (Renamed Bld de Sébastopol) and Bld St Michel on the
Left Bank: "... this north south crossing, like much of Haussmann's other major road
building schemes, caused large scale social hardship. As a result, he was labelled an
urbaniste-démolisseur and accused of dégagement, indiscriminately razing all the
buildings to the ground..." (Moss, 1974, pp.507-510) (Figure 2.1.12).
Eighteen churches disappeared, the people living on the island were in a sense,
chased away. He managed to clean the surrounding areas of most buildings alongside
the Louvre and the Tuileries by evicting the people who lived in adjacent houses and
demolishing existing buildings to isolate said monuments. This design worked so
well that the most densely populated area of the capital, the Île de la Cité turned into
an almost empty neighbourhood (Jordan, 1992, p.102). Eventually the only remains
of a medieval era that will survive on the island would be the Consiergerie37, the
Sainte-Chapelle (1242-1248) that Jean-Baptiste Lassus (1807-1857) and Eugène
Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879) had restored and most importantly, the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.
Amidst all these changes even today, l'Île de la Cité remains the heart of Paris and of
France. It contains many of the historical monuments aforementioned and is still the
most visited area in the capital. According to a study done in 1997 by Douglas G.
Pearce, Île de la Cité is unique in its history and geography and its significance in
religious context. The author stated that the island was the leading tourist destination,
estimated to welcome twelve million visitors a year with Notre-Dame de Paris being
37 The Consiergerie was the old palace where the kings resided from the tenth to the fourteenth
centuries. It became a prison from 1392 where queen Marie-Antoinette herself, Louis XVI's wife,
would be imprisoned in 1973.
49
the main focus (Figure 2.1.13). Before the 2019 fire, the monument's had
approximately thirty thousand visitors a day. The island could be considered as the
starting point of the country and in this instance, it is literally considered the centre
of the capital and France where all distances of roads are measured from the Point
Zéro mark (Figure 2.1.14, put in place originally in 1924) located in the Place du
Parvis de Notre-Dame, marking it as the literal centre of the city and country (Pearce,
1998, pp.54-55) putting the Cathedral into the centre of all of France.
Figure 2.1.13. Distribution of touristic attractions in Paris, 1994.(Source: Pearce, 1998, p.53)
50
Figure 2.1.14. Point Zéro in thePlace du Parvis de Notre-Dame (Source:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_z%C3%A9ro_des_routes_de_France)
2.2. The Building: Notre-Dame de Paris
As most Gothic cathedrals, Notre-Dame de Paris was constructed over a long period
of time, under the supervision of many generations in a non-linear manner. Under the
bishop Maurice de Sully's (d.1196) initiation, the Cathedral began to be built, the
first stone laid in 1163. The twelfth century re-building that occurred, especially in
the Île-de-France, was the result of fires, restoration efforts and an interest in the
new style that Abbot Suger had created in the Basilica of St.-Denis. Before Notre-
Dame de Paris became the centre of attention, between 1135 and 1144, the west
façade and the choir of St.-Denis was redesigned by Abbot Suger (c.1081-1151). His
intention was to bring more light into the edifice, describing "A circular string of
chapels, by virtue of which the whole church would shine with the wonderful and
uninterrupted light of most luminous windows, pervading the interior beauty."
(Watkin, 1986, p.127).
Because St.-Denis was the Royal Abbey where the Kings of France were buried
(they were crowned in Reims Cathedral), the queens were crowned and important
religious artefacts were kept, the rebuilding attracted a lot of attention. Abbot Suger
51
first rebuilt the west façade then continued with the choir on the east. The redesign
included architectural elements already seen in Romanesque monuments: the rib
vault with pointed arches, exterior buttresses that gave possibility to thinner walls
and the elimination of interior walls, yet it was the first time that these elements were
designed together, thus creating a new style: the Gothic (Watkin, 1986, p.127).
St.-Denis is considered to be the first Gothic monument, the "prototype of Gothic
cathedrals." (von Simson, 1956, p.xv). In 1144 the choir was consecrated and the
dedication was celebrated with Louis VII, five archbishops and all of their
ecclesiastical colleagues. This was a very important gathering as the people who
were invited had the opportunity to observe the newly designed Gothic style choir
and return to their own towns and cities and imitate what they had seen. The
celebrations resulted in the spread of this new architectural style to the rest of the
kingdom, eventually spreading throughout the rest of Europe and to the new
Cathedral of the capital. As such, historically, the first "definite" reference for the
Gothic style was initially St.-Denis and Abbot Suger (Figure 2.2.1).
In order for the construction of the new Cathedral to be fed by materials, the already
existing Saint-Étienne Cathedral was purposefully destroyed to become the worksite
of Notre-Dame which in the end would become the forecourt of the contemporary
Cathedral (Lours, 2018, p.290).
The monument was and is being discussed in many Gothic history publishings
throughout time yet Dany Sandron, an expert on the subject matter, had recently
published two books that focused on the Cathedral in a detailed manner. The earlier
book called Notre Dame Cathedral: Nine centuriesof history (2013) which was coauthored
with Andrew Tallon, was considered a very important educational work as
it focused on the monument's history accompanied by 3D images. These images,
which were rendered by Tallon himself, were created by using laser scans and
panoramic photographs and were used in the book as well as this dissertation. The
images were also exhibited in the nave of Notre-Dame de Paris for several years
starting May 31st, 2014, a year after the 850 years celebration of the monument.
52
Figure 2.2.1. Basilica of St.-Denis Ambulatory, the "prototype" of Gothic style (Source:
http://mappinggothic.org/archmap/
media/buildings/001000/1182/images/1300/1182_00133_w.jpg)
Figure 2.2.2. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1177 (Source:Sandron& Tallon, 2013)
53
The new Cathedral was dimensionally impressive and was the largest monument in
the Western world until the middle of the thirteenth century. In 1177 (Figure 2.2.2)
the choir of the new edifice was completed and consecrated in 1182, almost twenty
years after the beginning of the construction (Shütz, 2002, p.70). Before the
construction of the vaults, they built the flying buttresses in order to create a
structural balance between the thin walls and the roof. Between 1182 and 1190 the
construction of the first four bays of the nave and the aisles were completed. Until
1225 the last two bays of the nave, the principal façade and its portals were
constructed. Between 1225 - 1250, the upper levels of the façade and the two towers
were completed. Larger windows were installed, terraces were created and flying
buttresses were modified. Starting from the mid-thirteenth century, the focus was on
modifications and ornamentation.The names of the architects began to be known:
between 1250-1267 the north façade, the north transept and its rose window, the
early stages of the south transept were done under Jehan de Chelles guidance. Pierre
de Montreuil was in charge of the south transept and its portal, chapels and the flying
buttresses of the choir.38
Whilst the city was taking shape during Philippe II’s reign, in 1220 the Cathedral
was completed except for the upper part of the western towers. Towards the middle
of the 1220s, a short while after the completion of the Cathedral, its main structure
which Dany Sandron called a superstructure, was partially demolished and rebuilt to
enlarge the upper windows. The main roof and the upper wall of the main vessel
were raised and rebuilt. A critical structural problem was discovered at the time; the
western block had pivoted outwards to the north and west side by thirty centimetres.
In 1245 (Figure 2.2.3) the major structural work of the monument was finished, the
towers were completed and risen to sixty-nine meters, which could be seen by most
of the medieval capital. The style of the Cathedral began to be - what one can call,
outdated, by the time it was finished, ensuing in decorative changes which will result
in a Gothic style that would be called gothique rayonnant (ca. 1230-1380), resulting
in rose windows and high stained glassed windows in order to bring in more natural
38Retrieved March,10 2022, fromhttps://www.notredamedeparis.fr/decouvrir/architecture
54
light into the monument. Towards 1265, the Cathedral's renovations continued, the
impressive lead-covered wooden spire was erected (Sandron& Tallon, 2013).
Figure 2.2.3. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1245 (Source:Sandron& Tallon, 2013)
Figure 2.2.4. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1300 (Source:Sandron& Tallon, 2013)
55
Throughout its existence the Cathedral had been subjected to both small and large
repair works and design alterations whether it be structural or decorative. In the
1300s (Figure 2.2.4) the work became immense where chapels were added along the
periphery of the choir because the increase of population and church-goers resulted
in an unmanageable crowd for Notre-Dame which led to the necessity of additional
spaces. Chapels were constructed between the outer buttresses first in the choir then
in the nave: "This ingenious intervention consisted of integrating into the church
interior space that had once been outside between the uprights of the flying
buttresses." (Sandron& Tallon, 2013). The monument which was then completed in
1345, had already witnessed alterations and damages which occurred under Philippe
VI's reign (1328 - 1350) (Figure 2.2.5).
For almost three centuries, the Cathedral of Paris would settle into stability without
major changes occurring, a reason why Hugo might have chosen the fifteenth century
setting to write his novel, no construction or disruptions. Even though it was rare, as
indicated by Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc's report on the edifice, almost nothing
happened during the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in context of the
monument itself (Lassus & Viollet-le-Duc, 1845, p.12).39
39For further detail about the restoration project of Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc, see chapter 2.4.1. in this
dissertation.
56
Figure 2.2.5. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1350 (Source:Sandron& Tallon, 2013)
During Louis XII's reign, in 1507 the parliament ordered that the street leading from
the bridge named Notre-Dame to the Petit-Pont bridge be filled in. The relationship
of the monument and the street certainly changed when in fact the thirteen steps that
preceded the doors of the Cathedral were know buried.40 In 1622 with the promotion
of Paris into archbishopric, important changes began in the monument where the
classical elegance was felt within the details: In 1699 the famous French architect
François Mansard (1598-1666) became responsible for the demolition of the high
altar that dated from the thirteenth century, the rood screen, the bas-relief of the
ambulatory and the choir stalls (Keller, 1994, p.86). The interior walls which were a
mixture of white and yellow-ochre were repainted to white and the stained-glasses
depicting many important biblical and historical events - which played an important
role in literacy in the Middle Ages - were changed into colourless windows, blaming
a sombre and dark atmosphere in 1741 (Figure 2.2.6).
40 Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc citing H. Sauval's book titledHistoire des Antiquités de Paris.
57
Figure 2.2.6. The construction phases of Notre-Dame de Paris (Source: Sandron& Tallon,
2013)
During the French Revolutions, Notre-Dame was rededicated to the Culte de la
Raison and later on to Le Culte de L'ÊtreSuprêmewhich destroyed or plundered the
treasures of the Cathedral, beheaded statues bearing any resemblance to a monarch
and the thirteenth century spire was torn down (Reiff, 1971, p.30). The cult, which
was intended as a civic religion, held on the 10th of November 1793, a festival called
the Fête de la Raison (Figure 2.2.7): an official nationwide festival where churches
all across France were transformed into "Temple of Reason". The largest ceremony
was held at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, its Christian altar being
dismantled and an altar dedicated to Liberty was installed (Emmet, 1989,
p.343).Maximilien Robespierre, nearing complete dictatorial power during la
Terreur, announced his own cult, a cult in the form of deism (Jordan, 1985, p.199).It
was announced before the Convention on 7 May 1794 with a speech delivered by
Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) himself stating that a belief in a living God and
a higher moral code were "constant reminders of justice" and thus essential to a
republican society (Doyle, 1989, p.276).Robespierre's fall of power and eventual
execution on 28 July 1794 ended the Culte de l'ÊtreSuprême(Neely, 2008, p.230).
These disruptions would soon end under Napoleon Bonaparte's regime.
58
Figure 2.2.7. Drawing of a depiction of the "Fête de la Raison" (Source: BNF Gallica /
Public Domain)
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was designed to surpass all early Gothic
churches, an ambitious attempt that could only be achieved in a royal cathedral
located at the capital (Shütz, 2002, p.70). As mentioned before the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame de Paris' first stone was laid in 1163 with the new style implemented to
the design of the entirety of the edifice. It was an impressive monument; a hundred
twenty-seven metres long, forty metres wide and thirty-four metres high under the
vaults, five naves as were in Cluny and double ambulatory like St.-Denis, the largest
religious monument in the Western world until the middle of the thirteenth century
(Shütz, 2002, p.27). Two primary features of the Cathedral are attributed to Maurice
de Sully by Alain Erlande-Brandenburg (1937-2020), a specialist in Gothic art and
architecture; first, the simplicity of the design of the plan with a five-aisle nave
finished by a sanctuary surrounded by a double ambulatory without a transept nor
chapels, both which would be added in later dates. Second, "...the chevet as a unified
space, with the high altar centered beneath the keystone of the vault and the choir
placed directly to the west..."(Baltzer, 2006, pp.878-880). The chevet at the East end,
one of the most famous ones in France "evokes the magical vision of a stone forest."
(Éditions des Deux Cops d'Or, 1964, p.219).
59
Figure 2.2.8. A section of the south tower (Source: Source: Sandron& Tallon, 2013)
The description of the Cathedral taken from its official site indicates that it can host
nine-thousand people, occupies six-thousand square meters and was designed as a
Latin cross plan. The monument which is thirty-four meters high under the vaults
(Chevalier, 1997, p.151), reached sixty-nine meters in the towers; the two towers that
are located on the west façade. The southern tower (Figure 2.2.8) was completed
between 1220 - 1240 and the northern one between 1235 and 1250. The same façade
is forty-five meters high without the height of the towers. Between the years 1235
and 1240, a fire broke that is not mentioned by many people, that destroyed the upper
frameworks and attics of the Cathedral galleries (Guilhermy& Viollet-le-Duc, 1856,
p.8). Upon entering the building, you are greeted by the main nave which is sixty
meters long and the transept is forty-eight meters long and fourteen meters wide.
There are a hundred and thirteen windows and three rose windows located at the
west, the north and the south façades (Figure 2.2.9).
60
Figure 2.2.9. The northern façade rose window of Notre-Dame de Paris (Source:
RichardNMPhotograpgy, 2019)
The west façade (Figure 2.2.10) which is also the entrance of the Cathedral, is
divided into horizontal and vertical lines. The square lines symbolize the rational
world whereas the circle symbolizes the spiritual world, the divine. The façade, is
impressive in the largeness of the three portals and with its gallery of twenty-eight,
almost three meters in height, colossal statues of French kings, mythical and
historical figures (Midant, 2001, p.59), which were buried then discovered in 1977
(Erlande-Brandenburg & Kimpel, 1978, pp.213-266).
61
Figure 2.2.10. The western façade of Notre-Dame de Paris (Source: Peter Haas / Wikipedia)
The central portal (Figure 2.2.11) is called portail du Jugement dernierand is the
largest of the three. The south portal on the right side of the façade is titled Sainte-
Anne and the north or left portal is known as the portailde la Vierge. These portals
are ornamented with many biblical characters which were used as a way of reading,
in a sense, the bible and the religious history at a time when not many knew how to
read. On the buttresses are four niches where four statues were re-built in Viollet-le-
Duc's atelier in the nineteenth century: on the left Saint Étienne, on the right the Saint
Denis, patron saint of Paris and on the both sides of the central portal, the allegories
of the Church and the Synagogue. The famous rose window, completed towards
1225 is obscured by two angles representing "the fault" and "the redemption",
62
surrounding the statue of the Virgin. This trio was commissioned in 1854 by Violletle-
Duc to replace the statues which were damaged (Reiff, 1971, p.17).
Figure 2.2.11. Western portals of Notre-Dame de Paris. (Source: Daniel Vorndran /
Wikipedia)
The famous spire of Notre-Dame (Figure 2.2.12), which was destroyed during the
fire of 2019, was not the original spire of the Gothic monument. An original spire
was built on the crossing of the transept around 1250. It was a bell tower of sorts,
that housed five bells in the seventeenth century. It was demolished between 1786
and 1792. During the restorations in the nineteenth century, Viollet-le-Duc erected a
second spire, without any functional properties besides a visual one.41 There was no
resemblance to the prior spire, it was purely ornamental and weighted seven hundred
and fifty tons (two hundred and fifty tons of lead and five hundred tons of wood).
The spire was surrounded by copper statues representing the twelve apostles and the
41 The choice of reconstructing a spire and the aesthetical choices were detailed in Westgate, D. &
Clarke, C. (2007). "Notre-Dame de Paris: The Apostles on the Spire Rediscovered.". The Burlington
Magazine. Vol.149, No.1253, Painting and Sculpture in France (Aug., 2007), pp.537-545.
63
symbols of the four evangelists.42 The statues were in the process of restoration
which saved them from the fire of 2019.
Figure 2.2.12. The spire under construction of the Cathedral of Paris, 1853 / Statue of Saint
Thomas on the spire.(Source: Médiathèque de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine /
http://hermetism.free.fr/Viollet-le-duc_architecte.htm)
The interior architecture of the Cathedral 43 rises on three levels, illuminated by large
stained-glass windows. (Figure 2.2.13) A double ambulatory revolves around the
nave and the Gothic style is characterized by its cross-ribbed vault. The central naves
construction started in 1182 on four spans. After a break in order to construct the
west façade in 1208, the nave was completed in 1218. In total, it consists of ten
spans, the spaces between each pillar, the first two carrying the load of the towers.
The ambulatory design consists of a double row of columns, forming the collaterals.
During the enlargement of the building in the thirteenth century, chapels were placed
42 The figure of Saint Thomas looking up in the sky is believed to be a representation of Viollet-le-
Duc himself.
43For further description of the interior of the Cathedral of Paris,seeGuilhermy, M. de &Viollet-le-
Duc, E.E. (1856). Description de Notre-DameCathédrale de Paris. Paris: Librairied'Architecture de
Bance, p.98.
64
around the side aisles. These double aisles and the double ambulatory of the choir are
a unique example in medieval religious architecture. During the fourteenth century
twenty-nine chapels are added which were completed around 1315 (Davis, 1998,
pp.34-66), surrounding the interior of the monument. The ones around the choir were
called chapellesrayonnantes. The addition of the chapels around the nave obscured
the interior space which was the opposite effect that was necessary for a Gothic
interior. Even with major architectural changes, the harmonious entity of the
Cathedral was remarkably still intact (Guilhermy& Viollet-le-Duc, 1856, p.98).
Figure 2.2.13. Interior view of the main nave of Notre-Dame de Paris(Source:
http://notredamecathedralparis.com/history)
In its first version, during the twelfth century, the Cathedral was risen on four levels:
large arcades, stands, roses and high windows. The roses are still visible on the first
level, especially between the transept and the choir. For the purpose of illumination,
the high windows were enlarged during the thirteenth century and since then the
Cathedral rises on only three levels (Figure 2.2.14).
65
Figure 2.2.14. Interior view of Notre-Dame de Paris (Source: Sandron, 2021)
The stained glasses of Notre-Dame de Paris are fine examples of medieval
architecture and cover almost a thousand square meters. Some are original yet most
of them are restored at some point. Over time the monument suffered from bad
weather and the windows were never cleaned nor looked after, eventually resulting in
their deterioration and the change of their colours. Towards the eighteenth century,
the luminous effect and colours were lost. During Louis XV's reign the canons
destroyed part of the medieval stained glasses only to be replaced by transparent,
66
colourless windows, an act that will be highly criticised by Viollet-le-Duc during his
restoration project. The windows of the south transept roses are the oldest, best
preserved ones in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. But before Viollet-le-Duc
and Lassus could began their restoration of the edifice, first, the nation needed to be
aware of the state in which it was left. How would the nation began noticing its own
architectural monuments that time forgot? What could be done for these edifices?
How can one protect its heritage?
2.3. An Era of Restoration in France
The French word héritage means an inheritance; property that may be inherited. For
the context of this dissertation another definition must be included: A tradition; a
practice or set of values that is passed down from preceding generations through
families or through institutional memory. The first definition focuses on the
individual and the singular asset yet the latter focuses on the history, on the culture
and collective memory passed through generations. This is a selection process, we
choose what to pass on, we choose what to protect for the next generations: "It is not
everything from our history – heritage and history are not one and the same." (Logan,
2007, p.34). The monument that is Notre-Dame de Paris is part of this collective
memory of not only the French nation but of the world altogether with it's almost
nine centuries of history. It is both a singular asset and also part of a cultural
heritage. How we could pass the monument through generations would become an
important question to ask: Should it be conserved or restored?
These are two terminologies that are often mixed; conservation and restoration. They
may have similar aspirations yet are vastly different in the manner of achieving their
goal. Conservation focuses on preserving an object, a monument as it is in the
present time. This terminology is preferably used for the classical eras whereas
restoration focuses on improving the appearance of said object or monument by
restoring it to its original state. Restoration is a terminology that became popular
towards the end of the eighteenth century and had been done frequently in the
nineteenth century. Jukka Jokilehto wrote a book titled A History of Architectural
Conservation that is considered an important resource when understanding the
67
development and evolution of these notions. He wrote that: "The age of Romanticism
became a key moment in the development of the new approach to the conservation
and restoration of historic objects and places." (1999, p.101).
As stated before, the French Revolution including the aftermath of 1789, should be
considered as an important moment in the development of conservation and
restoration ideologies. In 1790, Aubin-Jacques Millin (1759-1818) was one of the
first to use the term monument historiquein a report presented at the Assemblée
National Constituante, in occasion for the demolition of the Bastille prison
(Marquardt, 2007, p.43).On 13 October 1790 a decree was adopted at the
Constituante that established the Commission des Monuments, with the purpose of
deciding the fate of monuments of art and science. The term monument historiqueis a
designation given to national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state
procedure in France by which National Heritage protection is extended to a building,
a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, garden, bridge, or other
structure, because of their importance to France's architectural cultural
heritage.(Bady, 1998, p.26).Even though the French Revolution was one of the
causes why so many monuments were destroyed, sold, or left uncared for, at the
same time it was one of the reasons why people started to react against the lost of
their cultural & historical past.
Alexandre Lenoir (1761-1839) who was a French archaeologist, was adamant to save
as much of France's historic monuments, sculptures, and objects as possible. He was
nominated as curator in 1791 to create a museum named Musée des monuments
françaiswhich would open on the 1stof September, 1795. Lenoir demanded that all
art objects from state properties be gathered in the museum located in the Covent des
Petits Augustins (Figure 2.3.1), a building that will later become the École des Beaux
Arts (Watkin, 2015, p.386). It will be through this collection that what was deemed
not beautiful by the Académie, since the Middle Ages and Gothic art and architecture
were not accepted by them,would find its voice and a place to experiment as would
the romanticism ideology. The collection which was displayed chronologically had a
diverse collection from pieces from the Middle Agesto the Grand Siècle.Another
revolutionary ideology was that it was supposed to be equal and fair against scientific
68
and artistic thoughts. Through Lenoir and successors efforts, many artefacts from the
Middle Ages were saved, archived and restored. This was the beginning of the
romantique notion of conserving, restoring and displaying art and architecture from
the previous eras.
Figure 2.3.1. Jean-Lubin Vauzelle, "The chapel of the Petits-Augustins repurposed as part of
the Musée des Monuments Français", 1804. (Source MuséeCarnavalet / Public Domain)
The BibliotèqueNationale and the collections of the Louvre existed already at the
time, yet in 1793 the Louvre opened an exhibition of old royal collections which had
an impact on the public. Abbé Henri Jean-Baptise Grégoire (1750-1831)argued that
the new France of the nineteenth century should be built on the "artistic and literary
patrimony of the Middle Ages." (Deen Schildgen, 2008, p.132). and his initiatives
with Lenoir who committed himself to save and protect as much of France's
medievalpast as possible. As mentioned before the museum would eventually be
closed down in 1816 by Louis XVIII by decree of 24 April 1816 and with an order
given by Antoine-ChrysostomeQuatremère de Quincy (1755 - 1849) to return the
objects to their original owners.
69
The 1789 Revolution created an environment of legalized destruction and vandalism
by a decree that took place in August 14th 1792: "The National Assembly,
considering that the sacred principles of freedom and equality do not allow to leave
any longer under the eyes of the French people the monuments raised to the pride,
the prejudice and the tyranny...".44The decree demanded all bronze found in or on the
monuments to be converted into canons to be used in the defence, the statues, basreliefs
and any other materials found in temples, national houses, parks and gardens
and public squares that can be used should be used, even for the monuments that
belonged to the King.
The third article demanded the destruction of monuments, all temples or other public
spaces and if necessary, the outside private houses, all things that are considered
"remnants of feudalism". This level of destruction also brought forward the "idea of
monuments of history, science and art as cultural heritage of the nation and useful
education, and that therefore it is a national responsibility to care for them."
(Jokilehto, 1999, p.69). Many monuments and artefacts were lost during that period
yet the idea of saving what was left, conserving them and even restoring some of
them was going to become the main theme of the era. Romanticism certainly aided
the creation of the framework of restoration that would soon be a nationwide purpose
for many architects including Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc and the French government.
After the Revolution of 1789, the belongings of the monarchy and the church became
national properties the same year. In October next year the formerly mentioned
Commission des Monuments45 was given the task of creating an inventory of
44 The decree of August 14th,1792 stated: "L'Assemblée nationale, considérant que les principes sacrés
de la liberté et de l'égalité ne permettent point de laisser plus longtemps sous les yeux du peuple
français les monuments élevés à l'orgueil, au préjugé et à la tyrannie... Considérant que le bronze de
ces monuments converti en canons servira utilement à la défense de la patria, décrète qu'il y a
urgence,... [Art.1.] Statue, bas-reliefs, inscriptions et autres monuments en bronze et en toute autre
matière élevés sur les places publiques, temples, jardins, parcs et dépendances, maisons nationales,
même dans celles qui étaient res. à la jouissance de roi... [Art.3.] Les monuments, restes de la
féodalité, de quelque nature qu'ils soient existant encore dans les temples ou autres lieux publics, et
même à l'extérieur des maisons particulières, seront, sans aucun délai, détruits à la diligence des
communes."
45 It was mentioned in 3.1. Le Style Troubadour, the French Emphasis on Classic Times. This
commission will later be abolished and a Commission des arts would be founded in its place. The
70
monuments in need of care. The fourth article of the August 14th 1972 decree was
made wherein the Commission des Monuments was charged to control the
conservation of any object that may possess an artistic quality.46 The same committee
decreed on the 24th of October 1973 thatnow it would be forbidden to destroy,
remove or even alter books, antiquities, statues, cabinets, public or private museums
and collections and so on, under any pretext the signs of feudalism as long they "are
of interest to the arts, history and education.".47
The same year, after a couple of name changes, the commission was known as
Commission temporaire des art and it was in charge of doing inventories of
paintings, statues, manuscripts and books yet on the 18th of August the aim was
widened to survey and include all objects "useful for public education, belonging to
the Nation." (Jokilehto, 1999, p.70). It was under the guise of education and public
interest that monarchic or religious monuments would be mostly conserved.
In 1794 the Abbé Grégoire who was a member of the Comitéd'instructionpublique,
wrote his first report on the organization of libraries and the conservation of
manuscripts. His other reports dating from the same year was focused on vandalism
where the terminology was emphasised for the first time (Jokilehto, 1999, p.71)48,
and he was also the first to describe the iconoclasm against the French cathedrals,
churches and secular buildings, paintings, statues and so on; as vandalism (Deen
name of the latter would be changed to Commission temporaire des arts which would eventually be
dissolved in December 1975.
46 The decree of August 14th,1792 stated:" [Art.4.]La commission des monuments est chargée
expressivement de veiller à la conservation des object qui peuvent intéresser essentiellement les arts,
et d'en présenter la liste au corps législatif, pour être statué ce qu'il appartiendra.".
47The decree of October 24th,1793 stated:"Il est défendu d'enlever, de détruire, mutiler ni altérer en
aucune manière, sous prétexte de faire disparaître les signes de féodalité ou de royauté dans les
bibliothèques, les collections, cabinets, musées publics ou particuliers... les livres imprimés ou
manuscrits, les gravures et dessins, les tableuax, bas-reliefs, statues, médailles, vases, antiquités... qui
intéressent les arts, l'histoire & l'instruction.".
48 The word "vandalism" is considered to be coined by Abbé Grégoire when he read a rapport about
the destructive tendencies and vandalism on the 31st of August in 1794 called "les destructions opérées
par le vandalism et les moyens de les récupérer" which had an impact on the Convention. The report is
online at: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/decouvrir-l-assemblee/histoire/grands-moments-deloquence/
l-labbe-gregoire-31-aout-1794. "Report on the Destruction Brought About by Vandalism,
and on the Means to Quell It."
71
Schildgen, 2008, p.122). Grégoire, emphasized the value of documenting historic
monuments of all eras and styles but also the importance of preserving them as they
were. He was also adamant in preserving objects at their original location, moving
them only when necessary for conservation purposes (Jokilehto, 1999, p.69). He was
one of the first people to ask why a nation should be concerned for conserving
paintings, books and even buildings and why a new government (the republic) should
be concerned about monuments that behold the values of the old regime, the
monarchy?
These men's questions, work commitments and the movement of Romanticism must
have had a positive impact since they aided the fore mentioned religious revival
resulting with the Concordat of 1801, three years before Napoleon I's coronation in
the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. He declared a reconciliation between the
church and the state and signed an agreement with Pope Pius VII. In 1804,
Napoleon's coronation designed by Percier and Fontaine was conceptually Néo-
Gothique and Jacop Ignace Hittorff (1792-1867) would soon imitate their choice of
decorative style for Charles X's coronation in 1824 (Figure 2.3.2). The reason behind
the style choices might have been political, nevertheless one can now observe the
artistic sensibility that was changing towards their own cultural heritage (Loyer,
1999, pp.24-29).
Figure 2.3.2. François Gérard, "Le Sacre de Charles X", 1827 (Source: Musée des Beaux-
Arts de Chartres / Public Domain)
72
This awareness towards medieval art and architecture and their need to be preserved
and protected led to the establishment of the office of Inspecteur-Général des
Monuments Historiquesin October 1830, by François Guizot (1787-1874) - who
became prime minister to King Louis Philippe. Seven years later the Commission des
Monuments Historiques was created which was tasked with the classification of
historic monuments as well as funding and supervising their restoration projects
(Watkin, 2015, p.386). Guizot once wrote what he intended to do as minister:
...to return the old France in the memory and the intelligence of the new
generations, to bring back among us a feeling of justice and sympathy towards
our old memories, towards this old French society which lived laboriously and
gloriously for fifteen centuries to amass weakening in a nation that the lapse of
memory and the disdain of its past. (Léon, 1951, p.114).
Ludovic Vitet (1802-1873). became the first ever General Inspector and he
completed his first tour of inspections and survey in 1831 and reports on France's
cultural heritage. "He selected historic buildings that offered most interest to the
history of art and architecture..." (Jokilehto, 1999, p.129). He was mostly interested
in monuments dating from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. This adventure did
not go as planned and his list would only become a reality after thirty-two years. It
would have to be later than the 1830s to really start to observe a tendency for the
conservation of monuments: "The prevention of destruction, the control of
excavations and finally, in 1841, the nationalization of monuments, were signs of this
tendency." (Erder, 1986, p.127).
On 27 May 1834, Prosper Mérimée was appointed as the second ever Inspecteur. He
was one of the few people who was aware of the dangers a restoration project can
cause; and in a letter dating from 1834 he declared that: "...restorers were perhaps as
dangerous as demolishers." In another letter he stated that: "...the repair of medieval
buildings showed enough bad taste to compare with the vandalism inflicted by
revolution and internal strife.", claiming that men who wanted to erase the memories
of the oppressive past only destroyed statues but the restorers changed the total
appearance of buildings (Erder, 1986, p.128). Mérimée was one of the few who
believed that all periods and styles should be considered for preservation and that the
instructions given to architects in charge of the restorations should recommend; an
73
avoidance of all innovations and imitate with fervent fidelity. Where there is a lack
of memories of the past, the artist should research and study, consult contemporary
monuments that are in the same style, located in the same region (Mérimée, 1843,
p.81). The reproduction should also occur under the same circumstances and
proportions. Not an easy task to accomplish, a very limiting point of view in this
context.
Another important name one should know whilst studying restoration history is
Adolphe Napoléon Didron (1806-1867) who was an archaeologist and founder of Les
Annales archéologiques (1844). He wrote, in 1839, a set of principles of restoration;
"Regarding the ancient monuments, it is better to consolidate than to repair, better to
repair than to restore, better to restore than to rebuild, better to rebuild than to
embellish." (Didron, 1839, p.47). He continued by insisting that nothing should be
added and nothing should ever be removed. Didron was also one of the members of
the committee responsible for the proposals of restoration of the Cathedral of Notre-
Dame de Paris. Even though he was opposed to the restoration project of the
monument at the beginning, asking whether or not was it necessary to replace the
statues since their absence was a part of the Cathedral's history (Didron, 1839, p.311
&Didron, 1841, p.311). Nevertheless, he stated that he was impressed by the young
Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc's proposal and that Lassus was very knowledgeable, that
his research and study of Gothic architecture was of great value (Jokilehto, 1999,
p.139).
In 29 September 1837, the minister of interior instituted a commission, composed of
seven volunteers and the director of public monuments to take inventory of
monuments - politically, historically and architectural importance - and find the
architects that will take on the work of restoration and preservation, one of them
beingViollet-le-Duc (Léon, 1951, p.126). He was appointed as Chef des Service des
Monuments Historiques in 1846. In 1848 he became a member of the Commission
des arts et édifices religieux. He was named General Inspector of Diocesan Buildings
in 1853 and Diocesan Architect in 1857 (Jokilehto, 1999, p.141). Just as the
Inspecteur-Général des Monuments Historiquespost was being created, in 1831 a
young writer published his masterpiece that would become the symbol of
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Romanticism, preservation and restoration of France's national identity: Gothic
monuments. Important names and actions in history can be observed where the
national architectural style of France would soon be under protection / restoration but
none can deny the aid and impact of Victor Hugo's novel would bring to its
popularity around the world.
Throughout this chapter, the aim was to give not only historical, geographical and
monumental information but also understand the French context of these matters;
how the site of the future Cathedral was actually the centre of Paris centuries before
its existence, how the language of art changed over time resulting in a national
identity. In order to understand the significance of the monument one had to start at
the location, the Île de la Cité. The capital that is known as Paris began as a humble
Roman town on an island that grew exponentially over centuries not because of its
resources but because of its location. That is one of the main reasons for the
Cathedral of Paris' importance. With the beginning of the construction of Notre-
Dame, an immense urban development phase began in Paris. Roads, bridges, palaces
were built among side city walls. Many kings added to their city over centuries but
the most important project would be under the reign of an emperor, Napoleon III. It
would be under his supervision that the Cathedral would be restored and that Paris
would face its biggest, most exhaustive urban re-design.
The story of the Cathedral was a typical one, a Gothic edifice that was constructed
over centuries yet a question remained: How did this particular monument became to
be protected by people which were considered to be national heroes even though it
endured many wars, revolutions, vandalism and eventually be saved by another
national hero, a young French author and his historical novel that would save not
only the Cathedral of Paris but many more? That is the question that this chapter and
the next aimed to understand and answer; in 1831 a novel had been published with its
main actor, the monument in question. This novel brought new life to a building in
ruin, a new interest but most importantly a new roles: a national heritage. Hugo's
masterpiece resulted in the restoration project that would not only save the Gothic
monument but also bring new meaning to the near past of the French nation, to
heritage, architecture and restoration ideologies.
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CHAPTER III
THE 19TH CENTURY FRENCH RESPONSE TO NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS
This chapter aims to understand the complex history of France's nineteenth century
art and architecture environment including Victor Hugo's novel and the aftermath
resulting in the restoration project of Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc. Since the role that
Viollet-le-Duc played in the history of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral is immense,
this study aims to observe the written work of the architect.
3.1. Le Style Troubadour, the French Emphasis on Classic Times
When someone is focusing on the Cathedral of Paris, they would evidently read
Victor Hugo's masterpiece; Notre-Dame de Paris, leading them to have to look at the
era and context in which it was created. The book was published in 1831 just after
the July Revolution and was not only influenced by Romanticism, it became one of
its leading examples furthering our understanding of its importance in literature and
architectural history. Romanticism in art and literature started to spread gradually
throughout France and the rest of Europe. Writers such as Victor Hugo,
Chateaubriand, Walter Scott and painters such as Casper David Friedrich and Eugène
Delacroix were influenced by this style and became great representatives of
Romanticism. Delacroix's La Liberté guidant le peuple(Figure 3.1.1) was inspired by
the July Revolution, Liberty holding the tricolour flag of the 1789 Revolution, with
Notre-Dame de Paris in the background.
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Figure 3.1.1. Eugène Delacroix's "La Liberté guidant le peuple", 1830. (Source: Musée du
Louvre / Public Domain)
Romanticism - an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that started from the
late eighteenthcentury and continued on in Europe for decades - pushed people to
question individualism, emotions, and a curiosity towards nature and the past.The
movement "...was seen in the search for freedom, individuality, expression and
creativity in literature, arts and religion." (Jokilehto, 1999, p.101). Neoclassicism was
one of the results of a curiosity towards the past yet here, in this concept, the past that
is mentioned is referring to medieval rather than antiquity. Romanticism is
considered to be in part a rejection of classicism and its orders and rationality, also to
the Industrial Revolution. It expressed itself in architecture as a pastiche or an
imitation of past styles, especially Gothic architecture. The style called Gothic
revival or Néo-Gothiquewas the result of this curiosity towards the past, yet in this
case it was the recent past and even though there are arguments of whether or not the
style emerged from England or France - the common belief is that it began in France,
French history and culture. François Pupil (1985)49had stated that upon a new - albeit
new at the time - concept called Neoclassicism may have evoked something called
bon vieux temps which could roughly be translated to good old times yet here the bon
vieux temps was usually thought to mean the classical period where antiquity was the
49François Pupil's work titled Le Style Troubadour (1985) is often given as a reference, his work is a
major contributor to the topic at hand.
77
main resource. Pupil discussed the fact that the majority of the artwork and new
construction or even restorations made, focused on classic times, despite the fact that
there were many paintings and literary pieces that did not fall into the same category.
A style he and others called Le Style Troubadour fitted more to the description of
said art and literature, a style that was debated to be a style or a genre, even called
gothique, médiévale, and rétrospectif (Pupil, 1985, p.20).The style was gradually
replaced with the Romantic period towards the second half of the nineteenthcentury.
Figure 3.1.2. Fleury-François Richard's "Valentine of Milan Weeping for the Death of her
Husband Louis of Orléans", 1802. It is considered the first painting done in the style and was
exhibited at the Salon of 1802. (Source: St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum / Public
Domain)
The definition of troubadour is that: "...a class of lyric poets and poet-musicians often
of knightly rank who flourished from the eleventhto the end of the thirteenthcentury,
chiefly in the south of France and the north of Italy and whose major theme was
courtly love." 50Even though the style's name was an inspiration in this instance, the
50Troubadour. In Merriam-webster.com Retrieved May 31,2017 from http://www.merriamwebster.
com/dictionary/troubadour.
78
troubadour refers to an artistic style that mostly occurred during the end of the
eighteenthcentury and beginning of the nineteenthcentury (Figure 3.1.2). Pupil, in Le
Style Troubadour (1985) had written that towards the second half of the
eighteenthcentury, upon looking at certain paintings, the themes and details did not
fully represent a retrospective look to the antiquity, instead they included themes of
France's near history, characters and costumes of the medieval era. Whenever there
was a social, political or aesthetic turmoil or change, people tended to look back at
the "good old times" reminiscing, where in this case the French population thought
back to an era when there were less riots, vandalism, death and when there was a
sense of order and calm.
According to Pupil, historians tend to categorize past events and styles to create a
sense of order whether it be thematic or chronological, etc. In the "last forty years"
the simple answer of a chronological time table was easier to create; from the
baroque style came the eighteenthcentury style of Neoclassical where the importance
of colour gave way to the importance of lines and symmetry, and the lightness of
topics gave way to themes of morality and life lessons. In other cases, the passage
between the Rococo style and Romanticism was the Neoclassical era. A rational
middle between two "emotional" eras. Neoclassicism was in a way a more suitable
representation of the times needs: Louis XV's era is known to be frivolous, the
Revolution and the Coalition Wars that followed were all arduous times that art in
Neoclassical style was meant to help forgetting by means of order and rational
thought.
As mentioned before, the late eighteenthcentury art style was a complex one, the
political and social turmoil complicated it further, hence the need for historians to
categorize and label everything in a manner of simplicity. One can presume that
Neoclassical style became a universal style, spreading throughout the continent and
even to colonial America - even though there seemed to be a chronological shift: The
style emerged for a short while in Western Europe around the last decades of the
eighteenthcentury yet continued well into the twentiethcentury in other places in the
world.
79
With the interest towards the past, came archaeological studies and academic work
that amplified the power of Neoclassicism, leading to strict rules and many works
that could be referred to as pastiche or imitations. From 1750s to 1820s the dominant
style - with the help of the École des Beaux-Arts and early large-scale works such as
Jacques- Germain Soufflot's (Panthéon in Paris (Pupil, 1985, p.24)- was
Neoclassical, yet the writer stated that maybe they were quickly arriving to a
conclusion based on definition which did not hold when it came to application. The
example of Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) and his paintings was given as an
excellent representation of the definition of Neoclassical style yet David's pupil
Anne-Louis Girodet's (1767-1824) Ossian Receiving the Ghosts of French Heroes
(1802) (Figure 3.1.3) cannot be categorized as such. Even some of David's work,
who was famous for his Oath of the Horatii(1784) and the Death of Socrates (1787),
cannot be fully put in that category. This categorization system lead to artists and
their work to be scrutinized into larger groups with strict definitions upon which
minor styles got lost. As mentioned before historians have chosen to take the simple
road by stating that the evolution of the French art scene starting from the Baroque
style goes as Rococo, Neoclassical and Romanticism, a simple stylistic evolution
used to teach art history even today.
Figure 3.1.3. Anne-Louis Girodet's "Ossian Receiving the Ghosts of French Heroes", 1802.
(Source: Château de Malmaison / Public Domain)
80
The importance of the Neoclassical era cannot be ignored, especially since it led to
many archaeological and historical studies and researches that eventually led us to
the Troubadour style and later on Romanticism. Historians began to criticize the
system, started to research this curiosity and inspiration behind a past that was not
"classic". These work of arts that were inclassables (Pupil, 1985, p.11)do not possess
just one common rule, - contradicting Neoclassical style, they had individual or
minor aspects categorised amongst themselves. During the Enlightenment, old poetry
books - which cited the Troubadour poetry quite often with added introductions and
anecdotes, the old stories of chivalry and heroism re-entered to the literature and the
vocabulary of the eighteenthand nineteenthcenturies. Studies of the medieval era
became more and more common and as it was done generally the bon vieux temps
were remembered fondly and nostalgically. This reminiscence showed itself through
art (Figure 3.1.4).
Pupil suggested that there are two plausible reasons for this phenomena; Firstly, it
could be that artistic creativity was in a stand and getting inspired by the past was a
solution to the problem at hand; secondary that le bon vieuxtemps truly inspired the
artists to reject the notion of Neoclassical, a style that was not familiar or accessible
to the majority of people.
Figure 3.1.4. Pierre-Henri Révoil& Michel Philibert Genod, "Pharamond Lifted on a Shield
by the Franks", 1841-1845. (Source:Versailles, Musée National du Château/Public Domain)
81
The Troubadour style which manifested itself in literature starting at the 1780s and
1800s in other art forms, was the name given to this style that was curios of a past
that was not classical. Eventually the lesser known style would become to be
generalized as Romanticism in art when it was in fact a branch of the movement
(Palmer, 2011, p.219) which then would evolve in a sense to Neo-Gothic in
architecture. Even though it suffered from a short life - a period of approximately
forty years mixed with political and intellectual turmoil, its importance should not be
overlooked. Henri Jacoubet - one of the first to dive into the subject, wrote his thesis
on the Comte de Tressan(1923) and an essay on the genre of troubadour (1929)
which he thought to be the origins of Romanticism (Jacoubet, 1923 & 1929).Louis
Courajod (1841-1896), a French art historian proposed the formula of Gothic
troubadour and even connected this emergence and popularity of the sentimental
reminiscence to the protection of the Impress Josephine who was enjoying the nonclassic
style whilst claiming that there was a resistance of French Gothic art to the
invasion of modern Italian art (Pupil, 1985, p.38). Josephine was an avid
collectionneuse and she was considered to be in possession of a troubadour
collection most representative of the early nineteenth century and she was also
known to be interested in Gothic since she was attempting to gather architectural
elements from Metz (Pupil, 2005, p.90).
The Troubadour style could also be observed in architecture, albeit rarely, in France.
The fortress known as Château de Mont-l'Évêque in Senlis was constructed during
the thirteenth century yet was almost destroyed during the Hundred Years' War. It
was not until the nineteenth century that the monument would be rebuilt in the
Troubadour style . The influence of the Middle Ages could be seen on the edifice,
especially in the southwest tower that was added during the rebuilding. Another
example of the style is the Château de Beauregard, Normandy, which was finished
in 1864, designed with architectural elements inspired by Gothic style. In this study,
the focus was on the painters and paintings of the Troubadour style since their
approach better reflected the desired spatial atmosphere of the era.
There are many applications in Troubadour style paintings but two of the relevant
ones are the ones depicting national history scenes and others revealing a rather
82
realistic approach to the recent past - with orwithout the intend to learn about the bon
vieux temps, origins and a genuine love of history. These ones do not intend to create
a retrospective but includes historical costumes and important personnages. Looking
at the eighteenthcenturySalons pamphlet (Pupil, 1985, p.16), the first approach seems
more likely. Although a definite answer is regrettably not given since the Troubadour
style was not supported by many yet there are a number of paintings that are
accepted by historians as representation of the style. In his landscapes of French
architecture, Hubert Robert skilfully expressed that attention to medieval art that
preceded the age of archaeological knowledge. He knew how to represent the Gothic
or reinvent it according to his whims (Figures 3.1.5-3.1.6). In 1775, the painter
brought back several views of ancient monuments taken during a trip to Normandy.
The Belgian painter Pierre-Joseph de Lafontaine (1758-1835) who was considered a
specialist of this new genre for the French had created the oldest known painting
dating from 1785 which represents the interior of a Gothic church with characters
dressed in the seventeenth century fashion (Pupil, 1985, p.83) (Figure 3.1.7).
(Left) Figure 3.1.5. Hubert Robert, "The cloister of the English Augustinian Convent of
Notre-Dame-de-Sion de Paris", Late 18th c. (Norton Simon Museum / Public Domain),
(Right) Figure 3.1.6. Hubert Robert, "The Fire of Hôtel-Dieu in Paris 1772", Late 18th c.
(Source: Nationalmuseum, Sweden / Public Domain
83
Figure 3.1.7. Pierre Joseph Lafontaine, "Intérieur d'église gothique", 1785.
(Source:Musée du Louvre / Public Domain)
Historians' findings at the time did not go further than Alexander Lenoir's Musée des
Monuments Françaisor minor resources of the Romantic movement. Unfortunately,
the Musée des monuments françaiswas closed in 1816 after the return of the
monarchy and the beginnings of La Restoration 51, demanding the collection pieces
be returned to the families and the churches (Choay, 1992, p.218). One can thus
presume that the churches themselves once again became the museums where the
people could visit and observe the medieval art on site.
Even though there are many differences in artworks; the Troubadour style still is
considered to be a retrospective genre that contains some common themes: The
51 Bourbon Restoration. In Britannica.com Retrieved June 18, 2022 from
https://www.britannica.com/event/Bourbon-Restoration The Bourbon Restoration(1814–30)
in France, the period that began when Napoleon I abdicated and the Bourbon monarchs were restored
to the throne. The First Restoration occurred when Napoleon fell from power and Louis XVIII became
king. Louis’ reign was interrupted by Napoleon’s return to France but Napoleon was forced
to abdicate again, leading to the Second Restoration. The period was marked by a constitutional
monarchy of moderate rule (1816–20), followed by a return of the ultras during the reign of Louis’
brother, Charles X (1824–30). Reactionary policies revived the opposition liberals and moderates and
led to the July Revolution, Charles’s abdication, and the end of the Bourbon Restoration.
84
Troubadour style artists managed to create themselves a universe outside of what is
considered canonical. The majority of themes are sombre, there was a genuine
attempt to create this fantasy of the bon vieux temps instead of focusing on what is
happening at the time.
In literature some called this style "pre-romanticism" (Pupil, 1985, p.19)and because
the style was not as common as other major styles, many historians opted to call it
with different names: gothique, médiévale, and rétrospectif.The role of the Romantic
Movement was important to this style, since it was considered to be "preromanticism"
and when researching Romanticism, historians became aware of the
Troubadour style that glorified the MiddleAges and the medieval lifestyle as well as
Gothicarchitecture. Because of the ideologies of the movement the nineteenth
century architects, especially British ones, began to better express themselves
through Gothic architecture, then the style became known as Néo-Gothique. At that
time a young Victor Hugo began his masterpiece that would become the symbol of
Romanticism, preservation and restoration of France's national identity: Gothic
monuments. Important names and actions in history was observed where the national
architectural style of France would soon be under protection / restoration. Yet none
can deny the aid and impact of Victor Hugo's writings and novel would bring to its
popularity around the world. But before continuing with Hugo and his writings one
should look into how the Troubadour style played a role in the renewed interest to
Gothic architecture. The discovery of the medieval civilization was one of the
curiosities of the eighteenth century yet not many studies were made on the subject.
Architecture was an exception to this since Gothic architecture was uninterrupted
until the eighteenth century and it was the best preserved aspect of medieval art
(Pupil, 1985, p.35).At this point one can argue the examples of Cologne Cathedral
and the Cathédrale Sainte-Croix d'Orléans - an exception since Gothic Revival style
was ignored in France, where constructions continued well into the nineteenth
century. The intellectual climate in Paris was medieval: there was a passion for
French history and archaeology. The fashion for "cathedral-style" furniture and
Gothic festive decorations was established, whether for the Coronation of Charles X
of Franceor the Scènestirées de Notre-Dame de Paris (Figure 3.1.8).
85
Figure 3.1.8. Scenes from Notre-Dame de Paris [the novel] by Auguste Couder, 1833.
(Source: Maison de Victor Hugo / Public Domain)
Romantic writers and artists both French and English thought they were discovering
the Middle Ages and were making the Gothic style fashionable yet there already was
a group of artists who were fascinated by the subject and produced art in the style. It
was after the Restoration (after 1830) that translations of Walter Scott (1822) and
Goethe (Faust, 1822) were published in France and through them, a new, entirely
literary medieval inspiration appeared in painting. England was suffering under the
urbanization project that began in the eighteenth century where historic monuments
were being destroyed in order tobuilt in newer or different styles. There was a sense
of loss of the past that revived an interest in their Gothic heritage, just as it occurred
in France. "By 1835, unlike France, England paid architectural homage to Gothic and
blesses it as the official national style by selecting it to build the new House of
Parliament." (Deen Schildgen, 2008, p.158). Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-1852), an
English architect and writer, whose father wrote Specimens of Gothic
86
Architecture(1821), would become a pioneer in Gothic Revival style in England
when he designed the interior of the Palace of Westminster (Figure 3.1.9) and the
bell tower known as Big Ben. Pugin also wrote a book titled True Principles of
Pointed or Christian Architecture (1841), an influential text (Deen Schildgen, 2008,
p.159).
Figure 3.1.9. Inside the House of Lords by Augustus Pugin, 19th c. (Source:
https://secure.countrylife.co.uk/country-life/inside-the-house-of-lords-78213)
This chronological journey under the Gothic vaults of the Troubadour painters
stretches over more than a century, but it affirms a representation of the Gothic Style
in the most improbable periods. The place of Gothic architecture thus seems to be
explained both by the curiosities of a time that passed and by pictorial conventions.
The Gothic motif was almost a constant in the retrospective art of the Troubadour
painters. There is an assumption that the Troubadour style could have played a
revealing role on the architects of the Restoration who copied medieval art (Pupil,
2005, p.101), which will eventually result in Victor Hugo writing his novel and
Notre-Dame de Paris being restored to its medieval glory.
3.2. Victor Hugo and his Troubadourian War Against the Demolisseurs
Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was a French poet, illustrator, politician, a connoisseur of
architecture and novelist who was considered an important leader in the Romantic
87
Movement of the nineteenth century. He is most famous for his play titled Cromwell
(1827) and his novels; Notre-Dame de Paris: 1482 (1831) known today as the
Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables (1862). Hugo was an avid defender
of what he called the national architecture, the Gothic style once known as Opus
Francigenum. His aim with his 1831 novel was not only to write a historical story
but also to draw attention to the decaying state in which the Cathedral of Paris could
be found at the time. By writing about the monument, he started a movement and an
awareness of conservation and restoration that will eventually save not only the
Cathedral but hundreds of monuments throughout France.
But before and just after writing his 1831 masterpiece, he wrote in 1825 and 1832
with the same title: Guerre Aux Demolisseurs!52(Figure 3.2.1).Hugo's attempt could
be considered the first act of rescue for the French monumental heritage architecture
when under the pretence of the La Restoration local notables were tearing down
medieval monuments in order to build their own buildings in their new popular style
(Demoule, 2004, pp.95-96). In the Guerre Aux Demolisseurs! pamphlets Hugo
declared war to whom he called the demolishers, the architects and the people who
did not, in his opinion, protect the architectural pieces that made up France's national
style. In the 1825 pamphlet he stated:
"The moment of not staying silent by whomever has arrived. A universal cry
must call upon the new France to help the ancient. All sorts of desecration,
degradation, and sometimes ruination that menaces the small amount that we
still possess of these admirable monuments of the middle ages.." (1825).53
52Translated as "War to Demolishers!".
53"... Le moment est venu où il n'est plus permis à qui que ce soit de garder le silence. Il faut qu'un cri
universel appelle enfin la nouvelle France au secours de l'ancienne. Tous les genres de profanation, de
dégradation et de ruine menacent à la fois le peut qui nous reste de ces admirables monuments du
moyen âge, où s'est imprimée la vielle gloire nationale, auxquels s'attachent à la fois la mémoire des
rois et la tradition du peuple.".Translated by author.
88
Figure 3.2.1. Guerre aux Démolisseurs! by Victor Hugo, 1825. (Source: Gallica / Public
Domain)
Hugo described some of the alterations or demolitions that were being made to the
medieval buildings by giving examples, some even from Paris that had to succumb to
neoclassic features - calling them "the ridiculous pretence to be Greek or Roman in
France..."54, which he declared that are not even Greek nor Roman. In his pamphlet
he made known his distaste towards the so-called architects de l'École des beaux-arts
and wrote that it was time to put a stop to the disorder. No matter what "...the
devastating revolutionaries, the mercantile speculators, or the classical restorers"55,
France was still rich in French monuments and that "the hammer" that was mutilating
the face of the country. He continued on by saying that they [the French] were in
need of a law to protect the rights of the buildings and monuments, disregarding the
rights of the owners, whomever they be: "... miserable men, so imbecile that they do
not event comprehend that they are barbarians!".56
54"...avec la ridicule prétention d'être grec souromains en France...". Translated by author.
55"...dévastateurs révolutionnaires, par les spéculateurs mercantiles, et surtout par les restaurateurs
classiques...". Translated by author.
56 "... misérables hommes, et si imbéciles, qu'ils ne comprennent même pas qu'ils sont des barbares!".
Translated by author.
89
An edifice possessed two things, according to Hugo, its utility and its beauty. The
utility belonged to the owner, but the beauty belonged to all of humanity, which
made its destruction against the rights of men. He stated that the industry has
replaced art and that: "I believe in that, and that France should not be demolished.".57
For him, the devastation that was the destruction of medieval legacies was the
equivalent of the destruction of France and it was a "question of national
urgency."(Deen Schildgen, 2008, p.134).
Seven years later in 1832, a year after the first edition of Notre-Dame de Paris: 1482,
another pamphlet had been written by Hugo by the same name, stating with an
angrier voice that: "It must be said, and it must be said louder that the demolition of
old France, that we have denounced under the Restauration, continues in a fury and
barbarity much more violent than before."58He included a letter, whose author
remained anonymous per Hugo's preference, that testified the successive and
incessant demolition of all "ancient" French monuments: During a visit to Laon
(Aisne), the author of the letter observed the destruction of the Tower of Louis
d'Outremer (the destruction occurred in 1831) which dated from the feudalism era.
The writer was outraged at the ease of the people in authority and their decision to
destroy a piece of history. He even defended the only person amongst twelve who
stood up against this decision, calling him a humble man that represented science,
art, taste and history. With the help of the letter Hugo then claimed that the
destruction or vandalism is not limited to Laon but is observable in all over France
and he gave examples of them whilst asking: "What a shame! What happened to the
times when the priest was the supreme architect? Now the mason teaches the
priest!"59
57"Je pense cela, et qu'il ne faut pas démolir la France.".Translated by author.
58"Il faut dire, et le dire haut, cette démolition de la vielle France, que nous avons dénoncée plusieurs
fois sous la restauration, se continue avec plus d'acharnement et de barbarie que jamais.".Translated
by author.
59"Quelle honte! Qu'est devenu le temps où le prêtre était le suprême architecte? Maintenant le maçon
enseigne le prêtre!". Translated by author.
90
Hugo then focused on Paris and emphasized that vandalism was prosperous under
their eyes: "Vandalism is architect".He claimed that this act was being celebrated,
encouraged, admired and protected, a couple of the many adjectives he used. He
considered vandalism to be a "contractor worker for the government.". He
complained about the fact that they are losing the old Paris that they admired so
much as a result of the daily demolishing. "What do I know? vandalism painted
Notre-Dame, vandalism retouched the towers of the Palais de Justice, vandalism
shaved Saint-Magloire...".60 He then continued with how well he - meaning
vandalism - was well nourished and powerful, how he was a professor, protecting
young talents, giving out grands prix d'architecture and how he was sending students
to Rome. Hugo was angry at the so-called scholars who pretend to be connoisseurs of
history, art and architecture yet demolish the monuments of the past as soon as they
have a chance to do it. He continued giving examples of such acts of destruction, one
of them being the Cathedral of Reims. This monument was treated badly by
vandalism operated by the architect of the King. Reims Cathedral, famous for its
sculptures, was trimmed during Charles X's reign for fear of them falling apart or
down towards the King, an act that was reported by Ludovic Vitet (1802-1873), who
would become Inspector General of Historic Monuments, a post invented for him by
François Guizot on 1930, November the 25th.
Furthermore, Hugo was declaring war to the people responsible for the idea of
building a new road in the middle of the city of Paris which could have only
happened by demolishing existing streets, buildings and gardens. He heavily
criticised the act:
We no longer restore, we no longer spoil, we no longer make a moment ugly,
we throw it down. And we have good reasons for that. A church is fanaticism;
60 "Le vandalisme est architecte. Le vandalisme se carre et se prélasse. Le vandalisme est fêté,
applaudi, encouragé, admiré, caressé, protégé, consulté, subventionné, défrayé, naturalisé. Le
vandalisme est entrepreneur de travaux pour le comte du gouvernement. Il s'est installé sournoisement
dans le budget, et il grignote à petit bruit, comme le rat son fromage. Et, certes, il gagne bien son
argent. Tous les jours il démolit quelque chose du peu qui nous reste de cet admirable vieux Paris.
Que sais-je? le vandalisme a badigeonné Notre-Dame, le vandalisme a retouché les tours du Palais de
Justice, le vandalisme a rasé Saint-Magloire...". Translated by author.
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a dungeon is feudalism. We denounce a monument, we massacre a heap of
stones... (1825).61
He went on to write that these edifices which were done for the people by the
people,were very unpopular at the time. They were being blamed for witnessing the
past and people tended to wish to erase history by destroying them. "We devastate,
we pulverize, we destroy, we demolish out of national spirit.".62
He asked the question that many asked in his time: what purpose did these buildings
have? Their maintenance cost money does not it? Hugo answered them briefly; they
brought in people from all around the world and their money. But he did not want to
focus on the financial side of it, he preferred to focus on the artistic and historical
aspects. He then asked an important question to the same people: Since when did we
dare to question art on its usefulness? He cursed anyone that did not know the use of
art and dared them to go on, demolish, utilize, turn Notre-Dame de Paris into rubble!
He acknowledged the people who taught of Middle Age monuments and art as
barbaric, of bad taste but refused to answer them as he did not believe they would be
capable of understanding their purpose. He even mentioned his own novel, Notre-
Dame de Paris (1831), stating that he had already given his opinion on the matter in
his book and that he needn't discuss the matter any further.
As a final plea, he urged to whomever would read the pamphlet and / or had the
power of authority on the matter at hand; to repair them with care and to protect
these monuments. He claimed that they were surrounded by intelligent men with
taste that can guide them, and that the architect-restorer should especially be prudent
of his imagination;
...that he curiously studies the character of each monument, accordin to each
century and each climate. Let him understand the general line and the
61 "On ne restaure plus, on ne gâte plus, on n'enlaidit plus un moment, on le jette bas. Et l'on a de
bonnes raisons pour cela. Une église, c'est de la fanatisme; un donjon, c'est la féodalité. On dénonce
un monument, on massacre un tas de pierres...".Translated by author.
62"Rien de moins populaire parmi nous que ces édifices faits par le peuple et pour le peuple. Nous leur
en voulons de tous ces crimes des temps passés dont ils ont été les témoins. Nous voudrions effacer le
tout de notre histoire. Nous dévastons, nous pulvérisons, nous détruisons, nous démolissons par esprit
national.".Translated by author.
92
particular line of the monument that is placed in his hands, and that he knows
how to skilfully weld his genius to the genius of the ancient architect (1825).63
He finished his article by referring to his 1825 pamphlet where he urged for a law
that would protect these monuments of destruction, of vandalism or even the very
people that seemed to care for them yet not being able to protect them. In between
these articles, Hugo would manage to write his novel titled Notre-Dame de Paris
1482 and would become one of the main reasons why the Cathedral of Notre-Dame
de Paris would eventually be saved from ruin yet his plea in both articles and the
novel could be considered emotionally wrought (Deen Schildgen, 2008, p.134), as if
he knew that he was standing at a crucial moment in history and with his novel
publishing at a time he deemed the necessity of change in France's ideologies.
Victor Hugo's war will be the act that will save France's national heritage. For him
the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was not only the most important monument to
represent the nation itself, France's artistic style, the patrimoine but was also the
"definite reference" for his was against the demolishers.
3.3. Hugo's Paris and Notre-Dame
Victor Hugo published his famous novel on January 14th 1831 (Figure 3.3.1),
originally titled Notre Dame de Paris - which would be translated to English in 1833
by Frederic Shoberl, aiming to achieve with The Hunchback of Notre-Dame to
preserve and protect the architecture of the French nation, especially its Gothic
masterpiece, the capital's Cathedral which was in ruins at the time of the book's
publication.64The author aimed for the Cathedral to be the main character in a
specific date (1482), which changed over time to Quasimodo due to the translation to
63"Faites réparer ces beaux et graves édifices. Faires-les réparer avec soin, avec intelligence, avec
sobriété. Vous avez autour de vous des hommes de science et de goût qui vous éclaireront dans ce
travail. Surtout que l'architecte restaurateur soit frugal de ses propres imaginations; qu'il étudie
curieusement le caractère de chaque édifice, selon chaque siècle et chaque climat. Qu'il se pénètre de
la ligne générale et de la ligne particulière du monument qu'on lui met entre les mains, et qu'il sache
habilement souder son génie au génie de l'architecte ancien.".Translated by author.
64Hugo wrote in Guerre aux Démolisseurs!, and in the second preface of Notre-Dame de Paris that
Medieval architecture and especially Gothic architecture, is the national architecture of France, which
best represents the history and artistic aspect of the French people.
93
English and change of title and also used by Disney Production (1996) and the
musical (1998).65 He published his historical novel in 1831 at the age of twenty-nine
even though the original idea dates back to 1828 (Keller, 1994, p.96) 66, with a
contract to deliver a manuscript to his publisher Charles Gosselin (1795-1859) by
April 15, 1829.
Figure 3.3.1. Victor Hugo's Manuscript of Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831 - Book I Chapter I
(Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
65Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was first published in French by the publishing
company called Gosselin in Paris, on the 14th of January, 1831. Just two years after its publication, it
was translated to English by Frederic Shoberl in 1833 under the name; The Hunchback of Notre-
Dame. The novel was translated multiple times under different titles yet Shoberl's translation can be
considered as a "first edition". The first edition in French was titles Notre-Dame de Paris 1482 on
account of the year that the story takes place which was excluded from the title later on.
66According to Keller, Hugo had conceptualized his novel and had already chosen the title and the
editor to whom he would trust his masterpiece. The novel's publishing date was interrupted by the July
Revolution and the birth of Hugo's daughter. Follett, K. (2019). wrote a similar phrase indicating that
the author sat down to write his novel in September 1st, 1830 and finished it mid-January, 1831.
94
When it was first published, the last chapter of Book Four and the entirety of Book
Five were not included until the "definitive" edition in December 1832. The author,
in his advanced publicity for The Hunchback of Notre-Dame stated that: "It is a
depiction of Paris in the fifteenth century ... The book makes no historical claims,
save in the conscientiousness and fully researched depiction..." (Killick, 1994, p.5)
(Figure 3.3.2).Hugo whilst writing his novel, made descriptions of the city, the
Cathedral, and certain monuments, and his references came from those historians and
their depictions. "...Victor Hugo's novel Notre-Dame of Paris assumed a pivotal role
in this redirection of interest in medieval monuments, the monarchy's interest in
erasing the immediate memory of the sacking of the archbishopric and the
profanations of 1830 also was critical." (DeenSchildgen, 2008, pp.128-129).
Figure 3.3.2. Jean Fouquet, "La Descente du Saint-Esprit", 1450. A depiction of the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame and Paris in the background. (Source: Metropolitan Museum of
Art / Public Domain)
The novel, set in two volumes, contains eleven books, and fifty-nine chapters in total.
The story begins on January 6th , 1482 in medieval Paris, on the day of the Fête des
95
Fous in which Quasimodo, the bell-ringer of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, was
elected the Pope of Fools. Book I is an entrance scene divided to six chapters to
which characters such as Gringoire, Quasimodo and La Esmeralda are introduced
and the plot is set. Pierre Gringoire, a struggling poet tries to get the crowd - gathered
at the Palace of Justice for the Cardinal's arrival - to watch his play rather
unsuccessfully. Le Palais de Justice and LaGrande'sallewhich gave its name to the
very first chapter was depicted in detail - even architectural detail (Appendix A). The
Grande Salle had a double vault of pointed arches which were painted light blue with
golden fleur-de-lis, lined with wood. The floor was designed to look like a checker
board made by white and black marble. There were seven giant pillars, extending
through the entirety of the hall; "...supporting the central line that separates the
double vaults of the roof. ... In the long Gothic windows, the stained glass shines
with a thousand colours. In the wide entrances the doors are richly and delicately
carved."67 (Hugo, 1993, pp.4-5). The detailed description of the Palais de Justice
given by Hugo could be justified since the Palace burned down in 1618 much to his
despair; "[The old Palace] would be still standing, with its Grand Hall, and I could
say to my reader, 'Go and look at it' - which would be a great convenience for us
both; saving me from writing, him from reading, my imperfect description."(Hugo,
1993, p.6).
The second book follows Gringoire in his attempt to find a place to spend the night,
since he had nowhere to go and no money. The poet arrived at the Place de Grève;
"...one of the places for public executions in the old city of Paris." (Hugo, 1993,
p.47) 68 where he observed La Esmeralda, a gypsy girl who danced around the fire.
Quasimodo returned to the Cathedral, searching seclusion, as he saw Notre-Dame as
his home, his whole universe. The second chapter titled La Place de Grèvestarted
with a description of the place that did not exist anymore, with a clear critic of Hugo
complaining about the disappearance of medieval details (Appendix B): Only a small
67 The English quotations were taken from the 1993 Wordsworth edition of the novel.
68The public square in the fourth arrondissement of Paris that is now the Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville was,
before 1802, called the Place de Grève. The location presently occupied by the square was the point
on the sandy right bank of the river Seine where the first riverine harbor of Paris was established.
However, the main reason why the Place de Grèveis remembered is that it was the site of most of the
public executions in early Paris. The gallows and the pillory stood there.
96
and barely perceptible relic of the Place de Grève stands today, he wrote, all that
remained were the charming turret that occupied "the northern angle of the Square"
which was buried beneath the whitewashing that Hugo could not stand for. He
claimed it would have been completely vanished under the onslaught of new houses
that was already consuming Paris' old façades (Hugo, 1993, p.47).He continued with
descriptions of buildings surrounding the square that were either wooden or carved in
stone, showing examples of the secular architecture in the Middle Ages, dating from
between the eleventh and the fifteenth centuries: "...from the perpendicular window
which was beginning to supersede the Gothic to the circular Roman arch which the
Gothic had in turn supplanted..."(Hugo, 1993, p.48).
In the fourth chapter of the second book Hugo had Gringoire following Esmeralda
the gypsy, getting lost in the streets of Paris, describing them as "labyrinths of alleys"
and a "skein of thread tangled by the playing of a kitten.", criticising them for being
illogical:
...seemed to be everlastingly turning back upon themselves, ...had he not
observed, at the bend of a street, the octagonal mass of the pillory of the Halles
(Principal Market), the perforated top of which traced its dark outline against
a solitary light yet visible in a window of the Rue Verdelet. (Hugo, 1993, p.60).
This would not be the only time that Hugo described the city and its street as a
labyrinth. As a matter of fact, in chapter six he went on to say; "All was intersections
of streets, courts and blind alleys, amongst which he incessantly doubted and
hesitated, more entangled in that strange network of dark lanes than he would have
been in the labyrinth of the Hôtel des Tournelles itself." (Hugo, 1993, pp.64-65).69
In Book III the narrator paused the story and dedicated two whole chapters to the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame and the city of Paris. In Chapter I: Notre-Dame(Figure
3.3.4) the theme was Notre-Dame de Paris itself, and its appearance as time has worn
it down and as men slowly destroyed it. His main character, the main location of
every major event in his novel and the "ancient queen of French cathedrals" (Figure
69The Hôtel des Tournelles is a now-demolished collection of buildings in Paris built from the
fourteenth century. It was named after its many 'tournelles' or little towers. It was owned by the kings
of France for a long period of time, though they did not often live there. Henry II of France died there
in 1559 and after his death, his widow Catherine de Médici, abandoned the building, by then quite
derelict and old-fashioned. It was turned into a gunpowder magazine, then sold to finance the
construction of the Tuileries.
97
3.3.3) was described as (Appendix C); without a question a majestic and sublime
edifice. Yet no matter how beautiful, one could not hide their displeasure at its state
of degradation and numberless mutilations which was, as Hugo stated done by "men
and time".For every wrinkle, a scar can be found; "Tempus edax, homo edacior"
(Time is destructive, man more destructive). If we had leisure to examine one by one,
with the reader, the traces of destruction imprinted on this ancient church, those due
to Time would be found to form the lesser portion..."wrote Hugo and continued by
accusing once again, men and especially "men of art" for the worst parts of the
destruction of their Cathedral. He even went further suggesting that these men of art
were disguising themselves as architects for the last two centuries (Hugo, 1993,
p.89). For Hugo, Notre-Dame's surfaces showed the traces of destruction caused by
the architects - thus registering the building as the main, if not yet definite, reference
already in 1832.
Figure 3.3.3. Viollet-le-Duc, "Notre Dame in 1482.", 1877. From Victor Hugo, Notre-Dame
de Paris, (Paris: Hughes) (Source: Author)
98
Through seven pages (in the 1993 English version that was used), he described the
state the Cathedral was in, criticizing and demanding answers for its white windows
instead of the stained ones, calling the edifice of the transition period; "It is no longer
Roman70, nor is it yet Gothic. This edifice is not a typical one." (Hugo, 1993, p.92).
Notre-Dame was never a pure form, the edifice is considered to be a transition
monument between two architectural styles: "She began as a Romanesque structure,
and, with the return of the crusaders, the Gothic arch was grafted onto the original
base. There was no organic relationship between the two." (Nash, 1983, p.123).
Without being an architect himself, he gave detailed descriptions of the statues,
giving long architectural descriptions with the correct terminology, making the
reader walk through a monument that was touched by time and men. Hugo, as many
before him, believed the Cathedral to be a book, a façade that was designed to be
read. Gothic cathedrals were considered as literary pieces that described the
important historical and religious characters and events calling the façade of the
Cathedral as an architectural page: "...there are assuredly, few finer architectural
pages than that front of that cathedral..."(Hugo, 1993, p.89)citing the three portals
and their pointed arches, the central rose window, the trifoliated arcades, the "two
dark and massive" towers as evidence to his argument (Figure 3.3.5). He described
the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris a "vast symphony in stone" calling it the "the
colossal work of a man and of a nation; combining unity with complexity."(Hugo,
1993, pp.89-90).
The author claimed that three things of importance are missing from the façade: the
eleven steps that raised the façade from the ground, the lower range of statues
occupying the niches of the fore mentioned three portals and the twenty-eight statues
of the Kings of France. He argued that the steps disappeared in time, writing the
word with a capital letter, imagining it as a character, as an actor in itself. It was the
same "time" that "has spread over its face that dark grey tint of centuries which
makes of the old age of architectural monuments their season of beauty." (Hugo,
1993, p.90). Hugo asked who was it that had thrown the statues, cut the pointed arch
located at the central portal, and who dared to carve and place a wooden door in the
70 In French "Roman" style means Romanesque and not Roman antiquity. Yet in the translation it was
left as if Victor Hugo meant Roman, which would be wrong.
99
Louis XV style? According to him it was; "The men, the architects, the artist of our
times." (Hugo, 1993, p.90).
Figure 3.3.4. Victor Hugo's Manuscript of Notre-Dame de Paris, 1831 - Book III Chapter I
"Notre-Dame". (Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
He asked about the stained glasses that disappeared, the interior wall colour that
changed and he even focused on the spire: "...if we climb higher in the cathedral -
without stopping at a thousand barbarities of every kind - what have they done with
that charming little spire which rose from the intersection of the cross..."(Hugo,
1993, p.91), insisting that an architect 'of good taste' has amputated the spire in
1787.He was complaining about the changes in styles, especially complaining about
Renaissance calling it fashion;
100
Fashion has done more mischief than revolutions. It has cut to the quick - it
has attacked the very bone and framework of the art. It has mangled,
dislocated, killed the edifice - in its form as well as in its meaning - in its logic
as well as in its beauty. (Hugo, 1993, p.92).
Figure 3.3.5. (Top) The portals before the nineteenth century restoration (Source: Alain
Erlande-Brandenbourg, 1999) / (Bottom) Notre-Dame de Paris' Western Façade in 2014
(Source: Daniel Vorndran / Wikimedia)
An interesting argument was made by Hugo, calling the edifice a transition from
Roman (The French call it Romain meaning Romanesque) to Gothic style; a
combination of Gothic and Saxon art with the Roman abbey mixed in the monument,
a claim that is correct. He concluded the chapter by stating that architecture is ever
changing, yet amongst all the changes, the foundation remains: art, worship,
people..."The trunk of the tree is unchanging - the foliage is variable." (Hugo, 1993,
101
p.95) is the last phrase, an analogy that will emerge through the pages of Banister
Fletcher sixty-five years later. Book III Chapter I ended as it began, on a
conservative idealism note, interrupted by a description of ruin and vandalism (Nash,
1983, p.124).
After presenting the Cathedral in a social and historical context, the narrator wrote
that Paris had lost most of its beauty contrary to its growth since the fifteenth
century. The twenty-one pages of the second chapter in Book III, titled Paris À Vol
D'Oiseau(Figure 3.3.6), the author walked among, flew over, and climbed on Paris,
its streets, its buildings, bridges, gardens. Sometimes he wrote about Philip
Augustus's accomplishments, or wrote about Charles V's shortcomings. This chapter
was about pages and pages of description of the city, what was and what is at the
time of Hugo, as he wrote in the past tense and the present - the two worlds are
mixing in some lines, Hugo was sometimes in 1482 and sometimes in 1831.
(Appendix D).
Figure 3.3.6. Victor Hugo's Manuscript of Notre-Dame de Paris - Book III Chapter II, 1831.
(Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
Hugo began his chapter by a historical background much like the one that can be
found towards the beginning of this dissertation; how the city began on the island
known as Île de la Cité, how it expanded throughout time stating: "...under the first
102
line of French kings, Paris found herself too much confined within the limits of her
island, and unable to turn about, she crossed the water." (Hugo, 1993, p.96). He
described the city walls that were built up until the fifteenth century starting with
Philip Augustus' wall, accusing him of imprisoning Paris inside a circular enclosure
of massive, intrusive towers. Because of the new boundaries of the capital city,
houses were being built pressed to one another, that they "shot out in height... and
strove each to lift its head above its neighbours, in order to get a breath of air. The
streets became deeper and narrower, and every open space was overrun by buildings
and disappeared." (Hugo, 1993, p.97) (Figure 3.3.7). He compared the city to a child
that kept getting too big for their clothes, overgrowing the walls that were being
built.
Figure 3.3.7. Notre-Dame de Paris, circa 15thcentury. (Source: Grez Production)
Arriving at the time of the book's events (fifteenth century), Paris was described as
being divided in three separate towns, all of which had its own customs, history and
features; the City, the University and the Ville or Town as it were. Hugo claimed that
the City which was surrounded by churches, occupied the island of Île de la Cité and
was the oldest yet smallest of the three, describing it as the "mother of the other
two." (Hugo, 1993, p.98). The University with its colleges, covered the left bank
103
whereas the Town where the palaces were located, was the largest of the three and
covered the right bank. Hugo not only described the city during the fifteenth century
but also lists the names of every island on the Seine, the names of the bridges, the
gates located at the University and the Town. As the title of the chapter suggests, a
bird's-eye view of the capital was depicted, focusing on and describing the streets
creating a pattern that still existed in Hugo's time as an intricate web of tangled
streets: "Yet a glance was sufficient to show the spectator that these three portions of
a city formed but one complete whole." (Hugo, 1993). One can hastily observe two
long parallel streets, undisturbed, traversing in an almost straight line, going from
north to south passing in a proximity of the river Seine, crossing over three towns
and connecting them to one another. This resulted in the migration of a large number
of people to these parts of Paris and eventually creating a single city by connecting
the three towns. (Hugo, 1993, p.100).
As another reflection how he sees Notre-Dame as the most important reference spot
to observe the city; he asked what would a spectator see whilst standing on top of the
towers of Notre-Dame in 1482? He described in great detail the view of the roofs, the
street formations, the houses, distinctive monuments and so on (Figure 3.3.8). He
focused on the City first; comparing it to a ship because of its shape, "stuck in the
mud, and stranded in the current near the middle of the Seine." (Hugo, 1993, p.101).
He continued by describing every view from every major monument, thee front of
the Cathedral and the back of it, what could be seen from the Palace, the streets, the
houses. "As for the water itself, it was hardly visible from the towers of Notre-Dame,
on either side of the City; the Seine disappearing under the bridges, and the bridges
under the houses." (Hugo, 1993, p.102). The many pages of descriptions of the
University and the Town are so detailed that one can see the buildings, can hear the
students and the artists, can read the street names whilst taking a stroll in the capital.
He especially described architectural details that were either lost in time or were
disrupted by men.
The way the author could evoke thoughts about destruction, about the loss of the past
can best be seen in this section:
104
It was not then merely a handsome city - it was a homogeneous city - an
architectural and historical production of the Middle Ages - a chronicle in
stone. It was a city composed of two architectural strata only, the bastard
Roman and the Gothic layer... (Hugo, 1993, pp.111-112)
He described Paris as beautiful yet less harmonious visually and intellectually. This
period of splendour was short lived since the Renaissance was not impartial: "Not
content with building up, it thought proper to pull down it is true it needed space.
Thus, Gothic Paris was complete but for a moment." (Hugo, 1993, p.112). At one
point Hugo wrote that Paris became a collection of styles, belonging to different
ages, suggesting that the city would be 'renewed every fifty years', a foreshadowing
as the era of Haussmann was approaching. He concluded his chapter by admiring
some of his contemporary structures and saying that: "Usually, the murmur that rises
up from Paris by day is the city talking; in the night it is the city breathing; but here it
is the city singing. ...this city which is but one orchestra..." (Hugo, 1993, p.116).
Figure 3.3.8. Henri Eugène Callot's Paris and Notre-Dame de Paris, 1900.
(Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
105
Book IV travels back in time to how did Quasimodo - the unwanted child that was
left at the steps of Notre-Dame - came to be in the care of Claude Frollo, the
archdeacon and priest of Notre-Dame de Paris. Book V where the third authorial
voice interruption took place71, gave us a glimpse of the private chambers of the
archdeacon and to himself. One of the most famous lines of the story was stated here:
This will kill that!, meaning the book - in Hugo's words, the printing press72- will
destroy Notre-Dame de Paris - meaning architecture. There can be millions of copies
of a book as long as the printing press exists, which in this case it did, but there can
only be one Cathedral with a specific story written, "Both architecture and books are
forms of writing; it is history which changed the nature of that writing and in
precisely the same way for each type of expression."(Nash, 1983, p.124).The second
chapter of this book, is a pause given by the narrator to explain the meaning hidden
behind these words. Book VI gave a historical context on the legal system of the
Middle Ages, and continues on with Quasimodo's trial. The trial was a mockery
since neither the bell-ringer nor the Master Florian Barbedienne could hear or
communicated with one another. Where Quasimodo was to be tortured due to his
sentence, in the Place de Grève, there was a half-Gothic building called the Tour
Roland, a building described in greater detail than others.
Book VII continued with the story of La Esmeralda, with some descriptions of the
city itself, and the third chapter called The Bells was dedicated entirely to the bells of
the Cathedral. In chapter four titled ANAΓKH73, the theme of fatality was discussed
by Frollo and his brother. Hugo used the word in his preface, to create a connection
between the notion of fate and fatality with the decaying Cathedral. In book VIII,
Esmeralda was being put on trial for the murder of Phoebus, the captain of the King's
71 The other two times we can observe the authorial intervention were in Book III, Chapters I-II. The
"Ceci tueracela" chapter, "Paris à vol d'oiseau (Chapter II in Book III) and "Abbas Beati Martini"
(First chapter in Book V) were the passages that were missing in the editions before the so-called
definite one in 1832. See Nash, S. (1983)."Writing a Building: Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris". French
Forum, May 1983, Vol.8, No.2, p.124.
72 For further reading on the subject, seeMilner, M. (2010)."Quoi tuera quoi? Les enjeux de l'invention
de l'imprimerie chez Victor Hugo et Gérard de Nerval", Livraisons de l'histoire de l'architecture [En
ligne], 20 / 2010, mis en ligle le 10 décembre 2012, URL: http://journals.openedition.org/Iha/251 ;
DOI: 10.4000/Iha.
73ANAΓKH is discussed in the next sub-chapter of the dissertation (3.4.)
106
Archers, and she was sentenced to public penance before Notre-Dame and hanging at
the Place de Grève(Figure 3.3.9). At the last second, Quasimodo saved the gypsy and
sought sanctuary at his beloved Cathedral. Book IX started with Frollo, the
archdeacon fled to the Université thinking Esmeralda died. The reader was met with
different districts of Paris in 1482 in this book. The Université was sparsely
populated in the Middle Ages, and the priest was wandering through small farms and
pastures, creating a contradicting background; city versus nature, chaos versus calm.
These descriptions were written especially for the readers of the 1830s, giving them
an idea of how much the recent events and the Industrial Revolution had changed the
city.
Figure 3.3.9. View from Place de Grève, and Notre-Dame in 1652. (Source:Israel Silvestre,
Musée Carnavalet / Public Domain)
In Book X, Frollo convinced Gringoire to save Esmeralda and ask for his brother
Jehan's help, yet Jehan refused and joined the vagabonds that were marching to
Notre-Dame de Paris in order to save their sister, the gypsy girl. Overlooking Paris
from his tower, Quasimodo without knowing they are approaching to save the love
of his life, decided to protect the girl and his Cathedral. Pretending to save
Esmeralda. The vagabonds started to destroy the Church starting from its doors.
Hugo took a pause once more to give another historical background of the Middle
Ages. The vagabonds' attack on the Cathedral was written in to show the readers that
107
such actions were common at the time and the revolutionaries' actions had
resemblances. The Cathedral was like an extra limb to Quasimodo who had spent his
whole life in the Church, he knew it so well that he managed to defend it all alone,
yet Esmeralda was captured by the King's Archers that came to end the disruptions
occurring in the city. The last book, Book XI includes Esmeralda's capture, reunion
with her long-lost mother and her execution. Quasimodo's and Frollo's deaths happen
not long after hers. Almost all major events happened around or in the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame de Paris, and Hugo put the monument at the centre of the story and the
character's lives, as a guide and a metaphor for the readers.
Remarkably, - the Éditiondéfinitive74of the novel that was published in 1832 had
included chapters that were not in the previous ones. But the added chapters were not
written after the first edition was published, rather they were written at the same time
but the editor, Charles Gosselin deemed them unnecessary and too long. The eighth
or "définite" edition was edited by Eugène Rendueland the missing parts and chapters
were reinstituted as the vision of Victor Hugo. The missing parts were the sixth
chapter of Book IV titled Impopularité, and the two chapters that formed Book V
titled Abbas beati Martini and Ceci tueracela. The second preface, or the preface that
was added to the éditiondéfinitivestarts as correcting the misunderstanding that was
created by the announcers of the new edition, which were claiming that the new
edition was expanded through new chapters. Yet Hugo called the new edition an
inedit75:
In fact, if by new we assume newly made, the added chapters are not new. They
were written at the same time with the rest of the book, they are dated from the
same time, and they come from the same idea, they have always been a part of
the Notre-Dame de Paris manuscript.76
74 It is assumed by many that the "definite edition" is the second edition of the book, in actuality it is
the eighth edition of the novel. On October 20, 1832 a note was added to the edition titled "Note
Ajoutée à l'ÉditionDéfinitive" signed by Hugo himself.
75Meaning unedited, unfinished.
76 "C’est par erreur qu’on a annoncé cette édition comme devant être augmentée de plusieurs chapitres
nouveaux. Il fallait dire inédits. En effet, si par nouveaux on entend nouvellement faits, les chapitres
ajoutés à cette édition ne sont pas nouveaux. Ils ont été écrits en même temps que le reste de
l’ouvrage, ils datent de la même époque et sont venus de la même pensée, ils ont toujours fait partie
du manuscrit de Notre-Dame de Paris.".
108
Hugo went on to write that there was a simple explanation for their absence in the
previous editions: the folder which contained the three descriptive chapters were
simply misplaced and that the author needed to rewrite them or just go without. He
continued in the third person:
...two of those three chapters that possesses some importance in their
longitude, were chapters of art and architecture that did not launched the
drama and the novel, that the public will notice their disappearance, and that
the author alone, would be in the knowing of their absence....77
Victor Hugo, often described the streets, the buildings, and the layout of the city of
Paris in his novel. One can even create a map and imagine the characters walking,
looking, admiring the described aspects of Paris. He was criticized for his long
descriptions which were called unnecessary, yet he aimed to paint a picture, a picture
of a medieval community, their lives and their stories, entering buildings, trading at
the markets, walking alongside the river Seine (Figure 3.3.10). The said pictures, was
his way of criticizing the Parisian for demolishing its past.
What sets this masterpiece apart - besides the intricate characters and storyline - was
the impact it had on architecture, especially French architecture in the nineteenth
century. France had just seen the 1789 Revolution that almost eradicated the Catholic
Church;many buildings and monuments had been damaged, vandalized or destroyed
during the decade long revolutionary period and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de
Paris had not been left out of the destruction. The Cathedral had already seen
alterations, partly destructions and vandalism (Idzerda, 1954, pp.13-26) 78throughout
its existence prior to the Revolution.
77 "S'ils n’ont pas été publiés dans les précédentes éditions du livre, c’est par une raison bien simple. À
l’époque où Notre-Dame de Paris s’imprimait pour la première fois, le dossier qui contenait ces trois
chapitres s’égara. Il fallait ou les récrire ou s’en passer. L’auteur considéra que les deux seuls de ces
chapitres qui eussent quelque importance par leur étendue, étaient des chapitres d’art et d’histoire qui
n’entamaient en rien le fond du drame et du roman, que le public ne s’apercevrait pas de leur
disparition, et qu’il serait seul, lui auteur, dans le secret de cette lacune...".
78The author discusses whether or not the destruction during the French Revolution should be called
vandalism or iconoclasm.
109
Figure 3.3.10. Île de la Cité, ca. 1550 (Coloured). (Source: Truscher&Hoyau, BNF Gallica /
Public Domain)
Before Viollet-le-Duc and Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus submitted their project for
the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris in 1843 (Reiff, 1971, p.18),Hugo wrote his
novel in order to rekindle the interest and appreciation of the French nation with its
national architecture; Gothic architecture or Opus Francigenummeaning "French
Work" as it was known during the Middle Ages. Charles F. R. de Montalembert
(1810-1870) wrote in L'Avenirin April 11th 1831 that we should solemnly thank
Victor Hugo for the bright light he has thrown on the beautiful monument long
neglected. He stated that all French people should fell gratitude towards the author as
he prevented France from losing "its finest ornament". Montalembert stated that
there was no better starting point than Notre-Dame: "M. Victor Hugo will have the
glory of having given the signal for the revolution which must infallibly take place in
architecture; his admirable chapters entitled Notre-Dame and Paris seen from a bird's
110
eye view, are the first manifestos of a new taste, of a second renaissance, to which
we must certainly wish better destinies than to the first.". 79
3.4. Fatality and the Written Word
When Victor Hugo published his novel, the book did not have a preface yet one
written by the author was included on the next printings. The preface dating from
February 1831 described Hugo's visit to the Cathedral years prior and his discovery
of an engraving on one of the tower's walls: ANAΓKH.80 By observing the carving
which he believed to be Greek capital letters, blackened by old age, written in a
Gothic style calligraphy, he suggested they were written by a man who lived during
the Middle Ages. His assumptions were further proven, in his opinion, by the sense
of grim and fatality of the word. Hugo wrote that since the last time he saw the
carving the tower was "whitewashed of scratched", claiming not to remember which
action took place but nonetheless the inscription was lost just like "...the way we
have been acting approximately two hundred years, towards these marvellous
churches of the Middle Ages. The mutilations comes from all around, from the inside
as from the outside.".81Hugo was angered, was critical, just as he wrote in his Guerre
aux démolisseurs!, that men were responsible for the vandalism of these beautiful
edifices, that it was the priests who whitewashed them, the architects themselves who
scratched them and that the people who demolished them. "...nothing is left of this
79Quoted in Biré, E. (1869). Victor Hugo et la Restauration: Études Historique et Littéraire.
Paris:Lecoffre Fils et C'. pp. 7-8. (Trans. by E.D.T.)
80ANAΓKH was translated as fatality.
81"Il y a quelques années qu’en visitant, ou, pour mieux dire, en furetant Notre Dame, l’auteur de ce
livre trouva, dans un recoin obscur de l’une des tours ce mot, gravé à la main sur le mur: ANAΓKH.
Ces majuscules grecques, noires de vétusté et assez profondément entaillées dans la pierre, je ne sais
quels signes propres à la calligraphie gothique empreints dans leurs formes et dans leurs attitudes,
comme pour révéler que c’était une main du moyen âge qui les avait écrites là, surtout le sens lugubre
et fatal qu’elles renferment, frappèrent vivement l’auteur.... Depuis, on a badigeonné ou gratté (je ne
sais plus lequel) le mur, et l’inscription a disparu. Car c’est ainsi qu’on agit depuis tantôt deux cents
ans avec les merveilleuses églises du moyen âge. Les mutilations leur viennent de toutes parts, du
dedans comme du dehors. Le prêtre les badigeonne, l’architecte les gratte, puis le peuple survient, qui
les démolit. ... il ne reste plus rien aujourd’hui du mot mystérieux gravé dans la sombre tour de Notre
Dame... L’homme qui a écrit ce mot sur ce mur s’est effacé, il y a plusieurs siècles, du milieu des
générations, le mot s’est à son tour effacé du mur de l’église, l’église elle-même s’effacera bientôt
peut-être de la terre. C’est sur ce mot qu’on a fait ce livre. Février 1831.".
111
mysterious word engraved in the dark tower of Notre-Dame... The man who wrote
this word vanished, many centuries ago, many generations ago, the word has
vanished too from the wall of the church, and the church itself may vanish soon from
this earth" (Hugo, 2009, pp.59-60)82. The carving which was blackened over time, on
a white wall surface was taught of being a metaphor for a book page, fulfilling its
destiny and bringing a closure to the sense of fatality: the written word being the end
of these monuments: this will kill that. A single word that may have been responsible
for the resurrection of a monument, of an artistic style and even a whole era. This
romanticized idea not only fitted the era in which the book was written in but it was
also claimed for what it was by the author himself:
"This book was written on this word" (Figure 3.4.1).
The Greek word: ANAΓKH is translated as fatality in the English translation by
Shoberl. The Oxford Dictionary83gives two definitions to the word fatality:
1. An occurrence of death by accident, in war, or from disease.
2. Helplessness in the face of faith.
The word must have been chosen delicately, since the novel had multiple meanings.
As we can see from the title, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was the
centrepiece that holds the storyline together. Every major event in the story happened
either in, on, in front of, or near the Cathedral, including the deaths of many crucial
characters such as Claude Frollo (the Archdeacon of Notre-Dame) and Esmeralda.
This was not a happily ever after story, it took place in 1482, during the Middle
Ages, at the end of Louis XI's (1461-1483) reign. The Middle Ages were harsh;
famines, diseases, long winters, the Black Death, contaminations, wars, and the
constant fear of a deity or of life in general. Under these conditions, we could find
the dark nature of the story appropriate. The word fatality can have multiple
meanings as seen from the definition; the miserable state of the lives of the
82The French quote was taken from the 2009 Folio classique edition of the novel and translated by the
author.
83RetrievedMarch7,2015,fromhttp://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/fatality.
112
characters, and their impending doom or it could represent the Gothic masterpiece
itself, The Cathedral of Notre-Dame. All the deaths that occurred during the storyline
were either by accident, from a disease or by law (hanging). No natural death was
depicted. This was what Hugo was trying to attest to: the grand Church was not
perishing because of time nor because of natural elements but, its destruction was the
result of humanity, a disease that effects and destroys the medieval monument.
Figure 3.4.1. Victor Hugo, "ANAΓKH ", 1831. (Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
The author expressed in a chapter the architecture's state of decadence and of death:
"... no matter the future of architecture, no matter how young architects will resolve
the question of their art, while waiting for the new monuments, let us conserve the
old ones. Les us inspire, if possible, to the nation the love of national architecture.";
Hugo wrote that was one of the main reasons for this novel to be written and also one
of the intentions of his life.
113
He went on to write that he already pleaded for the protection of their national
architecture in more than one occasion, surely two of those occasions would be the
pamphlet of Guerre aux Démolisseurs!, and that he would not stop. In the October
20th 1832 dated addition he wrote that he promised himself to revisit the subject as
much as possible, of "...what is being done in Paris, at our doors, under our windows,
in the big city, in the literate city, in the city of the press, of the word, of the
thought." 84
Chapters one and two of Book V were part story, part history, and part manifesto.
Hugo believed that the advancement of technology, would eventually slow down and
erase the past. The character of Claude Frollo opened his window to point at the
Cathedral of Paris.:
For some time the archdeacon considered the enormous edifice in silence, then
with a sigh, extending his right hand towards the printed book which lay open
upon his table, and with his left hand extended towards Notre-Dame, his eyes
sadly wandered from the book to the church. 'Alas! Alas! he said, 'this will kill
that' ...the book will kill the edifice (Hugo, 1993, p.146).
This could have more than one meaning; that the printing press will kill the
congregation, that people will no longer come to church, to listen to the priest now
that more and more houses had the Bible, that each passing day literacy rates were
increasing and that the people no longer felt the need to go to church, that the written
word would kill architecture.
Architecture, especially Gothic architecture was considered to be a story-telling, and
history depicting style, with its façades, statues and great stained-glassed windows.
Hugo's written words resulted in the restoration of his main character, the Cathedral
of Notre-Dame, guided by Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc. The question remains: did the
84"Mais dans tous les cas, quel que soit l’avenir de l’architecture, de quelque façon que nos jeunes
architectes résolvent un jour la question de leur art, en attendant les monuments nouveaux, conservons
les monuments anciens. Inspirons, s’il est possible, à la nation l’amour de l’architecture nationale.
C’est là, l’auteur le déclare, un des buts principaux de ce livre; c’est là un des buts principaux de sa
vie. ... a déjà plaidé dans plus d’une occasion la cause de notre vieillie architecture, il a déjà dénoncé à
haute voix bien des profanations, bien des démolitions, bien des impiétés. Il ne se lassera pas. Il s’est
engagé à revenir souvent sur ce sujet, il y reviendra. ... Et l’on ne parle pas ici seulement de ce qui se
passe en province, mais de ce qui se fait à Paris, à notre porte, sous nos fenêtres, dans la grande ville,
dans la ville lettrée, dans la cité de la presse, de la parole, de la pensée.... Paris, 20 Octobre 1832.".
114
book kill the edifice? Hugo's efforts would not be in vain, considering the immense
success of the novel which resulted in the restoration of the beloved Cathedral, and
many more Gothic monuments: "The novel, instantly and tremendously popular,
inspired illustrations by artists of all media. Salon painters, lithographers, book
illustrations, caricaturists, and, later, photographers all sought to illustrate scenes
from the novel or to depict the cathedral itself." (Cochran, 1999, p.393).The images
of the Cathedral of Paris were everywhere, easily accessible and known by everyone
by the French society. Notre-Dame was a national icon and the book certainly did not
kill the Cathedral, yet turned into a "definite" reference point for the French art and
architecture.
3.5. A New Hope for the Cathedral
In 1831 Hugo published Notre-Dame de Paris (Figure 3.5.1) and according to the
Cathedral's historians; "In 1844, the Government of King Louis-Philippe 1st decreed
the restoration of the Cathedral of Paris and the construction of a sacristy.".85There
were various reasons why Notre-Dame de Paris was chosen to be one of the first
cathedrals to be restored in the nineteenth century, which would then cause a ripple
effect that would lead restorations throughout France. With Victor Hugo's Notre-
Dame de Paris, the Cathedral became one of the symbols of the Romantic movement.
Hugo urged for its restoration in his novel, which was effective at the end. A second
reason was that the Renaissance and the Neoclassicism had eclipsed the medieval
architecture. They were foreign concepts that arrived from outside of the nation that
had lived through a revolution. France was in search of its roots, of its medieval past
and Gothic was a true expression of French national genius. A third reason was that
after the brief periods of dechristianization of the Culte de la Raison and Le Culte de
L'ÊtreSuprême, Notre-Dame de Paris was going to re-emerge as a centre of Catholic
rebirth. In a way the 1789 Revolution's damages and evidences must be removed by
a reconstruction, a return to the glorious days. According to Daniel D. Reiff, there
was another reason for choosing the Cathedral for the restoration, which was that it
would be educational. People would get the opportunity to see the monuments as
85Retrieved May 31, 2017, from http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/la-cathedralde
/histoire/historique-de-la-construction/.
115
they once were: "The buildings he [Viollet-le-Duc] restored were comparable to
museums or libraries, they were the raw materials for the history of art." (1971,
p.29).
A young Viollet-le-Duc was an under inspector in the Sainte-Chapelle renovations
since 1840 and he collaborated with Lassus on a proposal for the restoration of the
capitals Cathedral, Notre-Dame. In January 1843, the proposal was prepared, sent to
the Ministry of Justice and the Cults who was responsible for the maintenance of the
monument. In March 11, 1844, their proposal was accepted and in 1845, Viollet-le-
Duc and Lassus then presented their drawings and detailed projects. Lassus passed
away on July 15th,1857 at fifty years old and the restorations were finished in 1864
by Viollet-le-Duc who now could realise his dream of completing the Cathedral in its
supposed 1350 state (Poisson & Poisson, 2014, p.190), from his office located on the
south tower (Midant, 2001, p.54). Work ceased for eight years because of lack of
funds (Reiff, 1971, p.18) yet the site was like an experiment for him to understand
the undertakings of a restoration project. The National Legislative Assembly finally
voted for a credit of six million for the Cathedral's restoration project which resulted
in the re-start of the project in 1853 (Poisson & Poisson, 2014, p.153). The
restoration of the Cathedral was well documented: the chief inspector Maurice
Ouradou (1822-1884)86 took extensive daily notes in Le Journal des Travaux. The
complete record runs from the 30th of April, 1844 to the 19th of November, 1864. In
these journals, the chronological stages of the work were described; excavations,
construction phases and even the demounting of scaffolds, the work that was taking
place on the reliefs and statues, the placement of the finished statues, official
inspections and of course, criticism of said work (Reiff, 1971, p.18).
86 "Viollet-le-Duc: Lesvisionsd'unarchitecte", an expositiondatedbetweenNovember 20th, 2014 -
March 9th, 2015 at thePalais de Chaillot, Paris bytheCité de l'Architecture&duPatrimoine. In this
exhibition many important photographs, models, visual and written documents including Le Journal
de Travaux written by Maurice Ouradou, the Chief Inspector of the restoration.
116
Figure 3.5.1. First edition of Notre-Dame de Paris' cover, 1831. (Source: Public Library)
In Revue Générale de l'Architecture in 1851 Viollet-le-Duc addressed historical
events that affected the Cathedral: some purposeful destructions, changes and some
he considered vandalism in the name of art. He claimed that these actions of
vandalism began in the early stages of the eighteenth century. According to Violletle-
Duc, in 1699 "...under the pretence of accomplishing what Louis XIII wished", the
choir tower and the bas-reliefs were removed including the altars, the stalls and even
the tombs of bishops disappeared. He criticized the heavy marble decoration that
took place over the stylistic details of the Cathedral of Paris. He continued with the
description of the destruction of the rood screen in 1725 which was being replaced
by marble altars; the destruction of the stained glasses and windows located at the
nave which "represented bishops and characters from the Old Testament" in 1741
which was soon followed by the removal of the ones in the sanctuary and chapels
(Midant, 2001, p.60). Viollet-le-Duc not only criticized the past decisions and
changes that occurred in the Cathedral but he would soon be himself, critiqued for
his restoration ideas and design choices that would occur less than a century later.
117
Figure 3.5.2. The spire of Notre-Dame de Paris in 1680 and the spire by Viollet-le-Duc
(Before 2019). (BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
The spire which was dismantled between 1786 and 1792 was once again erected
during Viollet-le-Duc's time (Figure 3.5.2), strictly ornamental, ninety-six metres
from the ground, with one of the sculptures (Saint Thomas, looking up to the sky)
depicting the restorer himself. As early as 1810, following the disasters of the
Revolution on the edifices, the prefects drew up a list of monuments to be preserved,
in a spirit of inventory of the heritage. Then, in 1837, Prosper Mérimée created the
Commission des Monuments Historiques to register or classify the most remarkable
buildings. The city of Paris created its first list in 1862, which included Notre-Dame.
3.5.1. Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc's Report
The Projet de Restauration de Notre-Dame de Paris was a report written and
presented by Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus and Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc in
1843, January 31st to the Ministry of Justice and the Cults, a strict deadline that only
they abided. They were considered young at the time - Lassus was thirty-eight and
Viollet-le-Duc was twenty-nine - but they already had the necessary experience and
expertise considering Lassus had been in charge of the restoration of Sainte-Chapelle
since 1836 and Viollet-le-Duc had been responsible for the Abbey of La Madeleine
at Vézelay since 1840, both very important monuments representing Gothic
architecture (Camille, 2009, p.4).
118
Figure 3.5.3. Lassus & Viollet-le-Duc's. Projet de Restauration de Notre-Dame de Paris,
1843. / Main entrance of the monument depicted by Léon Gaucherel, 1843 (Source: BNF
Gallica / Public Domain)
They presented the restoration project with twenty-two sheets of drawings, five
estimates and an engraving by Léon Gaucherel depicting the "Main door of Notre-
Dame de Paris"(Figure 3.5.3); a drawing made before the demolition of the trumeau
in 1771 (Poisson & Poisson, 2014, p.95). This project was submitted twelve years
after the publication of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and it seemed to have
adopted Hugo's ideologies about the monument's place and importance in French
culture and architectural history: "Hugo's project to save Notre-Dame de Paris, while
recognizing an intrinsic artistic value in the cathedral, also contributed to
monumentalizing it as an object for historical and cultural investigation." (Deen
Schildgen, 2008, p.157).
The report was divided into four sections: "General considerations on the Restoration
system", "Historical description of the Cathedral of Paris, from the time of its
construction to the present day", "Exterior Restoration - Interior Restoration" and
finally "Sacristy". On April 30th 1844, a decree by the same Minister the report was
addressed to, appointed Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc as architects of the metropolis,
119
responsible for drawing up the final restoration project of the Cathedral and
eventually the construction of the new sacristy (Deen Schildgen, 2008, p.104).
Figure 3.5.4. South façade of the Cathedral under restoration in 1846. (Source: Collection
Société Française de Photographie)
In the first part of the report which also included a budgetary table, they chose to
discuss their general ideas and critics of restoration projects and that these projects
can be more destructive for a monument than the ruins of centuries: On the contrary,
a restoration can, by adding new forms, make a host of remains disappear, whose
rarity and state of obsolescence even increase their interest (Lassus & Viollet-le-Duc,
1843, p.3). It may seem ironic that they were the ones discussing the possibility of
how a restoration project may become in itself destructive; a strong statement
considering how much Viollet-le-Duc has eventually incorporated to the Cathedral of
Paris. Yet he is the one to give us a description of what a restoration should be:
The term and the thing itself are both modern. To restore an edifice does not
mean to preserve it, to repair nor rebuild it; it means to reinstate it in a
condition of completeness which may never have existed at any given time.
(Viollet-le-Duc, 1854, Tome VIII, p.14) (Figure 3.5.4).
Both Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc stated in the report that they did not believe in
removing all additions made after the original state of the monument. They believed
in preserving and / or restoring each part that was added over time in their own style
120
without the addition of any personal opinions. The restorers stated that for a
successful restoration project, the so-called artist must put themselves aside, forget
their own instincts and preferences in order to study the edifice at hand. It is not a
question of making art, but only of submitting to the art of an era that is no longer
(1843, p.4).
Their opposed respectful approach towards the monument was not always taken as
such especially by the press at the time. A media outlet called Journal amusant
which published an article called Paris Reblanchiwas one of the critical ones (Figure
3.5.5). The article was published on the 9th of February, 1856, more than ten years
after the initial report for the restoration project. It was mocking it, criticizing the
whiteness of the monument, the re-appearance of the statues on the West façade,
stating that the majority of them no longer had noses, that adding said noses "...nez à
faire damner un sage s'il se présentaitainsinasifié au jour du jugement."a masquerade,
Gothic with a false nose.87
Figure 3.5.5. "Paris Reblanchi", Journal amusant No: 6, 1856.
(Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
87 "Paris Reblanchi", Journal amusant No: 6, Feb, 9th, 1856. "...would serve to damn this wise man
when he presents himself thus renosed at the day of judgment.".
121
Amidst the negativity of the media, Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc insisted in their report
on the importance of understanding and maintaining the primitive state of
construction as it is essentially linked to form. Any changes in this matter which was
the "most important part of Gothic architecture" could soon lead to another change
which would eventually result in a modern replacement at the expense of form. They
wrote in the same manner about the importance of construction systems that they
wrote about materials: do not change or add materials that did not existed at the
original time. They did not suggest to leave the materials in a weakened state but
they insisted on choosing the correct ones in order for them to mix or work well
together and even consider the added or subtracted weight. A change of weight, a
change of temperature even can break cast iron like it was glass. They wrote that this
material did not marry with stone which can cause ruin through oxidation. Even the
colour problem was mentioned and that we need not say that cast iron can never
reproduce that of stone, since, even when it is covered with a thick layer of paint, the
red oxide of the iron destroys it so quickly that it must be continually renewed (1843,
pp.5-6). They continued their critics over cement and the way the sculptures and the
stained glasses were being taken care of, the way the bas-reliefs should have been
preserved or restored, they even suggested making copies of sculptures and basreliefs
of the Cathedrals of Chartres, Reims and Amiens. They insisted on the
importance of research that should be done in order to restore a monument that is as
important as the Cathedral: a monument as important as the Cathedral of Paris, of
this remarkable building placed in the centre of the capital, under the eyes of the
authority, visited every day by all the intelligent and enlightened people (1843, p.8).
The second part of the report gave a detailed description of the Cathedral of Paris
(Figure 3.5.6) by the help of their extensive research where they claimed to have
examined many texts, graphics and historical information but the most important part
was the actual study of the monument through archaeological findings and
documents. They claimed the edifice had three distinguished periods yet each
addition that occurred reinforced the unity, the harmony of the monument (1843,
p.10). In this part they wrote the history of the construction of the Cathedral of
Notre-Dame that was written in this chapter of the dissertation but they still claimed
something that they deemed remarkable; that the Cathedral's first construction phase
122
one can follow a transition in Christian art throughout Bishop Maurice de Sully's
work where the choir seems to be marked by the Romanesque character whereas the
nave is already in Gothic style (1843, p.13). They continued by discussing how they
found the construction dates of the façade occidentale, the wooden spire that once
stood tall and its destruction in 1793. The modifications that occurred to the windows
which are "...a cause of ruin for the building..." (1843, p.15), the traceries, the
addition of chapels to the low-naves, the portals and so on. The completion of the
"queen of the French Cathedrals" (1843, p.17) lasted three centuries, and for all that
time the people poured all their knowledge and sense of art into it. The monument
was finally complete yet the damages and mutilations that this beautiful monument
would have to endure were just beginning. Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc then wrote in
detail all the vandalism that occurred, even vandalism that was done to the building
by other architects.
The third part of the report consisted of two sub-titles: The Exterior and Interior
restorations that they wished to accomplish during their project. The authors started
by stating that they will remain faithful to the monument and that they are also
obliged to follow what they had previously pointed out in the first part of the report:
"We have remained completely rejected any modification, any change, any
alteration, both of form and material and of the system of construction." (1843, p.27).
They discussed the statues of the saints and kings that should be restored, the stainedglasses
and windows took a large space in the part for whether or not they should be
kept as they are, replaced or re-designed in the nineteenth century style as some of
them do not belong to any style at all (1843, p.32). They ended this subtitle with the
resolution of what to do about the restoration of the central spire built of timber and
covered with lead. They claimed that the spire completed the Cathedral of Paris yet
did not ask if they should or not rebuilt it, leaving the discussion for another time. It
is common knowledge that the spire would be re-built, albeit in a different design by
Viollet-le-Duc after Lassus death, which would eventually burn down in 2019. The
interior restorations started with the removal of the entirety of the ceiling of the
monument; to see the state of the vaults and to research the possibility of paint
residue (1843, pp.33-34). They wrote that they included drawings of a possible
123
restoration of the choir as it was before 1699 yet they also claimed that the study was
purely archaeological and that the execution was not a suggestion.
The last part titled Sacristy was dedicated to the necessity for the reconstruction of
the archbishopric. A Neo-Gothic building was drawn and needed to create a coherent
vision, which of course had never existed (Poisson & Poisson, 2014, p.114). Several
projects were drawn and presented yet its location constituted still the main problem
(1843, p.36). Eventually they decided to stick to the location that it was already on:
In doing so, they relied on the similar arrangements of the sacristies of Chartres, the
Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, the one in Vincennes, and so many others, always placed on
the side of the main monument. Obviously, this is the only option that is really in the
character of Gothic architecture (1843, p.37). According to the restorers there was
once talk of disguising the sacristy in order to protect the symmetry of the monument
yet Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc were against that notion as Gothic architecture was not
about symmetry but of structural necessities. This ideology was given as the reason
why Gothic architecture had so many varieties in their elements and shape and
forms.
Figure 3.5.6. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1780 before the restoration (Source: Sandron, 2013)
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Figure 3.5.7. Notre-Dame de Paris in 1860 during the restoration (Source: Sandron, 2013)
This report was accepted and eventually continued / added to as deemed necessary
throughout the restoration period of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. As
previously mentioned, the restoration of the Cathedral was well documented by the
chief inspector Maurice Ouradou shared extensive daily notes in Le Journal des
Travaux.88 When the immense restoration project of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de
Paris was completed in 1864 (Figure 3.5.7), Prosper Mérimée wrote a letter on
February 11 describing his friend, Viollet-le-Duc; calling him a fair man who knew
how to reason which was a must in architecture according to the author of the letter.
He claimed that the restorer was one of the first architect of his time that created
buildings for their purposes and not their aesthetical and stylistic qualities. Mérimée
complemented his drawing skills (Figure 3.5.8), calling him the best and that he
knew, that every ornament and detail of the Cathedral of Paris had been drawn in
meticulous attention by him. Mérimée also claimed that his friend's work ethic was
unblemished, that no one could or would work as hard as he would: "In addition to a
88The complete record runs from the 30th of April, 1844 to the 19th of November, 1864.
125
considerable clientele, he has major government works, he is inspector of diocesan
buildings, he builds for the Emperor, he writes books, he teaches a course, he
organises festivals in Compiègne and does excavations..."(Poisson & Poisson, 2014,
p.250).
Figure 3.5.8. Viollet-le-Duc's drawing of the Western Façade of Notre-Dame de Paris in
1856 / Viollet-le-Duc's drawing of the Choir of Notre-Dame in the thirteenth century, 1883.
(Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
Complimenting Viollet-le-Duc may seem easy nowadays, he became the face of
restoration and the saviour of French Gothic architecture yet he was not always seen
in the best light: many criticized his work during his time and even after. He was
deemed as "...un des plus grand criminels de l'histoire." by Achille Carlier (1945,
Tome 2, p.469). Most frequently he was criticized for the West façade since it was
the most visible part of the work and the most visually drastic changes happened to
be there. Daniel D. Reiff (1971) wrote an extensive paper on the subject where he
claimed that Viollet-le-Duc had removed all decay that occurred during the six
centuries when he was finished with the restoration of the Cathedral of Paris, that he
had removed all traces of former repairs and misguided restorations, traces of
126
alterations by Church and Monarchy and any destruction and vandalism of the
revolutions (Reiff, 1971, p.17).
Yet even with all his knowledge and experience, Viollet-le-Duc seemed to have had
a romantic approach to Gothic architecture, or maybe even a nostalgically blinding
one where he wanted to see Notre-Dame should be rather than how it was: "In some
parts (like the painted decoration of the interior chapels) it was scholarly fancy; and
from the few instanced of this minor aspect of his restorations, there has risen a
general mistrust." (Reiff, 1971, p.30). Through all his faults, one cannot deny the fact
that Viollet-le-Duc had saved many churches, cathedrals and abbeys from further
destruction and ruin, even vandalism in the hands of other restorers. He may have
gone further than what was necessary, he may have had tunnel vision89 where the
monuments in his care was in question yet one can and should be able to see beyond
the surface and appreciate his achievements and dedication to Gothic architecture:
"...Viollet-le-Duc promoted a sense of French cultural pride, an essential element for
the preservation of the buildings and creation of a patriotic and public spirit." (Deen
Schildgen, 2008, p.157).
Throughout this chapter, the aim was to give not only historical, geographical and
monumental information but also understand the French context of these matters;
how the site of the future Cathedral was actually the centre of Paris centuries before
its existence, how the language of art changed over time resulting in a national
identity. In order to understand the significance of the monument one had to start at
the location, the Île de la Cité. The capital that is known as Paris began as a humble
Roman town on an island that grew exponentially over centuries not because of its
recourses but because of its location. That is one of the main reasons for the
Cathedral of Paris' importance. With the beginning of the construction of Notre-
Dame, an immense urban development phase began in Paris. Roads, bridges, palaces
were built among side city walls. Many kings added to their city over centuries but
89 There is an entire book dedicated to the Gargoyles of Notre-Dame and the question is that whether
or not they existed in the first place, their reasoning and Viollet-le-Duc's insistence in "restoring" them
not just in Notre-Dame de Paris but also in Reims Cathedral. Camille, M. (2009).The gargoyles of
Notre-Dame: medievalism and the monsters of modernity. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
127
the most important project would be under the reign of an emperor, Napoleon III. It
would be under his supervision that the Cathedral would be restored and that Paris
would face its biggest, most exhaustive urban re-design.
The story of the Cathedral was a typical one, a Gothic edifice that was constructed
over centuries yet a question remained: How did this particular monument became to
be protected by people which were considered to be national heroes even though it
endured many wars, revolutions, vandalism and eventually be saved by another
national hero, a young French author and his historical novel that would save not
only the Cathedral of Paris but many more? That is the question that this chapter and
the next aimed to understand and answer; in 1831 a novel had been published with its
main actor, the monument in question. This novel brought new life to a building in
ruin, a new interest but most importantly a new role: a national heritage. Hugo's
masterpiece resulted in the restoration project that would not only save the Gothic
monument but also bring new meaning to the near past of the French nation, to
heritage architecture and restoration ideologies.
3.6. Viollet-le-Duc's Dictionary
Viollet-le-Duc continued his studies for many years and was responsible for forty of
the restorations of many medieval monuments that had been affected by time and the
French Revolution including cathedrals, churches, palaces, hôtels de ville, châteaux
and abbeys (Deen Schildgen, 2008, p.152). Amongst his many accomplishments are
the restorations of Carcassonne, the Basilica of St.-Denis, Sainte-Chapelle and
Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris and his publications on architectural theory,
restoration and medieval architecture. His Dictionnaire raisonné de l'architecture
française du XIe au XVI siècle(1854), in particular, deserves further analysis due to
its search for the "definitive" (Figure 3.6.1). As a dictionary, this is a ten volume set
which consist of five thousand pages and three thousand and sixty-seven
illustrations; focusing on French architecture between the eleventh and the sixteenth
centuries, first published in 1854 with additions of tomes that lasted until 1868. It is
widely accepted that nothing has replaced nor surpassed the Dictionary even today. It
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is considered a privileged tool for historians of medieval and modern construction, as
well as contemporary construction.
In the dictionary, he discussed the three architectural elements in history of
architecture: the Greek Doric temple, the complex structures of Ancient Rome and
the French Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages. He argued that Gothic architecture
was a combination of the rational, orderly Doric temples where functionality was not
a priority and the designed by necessity Roman architecture where function dictated
the structures. The Dictionary was considered as a reference book for the Gothic
Revival in France. By including examples from England and Germany, the author
provided a source book for the architects and professionals interested in English
Gothic Revivalism.
In the preface written by the author himself; he claimed that when one starts to study
the architecture of the Middle Ages there did not exist a text that one can follow.
According to the author, there was a lack of discussion when it came to the
monuments constructed since the Bas-Empire90 until the fifteenth century and when
mentioned they were in a derogatory manner (1854, Tome I, p.I).
Before listing some of the French historians and their work, he mentioned
"...nosvoisins les Anglais, ilssongeaient à classes les édifices par styles et par
époques.".91 Viollet-le-Duc wrote that the first works of M. de Caumont92 were
focused on the characteristics of the different eras of French architecture in Nord, a
French department at the border of Belgium. In 1831, Ludovic Vitet wrote a report
on the monuments of certain French departments, emphasizing the unknown
treasures to be discovered. The next year, his report would be used by Victor Hugo
whilst writing the Guerre aux démolisseurs! (1832). Prosper Mérimée would later on
90 Bas-Empire is a terminology used to describe the final period of the Roman Empire. It was first
used in 1752 by Charles le Beau when he published his book titled L'Histoire du Bas-Empire, a
twenty eight volume set published between 1752 and 1817.
91"...our neighbours the English, they were thinking of classifying the buildings by style and by eras.",
suggesting already existing texts of architectural history. Translated by the author.
92Arcisse de Caumont (1801-1873) was a French historian and archaeologist.
129
continue Vitet's work in order to create a complete catalogue of historical
monuments in France (1854, Tome I, p.II).
Figure 3.6.1. Dictionnaire Raisonné de l'Architecture Française du XIe au XVIe siècle by
Viollet-le-Duc, 1854. (Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
In his preface Viollet-le-Duc called "the beautiful monuments of the Middle Ages"
their [French] national architecture and that it was a happy revolution that these
buildings were receiving the attention and renovations. The Commission des
monuments historiqueshad attained important results; by conserving "our" buildings
it has modified the course of the architectural education in France and that by taking
care of its past it has found a future (1854, Tome I, pp.II-III). As much as Victor
Hugo wished he accomplished in the Guerre aux démolisseurs!, Viollet-le-Duc
exclaimed his frustrations about how if not conserved, if not properly taken care of,
they [his generation] would be the last to study their own language - meaning
architectural language. They would be the last to study the arts of France that
130
occurred between the ninth and fifteenth centuries that spread to England, Germany,
the north of Spain, Italy, Sicily and the Orient (1854, Tome I, p.III). The author
wrote in the preface that he not only aimed to give numerous examples to different
forms used during the Middle Ages in a chronological order, but that he also tried to
make the reader understand the reasons for the forms, the principles, ideas and the
customs behind them.
He would then suggest the same principle to the restoration of these monuments; not
just imitating them as they were but to understand the reason behind them. To write a
history of the Middle Ages, said the author, may seem impossible since one had to
embrace the history of religion, politics, feudal and civil of many populations;
mentioning all diverse influences that had brought in their elements; finding the
source of these influences, analyzing their mixture and their results; take into account
the local traditions, material possibilities and so on. The classifications by periods, by
styles primaire, secondaire, tertiaire, de transition... this classification did not exist,
and if it did, it gives the notion of a transition period from the roman to the
Renaissance of sixteenth century. Without blaming this system which was useful but
created a void of information between infancy and old age. This was the reason for
the method of the Dictionnaire, a format that facilitated the research of the reader,
enabled the writer to present a mass of information and examples that may not have
found its place in history without rendering the text too complicated and
unintelligible (1854, Tome I, p.VI). He wrote that their century was resuming the
past, in order to create a path to the future they had to learn where they came from;
the discoveries made from the past guided them in their interest of all things
historical, photography now aiding when they were lacking in capturing the ancient
buildings (1854, Tome I, p.VII).
The main objective of this text was not to guide artists backwards, furnishing them
with elements of an art long forgotten or imitating the past buildings in the
nineteenth century, but to look at the medieval art as an education, as useful in order
to slowly revolutionize art (1854, Tome I, p.IX). He was criticizing the new
buildings that were being built with the historical styles without really understanding
their reasoning; the first condition of taste in architecture was to submit to its laws,
131
he wrote (1854, Tome I, p.X). Viollet-le-Duc also wrote that there are two thing to
take into account before anything else in the study of art; the knowledge of the
creation principle and the choice of the art that is created. The principle of French
architecture of twelfth to thirteenth centuries that developed with grand energy, was
due to its submission to custom forms, the ideas of the moment, the harmony
between "the clothes and the skin" and the incessant progress (1854, Tome I, p.XI).
The beginning of the nineteenth century brought forward the interest to the past
centuries; the Troubadour style, the Romantic era, the French Revolution, the
historical styles, the categorization of historical monuments and the conservation and
restoration projects, all manifested themselves in the collective interest to medieval
times. Viollet-le-Duc's dislike of the Ècole des Beaux-Arts, his interest and research
of the Middle Ages resulted in his many lectures and written words, and the preface
ends by his defence of their national style and its importance in education and
knowledge brought forward by texts as his.
The contents of the DictionnaireRaisonnée consisted of architectural elements and
terminologies as well as some religious terminologies such as Christ (Jésus), Croix,
Couronnement de la Vierge. He not only described the terminologies but detailed
certain religious symbolisms, historical and political events accompanied by
illustrations done by him. There are some entries that occupied the largest space such
as Clocher (122 pages), Tour (122 pages), Château (133 pages), Porte93 (154 pages),
Sculpture (1801 pages) and Construction (278 pages). These entries were the longest
ones apart from Cathedral (113 pages) and the longest entry of them all; Architecture
(336 pages).
93Clocher means bell tower in French and Porte means door.
132
Figure 3.6.2. Entry of "Architecture" in the Dictionnaire Raisonné, 1854.
(Source: BNF Gallica / Public Domain)
Focusing on the Architecture entry (Figure 3.6.2), Violet-le-Duc gave a simple
explanation to the word: the art of building. He continued by saying that architecture
was composed of two elements: the theory and the application. The theory consisted
of the rules inspired by taste, the issues of traditions and science. The application was
the appliance of the theory according to needs, it was the application that brings art
and science together with the nature of materials, climate, the customs of the era, the
necessities of the moment (1854, Tome I, p.116). The author wrote that he divided
the entry into six parts; the first consisting of a summary of the origins of medieval
architecture in France, the second would look into the developments of architecture
from the eleventh century to the sixteenth century including the reasons of the
progress and regress that occurred and the different styles that resulted in different
regions. The third part would be about religious architecture, the fourth about
monastic architecture, the fifth about civil architecture and the last part, the sixth,
would be about military architecture. He began the first part where he summarized
the origins of medieval architecture, the invasion of Gaul by "barbarians" who would
have came across monuments from the Roman era. He continued with Charlemange
and claimed that "the reign of Charlemange might be considered as the modern art
introduction in France." (1854, Tome I, p.120).
133
According to Violet-le-Duc, the eleventh and twelfth centuries were marked by
provincial styles as Écoles began to form. No longer did the construction sites
searched for materials from afar, they adapted to regional climates, they worked with
locals and they created their own methods, the only thing uniting them was religious
buildings. In a sub-section titledDéveloppement de l'Architecture en France du XIe
au XVIe siècle. - Des causes qui ont amené son progrès et sa décadence. - Des
différents styles propres a chaque province, hedid as the titlesuggested, hewrote the
development of architecture withitsprogress' and regress'. Here, he not only wrote
about the historical aspect of the development but he also included the ruling party,
the governing system, King's and others. He mentioned Cluny Abbey and how this
monument's design would be implicated to other architectural buildings (1854, Tome
I, p.125). He wrote that the final years of the twelfth century and the beginning of the
thirteenth century was when the grand cathedrals began to emerge and their
constructions almost finished, giving us examples of multiple sites(1854, Tome I,
p.140). Viollet-le-Duc claimed that at the beginning of this new century (the
thirteenth century) architecture developed from a completely new method, every
element a deduction from one another. With these changes in the methodology the
revolution of art and science begun, the construction commanded the form (1854,
Tome I, p.146).
On page 152, he wrote the dates of the "new" Cathedral of Paris; founded in 1163,
it's choir completed in 1196 and in 1220 construction was completed, giving the
budget of the project: Ninety millions of the era's currency. The century also brought
the replacement of imagination by reasoning, "logic killing poetry" but also the
execution became more balanced, the material choices more judicious. Apparently
the genius constructers, not being able to find novelties, satisfied their needs for
novelty in details, searching the quintessence of art. The thirteenth century left little
to the next century in a religious architecture context, their only aim to complete
those vast cathedrals (1854, Tome II, pp.154-155). Two pages later, he claimed that
even though the dominance of England was apparent - politically speaking,
architecture remained French. According to Viollet-le-Duc, Gothic architecture said
its final words towards the end of the fifteenth century, impossible to go further, the
matter was rested, the science took no more into account (1854, Tome II, p.158).
134
In the sub-chapter titled Architecture Religieuse he started by claiming that among
all people, religious architecture was the first to develop. In this chapter he wrote
about architectural terminologies, plan schematics and architectural elements, gave
technical and functional information whilst explaining day to day inner workings of
the spaces he was describing: how the people responsible for the bells would not be
passing through "the faithful" by night and so on (1854, Tome II, pp.166-168). On
page 192 (Figure 3.6.3), he described architectural elements and sections of Notre
Dame de Paris Cathedral accompanied by illustrations; describing the nave which
was raised forty-four metres and how it was achieved, criticizing the interior, finding
faults in proportion compared to the exterior which he claimed is harmonious (1854,
Tome II, p.193). He was recounting the windows, the walls, the vaults in detail. The
next cathedral examples are compared to the Cathedral of the capital whether it be
proportional, plan wise or other architectural elements, almost as if the monument
itself was considered to be a reference point to other Gothic edifices.
Figure 3.6.3. "Coupe / Plan d'uneTravée" and "Exterior and Interior of Notre-Dame de Paris"
in the Dictionnaire Raisonné by Viollet-le-Duc, 1854.
The Architecture entry was the longest in all the tomes, which can be read
individually in order to get a better understanding of the architectural development of
135
the time frame given by the author, accompanied by a hundred and sixty-five
illustrations and two maps for just this entry. Even in this entry the cathedrals were
historically and structurally explained enough without the necessity to read the entry
titled Cathedral. Viollet-le-Duc who was famous for his architectural drawings did
not include many at the beginning of this entry; two maps, first showing the division
of France at the end of the tenth century and the second showing the division at the
time of death of Philippe-Auguste (1223). But on page 167 where he started his subentry
Architecture Religieuse there were an abundance of drawings; a hundred and
sixty-five illustrations where some of them had multiple drawings which he still
included as bis.. Viollet-le-Duc's emphasis was on structural evolution and
engineering drawings; architectural elements, load-bearing elements, plans and
sections of many examples were located in this entry. The focus on Notre-Dame de
Paris was on pages 192 and 193 where we could observe a portion of the structural
elements on the plan and a section of the nave where the architect solved the problem
of reaching an extreme height at the time, an eleven metres high nave. Because of his
capacity as an illustrator, the author did not only detailed the plans and sections and
compared them with each other but he also depicted scenes of construction, war and
soldiers of the Middle Ages under the entry of Architecture.
136
Figure 3.6.4. "Cathédrale Idéale adopted from Reims Cathedral" in Dictionnaire Raisonné by
Viollet-le-Duc, T.2, p.323, 1854.
In the second tome, the entry of Cathedral took over 113 pages, starting by De
cathedra, signifying the Episcopal seat or throne. A cathedral is a church that holds
the throne of the bishop of the diocese (1854, Tome II, p.270) (Figure 3.6.4). He
considered the cathedrals to be, until the fourteenth century, religious and civil
buildings and until the end of the twelfth century he did not consider them to have
extraordinary dimensions, even claiming that many abbey churches were larger than
most. His reasoning was the feudal regime which he, reading his many texts,
137
considered barbaric. Yet during the twelfth century, the monarchy grew and with it
the construction of said cathedrals began. The erection of cathedrals became a
necessity, a rebellious act against feudality. The monarchy and religious unities
alliance to constitute a nationality resulted in the emergence of grand cathedrals in
northern France. Not only were they religious monuments but they were also national
buildings. The cathedrals of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries were therefore
French national symbols, the first and most important step towards unity. And if in
1793, they were still upright it was because these notions were still at the heart of the
people against everything the Frenchhad done to take them apart (1854, Tome II,
pp.280-281). At this point in the entry Viollet-le-Duc began to describe the historical
context of the time, emphasizing Philippe-Auguste, under who's regime these
monuments began to be erected. They were then, not only dimensionally surpassing
the fore mentioned abbey churches but they were also a new kind of architecture
where they spoke a new language, a book, an educational piece for the people as well
as an asylum for prayer (1854, Tome II, p.283). In this entry the author had followed
a chronological order, starting with the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral claiming it
was the first one to be started, continuing with Bourges, Noyons, mentioning St.-
Denis in between, Laon, Chartres and so on. The capital's cathedral took over 9
pages, with historical facts, political aspects, architectural and decorative elements
being described with five illustrations accompanying the text. These illustrations
consisted of two plans; one with the sacristy that would be added towards the end of
the construction, a section of the flying buttresses, an exterior and an interior section
(Figure 3.6.5).
He dedicated an entry to Restauration, albeit a smaller one than the previously
mentioned ones in the eighth tome of the dictionary; which consisted of twenty-one
pages. He began by claiming that the word and the 'thing' were modern. "To restore
an edifice does not mean to preserve it, to repair nor rebuild it; it means to reinstate it
in a condition of completeness which may never have existed at any given time."
(1854, Tome VIII, p.14). Some criticized his approach, such as Didron and John
Ruskin (1819-1900), claiming that a restoration project should never add nor should
remove yet these acts already took place at the Cathedral of Paris' restoration project.
Viollet138
Figure 3.6.5. (Left) Notre-Dame de Paris Plan towards 1230 in Dictionnaire Raisonné, T.2,
p.294 by Viollet-le-Duc, 1854. (Right) Notre-Dame de Paris' Exterior in Dictionnaire
Raisonné, T.2, p.290 by Viollet-le-Duc, 1854.
le-Duc then gave a brief history of how restoration was regarded in Asia giving
examples of both ancient and modern times, he then moved on to the Greeks and
Romans and eventually landed on the context of Gothic architecture. He used the
reports written by Ludovic Vitet to further his argument on how restoration should be
perceived. He focused on the Abbey Church of St.-Denis, a project given to him by
Napoleon I. Viollet-le-Duc was highly critical of the state of ruin in which the church
was in but mostly he was critical of the way other architects 'restored' the monument:
The unfortunate church of St. Denis was an anatomical subject of sorts, on
which artists who first entered the path of restoration made their first essays on
the subject matter. For thirty years it suffered every possible mutilation; to
such a degree in fact that its stability is endangered... (1854, Tome VIII, p.22).
As was mentioned in his report with Lassus on the restoration project of the
Cathedral that he firmly believed in researching every part and their style, structure
139
and history before any kind of modification starts. The reason that he gave was that
these monuments that took centuries to be built would inevitably go through different
design stages, additions and modifications, the architect needed to be prepared to
understand and respect them all. He was adamant that for a restoration to be
successful it was essential that every piece that was removed should be replaced by a
better version of itself in materiality and strength: "...[the restored edifice] should
have a longer lifespan than that of which has faded." (1854, Tome VIII, p.26). The
author had managed to criticize the École des Beaux-Arts in this entry too; the school
did not thought its students the proper manner in which ancient monuments needed
to be treated, that those students who most likely never oversaw a construction site
were excluded to one of the most honourable ways an architect could conduct
themselves (1854, Tome VIII, pp.30-31). He continued the entry with the difficulties
one might find themselves in when restoring a monument from the Middle Ages,
how one should try to imagine themselves as the original architect of said edifice, try
to comprehend the difficulties they had to overcome and problems that they needed
to solve, that in medieval architecture every portion of the work fulfilled a function
and that they all had an action (1854, Tome VIII, p.33).
3.7. Lectures on Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc
Viollet-le-Duc's fascination with the French Gothic style continued in many of his
publications. With two volumes, Entretiens sur l'architecture (Figure 3.7.1) was
written between 1858 and 1870 where Viollet-le-Duc systematized his methods and
approach to architecture and its education in which he criticized the École des Beaux-
Arts and their methods and ideologies. The two volumes were translated to English
by Henry Van Brunt as Discourses on Architecture (1875) making it available for
American readers.It was then translated by the British Benjamin Bucknall as
Lectures on Architecture 94, the first volume in 1877 and the second in 1881.
94Benjamin Bucknall'stranslation(1877) will be used in thisdissertation.
140
Figure 3.7.1. Cover of Entretiens sur l'Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc, 1863.
In the author's preface which he wrote in 1860, Viollet-le-Duc stated that upon his
entourage's insistence he opened a studio for pupils where he was to deliver a series
of courses and lectures on architecture. He suggested on widening one's circle,
perspective and knowledge that if not done, could itself be dangerous and dogmatic.
Viollet-le-Duc urged his readers to not feel obliged to be a part of a style, a limitation
he insisted he does not possess: "I must insist upon it that if any of my readers are
disposed to believe that I am maintaining principles favourable to one school rather
than another, they are mistaken, and my lectures will prove them to be so."
(1863/1877, p.7). Viollet-le-Duc had traced the architectural art from the early
stages; starting from the Greek and Roman periods then continuing with the Middle
Ages and following it with the Renaissance.
141
Figure 3.7.2. "Table of Contents"of Lectures on Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc (B. Bucknall
Trans.), 1877.
The volumes, each containing ten lectures, were separated into different categories:
(Figure 3.7.2) the first volume followed lectures chronologically according to
architectural style and the second focused on material, construction and structural
issues. In the first volume, some of the lectures were titled: "The Buildings of
primitive times - Brief review of Architectural Art as it existed among the Greeks";
"Roman Architecture; Methods to be followed in the study of Architecture - Roman
Basilica - Domestic Architecture of the Ancients"; "The Principles of Western
Architecture in the Middle Ages"; "Causes of the Decline of Architecture - Certain
principles affecting Architectural Design - The Renaissance in the West, and
particularly in France". The second volume which was more focused on material and
structural information had chapters titled "The Construction of Buildings -
Masonry"; "The Construction of Buildings - Organization of Building Yards -
142
Present Conditions of the Art of Building - Use of Modern Appliances"; "On the
Teaching of Architecture"; "On Monumental Sculpture; Domestic Architecture -
Country Houses"; "The State of Architecture in Europe - The Position of Architects
in France - Competitive Arrangements - Contracts - Book-keeping in Connection
with Building-yards and their Superintendence".
Figure 3.7.3. Acropolis in Entretiens sur l'Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc, 1863.
Due to its chronological nature and subject matter the first six lectures were focused
on what Viollet-le-Duc named the les temps primitifs (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877,
p.34), the ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The seventh lecture titled "The
Principles of Western Architecture in the Middle Ages" was more than seventy pages
long with seven drawings not included in the numbered pages. The reason this
lecture was chosen to be researched in detail was because the focus of the lecture was
the Middle Ages, and the Gothic style in particular. Yet before mentioning Gothic,
Viollet-le-Duc fixated on the fact that Greeks and then Romans (Figure 3.7.3)
included colour in their architecture hence the "Greeks did not regard the form alone
as sufficient for architectural effect, but considered that this form should be
completed, aided or modified by a combination of various colours."(Viollet-le-Duc,
1854/1877, p.247), a point that had been discussed in the next pages when apparently
some professors did not agree with the author. He insisted that the Asiatics,
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Egyptians, Arabs, Greeks and Romans coloured their architecture, that during the
Byzantine and Western Romanesque periods colouring was continued and that this
manner of decorating was continued at the beginning of Gothic architecture as well:
[Gothic] ... was coloured as a result of traditional influences; but in
consequence of the refinements in structure introduced by the leading
architects of this epoch, the colouring of buildings was gradually abandoned,
with a view to render the complicated and skilful combinations exhibited in the
construction conspicuously evident (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.249).
He continued by stating that painting / colouring was no longer architectural, nonessential,
thus became a luxury only applied in exceptional cases. Beginning from
the thirteenth century, architectural form that can be observed in France was to be
observed without any additions, geometrical design and structural combinations was
enough to be impressive.
In this lecture Viollet-le-Duc remarked on architects' placement and rotation of their
monuments and the lack of consideration: "...we do not know how to present it [a
public monument] to the public..." (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.252). He wrote that
even the most insignificant buildings erected during the Middle Ages and modern
ones in Italy, were always placed with purpose, with a view to complement it, and
that "...we have substituted symmetry, which contravenes our genuis..." (Viollet-le-
Duc, 1854/1877, p.252). He complained about the way architects did not consider the
place, the effects of light and shadow, the surroundings whilst drawing their
buildings, and that they did not take into account how these aspects would actually
aid in the display of the architectural forms. He accused them of focusing only on the
symmetry of the façades and losing meaning in surrendering one's monuments with
city buildings (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.253).
Viollet-le-Duc summarized the history of architectural progress starting from the
Carolingian epoch to "modern times", focusing on architectural novelties and styles
of the Middle Ages. He gave, as an example the Abbey of Cluny and its importance,
how the order was in "need of an art that should correspond with the dignity of its
mission," (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.256). He was not impressed by the
unimaginative, repetitive way that Roman architecture was used in the Middle Ages -
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nor was he fond of the way it was revived during his time, in contrast he pointed to
the emergence of new forms, inventions, the abandonment of worn-out ideas hidden
behind traditions. He wrote that the "Clunisian buildings" which were erected during
the Romanesque era were the "truest and most practical expression of Christianity"
in their time (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.258). He continued that in Clunisian
buildings, dating from 1120 to 1140, we can observe a new principle emerging.The
traditional aspects of Romanesque architecture came into question and that trying to
solve problems the "Classical Antiquity" way was no longer attempted. They began
to observe new "principled of construction, which foreshadow an independent style
of art." (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.260).95
According to Viollet-le-Duc, in 1144, Abbot Suger completed his work on St.-Denis
and that in certain parts of the edifice, the architectural revolution was completed, the
round arch was abandoned and the new system of construction called Gothic had
finally been invented (1854/1877, p.261), a similar narrative as published by
Mérimée, Smith, Gonse and Ramée. The author wrote that the Cathedral of Noyon
(about 1150) was completed under Abbot Suger's guidance, that the construction of
the Cathedral of Senlis was starting and that it was around that time that Bishop
Maurice de Sully began to imagine the new design of the Cathedral of Paris
(1854/1877, p.262); "they purposed that their cathedrals should present vast interiors,
ease of access, with no partitions, having only an altar, an episcopal throne, and a
few or no chapels..." (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.263). Soon after we started to
observe the cities of Paris, Sens, Chartres, Reims, Amiens and so on, began their
grand cathedrals with these purposes in mind, though modified in time. Viollet-le-
Duc mentioned once again the new system of construction that was adopted, new
forms of architecture and especially in sculpture were included. He wrote that the
architects and other artists working on these cathedrals were studying geometry and
advancing in their drawings and looking into nature for their inspirations for
decorations and statuary. Much like Victor Hugo himself, he called this art form,
95Viollet-le-Ducincluded a reference to his ownwork,titledDictionnaire de l'Architecturefrançaise,
entires "Architecture Religieuse", fig.22, and "Construction", fig.19.
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meaning Gothic architecture as "the special genius of the French nation..." (Violletle-
Duc, 1854/1877, p.263).
Figure 3.7.4. Gothic DecorativeElements,
Entretiens sur l'Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc, 1863.
Before focusing on structural and architectural elements (Figure 3.7.4) of Gothic
architecture and their differences with Roman ones, he continued his lecture by
stating that the newly founded secular school in France abandoned all traces of
Roman and Byzantine art that continued to affect architecture until the late part of
the twelfth century and replaced them with principles based on reflection. He was
146
referring to the School of Chartres here without mentioning its specific name. He
summarized these principles as: "equilibrium in the constructive system by opposing
active resistance to active pressure, the outward form resulting only from the
structure and the requirements; ornamentation derived solely from the local flora;
statuary tending to the naturalistic, and seeking dramatic expression." (Viollet-le-
Duc, 1854/1877, pp.263-264). He followed his notion of Gothic with structural
details, explaining the differences between Roman vaults and Gothic ones; claiming
that the Roman method, although suited for the administrative and political aspects
of the Romans, it would not have been practical for the feudal West (1854/1877,
p.265).
Viollet-le-Duc was most famous for being a restorer. Even though he was in the
process of restoring the Cathedral of Paris at the time he published his lectures, he
did not mention the terms renovation or restoration often. In the seventh lecture he
mentioned that people tended to judge buildings in their current state without really
considering their past, in some cases, centuries. They do not consider their evolution
nor changes that would naturally come with time when it comes to Medieval
architecture. In the meantime, edifices from antiquities that are in ruins would be
judged as if they existed in a certain manner: "... and imagination, supplying what is
wanting, creates for itself beauties which really did not exist. Many Roman buildings
would gain nothing from being restored; and what remains to us of them is precisely
that which constitutes their grandeur and beauty - the structure." (Viollet-le-Duc,
1854/1877, p.271).
The author had described another style that can be observed at the time; the
Normandy Architectural style, the earliest stages of Gothic architecture in England.
He compared the qualities, structural elements and architectural details of Normandy
style and what he called the "Isle of France" style of the beginning of the twelfth
century. He stated that art in France was an instrument of royalty, especially starting
from the thirteenth century, as a means of creating a national unity, resulting in the
construction of a cathedral where and whenever possible (1854/1877, p.280). These
cathedrals should have, and were built in conformity of French culture, climate, their
own national genius with the progress made in science and applicable practice. They
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should be designed in sincerity, that this notion was an essential part of Gothic
architecture (1854/1877, p.282).
Figure 3.7.5. "Notre-Dame de Paris, How it should have been",
Entretiens sur l'Architecture by Viollet-le-Duc, 1863.
Viollet-le-Duc declared that there was no other structure that better exemplified the
differences separating Romanesque architecture from "the French art of secular
school" than the façade of Notre-Dame de Paris:
... a colossal edifice to exceed in size all the other buildings of the city - an
edifice that should exactly fulfil all the requirements of a Cathedral, at a time
when a Cathedral sub served purposes both civil and religious, - when it had a
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kind of political significance, - it is hardly possible to conceive a design more
imposing as a whole, more sound in construction, or more skilfully executed in
its details (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.297).
He claimed that everyone knew the façade of the Cathedral of Paris yet not many
understood the dedication, knowledge, experience and resolution it took to be
erected. He called it an "unfinished work", that the two western towers should had
been completed with spires made of stone, unifying the design. He included a
drawing of the west front with the spires, claiming the perspectives of the building
would have been complete with them (Figure 3.7.5). He called the artist a genius
because in his opinion it was difficult to start two towers, that the void between them
needed a dominant, focal point. He was impressed by the way the architect connected
the towers by an open gallery that continued along so that it was also purposeful as a
circulation; that it created a homogeneous façade rather than a design that had two
divided towers (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.299).
Victor Hugo, believing the Cathedral's façade to be a book, an architectural page,
referenced the monument for the nation to come together, read and understand their
heritage. His novel, putting the edifice as a definite reference for the French nation's
language, not only paved the way for Viollet-le-Duc's restoration and books, but
also, for the definite reference placement of the monument for future generations.
Viollet-le-Duc who was at the time restoring the monument, stated that the front of
the Cathedral created an "excellence belonging exclusively to French architects at the
time when France possessed an architecture of its own; that of variety in unity."
(Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, p.302).
This chapter traced the end of the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries in France
which brought new approaches and understanding towards their past; after decades
of war and uncertainty, a sense of nostalgia that began to emerge. This sense was
accompanied by the Troubadours and the Romantics such as Victor Hugo himself.
Looking to the past, trying to understand it and eventually trying to protect it, to
conserve it had been one of the main ideologies of the century. France did not adhere
only to conserving their past, but they also began to research and study it, categorize
it and eventually write about it. How was one of Gothic architectural style's most
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popular monument today was seen at its most vulnerable, ruinous state? Since the
aim of this dissertation was to understand the "definite reference" placement of the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris' in history focusing on architectural
historiography, the results were as expected; Victor Hugo who was a pioneer in the
Romanticism Movement published his book which took its name by the Gothic
monument itself. The main actor of the novel was described in detail whilst
criticizing its state of ruin and was in every important scene that took place. The
most though provoking moment arrived: "This will kill that!", an ironic statement
considering the "this", the written word is what saved the edifice eventually. Of
course, the written word was considered to be a metaphor for the printing press and
one of its results that is the Enlightenment, a time that emphasized reason and
science over religion and traditions. As the Cathedral represented not only the
epitome of religious thought and ingenuity but also the French history, culture and
traditions that were still a part of a long fought monarchical order, its ruinous state
was comprehensible yet unaccepted. Hugo's articles and novel aided him in his war
against the destruction of their national monuments, the abandonment of these
edifices and the new desire to built in the neoclassical style, calling it a ridiculous
choice since France did not need to pretend to be Greek nor Roman. Hugo, wanting
to protect their own architectural language, their Opus Francigenum, wrote the novel
resulting in the restoration project planned by Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc which
began more than a decade later.
Viollet-le-Duc became a pioneer in restoration not only because of his projects
around France that saved dozens of Gothic monuments but also for his architectural
writing including his dictionary and lectures. The dictionary is still used as a main
resource in many architectural schools in France since it encapsulated both structural
information and historical ones yet focusing on the Middle Ages in France only. The
choice to include the writings of Viollet-le-Duc in the dissertation even though his
was not a global history work, was made through the exception that he should be
considered one of the main actors in the 860 year history of the Cathedrale de Paris.
He also stated that there was not a text on the Middle Ages which one can rely on yet
so he decided to write one. Viollet-le-Duc had already begun his restoration on
Notre-Dame at the time of its but he still maintained an objective approach to the
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subject at hand by focusing on the edifice as was necessary, without overshadowing
the other French cathedrals. In his Entretienswhich could be considered as a eurocentric
yet more global approach to architectural history, he focused on Gothic
architecture in one lecture where he deemed it once again belonging to the French
nation. The idea of nationalism, the Gothic architectural style to be considered the
French style was something that Victor Hugo himself supported, especially in his
Guerre aux Démolisseurs!.
Hugo claimed that Notre-Dame had a transition façade, no longer Romanesque but
not yet Gothic. This did not affect his statement of the monument as a Gothic
national heritage and his placement of the Cathedral as a reference to traces of
destruction. Viollet-le-Duc claimed that the façade of the monument was harmonious
even though it was "unfinished" and placed it as a definite reference to the Gothic
style. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame's reference statue may seem to be depended on
its western façade, aided by Hugo and Viollet-le-Duc. Nonetheless, its statue of
being the "definite reference" for both was clear and would continue to be through
other contemporary historians as well.
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CHAPTER IV
NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS AS A VISUAL REFERENCE
The aim of this chapter and the next, is to look at how the Middle Ages and
especially Gothic architecture and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris
wererecounted by the architectural historians of the nineteenth century forward. The
visual representation of the architectural style and the monument is an important
discussion of this part.
4.1. Auguste Choisy's Engineering Evolution
Auguste Choisy (1841-1909) who was a contemporary of Viollet-le-Duc, was a
French engineer and architectural historian who started teaching in 1876 at l’École
des Ponts et Chaussées and was a lecturer of the architecture course at
l’Écolepolytechnique from 1881 to 1901. His name was mentioned in the Entretiens
sur L'architecture, as a footnote in the twentieth, the last lecture, where he was
praised for his scientific approach to the subject at hand: "... Mr. Choisy, engineer,
who establish in the least debatable way the laws of numbers and purely geometrical
tracings which were used in the architecture of Letinus to raise this incomparable
masterpiece." (Viollet-le-Duc, 1854/1877, pp.443-444). Choisy shared similar views
with Viollet-le-Duc concerning architecture, the Gothic style and the methods of
teaching architecture. He was an important scholar who referenced Notre-Dame de
Paris often in his work.
Although his expertise was focused on classical periods, as a result of his teachings
he published his survey book titled Histoire de l'architecture in 1899 which
consisted of notes on his lectures that he then turned into a chronological
architectural history book. Because of his engineering background he chose to focus
152
on structural progress rather than stylistic changes: the history of these monuments
considered from the point of view of the engineer's art (Choisy, 1873, p.3). Through
structural focus, he turned architectural history into a science, away from all
subjectivism. The history survey book is a very rare text considering the French did
not generally wrote books on architectural global history but rather preferred to focus
on their own culture and / or stylistic developments. This work may had been
inspired by the recently published work of Viollet-le-Duc who is a contemporary
architect of Choisy, and who would be considered a pioneer in the field with his
dictionary and lectures on architecture.
Figure 4.1.1. Tome 2, Contents page of Histoire de l'Architecture by Auguste Choisy, 1899.
The author of Entre raison et utopie: L'Histoire de L'Artchitectured'Auguste Choisy
(2008), Thierry Mandoul (1996) had written that by proposing a global and synthetic
interpretation of architectural history which are based on the principle of the
153
existence of the universal laws, privileging the construction andby focusing on an
unconventional mode of representation; "...Choisy seduced and fascinated the
architects of the 20th century." (Mandoul, 1996). On the first page of the survey text
Choisy himself wrote; "In all populations, art will go through the same alternatives,
will obey the same laws." (1899, Tome I, p.1). Choisy's historical thinking, like
thatof Viollet-le-Duc, was based on the principle of the existence of general laws
common to all architecture (1899, Tome I, p.1). Mandoul also suggested in the article
that by choosing this method, he was also criticizing the academic rules of
composition.
Looking at the content, the two volume set consisted of over 600 pages for the first
tome and 800 pages on the second. The original edition of the text did not include a
prelude and the table of contents were located towards the end of the volumes; in
Tome I it was in between pages 613 and 642 and in Tome II it was between pages
765 and 800 (Figure 4.1.1). The reason for their length was that all the figures that
were included were listed as well. Choisy chose to write in a chronological manner
starting from Les Ages Préhistoriques. Each of his twenty-one chapters (twelve in the
first volume and nine in the second) had different subtitles depending on their
content. The second chapter which was titled Égypte included sub-chapters such as
La Construction, Les Formes, Les Principales Époques, Les Monuments and so on.
He could be considered a very inclusive architectural historian since he had included
chapters such as: Chaldée, Assyrie; or Perse, Inde; Chine, Japon; Architecture du
Nouveau-Monde; (the American Continent) and Rayonnement Occidental, des
premières architectures: Les Intermédiaires entre l'Égypte, la Chaldée et le monde
grec; which included sub-chapters on Les Hittites and Phénicie, Judée, Colonies
Phéniciennes; only three years after the first edition of Bannister Fletcher’s book A
History of Architecture on the Comparative Method (1896). His work could be
considered very ambitious as Choisy wanted to include the "entire history": "It is the
identical thematic division for each period studied that offers an organized and
efficient general vision of the evolution of architecture through the ages."(Mandoul,
1996). In the last four chapters of the survey book, the author focused on the Pre-
Hellenistic period, Architecture Greque and Architecture Romaine. The largest
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portion of the text that consisted of 246 pages focused on the Ancient Greek
architecture as it was Choisy's expertise.
The second volume of Choisy's text which consisted of nine chapters, began with
RénovaitonChrétienne des Architectures Antiques: Architecture Latine;
Architectures des PeuplesChrétiens de l'Orient, continued with Architectures
Musulmanes - a very inclusive subject considering his contemporaries attitude
towards what could be considered "non-Western" cultures which could be observed
in Fletcher's text. The survey continued with the fifteenth chapter, titled: Architecture
Romane, then with Architecture Gothique. The sixteenth chapter was the longest one
in the volume with 269 pages; the others ranged from 32 pages to 119. The next
chapter was L'Architecture Civile, L'ArchitectureMonastique au Moyen Age followed
by L'Architecture Militaire au Moyen Age; La Renaissance en Italie; La Renaissance
en France, En Europe and at last; L'Architecture Modern in which he discussed the
architectural and engineering development of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries in France and Europe.
Figure 4.1.2. Sections of Amiens Cathedral by Choisy, Histoire de l'Architecture, 1899.
155
Focusing on Gothic architecture in the book, according to the author, the history of
the style was that of the most amazing effort of logic in art (Choisy, 1899, Tome II,
p.600). Even though Choisy's expertise was ancient architecture, his second favourite
subject was Gothic itself. According to the author, the great contribution of the style
was to make architecture an art of structure "by separating it from the masonry of
filling, by showing by a skeleton of ribs on which the efforts are focused. The
structure, more than anywhere else, becomes the determining element of
architecture." (Mandoul, 1996). For him, Gothic structures represented the triumph
of rational thought in architecture (Figure 4.1.2).
The longest chapter which was chapter XVI, focused on Gothic architecture and
defined its progress as resolving the double problem which the style faced: the
structure of the vaults with penetrations and their balance. He suggested that Gothic
architecture responded to these problems by using ribbed vaults for structural
purposes and flying buttresses for the balance issues. As can be observed by the
manner in which the chapter began, like all other chapters of the work, the main
focus was the technical and engineering issues of the style. He used a comparative
method in his work, often comparing Gothic architectural elements and structural
aspects with those of the Romanesque style, calling it Les Romains. As mentioned,
the main focus was the vaults and the buttresses yet materials, foundations, the
pointed arches and vaults, the buttresses, masonry, the structure, decorative elements
and more detailed subjects such as doors, windows and staircases and many more are
all discussed in the chapter, from an engineering context. Choisy wrote about the
structural development through examples: Notre-Dame de Paris was mentioned
ninety times, Reims Cathedral sixty-five times with Amiens Cathedral following
closely with sixty-one mentions.
As a historian who was familiar with Viollet-le-Duc and even idealized him in a
sense, Choisy refers to Gothic architecture as their architecture multiple times in his
chapter, for example he wrote: "... dans les monuments de notre architecture..."
(1899, Tome II, p.407), "Beauvais est l'idéal de notre architecture du moyen âge."
(1899, Tome II, p.447) or "à la manière française" (1899, Tome II, p.501).
156
In the last parts of the sixteenth chapter, the author began his conclusion; that France
or more specifically the Île-de-France region was the home of the twelfth century
Gothic architecture and what distinguished it was the system of balance on the
transmission of thrusts. During the next century he claimed to observe a
purementgothique style that emerged (1899, Tome II, p.500). He did refer other
countries and their versions of the style; England, Italy, Spain and Germany were
amongst the countries that were mentioned. In the next sub-title he focused on
different regions in France that are not located in the Île-de-France and their own
approaches to the Gothic architectural style, writing about the changes that occur in a
regional context. Choisy preferred to look into the origins and formation of the styles
he mentions and focuses on their artistic and social environments which were
included in these analysis' at the end of each chapter. By underlining the links
between architectural history and that of civilisations, the author made the objects of
complex constructions a result of specific social and economic situations, including
geographical and material conditions (Mandoul, 1996).
The subchapter continued with the search for the beginnings of three architectural
elements: the Gothic arch, the flying buttress, the cross-ribbed vaults and as a result
the contoured pillars. Choisy claimed that the Gothic arch originated from Asia,
arriving during the eleventh century with the crusades. The flying buttresses were a
result of the École de Cluny and the last two, which were first found in Roman Era
architecture, even though according to Viollet-le-Duc the cross-ribbed vault was
exclusively French and was seen as early as in St.-Denis (1899, Tome II, p.515).
The author continued with the rise of the style, how communities came together in
order to create these edifices and how the first cities that reached the architectural
reform first were those that the communal organization linked more directly to the
royal protectorate (1899, Tome II, p.517). Choisy, in order to explain the
development of the style, included the names of certain architects and / or masons
that worked on these grand monuments.
Auguste Choisy took upon the difficult task of writing an architectural history survey
text at the end of the century. The text is an exception in the sense that not many
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French historians will follow his path in writing global architectural histories as most
of them focused on French architectural history or even limited themselves to a
specific style or era. Although he called Gothic architecture "their" multiple times,
this nationalistic and French-centric approach is lacking in Choisy. Gothic
architecture took the largest portion of the text and Notre-Dame (Figure 4.1.3) was
mentioned the most even though he stated that Beauvais Cathedral was the "ideal"
representation of French architecture of the Middle Ages. Yet again an argument
against the definitiveness of the reference statue of the capital's Cathedral for Gothic
architecture.
Figure 4.1.3. Partial section of Notre-Dame de Paris by Choisy, 1899
4.2. Bannister Fletcher's Corpus
Only three years before Auguste Choisy's book was published, Fletcher Sr. (1833-
1899) and his son Sir B. Fletcher Jr. (1866-1953) published the first edition of their
book titled: A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method (1896) (Figure
4.2.1). Inside it was written: “For the Student, Craftsman and Amateur being a
Comparative View of the Historical Styles from the Earliest Period.” Not only did
158
this suggest its main purpose but in the preface it was written that the hope was to
appeal not only to students who might need an outline of architectural history for
educational purposes, but that it would also be appealing to the increasing number of
artists who may be interested in the subject of architecture. "Lastly; it is believed that
a work in which architecture is treated as a result and record of civilization, will
prove attractive to that increasing public which interests itself in artistic
development.” (1896, p.vii); from the author's – father and son – own claim it could
be said that this book aims to create an outline for students of architecture and any
other interested individual, by providing a diagram table of the system of
classification for each style. In A History of Architecture, the authors presented us a
chronological history and development of architectural styles mainly from the
Western point of view. They took upon the challenge of writing a large portion of
architectural history in a comparative style, looking at the evolution of architecture
through changes, similarities and differences between styles that were influenced by
their precedents and that will guide their successors. A task that will be criticized
later on for excluding most of the “others”. The aim of writing the book had been;
not only to give in clear and brief form the characteristic features of the
architecture of each people and country, but also to consider those influences
which have contributed to the formation of each special style… In order to
bring out the effects of these influences, and also the qualities of the styles
themselves, a comparative and analytical method had been adopted…(1896,
p.v).
159
Figure 4.2.1. A History of Architecture by Fletcher & Fletcher, 1896.
Figure 4.2.2. Diagram Table of A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method by
Fletcher & Fletcher, 1896.
160
There were five main classifications in the diagram (Figure 4.2.2): Influences,
Architectural Character, Examples, Comparative Table and Reference Books for
further research and information by authorities on the given subject. The first
category titled Influences had six sub-categories; Geographical, Geological, Climate,
Religion, Social and Political and at last Historical. This diagram was followed
through in almost all describing an architectural style. In the preface it was indicated
that the method used to follow the history of architecture was an analytical and
comparative method so that the differences and similarities could be easily grasped
by the reader. "...the special character of Gothic architecture becomes manifest when
put in comparison with the Classic and Renaissance styles..." (1896, p.3).
The five sections were explained further, the first one being divided to six influences
which may be expected to shape the architectural style of any region. According to
the explanations, the first three influences were structural, the fourth and fifth were
civilizing forces and the last was historical events that may have produced or altered
the architectural evolution. The second section called Architectural Character was
where the special quality or characteristics of a particular style is described including
"a general effect produced by the building as a whole." (1896, p.4). The third section
in which "chief buildings in each style" were given as examples, calling them "the
corpus". These monuments were affected by the influences of their predecessors and
from which the next style would be influenced by as well. According to the authors,
they chose to not give long descriptions of the examples, which can be difficult to
follow even as a connoisseur because they were technical and "dry" and chose to
include photography or drawings of the buildings instead. They confined the text to
brief notes that included special qualities and characteristics of the building in
question. The next section was where the comparative analysis took place under
seven sub-categories; Plans, Walls, Openings, Roofs, Columns, Mouldings and
Decoration. Each style itself was regarded as a solution to a problem that the
previous style had not been able to found an answer to and that each style must have
included all or most of the sub-categories where "interest and instruction to be gained
in learning and comparing how each style has solved these points of the problem."
(1896, p.vii). The comparative sections sub-categories were further explained; Plan,
or general distribution of the building. Walls, their construction and treatment.
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Openings, their character and shape. Roofs, their treatment and development.
Columns, their position, structure and decoration. Mouldings, their form and
decoration. Decoration, as applied in general to any building (1896, p.vi).
The contents of the book (Figure 4.2.3) started with General Introduction that gave
further structural information which may give some answers to why the comparative
method was used and why Egyptian and Assyrian Styles were included in the
"historic times", their influence on Greek Architecture and therefore on European
Architecture. Fletcher stated that every building or structure created by humankind
should be included in architecture but that here his motives were led by artistic
motives and more aesthetic motives are included the greater is the value. The chapter
then continued by giving a brief summary of how Ancient Greek architecture was
made beautiful and graceful by the way they created and treated orders of
architecture. Greek architecture succumbed to Roman Architecture, then came
Romanesque and Gothic architecture and finally the Renaissance. They - the authors
- divided past styles into two: the first being "(1) the Classic, or the architecture of
the beam, and (2) the Gothic, or the architecture of the arch." (1896, p.3).
Figure 4.2.3. Contens of A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method, 1896.
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The contents of the book were fairly classical, the chapters were divided by
chronological styles starting with Egyptian Architecture, Western Asiatic
Architecture, Greek, Roman, Early Christian Architecture in Rome and Italy,
Byzantine Architecture and Romanesque Architecture. This was where we observe
that some architectural styles were divided into more chapters, mostly to discuss
regional differences such as Romanesque Architecture in Central Italy, North Italy
and South Italy. Then came the French and German Romanesque. English
Architecture was treated differently because firstly it included Romanesque and
Gothic styles together, and secondly it was divided by Anglo-Saxon style, Norman or
English Romanesque Style, Early English, Synopsis of Gothic Vault ing, Decorated
and finally Perpendicular. Gothic architecture was separated further more by French,
Belgian and Dutch together, German, Italian and Spanish Gothic. After a General
Introduction chapter of Renaissance Architecture, a large portion with sub-categories
titled Italian Renaissance took place. The sub-categories were the Florentine School,
the Roman, the Venetian, the Milanese and Genoese Schools and the Rococo Style.
Then came the French, German, Belgian and Dutch together again, Spanish and
English Renaissance. The latter was divided to the Elizabethan and Jacobean Periods
and the Seventeenth, Eighteenth and lastly the Nineteenth Centuries were all under
the English Renaissance.
4.2.1. Changes throughout editions
This structure changed over time either by rewrites or author changes. Gülsüm
Baydar (1988) who had written an extensive paper on the subject of Fletcher's
original A History of Architecture and the subsequent editions, wrote that it was
"uniquely remarkable" because it had been continuously rewritten even though it
managed to preserve its original purpose: "to be one of the most comprehensive
surveys of world architecture." and that it "played a formative role in the history
education of generations of architects in English-speaking institutions." (1988, p.7)
The fourth edition of the text that was published in 1901, just two years after the
death of Banister Fletcher Sr., brought structural changes. The book was divided into
two parts (Figure 4.2.4); The Historical Styles and The Non-Historical Styles. The
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first part included the Eurocentric history that was already written in the first three
editions but the latter part included Indian, Chinese and Japanese (together), Ancient
American and Saracenic architecture. Indian Architecture had three sub-categories,
Buddhist Style, The Jaina Style and the Hindu Style, also divided to three parts
(Northern Hindu, Chalukyan and Dradivian). The Saracenic Architecture was
divided to seven parts; Arabian, Syrian, Egyptian, Spanish, Persian, Turkish and
Indian. This edition came with a preface which listed the changes and / or additions
to the text. Upon looking at the contents of the book, we observe the addition of the
Prehistoric Architecture to the Historical Styles. Early Christian Architecture was
listed without the addition of Rome and Italy, Romanesque Architecture was more
compact meaning Italian Romanesque was no longer separated to Central, North and
South Romanesque. French and German Romanesque became sub-sections just as
Italian Romanesque had. A "General Introduction" was added to Gothic Architecture,
a Tudor sub-section was added to the English Gothic Architecture. Scottish and Irish
Architectures were added. A Vicenza and Verona section was added under Italian
Renaissance Architecture. The century based sections at the end of the first edition
now had more information in parenthesises, Anglo-Classic, Queen Anne and 1800-
1851 respectively. Another Nineteenth Century was added with 1851 to present
written by its side. British Colonial Architecture and Architecture in the United
States had been included. Baydar criticized part II The Non-Historical, as it was still
detached from the Western Art and that "decorative schemes seem generally to have
outweighed all other considerations..." (1988, p.9).
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Figure 4.2.4. Contents page of the fourthedition of A History of Architecture on the
Comparative Method, 1901.
In 1905, the fifth edition was published without much change to the content (Figure
4.2.5) besides Prehistoric Architecture being put above the first part titled The
Historical Styles, right after the List of Illustrations. The famous drawing of the Tree
of Architecture (Figure 4.2.6) was added by Fletcher, "a visual presentation of
Western cultures as the recipient's of architecture's long tradition." (Fraser, 2019,
pp.14-15). In this drawing the trunk of the tree had Greek, Roman and Romanesque
styles embedded, towards the ground we observe Persian, Mexican, Egyptian,
Assyrian, Indian and Chinese & Japanese Styles. Two branches were between
Roman and Romanesque representing the Byzantine and Saracenic Styles. Towards
the top of the tree we saw two branches on each side of the trunk, bottom line was
Gothic (that includes Belgian-Dutch, German, French, Italian, English and Spanish
Styles), top line was reserved for Renaissance Architecture with the same subsections
for Gothic. The very top of the tree had American and Revivals and
ModernStyles written after the First World War which was added for the sixth
edition (1921). The 1921 edition was rewritten by Fletcher and his wife, his father's
name was dropped permanently. The ten editions that followed, "survived with only
minor repair and additions" and in 1953 the sixteenth edition was published, the last
one that was produced by Fletcher himself (McKean, 2006, p.194).
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Figure 4.2.5. Contents page of the fifthedition of A History of Architecture on the
Comparative Method, 1905.
In 1961, the seventeenth edition, revised by R.A. Cordingley was published with a
fundamental change; the two parts were renamed Ancient Architecture and the
Western Succession and Architecture in the East respectively (Baydar, 1988, p.8). By
the 1975, eighteenth edition, the subtitle "comparative method" was dropped
permanently (Fraser, 2019, pp.14-15), and James Palmes eliminated the two parts
altogether, creating forty chapters instead. Baydar (1988) stated that there were eight
chapters that covered all non-Western sections following the chapter on Egyptian
architecture: "The 'pure' continuity of Western styles from ancient Greece to the
twentieth century is preserved Non-Western sections are almost relegated a "pre-
Western" status. Yet this is not the result of a chronological logic to the outline..."
(Baydar, 1988, p.12) whereas, the nineteenth edition published by John Musgrove
(1984) was strictly chronological even though it was divided into seven parts:
Three of the seven parts cover non-Western architectures: parts three, four,
and seven, titled, respectively, "The Architecture of Islam and Early Russia,"
"The Architecture of the pre-Colonial Cultures outside Europe," and "The
Architecture of the Colonial and Post-Colonial Periods outside Europe". For
the first time, "The Architecture of the Twentieth Century" covers Africa,
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China, Japan and South and South-East Asia together with Western Europe
(Baydar, 1988, p.12).
Figure 4.2.6. Tree of Architecture by Bannister Fletcher in the fifth edition of A History of
Architecture on the Comparative Method, 1905.
The last edition was published in 2019 by Murray Fraser, making it the twenty first
edition which included a hundred and two chapters written by eighty eight scholars,
but most importantly it was renamed Sir Banister Fletcher's Global History of
Architecture (2019, pp.14-15).
The early editions of Fletcher's survey were justly criticized for their exclusionary
aspects; the "western vs. non-western" method of surveying architecture and naming
it The Historical Styles and The Non-Historical Styles, creating a sense of "us vs.
them", even though the authors claimed that every building or structure should be
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included in architecture. Most survey text were written in a singular authorial voice -
by trying to take the author out of the narrative, yet one can easily conclude that
theirs was a deliberate choice and a subconscious push towards exclusivism. The
canonical choices which the authors called "corpus" where monumental choices were
concerned, were further demonstrated trough the Tree of Architecture, a definite
illustration on how they chose to exclude any architectural style or culture that was
not part of the Eurocentric ideology. This elitist view may be the result of British
colonialism wherein a Eurocentric view was acceptable at the end of the nineteenth
century but in today's social context the changes that occurred, the inclusive manner
in which the new editions were re-written were a definite necessity. Twenty two
years later a new survey was published, this time by two American scholars (Kimball
& Edgell) whom one can observe to be much more inclusive in their assessment of
the history of architecture.
As stated before, at the preface of the fourth edition of Fletcher’s text, a twelve-point
list was given in order to summarize the changes that occurred since the first three
editions that included a new chapter titled Gothic Architecture in Europe,
…similar to those devoted to Romanesque and Renaissance Architecture,
added. This contains an account of Gothic vaulting, and will be found useful as
an introduction to the style in general. It may also enable the student to grasp
the fundamental differences between English and Continental Gothic. (1901,
p.v).
The chapter, Gothic Architecture in Europe began with a Medieval Europe map
(thirteenth century), showing vaguely the borders of countries and as it was with
each chapter, it continued with a general introduction before continuing separately
with each country that was stated in the contents. Under 1. Influences; Geographical
the authors claimed that the nations of Western Europe came into existence and that
Germany was the centre of the Western Empire. The Climate influence had been
noted a propos the Northern sun being more suitable for the style rather than
Classical Architecture, considering the shadows that were best caught by flying
buttresses and that the high pitched Gothic roofs were suggesting bad weather and
snow (1901, pp.183-184).
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Figure 4.2.7. Principles of Gothic Construction, 1901.
In the second part titled Architectural Character, general information about the style
was given. Gothic style, according to the authors was a necessary sequence of the
Romanesque style. The rest of the section went into details about changes that
occurred and comparisons about the walls and pointed arches.
The arch again determined not only the structure but the form which it took,
and the architecture was dictated solely by the arch. Thus material, through
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the form which it dictates, may be said to influence architecture in this period.
In any true architecture form is not the result of caprice; it is only the
expression of the structure (1901, pp.183-187).
A comparison of material usage in Romanesque and Gothic Architecture follows.
The eighty-first illustration of the 1901 edition was titled The Principles of Gothic
ConstructionAmiens Cathedral was drawn by Viollet-le-Duc (A), and examples of
architectural elements of St. Saviour’s in Southwark were included (B, C, D) (1901,
p.186).
It was stated that structure was decorated in the Middle Ages and a comparison was
made with Greek art; architecture was furthering itself away from the “self-contained
Greek temple”, the horizontal lines, instead a complex, verticality has emerged and
that there was a unity in all (1901, p.188). Even though Gothic architecture’s style
were mostly founded on structural necessities, according to Fletcher, others have
been an expression of artistic invention, such as the spire (1901, p.189). According to
the text, an important factor in the development of Gothic was the invention of the
stained glass as an expression of Bible History. The cathedrals of the era occupied an
important place in the daily life of medieval times, and with the lack of books and the
level of illiteracy, they were regarded as a mean of popular education with sculptures
and painted glasses, and according to the authors, “They, to a large extent, took the
place in our social state since occupied by such modern institutions as the Board
School, Free Library, Museum, Picture Gallery and Concert Hall. They were the
history book of the period.”(1901, p.190).
Next was the third chapter: Examples. The authors decided to separate the examples
according to their function: Cathedral and Churches, Monastic Buildings, and
Secular Architecture. Under Cathedrals and Churches, the fact that the construction
of these eleventh and twelfth century monuments took many years, mostly more than
a century. The rest of the chapter continued with details on planning, the design of
the monuments and examples as the title suggested: The plans were mostly in a Latin
cross form with the transepts using the shorter arms, the tower locations, the naves
and the clerestory design were all discussed. A comparison of cathedral locations of
England and France were mentioned; generally English ones were located on open
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spaces called the Close, and that French cathedrals were often in the city centre,
surrounded by buildings. Further comparisons had been made in another chapter to
which we will focus on later (1901, pp.191-192).
The first nation that Fletcher and his son focused on was the English one with the
Romanesque (Norman) and Gothic subtitle. Under Influences some information was
given in order to understand the style’s evolution: Architects must have chosen -
because of its climate, deep porches, and small entrances compared to continental
monuments. Furthermore, for religious reasons, many of the cathedrals were formed
with monastic foundations, which they believe was the reason for differences
between their French contemporaries (1901, pp.195-196).
The architectural character of English (Figure 4.2.8) Gothic was marked by a more
complete sequence according to the text, with the style ending on a national phase
called Perpendicular, a style that could not be found elsewhere, and a topic that will
be discussed on later chapters. The next chapter was titled Gothic Vaulting in
England which was discussed in detail, a subject that was included in detail in
Kimball & Edgell’s and also Kostof’s books. The problem, wrote Fletcher, “which
the medieval architects had to solve was to vault, in stone, a church of the basilican
type, the high wall in which were the clerestory windows, being retained for lighting
purposes.” (1901, p.202). The book separated the English cathedrals into three
categories: Cathedrals of the Old Foundation; of the Monastic Foundation and of the
New Foundation, ending the examples by giving brief descriptions and construction
dates of twenty-nine cathedrals. One of the subtitles was The Castles and Residences
of the Nobles and it was stated that castles were an important part of the medieval
architecture, that they were fortified up until the end of the fourteenth century and
that they were, as well as being residences, military posts. With the rise of demand
for privacy, Hall’s were created (1901, pp.121-123). When discussing the dwelling
of the people, they included the formation of towns and how they would be formed
with the notion of safety dwellings placed around the castles, and the undeveloped
urban form was due to the fact that town halls were not included as they would be
like in France and Belgium (1901, p.225).
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On pages between 227 to 249, the authors reviewed each period separately and they
wrote that there had been different systems of classification created by various
authors, by centuries, or by rulers. Here the authors had chosen to classify by
architectural styles: Anglo-Saxon, Norman, Early English, Decorated, Perpendicular
and Tudor. Their individual chapters had all included architectural characteristics,
examples and comparative sub-chapters. Under the Comparative chapters seven subsections
were included: Plans, Walls, Openings, Roofs, Columns, Mouldings and
Ornament. These classifications, according to the authors, were mostly for the
readers ease to understand.
Figure 4.2.8. English Gothic Examples I / English Gothic Examples III.
The next two chapters titled Scottish Architecture and Irish Architecture were onepage
each. It was stated that Scottish architecture had a similar evolution to that of
English architecture up until the fifteenth century, then becoming more nationalized.
Because of their political relationship, it was inspired by French architecture , even a
preference of Flamboyant tracery over the Perpendicular style was mentioned (1901,
p.252). Irish Architecture was divided into four sub-chapters named Celtic
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Architecture, The Monasteries, The Round Towers and Medieval Architecture. The
authors wrote: “Within the English domain the influence of Continental art was felt
during the Middle Ages, but few monuments of importance were erected.” (1901,
p.253).
One of the major Gothic chapter was French Architecture which started with
Influences. According to the text, France was divided into South and North,
architecturally speaking, the division being defined by the River Loire, the northern
part developing the style sooner than the southern part. According to the Fletchers,
religious zeal was the reason for that many grand cathedrals being constructed in a
short period of time, and that the Crusades also instigated it. Viollet-le-Duc
compared the zeal of Gothic construction to the railway lines covering Europe at the
time. About the Social and Political section was written that the style varied
considerably in different regions which could be due to differences of political
environments, different languages and customs, and even the classical tone that may
had been caused by Roman remains (1901, pp.254-255).
About the principles of architectural character of French Gothic was mentioned as
being the same as in all Europe, the tendency of verticality which was accentuated by
spires, pinnacles, internal height, high-pitched roofs and the tall traceried windows.
The French Gothic was categorized by M. de Caumont into Primary (Thirteenth
century), Secondary (Rayonnat which can be identified by wheel tracery of the rose
windows) and finally, Tertiary (Flamboyant, fifteenth century). But just as we should
do in English Gothic, we must consider the style as being a continuous development
(1901, p.257).
Examples of thirteenth century were given; all with construction dates - apart from
Notre Dame, Paris, the Cathedrals of Reims, Chartres, Amiens, Rouen, Coutances,
Beauvais and Bourges and so on. Notre Dame, Paris (1163-1214), which was called
the oldest of French Gothic cathedrals had been looked at through various drawings
and its west front was called “the grandest composition in France, if not of the whole
style.” (1901, p.259). Details about plans were given about Amiens Cathedral,
Coutances, Bourges, the Sainte Chapelle which was also in Paris, Notre Dame de
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Paris and Alby Cathedral. According to Fletcher, students tend to think that Gothic
architecture was confined to ecclesiastical work yet some examples of dwellings can
be found in the south of Paris, and some half-timbered houses could still be observed
at Rouen but because of the material choices most of the secular examples are lost to
us today (1901, p.261).
Fletcher called Amiens Cathedral as the most characteristic French cathedral just as
Salisbury as being the most typically English one. This was where the comparison
between French Gothic and English Gothic started, by comparing them under the
same seven categories of plans, walls, openings, roofs, columns, mouldings and
ornament. Whilst making the comparison Chartres, Notre Dame, Laon, Amiens and
Salisbury, Lincoln, Durham and York (and more) were given as examples to some
parts of the categories mentioned above (1901, pp.262-266).
The next chapter was about Belgian and Dutch Gothic, stating that geographically,
that this small kingdom lied in the middle of Germanic and Romanic elements, that
one should expect to find dual influences in their stylistic development – Belgium
under the French influence and Holland being under German influence. Because of
their rivalries and war, the evolution of nationalistic style of architecture was
hindered. The Dutch architectural character was mentioned as being simplistic, barnlike
even compared to Belgium and its richly-detailed town halls (1901, pp.268-270).
German Gothic, in its own chapter, geologically produced no building material other
than brick and that its influence should be noted in its architecture. As we will
observe in the other survey books, Germany was the reigning force at the centre of
Europe during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and according to the text, German
Gothic was directly borrowed from France, which was reluctantly accepted since
Romanesque architecture was monumental in Germany. Cologne Cathedral was
mentioned as it should be regarded as the great monument in this style and that the
readers should notice the similarities of plan and dimensions with that of Amiens
Cathedral. Strasburg, Ratisbon, Ulm, St. Elizabeth in Marburg, Munich and St
Stephen cathedrals were given as examples (1901, pp.273-281).
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Figure 4.2.9. Comparative Views of Models of Continental Cathedrals.
The next chapter titles Italian Gothic starts with the influences. The climate should
be considered as a factor when one observes the apparent small windows, the thick
walls and the development of tracery which was hindered in order to keep the Italian
heat and sun out. Of course the Roman traditions were a major influence in the nonpursuit
of verticality, and on the choice of flat roofs. The text states that one should
notice the absence of pinnacles due to the unimportance of buttresses. The school of
sculpture came from classical purity and was far superior to its northern
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contemporaries yet the general composition and its meaning in architecture was less
observable. Italian architects preferred to include the Roman acanthus and Corinthian
capitols as part of their Gothic details.
The examples were divided into three: North Italy, Central Italy, and Southern Italy
and Sicily. It was written that Milan Cathedral (for the North Italy section) was the
most important Italian work erected during the Middle Ages and that we should
observe the Germanic influences in the details and the character. The main
differences with the rest of the continental Gothic were – not limited to - the use of
white marble in its entirety and the flat roof. The Doges Palace was, according to
Fletcher, the grandest effort in civic architecture in the whole of the period and that
the delicate carving is cause for a celebration.
For Central Italy, the Cathedral of Florence was given – and some others including
the Cathedral of Sienna - as a remarkable example for its wide spacing of the nave
arcades, the absence of pinnacles and buttresses and for its marble façades, and that
lastly the absence of a triforium should be noticed (1901, pp.282-294). For the
Southern Italy and Sicily;
The influences at work in these districts have already been referred to in
Romanesque. The style has been described as ‘Greek in essence, Roman in
form, and Saracenic in decoration’ …the main idea striven after in these
churches is the unfettered display of mosaic decoration, in which the principal
patronages of the Bible are rendered in a stiff archaic style, with borders of
arabesques in gold and colour (1901, p.290).
The last chapter in Fletcher’s text about Gothic architecture is Spanish Gothic. Under
the historical influence, he wrote that the study of history was always necessary in
order to understand the architectural development that would take place and that this
was especially important for the study of Spanish Gothic since it was occupied at
different times by different cultures – Romans, Vandals and Visigoths, and the
invasion by Moors.
The Moorish influence could be observed in the southern parts of the country by
noticing the horseshoe arches, the intricate geometrical and flowing patterns, rich
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surface decorations and later on the pierced stonework traceries. For examples
Cathedrals of Burgos, Toledo, Barcelona, Seville and others were given and that
Seville Cathedral was the largest medieval cathedral ever built. Seville had a unique
plan, maybe caused by its original function of that of a mosque, apparently resembles
Milan Cathedral but in a “purer Gothic style” way (1901, pp.295-303).
Figure 4.2.10. Comparative Plans of English (Salisbury) and French (Amiens) Types of
Cathedrals.
4.3. Kimball & Edgell's History of Continual Formal Expressiveness
In 1918, Kimball (1888-1955) and Edgell had published A History of Architecture
(1918) with a similar purpose to Fletcher's; in the Editor’s Introduction, the aim of
the book was outlined as “intended to provide for the students and the general reader
concise but authoritative histories of architecture, sculpture and painting.” (1918,
p.xvii). Fiske Kimball was an architectural historian, and the director of Philadelphia
Museum of Arts and George Harold Edgell who was a Professor at Harvard
University and also the director of Boston Museum of Fine Arts. C. Anderson
suggested that the co-authors had a double pedagogical purpose: “to establish
historical knowledge as part of a general liberal arts education, and to train architects
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in historical precedent.” (Anderson, 1999, pp.350-353). She proceeded to say that
writing one of these books, had come to be seen as an important contribution to
scholarships as well as to teaching, and a compelling challenge that allowed a scholar
to change the course of the discipline by writing a fundamental text that will be used
for students. Kimball and Edgell attempted in A History of Architecture, as was said
in the Author’s Preface, to present each style as a growing and changing thing (1918,
p.xxii). The chronological order was similar to Fletcher's earlier editions, but before
going over the content and structure, one can observe that the "Editor's Introduction"
and the "Author's Preface" were both after the lists of contents and illustrations.
Towards the end of the Author's Preface, the authors describe their structure: "The
general development of the style is first sketched with little description of individual
monuments, and these are then illustrated and discussed more at length in sections
devoted to the development of single forms and types." (1918, p.xxii).
The contents of A History of Architecture (Figure 4.3.1) were fairly simple, fourteen
chapters, the first explaining the elements of architecture and the rest was dedicated
to an almost chronologically lined architectural styles, since the last two chapters
went back in time on continents other than Europe. Starting from the Prehistoric
Architecture, then Preclassical Architecture, Greek, Roman, Early Christian,
Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Post-Renaissance (which included
Baroque and Rococo styles in different countries), Modern (starting from the mideighteenth
century; neoclassic, revival styles, and the aftermath of the Industrial
Revolution including the Arts & Crafts Movement, Art Deco and Art Nouveau,
without naming theme but giving examples and architects names.), American (a very
brief pre-colonial section, largely including the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
architects including Frank Lloyd Wright) and lastly Eastern Architecture, which
included briefly, Sassanian, Islamic, Indian, Ottoman, Cambodian, Javan, Chinese
and Japanese architectures. These thirteen chapters mostly consisted of multiple
paragraphs. The so-called sections that were aforementioned in the preface were
brief paragraphs with titles that vary according to the specific chapter in which they
were found. For example, the Greek Architecture part had seventy-nine sections that
includes; Hellenistic Period; Structural expressions in the Doric order and The
temple: size and proportions whereas Gothic Architecture has over ninety sections
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that included; Flying buttresses; Flamboyant Gothic. The Style in France and The
peasant's house. Each chapter was ended with a "Periods of..." giving chronological
information about certain styles and examples that were included in the chapter,
finishing with a bibliography that might help readers extended research.
Figure 4.3.1. The contents page in A History of Architecture, 1918.
The novelty of including American Architecture and its development through time,
giving it an equal space may be the result of the authors being Americans themselves
and creating a survey for their American readers (Anderson, 1999, p.350). There
were not many reviews of the book, the earliest review written by J.B. Robinson
published the same year of the survey stated that "...the authors have indeed given us
a complete history of all the architecture of the world..." (1918, p.838). This may be
a positive look towards "the whole world" concept yet not long after Fletcher's and
long before Kostof, the authors managed to show how the choices made on what to
include or not include could change the narrative and representation of architectural
history. More than a century ago, Kimball and Edgell chose to include, even briefly,
the Far East, the Pre-colonial American culture, and Islamic architecture. The
contents page differed from Fletcher's; where the latter opted to separate by
countries, or regions and eventually by centuries, the former authors preferred to
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keep it simple by categorizing into almost, chronological architectural styles giving
further details at the end of each chapter whenever deemed necessary. Another
historian that chose to keep the content page as simple as possible was art historian
Nikolaus Pevsner who twenty-five years later published his survey titled: An Outline
of European Architecture.
Chapter IX: Gothic Architecture started with the origin of the term which was
regarded with contempt by the Renaissance minds. According to the authors – as
Kostof and others suggest – Gothic architecture was called Opus Francigenum, or
French Work at the time of its original development era, and that this was proof that
France was the priority in this style. It had been pointed out that “...organic
architecture was developed in the Île-de-France, and the so-called Gothic styles of
other countries either consisted of imitation of this or of a superficial application of
pointed or Gothic detail to buildings which were constructed according to
Romanesque principles.” (1918, p.275). Gothic, as it was written in the text, was a
system of vaults, supports and buttresses: “the supports being strong enough to bear
the crushing weight of the vaults only, and the stability of the structure maintained
chiefly by an equilibrium of counterthrusts.” (1918, p.275). The pointed arch was
used as a structural means systematically in France and could be found to be used as
un-structurally or mainly decorative. The writers insisted upon the “structural
superiority and priority of the organic architecture of the Île-de-France.”(1918,
p.275). Medieval architects developed the style inarticulately: they did not formulate
in writing, the ideas that their monuments expressed. This may be the result of not
just architects creating, but the result of a whole community coming together. This
notion could be observed through the lack of knowledge on the names of the
architects who created these great cathedrals, which in a sense made the art strongly
socialistic.
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Figure 4.3.2. Comparative Plans of Gothic Cathedrals In France, Germany, Italy and
England.
According to the text, the Gothic architecture era was approximately, from 1150 until
1550 with some exceptions including isolated monuments in the Flamboyant style
that were erected during the mid-sixteenth century. The paragraph beginning with
homogeneity suggested that Gothic had a national homogeneity, greater than
Romanesque. Before the text’s classification, the evolution of the style was
discussed: there were previously mentioned debates on whether or not Gothic
architecture had begun in France or England even though many historians accepted
Abbot Suger’s design as being the first, the same cannot be unanimously accepted
for the early usage of pointed arches as being Gothic since Romanesque style used
the architectural element as well. The text told us that even though earlier uses of the
pointed arch were found in England, the first truly Gothic buildings that were erected
there were under the French influence. The Development in England paragraph
discussed the development of the style in England as the title suggested: the
thirteenth century saw the Early English or Lancet style and soon enough they would
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change and develop what they have brought into their land which would become
more local in form and detailing. The next century bore a new expression of English
Gothic which would be called Decorative in later history. The borrowers became the
influencer and France was influenced into creating the Flamboyant style. And even
though the Flamboyant details would spread to the rest of the continent, English
architects insisted upon their mark on Gothic and during the fifteenth century in the
form of the Perpendicular style (1918, p.284).
The survey book suggested a classification starting from France – which they “must
give priority", then continued with England, Germany, Italy and Spain. Because their
constructions lasted for long periods of time, that they were close in dates and rapidly
progressing, a chronological order of the cathedrals was not very probable. As
mentioned before, the “vault is the most important feature of the Gothic building”
(1918, p.287) and that its study was crucial for the study of this style. For more than
six pages, the vault, the stilting of the longitudinal rib, flying buttresses, the apse, the
piers and many more subjects were discussed through short paragraphs.
As mentioned by many as well as this survey, the walls in Gothic architecture
became thinner and were used to exclude the weather conditions and were mostly
adorned with stained glasses. As suggested by the authors, polychromy had an
important part in Gothic, usually found on the stained glasses. The northern
Europeans preferred glass (for the need of natural light as well) and the southerners’
frescos for the story-telling purpose (which is also, as mentioned by Fletcher, chosen
for the need to control the powerful sunlight). History representation was not limited
to stained glasses and frescos but was also used in sculpture form which were used
either structurally or decoratively (1918, p.298). Whilst discussing the fourteenth
century Gothic in France, once again Amiens Cathedral – in this context it was a
comparison with Chartres Cathedral – was being called “probably the more perfect
building…”(1918, p.299), and that France achieved a full development of Gothic at
this time period focusing on refinement rather than change.
The chapter continued with the general characteristics of English Gothic, subdividing
it into three styles (by centuries, thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries), but
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before continuing with the subcategories the authors gave us closer information
about the style in England. The differences between Organic Gothic (to which the
authors referred to as the French Gothic) and English Gothic, starting from structural
ones were noted; the fully developed flying buttresses were almost non-existent on
the island and that the English architects relied more on Romanesque sturdiness than
others. The comparison between plans also was note-worthy, English cathedrals were
long or appeared long with bold transepts often doubled, and that height wise,
English cathedrals did not concern themselves with verticality as much as French
contemporaries. The English vaulting system was more complicated and the ribs
soon used for decoration. Portals were designed smaller (the reason may have been
the weather conditions as it was mentioned in Fletcher’s text), façades were
occasionally adorned by sculptures as in Wells Cathedral but they had a lesser role in
England. One of the most important differences was the location of the said
cathedrals – again, discussed in the previous survey – which were on large open sites
compared to their French counterparts (1918, pp.299-302).
Figure 4.3.3. Arrangement of Monuments and Details to Illustrate the Development of the
Buttress and the Development of the Façade.
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As mentioned before, Early English Gothic was heavily influenced by the French
Gothic at the time, with William of Sens, a French architect working on the
construction of Canterbury, although after his death, an Englishman took over the
project. In the Early style, simplicity was upfront, sculpture was rare, decoration
restrained, and the effect of the building dependent of its proportions and structure.
The lancet shaped openings were popular, hence the Lancet-style name. Toward the
end of the thirteenth century, the sharper style was abandoned for the Decorated
Style (also known by some as Geometric or Curvilinear). Openings were enlarged
and the façades were intricately detailed with tracery designs. Towards the fifteenth
century, a new style, later known as Perpendicular emerged, which was called “…in
some respects the most original, of the English styles.”, and the emphasis was on
verticality. According to the text, vaults received the most complicated treatment in
the Gothic architectural style’s history, the functional ribs and decorative ones
became so entangled that they should no longer be distinguished. This was when the
“fan vault” was developed, “the most famous” of the Gothic vaults (1918, pp.303-
305).
Before continuing with the German Gothic, Flamboyant Gothic was mentioned here,
as a novelty in decorative context rather than a structural one. Just like the Decorated
Style, the vaults here became complicated and unlike Decorated, lines became curvy
and the ogee arch was common. The pointed arch received a concave and convex
profile and the authors stated that Saint Maclou in Rouen was one of the finest
examples of the Flamboyant style (1918, p.306).
Germany – as mentioned in the previous book – was reluctant in accepting the
Gothic style since they already had a unique relation with Romanesque. A late (slow)
transition period started where Germany was heavily influenced by France who gave
us the phrase Opus Francigenum as a description of the style. German Gothic
buildings were divided into two categories by the authors, original and imitative.
Historians have often believed Cathedral of Trèves to be the first pure Gothic church
built in Germany which was heavily influenced by the Saint Yved at Braisne, and
according to Edgell, (who was responsible for the Gothic portion of their text
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according to the Author’s Preface) (1918, p.XXIII) Cologne, which was the most
imitative of all the German cathedrals had its inspiration from the Amiens Cathedral.
One of the least imitative designs at the time were called the Hallenkirchen, or hall
churches. They were three aisled, with domical vaults with all the naves with the
same height giving it the impression of a great hall that especially evolved during the
fifteenth century (1918, pp.208-312).
Spanish Gothic had a similar background to French Gothic yet they differentiated
themselves by accentuated the horizontal lines and flat roofs, and much like Italian
Gothic, windows became smaller due to the climate. These resulted in large surfaces
of empty walls which increased the possibility for frescos. The decoration of the
Spanish Gothic took on a more nationalistic approach with deep, crisp and with more
contrast. The interiors were generally considered dark and gloomy yet almost all the
glamour was saved for the capilla mayor or coro, a screen like apsis design.
According to the text, the most ambitious cathedral in Spain in the fifteenth century,
was the Cathedral of Seville with the Moorish influence (1918, pp.312-315).
Gothic in Italy, wrote the authors, completely disregarded the structural system of the
style, and what they created mostly had a classic nuance to it. The horizontal line was
emphasized, wall spaces were broad, the windows and portals were small, and the
interiors were bare, much like a Romanesque church based on monastic designs. A
slow, resistant acceptance happened and during the fifteenth century, a German
influence arrived. There were Flamboyant secular monuments, many still very
important to the narrative of architectural history yet the ecclesiastical architecture of
the era was best shown at the Duomo, or the Milan Cathedral. Because Italy had
begun its transition to Renaissance ideologies, Gothic never truly blossomed in the
region. The rest of the sub-section continued with secular architecture, fortified
towns, the castle and the town house and more (1918, pp.316-321). Kimball and
Edgell finished chapter nine by giving a Chronological List of Monuments with the
categories of: French and Flanders / England / Germany / Italy / Spain and Portugal.
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Figure 4.3.4. West façade of the Amiens Cathedral and the interiour view of the apse.
4.4. Nikolaus Pevsner’s History of Spatial Expression
In 1943, German art and architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner’s (1902-1983) An
Outline of European Architecture was published, and two years later, the second
edition was presented. In 2009 the latest edition was revised by Michael Forsyth. The
edition this study will use is the 1948 edition where Pevsner started with the contents
of the book. Before continuing one should read the Introduction beginning with the
famous saying by the author himself: “A bicycle shed is a building; Lincoln
Cathedral is a piece of architecture.”, meaning that everything that was built on a
sufficient scale was a building yet for it to be “architecture” it should have an
aesthetic appeal (1948, p.xix). This aesthetic notion could be created in three
different ways, according to the introduction:
First, they may be produced by the treatment of walls, proportions of windows,
the relation of wall-space to window-space, of one story to another, of
ornamentation such as the tracery of a 14th-century window, or the leaf and
fruit garlands of a Wren porch. (1948, p.xix).
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The second way is the treatment of the façade of a monument taken as a whole which
is significant; the contrast of block against block, the resulting effect of a flat or
pitched room, or even a dome indicating a rhythm of "projections and recessions.".
The third and last way is the treatment of the interior and its effect on our senses:
"...the sequence of rooms, the widening out of a nave at the crossing, the stately
movement of a baroque staircase.” (1948, p.xix).
Pevsner stated that the differences between architecture, painting and sculpture is
that architecture deals with a spatial quality that cannot be dealt with in the two other
forms of art. He claimed that historians must keep spatial problems on the front and
that no architectural book could be successful without ground plans. Because
architecture deals with volume as well, architects are required to understand a
sculptor or a painter’s “modes of vision” on top of the spatial context, and as a result
of this, architecture is “the most comprehensive of visual arts and has a right to claim
superiority over the others.” (1948, p.xix).
The author critiqued the detachment that occurred during the nineteenth century
painting scene; the “easel-pictures” as he called them, became detached from
architecture and that between the two art forms, only architecture could last as long
as humanity. Pevsner insisted that materials and architectural elements manifested
themselves in certain styles not because they were invented but because the spirit of
the style existed and expressed itself through the elements and materials. “Thus the
following chapters will treat the history of European architecture as a history of
expression, and primarily of spatial expression.” (1948, p.xix). At the Foreword
written by the author himself, it was stated that in two hundred pages of European
architecture, not every work could be mentioned, that one building could be enough
to understand a style or a point to be made. His choice to not include all the ages of
architecture was the result of choosing to examine the architecture of all the nations
that made up Europe at the time the book was written. He claimed that the Greek
temple belonged to the civilisation of Antiquity, or that Bulgarian architecture
belonged to the Byzantine, stating that only architecture that resulted in “marginal
interest in the development of European architecture…” would be included in his
work (1948, p.xvii). On pages 226 and 227, the author had written the differences
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between the first two editions and the third edition which was examined in this
dissertation.
There were eight chapters in the book, starting with Twilight and Dawn from the 6th
century to the 10th century; The Romanesque Style c.1000-c.1200; The Early and
Classic Gothic Style c.1150-c.1250; The Late Gothic Style c.1250-c.1500;
Renaissance and Mannerism c.1420-c.1600; The Baroque in the Roman Catholic
Counries c.1600-c.1760; Britian and France from the 16th century to the 18th century
and lastly Romantic Movement, Historicism and Modern Movement from 1760 to
the Present Day. There were no introductions or maps to the chapters, but plans and
other illustrations were placed when deemed necessary. The chapters could be read
individually yet each chapter was a continuation of its precedent, almost to the point
of arguments and phrases continuing from one to the other and there were no Further
Reading or Recommended Reading sections that could be observed in most survey
books.
The difference between Fletcher, Kimball & Edgell and Pevsner could be observed
already through the contents pages alone (Figure 4.4.1). Fletcher's was stylistic in the
architectural sense as was Kimball's and Edgell's yet here we start to observe timelines.
Indeed, the architectural styles were still included but with stricter periods of
time. As the title suggests, this text did not claim to be a "world" history as it solely
focuses on European architecture. Yet his claim to examine all architecture that had
an "interest" in the development of European architecture started during the sixth
century as he claimed that Greek architecture had no place in the discussion as it
belongs to Antiquity, a claim that may not have many supporters. The exclusion of
many European countries, cultures and architecture and calling the text an outline is
almost an excuse to his selection, his personal canon. The title of the first chapter, an
end (twilight) and beginning (dawn), one could call it a metaphor for the fall of the
Roman Empire, marking Romanesque architecture as the beginning, both
figuratively and literally for the new era. He even started the second chapter with
"Yet during these dark and troubled years the foundation of medieval civilisation
were laid." (1948, p.15). Pevsner was a discriminative historian, even his: "A bicycle
shed is a building; Lincoln Cathedral is a piece of architecture." statement was
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outdated and elitist, as if to say there should be guidelines or rules to what should be
constituted as 'architecture'. Throughout the last century this notion of what makes a
building a piece of architecture was debated, discussions that are still continuing
today and a pioneer of the subject of inclusiveness was Kostof himself.
Figure 4.4.1. Contents page in An Outline of European Architecture, 1948.
Gothic style had been divided into two chapters, The Early and Classic Gothic Style
and The Late Gothic Style, the first stretching over a century and the latter over 250
years. The first chapter began with St.-Denis Abbey and Abbot Suger (Figure 4.4.2).
Pevsner stated that whomever designed the new choir (since he states that at the early
stages of medieval times, the names of the architects were mostly unknown) of the
Abbey, invented the Gothic style and even thought the architectural features of the
style existed before, “It is only in St. Denis that Gothic construction and Gothic
motifs are linked up with each other to form a Gothic system.” (1948, p.xix). The
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Abbey’s structural and technical details were detailed out, focusing at flying
buttresses. One of the earliest names of architects that is known to us was Williams
de Sens (d.1180) and the author wrote about his work at the choir of Canterbury
Cathedral; “a work as revolutionary in England as St. Denis was in France.” (1948,
p.34). Villard de Honnecourt’ textbook, which is preserved at the
BibliothèqueNationale de France (BNF), was mentioned as an invaluable source of
information of thirteenth century architectural methods (1948, p.36).
Figure 4.4.2. St.-Denis Abbey by Pevsner.
Examples of Opus Francigenum, French Gothic cathedral architecture were given by
name; Sens, Noyon, Senlis, Notre-Dame de Paris, Laon, Chartres, Reims, Amiens
and Beauvais (1948, p.39). Between pages 40 and 41, Notre-Dame de Paris’s
technical information was given and the plan of the Cathedral was discussed
comparing its nave and chancel to the Old St. Peter’s in Rome and Cluny. Apart from
technical and structural details, scholasticism was mentioned in the text and how it
affected the sculptural program (1948, p.47). Towards the end of the first Gothic
chapter of the book, English examples were given, focusing on the style called Early
English Style.
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Figure 4.4.3. Nave of Notre-Dame, Chartres, Reims and Amiens.
The second chapter that focused on the Late Gothic Style (c.1250-c.1500) which was
differentiated with the predominant use of the pointed arch and from the High Gothic
Cathedrals of Paris, Reims and Amiens, Salisbury and Lincoln, the last two which
were the English examples. Pevsner dictated that at this period of time, the
architectural program became more sophisticated and at the same time more
complicated. The changes that occurred were described as: “…in France is on the
whole lean and retrospective, England went on inventing forms with amazing
profuseness, forms merely decorative, no longer strictly architectural.” (1948, p.54).
The tracery work that could be observed has moved away from the geometrical
tracery from the earlier examples which can be seen through the Decorative Style of
English Gothic styles. Ely, Bristol and Wells Cathedrals were given as examples in
detailed information.
Pevsner stated that France did not fully incorporate the spatial and ornamented style
of the Late Gothic until the fifteenth century (1948, p.60). The Late Gothic style was
observed in Germany, Catalonia, Gerona and Portugal through the rest of the chapter
in a structural and comparative method. Perpendicular Gothic, another English
Gothic Style, was explained. The chapter continues with residential examples and
historical events that occurred that eventually affected the church designs of Europe.
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4.5. Visual Representation of Notre-Dame in the books
Whilst studying the Gothic chapters in the researched books and their interpretations,
one has to observe the visual representations as well. This study will emphasize the
subject matter, the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. Even though Choisy was
famous in his times due to his original illustrations and axonometric representations
which was developed by him (Mandoul, 1996), from the three hundred and three
illustrations, sixty-three of them were by Viollet-le-Duc and some were from Lassus.
Plans, sections, perspectives or architectural element details were drawn in the
Choisy book and Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral (Figures 4.1.3 - 4.5.1) was
illustrated twenty-four times in total while the Cathedral of Amiens (Figure 4.1.2)
was illustrated nineteen times and the Reims Cathedral seventeen times. Alongside
technical drawings of structural elements, the author also collected drawings of
stained-glass traceries, column designs, gallery details and axonometric perspectives
of major Gothic cathedrals of France: Sens, Noyon, Notre-Dame, Bourges, Eu,
Langres, Chartres, Longpont, Reims, Amiens, Beauvais, Rouen, S. Germain and
some foreign cathedral perspectives were included in this chapter. A map of the
locations of the first Gothic churches on which the author focuses on was given on
page 498 with less than thirty pages remaining out of 269 pages. This was a direct
result of focusing on structural development rather than an architectural historical
one. Whilst being one of the most famous French architectural history writers due to
his Histoire de l'architecture, Auguste Choisy still remained true to his discipline and
looked at the history of architecture through a structural and rational point of view. A
comparison of these two schools of architectural survey - in a French and an English
written context - may show us that sentimental writing such as Kostof's method or
history complimented by anecdotes method of Richard Ingersoll may had not found a
place in the didactic, rational, meticulous writing styles of French architectural
historians. The English written texts, starting with a contemporary figure of Choisy -
Bannister Fletcher - will be discussed in the next chapter.
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Figure 4.5.1. Notre-Dame de Paris's bay as it existed originally by Choisy, Histoire de
l'Architecture, 1899.
In Fletcher’s fourth edition, the chapter’s first illustration over the seventy-one was
the Principles of Gothic Construction (p.186) (Figure 4.2.7) which included a
drawing of Amiens Cathedral by Viollet-le-Duc from his Dictionnaire Raisonné de
l’Architecture Française du XIe au XVIe siècle. The next one consisted of five
models of cathedrals photographed; Milan, Evreux, Cologne, Vienna and Chartres. A
hand-drawn page titled Comparative Diagrams of Vaults & Domes can be observed
just before the English Gothic Examples I: Comparative examples Showing of
Gothic Vaulting. In the book there were non-consecutive fourteen illustrations that
were titled: English Gothic Examples, with different subjects; Gothic vaulting,
timber roofs, plans, sections and elevations, domestic buildings, Saxon Architecture,
façades, doorways and tracery development. In between these there were other
illustrations and photographs of certain architectural elements or monuments. Almost
all of these subjects were accompanied by English examples such as Lincoln
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Cathedral (four times including a photo of a model and two individual photos),
Peterborough Cathedral (five times including a photo of a model), Salisbury
Cathedral (five times including a photo of a model and two individually paged
photos and another under French Gothic Architecture which will be discussed),
Westminster Abbey (five times including a single page of detailed drawings of Bay
of Exterior / Interior, plan and a section of the nave and a photo of Henry VII’s
Chapel and its fan vaulting, Ely Cathedral (five times including a photo of a model)
and Winchester Cathedral (five times including a photo of a model). Fletcher
included ornaments, mouldings and carved foliage drawings as well. Belgian,
German, Italian and Spanish Gothic Architecture followed with a total of sixteen
photos and nine hand drawn illustrations.
Figure 4.5.2. French Gothic Examples I & III.
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Figure 4.5.3. West Front of Notre Dame de Paris & Interior, looking East in Notre-Dame.
The illustrations under the French Gothic started in page 256 (4th ed.) with French
Gothic Examples I, Beauvais Cathedral and the Window (Wheel) N. Transept of
Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral given as an example. There were only three French
Gothic Example pages (Figure 4.5.2) and in between and after, were the comparative
model photographs (Figure 4.2.9), plans of French examples, secular examples and
ornaments. The Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris had been illustrated six times –
with the rose window - including a sole page with Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc’s
drawings of an exterior bay, half cross section, an interior bay and a plan. The
monument could be observed by a photograph of a model and two additional photos
of the West front and interior looking East (Figure 4.5.3). Lastly on the last
illustration of the chapter titled French Gothic Ornament that gave Chartres, Amiens,
Mont St. Michel and Notre Dame of Chalons-sur-Seine. Chartres Cathedral which
was mentioned in the first chapter with European cathedral models, was one of the
examples of the Comparative Plans of French Gothic Cathedrals on page 116. What
stood out was that Amiens Cathedral which was mentioned before, was the sole
French example of the illustration on page 120 called Comparative Plans of English
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and French Types of Cathedrals alongside Salisbury Cathedral (Figure 4.2.10). The
monument was included four times in total including a photograph of the interior.
Kimball and Edgell's book includes fifty-one illustrations in the Gothic Architecture
chapter starting with Comparative plans of Gothic cathedrals in France, Germany,
Italy and England (Figure 4.3.2) with Amiens, Cologne, Florence and Salisbury
Cathedrals. Notre Dame de Paris had been illustrated five times by drawings under
Plans of Gothic Buildings along four other monuments (S. Elizabeth Marburg,
Chateu de Coucy, Sainte Chapelle and Seville), Sections and Systems of Gothic
Buildings (Figure 4.5.4) again with four others (Seville, Florence, Salisbury and
Amiens), Arrangement of monuments and details to illustrate the development of
thefaçade (Figure 4.3.3) – in two sections of façades and flying buttresses with
Amiens Cathedral the only monument to be included in both. Plans of the East end of
five Gothic churches, illustrating the development of the chevet and Plans illustrating
the development of the Gothic pier both of which also included Amiens Cathedral as
well as other monuments. Compared to the Capital’s Cathedral, Amiens Cathedral
was illustrated nine times in the chapter (Figure 4.3.4), the ones that were mentioned,
two photographs and another drawing under The development of the window
opening, examples of plate and bar tracery. Chartres Cathedral was included three
times. Following the French examples were the English ones; Salisbury Cathedral
was illustrated four times, Lincoln, York and Gloucester and Westminster Abbey,
each one time. German, Spanish and Italian examples followed without focusing on
specific monuments. Whilst focusing on the secular architecture, three drawings by
Viollet-le-Duc were used on pages 180-181 and 182; A Medieval Town House; The
Country Dwelling of a Medieval Peasant and Saint Médard-en-Jalle, Sketch of the
Manor.
The first illustration of Pevsner's eleventh chapter - which had only twenty
illustrations, was titled: St.Denis: Abbey Church, consecrated 1144, a plan of the
newly designed Gothic apse. Noyon, Laon, Amiens and Chartres Cathedrals were
only illustrated once, all of them by drawings of their respective nave elevations and
their date of design. Only Reims and Notre Dame de Paris were included twice
(Figure 4.4.3). One of Reims Cathedral’s East chapels – which was taken from
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Villard de Honnecourt’s textbook dating from 1235 and again, the nave of the
Cathedral which was designed in 1211. On pages 39 and 41 were the where the
illustrations of Notre Dame de Paris took place: Probable original elevation of the
nave of Notre Dame in Paris, designed c. 1170 and Paris: Notre Dame, begun c.1163.
Top half - Ground Floor; Lower Half- Upper Floor. The Chapels between the
Buttresses of the Nave were begun c. 1235 around the East end in 1296 (Figure
4.5.5). The chapter then continued with an English example, –twice given –
Salisbury Cathedral and then Spanish examples.
Figure 4.5.4. Sections and Systems of Gothic Buildings.
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Figure 4.5.5. Nikolaus Pevsner's drawing of Notre Dame's plan. Top Half - Ground Floor;
Lower Half - Upper Floor.
Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral seems to be placed as a definite reference in the
nationalistic approach of Auguste Choisy. This representation was highlighted
visually in the book. Choisy's unique perspectives gave an unprecedented view of the
monument whilst supporting the ideology that the edifice could be considered as a
definite reference. Unlike Choisy, the imperialistic approach of Bannister Fletcher
and his son seem to have managed to exclude the Cathedral in written form,
favouring British examples, yet visually Notre-Dame was included more in the book.
There is a dominance in the visual representation of the monument. The same
argument could be made for Kimball & Edgell and Pevsner's books. The Cathedral
was included both in written form, albeit very briefly, and visually yet the manner
and the number in which the monument was represented could not be considered
enough for a so-called "definite reference" to the Gothic style. The books that are
included in this chapter represent the limited approach to architectural history and the
search for the definitiveness of the reference of Notre-Dame de Paris will be
searched in a more global approach in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER V
NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS IN THE GLOBAL CONTEXT
5.1. The Global Survey Books
Since the Nationalistic and Western-centric approaches to Gothic architecture and
eventually to Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral was observed through the previous
chapter, the next phase of the dissertation will search the same subject whilst
focusing on the global approach of architectural global surveys. Art and architectural
historians such as Spiro Kostof, Gérard Monnier and more recently Francis D.K.
Ching with Mark Jarzombek and Vikramaditya Prakash and Richard Ingersoll had
taken on the immense work that is the global survey text. It is not an easy task, to
present the long and complex history of architecture. Architectural surveys are not
only educational but also opportunities to "visit" the world. These books "play a
significant role in conveying the culture, norms, and values of the architectural
discipline to newcomers." (Gürel & Anthony, 2006, p.66). In most of the surveys
authors begin their work stating that the work was intended to be an introduction to
the field for architectural students and connoisseurs, that they should be regarded as
guidelines instead of a complete historical survey. D. Howard admits that times have
changed for the survey book and that with the endless sources, publications and
scholars, if it is even possible for someone to have read all the literature at hand
(Howard, 1995). One could argue even that no one can assume an authoritative
stance for the entirety of history of architecture. In the process, the textbook’s
authority was undermined to such an extent that many scholars questioned and
attempted to write a ‘history of architecture’.” (1999, p.216).
Christy Anderson wrote that before World War II, survey books were mainly “the
history of styles, tracing the development of form through time in order to define a
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pattern of visual norms.” (1999, p.352). She then gave Fletcher’s book in the
footnote as an earlier example based on the comparative method used to give
different periods, to be able to evaluate changes, criticizing that there was not enough
sense of how meaning was formed in architecture and how this vast amount of
information should be interpreted. Flether's text consisted of a chronological history
of styles, Kimball & Edgell used sub-titles to create a sense of continuity without
insistence of canonical choices and Pevsner opted for smaller time periods adapted to
architectural styles.
With Kostof came change: he opted for a more inclusive comparison of "western and
non-western" architectural monuments in urban contexts whilst giving non-stylistic
titles. Ching and his co-authors chose "time-cuts", no titles, no style differentiations.
Ingersoll could be considered to have found a middle ground between his
teacherKostof's, and Ching, & Jarzombek and Prakash's methods. More often than
not, these books used architectural canons in order to implement the style that was
being described. The debates and criticism among historians continue - terms such as
inclusiveness, non-western vs. western, canonical, others, race and gender issues
regarding these texts are all part of the ongoing discussions. Anderson believed that
during the course of this century architectural history had changed profoundly and
"the new survey books and series hope to capitalize on these changes in the
discipline by commissioning volumes that will incorporate new approaches and
perspectives." (1999, p.352). Now, one has to look at where the Cathedral of Notre-
Dame de Paris stands amongst the global context of architectural history?
The reason for choosingKostof was because his book was one of the most acclaimed
and discussed global architectural history books which was considered to be an
innovative and inclusive (up until that point) survey, differentiating itself by his
method of writing. Monnier was included chronologically for being a rare survey
book written by a French historian. The reason for the choice of Ching & Jarzombek
and Prakash's book was the fact that it was one of the most recent books with a
completely different way of approaching the narrative using time-cuts instead of
styles, including more cultures and not focusing on canonical architecture. Ingersoll
was chosen for two reasons; he was Kostof's student, even wrote a text based on his
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teacher's book and the fact that he uses a similar method to the A Global History of
Architecture whilst focusing on visual representations of chosen architectural styles
and monuments. His book was published during the 850th anniversary celebrations
of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral.
5.2. Spiro Kostof's Cross-Cultural History
In 1985, Spiro Kostof'sA History of Architecture: Settings and Ritual was published
which had a similar purpose as the three previous books: a survey of architectural
history for students which Kostof himself called a “compact book.”. Kostof himself
was an architectural historian and an acclaimed professor at Berkeley, California. His
book was a general survey of the history of architecture “that tries to reconcile the
traditional grand canon of monuments with a broader, more embracing view of the
built environment.” (1985, p.Preface). His attempt of inclusivity would be praised by
many including John E. Hancock, and even though in the preface the author wrote
that the premise of the book did not assume all-inclusiveness, it was “nevertheless
the primary way in which this work is intended to differ from its predecessors.”
(1986, pp.32-32). He wrote that this book cannot claim to be a world history, yet he
was one of the first English using architectural historians to include more “The Non-
Historical Styles” than any before. Even though according to the preface, a history of
architecture was “both less and more than a grand tour” (1985, p.3), and that every
building should have its place in history, it still was an impossible task to try to
include everything and be able to observe important details, so he confined himself
to a certain amount of sites and buildings; one could say, a confinement to canonical
monuments just like his predecessors. An important passage from Kostof’s book
emphasizing his list of buildings, and his process of choosing a certain site or
building: "The selection of emphasis among the many specimens of architecture, the
arrangement and interpretation of facts known about them, the personal judgement of
each historian, the vantage point of the time and philosophy within which he or she
operates..."(1985, p.8),that these were all alternatives that help the creation of as
many architectural histories as there were of actual historians. He continued to write
that this results in history being constructed by historians and that any monument and
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/ or person or even occasion can acquire as much of importance as befits the author's
puspose.
According to Koskof there were four premises that stresses the treatment and the
scope of his survey: the first was that the materiality of every monuments should be
observed in its entirety. The second was that the edifice "...should be thought of in a
broader physical framework and riot just in terms of itself.".Thirdly, every
monument of the pastshould be considered as worthy subject matters regardless of
status, size or consequences. The last was that the "...extramaterial elements that
affect the existence of buildings should be considered indispensable to their
appreciation." (1985, p.8).
Figure 5.2.1. Contents page of A History of Architecture: Setting and Rituals, 1985.
Kostof did not want to give relatively classic chapter titles as was done before him
although his method was still a chronological one (Figure 5.2.1). He chose to divide
the book into three almost equal parts which are titled: A Place on Earth, Measuring
Up and The Search for Self. The first part covers the era starting from prehistoric
times and ends towards the spread of Christianity in Roman times, in ten chapters.
Second part has eleven chapters that look into the Medieval, Renaissance and
Baroques eras. The third part focuses on the period since the middle of the eighteenth
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century in seven chapters. A final chapter titled Designing the Fin-de-Siècle, with
two sub-sections: Success and Failure and Recovering the Past is added to the second
edition in 1995 by the editor, Greg Castillo.
Kostof was innovative, not only with his inclusive narrative but also with his chapter
titles and his methodology: instead of categorizing by architectural styles he chose to
title his chapters by content, following a personal journey instead of a dogmatic
narrative. A chronological path was still followed but almost without obligation. L.K.
Eaton wrote that: "...this book is almost as much a history of urban form as it is of
architecture. The focus, however, is always directed toward building arts.", he
continued by stating that there was not much attention paid to decorative or
ornamental details (1988, p.75).
The text was considered to be a starting point for rethinking the architectural
narrative, the canon, the shift towards a broader and inclusive historiography, even
though Kimball & Edgell should have already been considered as the basis of the
discussion.Albeit,Kostof did state that all-inclusiveness was not one of the aims of
this work. P. Pyla's (1999) acclaimed critique of Kostof's book raised an important
question: why would one use the term "other" when discussing "Western vs. non-
Western" shortcomings, did this terminology not claim that there was an 'us' and
'them'? (1985, p.preface).96
Under "The community of Architecture"Kostof explained the third premise of his
book: "that all past buildings, regardless of size, status, or consequence, deserve to be
studied." (1985, p.12).There was a sense of critique on classic canonical choices,
referencing Pevsner's distinction of 'building' and 'architecture'. The author had
chosen a cross-cultural narrative, comparisons, not necessarily as Fletcher had done,
but in a tale-like manner; Chartres Cathedral and Angkor Wat, Istanbul and Venice,
Cairo and Florence. Pyla (1999) had made important remarks about how this
96 Quoting Kostof himself: "We have always been bound with other lands; and the order we have
created gains in understanding when it is assessed in the light of alternate orders. As a symbolic
recognition of this interdependence, I have avoided discussing non-Western traditional tidily in their
own individual chapters."
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comparative method may be innovative on the surface but in the end Ottoman
architecture was compared to Renaissance architecture, that the latter was used as a
yardstick for architectural quality; that instead of discussing İstanbul's social
hierarchies, political conflicts, religious beliefs and more, the author's selectivity to
include only the aspects that can be compared to 'western practices of the sixteenth
century' showed us the failings in the grand architectural historical narrative. In the
end, in 1985 Kostof created a basis for the important discussions of canon,
vernacular architecture, 'others' and globalisation, and twenty-six years later, Ching
& Jarzombek and Prakash came together to publish their survey book, the most
'global' and inclusive yet.
Figure 5.2.2. Cathedral of Notre-Dame d'Amiens' view of the west façade.
The author, in the fourteenth chapter titled The French Manner: The Romanesque
and Opus Modernum, gave a brief history of Cistercians and their leader St. Bernard
who insisted on simplifying churches and living styles while Abbot Suger of St.-
Denis decided to renovate the choir and later of the façade of his church by adding
more details and extravagance with precious stones, stained glass and turning the
walls as transparent as possible. These two contrary ideologies and personalities, set
in motion the development of Gothic, their common truth being that fundamentals of
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architecture including light, proportion and the purity of materials were found (1985,
p.323). "The Gothic Challenge" started with the story of the abbey of St.-Denis,
which was located quite close to the city centre of Paris. During the twelfth century
and for some more time, this location was the centre of French Royal domain. Paris
at the time, was the Capetian capital located on the Île-de-le-Cité, the Seine River
separating the town enclosed by new walls. The sovereigns were crowned and
anointed at Reims Cathedral and buried at St.-Denis so the Gothic style was first
designed in a royal abbey. In 1124, King Louis VI declared it the “the capital of the
realm” after a dispute with the pope, and when he joined the Crusades, Abbot Suger
was the regent guardian of the said realm (1985, p.330).
Figure 5.2.3. The Strasbourg Cathedral.
The new French or modern style (Opus Francigenum, Opus Modernum) spread
through France and then through the rest of Europe, widening the king’s influence
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and power. In a short period of time, major cities of the royal domain began to
construct their own cathedrals; Chartres, Amiens and Bourges were among them.
“These cathedrals, in their financing and iconography, will be the exquisite stage for
the political and social contests that will be waged among kings, prelates, noble
houses, and merchants and artisans of the aroused cities.”(1985, p.329).
Kostof here mentioned some details about religious ideologies that would be
translated to the actual monument; because Christ is the true Light, St.-Denis had to
increase the entry of “divine light” or natural light. This emphasis of light was what
distinguished the new style from the Romanesque, stated the text. The Gothic church
stands as an image of Heaven with two texts97 describing it “And the building of the
wall thereof was jasper and the city pure gold like unto clear glass.” (1985, p.331)
(Figure 5.2.3). With these images began the evolution of the Gothic church. Now
even though Suger and many others had designed this light, and many more
described it in their work, according to Kostof, the interiors of Gothic cathedrals
were gloomy and because of the thick stained glasses created a muted, chromatic
illumination. Once again, the main discussions when one talks about Gothic were the
pointed arch, the vault rib, and the flying buttresses which were all inventions dated
before the style itself – including stained glass, yet Gothic architecture married these
together.
In the chapter titled, Chartres (Figure 5.2.4), the author discussed the fact that this
new manner rapidly spread to neighbouring cities, Sens98 was probably first, Paris,
Noyon, Senlis and Laon following one after another, Chartres Cathedral named “the
noblest and the best loved of Gothic churches” by Kostof. Charles the Bald gifted the
Cathedral with the tunic the Virgin Mary had worn to the Nativity which pushed
Chartres further up the list of churches which may be the reason why it was one of
the most discussed ones and the author himself spent several pages describing the
plan and the Royal Portals. As mentioned, there was a community behind these
97 The Book of Tobias and the Apocalypse of St. John the Fivine.
98TheCathedral of Sens was indeed the first Gothic cathedral to be built. There is a debate on
whetheror not it's plan may have been drawn before St.-Denis. For further information see Otto von
Simson's The Gothic Cathedral (1856).
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cathedrals and this was observable through the windows of Chartres, the King, his
daughter-in-law, dukes and many more who had sponsored them, had their images,
their coat of arms or other symbols representing them on these stained glasses. They
were also community centres; during the Middle Ages, cathedrals had been used as
town halls, had been gathering areas for town meetings, courts of law, theatrical and
musical presentations. They were now national monuments and history all combined
(1985, pp.331-342).
Figure 5.2.4. Chartres Cathedral's plan and images from between pages 335-338.
Suger’s design spread and evolved in a versatile manner in England, Germany, Spain
and Portugal and so on. The travelling architects were the main reason how the style
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had spread so rapidly with ease through different countries under different regimes
and sovereigns. Architects such as William of Sens who was invited to the site of
Canterbury for a renewal project was one of them. Kostof wrote about the German
Gothic experience which we have observed through the first two books. The exterior
of most of the German monuments remained free of sculptural programs, yet the
sculptures moved to the interiors, onto screens, piers and as independent statues. Hall
churches were discussed under this sub-category as well.
Figure 5.2.5. The upper hall of the Sainte-Chapelle, Paris..
English Gothic was a different story according to the author; after giving more or
less the same information about the style as his predecessors, he wrote that after
1250, France had exhausted its novel ideas and became “absorbed with the
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belabouring of surface ornament”, and that England had taken the lead on the matter
from then on (1985, pp.344-345). They become the chief rivals of the Île-de-France
Gothic. Similar information was given; that they were far from towns, in a
picturesque area, their west towers were modest, there were layers on their façades
visible all the way up, and the sculptural program was modest compared to French
standards (Figure 5.2.5) (until their Decorated style, one can presume). These
thirteenth century old monuments were a manifesto of a new national consciousness,
“Gothic may have been a French invention, but the English architects… knew how to
harness it to native purposes.” (1985, p.346).
Kostof’s text focusing on medieval architecture had thirty-six illustrations starting
with the flying buttresses of Chartres Cathedral on page 322. Because Kostof using
the novel structure, wrote his version of chronological architectural history started
with Cluny and Fontenay Abbeys. The only time Notre Dame de Paris was
mentioned was on the hand-drawn map on page 329 where ten cathedrals were
located with the caption: Map: Île-de-France, with the main sites of Gothic
churches,where St.-Denis, Chartres and Cluny were all pointed out. St.-Denis was
also mentioned twice more by the drawing of its new plan superimposed on the older
one and a photograph of the Gothic choir. Chartres Cathedral seemed to be the main
French example with six illustrations – one drawing of the layout plan and five
photographs. Amiens Cathedral (Figure 5.2.2) which was shown on the forementioned
map, was illustrated through a single photograph. For the English Gothic
Architecture, Salisbury Cathedral was chosen as the main example with four
illustrations; an aerial view, vault from the chapter house, the west façade and the
nave looking East Notre-Dame de Paris was visually not represented in the work.
5.3. Gérard Monnier's Response to "Que-sais-je?"
Gérard Monnier (1935-2017) who was a French architectural historian and a
professor at l'Université Paris 1 - Panthéon-Sorbonne, published a book in 1994 titled
Histoire de l'Architecture99(Figure 5.3.1), same title as Auguste Choisy's book
99The 2021 editionwasused in thisdissertation.
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published in 1899. The book is part of a collection called Que-sais-je? meaning
"What do I know?", with other books about history of art, urbanism and cultural
history and more. In this text the author aimed to write a survey book of architectural
history. It may not be considered to be a part of the canon as Kostof (1985) or
Fletcher (1896); it is nevertheless a survey book written by a French contemporary
author.
Figure 5.3.1. Cover of Histoire de l'Architecture, 2021.
Monnier had written an introduction to the text stating that architectural history had
developed alongside with the ideology of heritage protection and that this evolution
had been practical, solidifying the historian since the middle of the nineteenth
century, which turned the field into an autonomous discipline (Monnier, 2021). He
stated that history of architecture was constantly being renewed by inclusion of
buildings and documents coming through with the problems of scientific history and
human sciences, which then results in a more diversified history. Monnier also
claimed that: "The critical interpretation of buildings in a theoretical or political
system, their place in the stakes of a society, their capacity to make sense: these are
all important questions for the architectural historian." (Monnier, 2021). He aimed to
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write the text first by placing the buildings in a relationship between client, architect
and consumption. Even though the book is called Histoire de l'Architecture, the
author still wanted to emphasize that this was an optimistic at best and illusory
attempt of the subject as it would be too vast to include a complete history of
architecture it in a single book. To name it as such may be problematic in some cases
yet for an introductory level survey book compromised of a hundred and twentyeight
pages for the entirety of architectural history, one should not be expecting a
complete body of work.
The book contains six chapters with multiple sub-chapters to detail the subjects that
were included in the text (Figure 5.3.2). The first chaptertitled:Des architecture
primitives aux architectures traditionnelles has five subtitles: De la prehistoire aux
architectures primitives; L'architecture protohistorique au Proche-Orient;
L'architecture protohistorique en Europe; Les architectures de terre and Les
architecture de bois. In the last two chapters the author focused on material rather
than chronological history which was not something that was commonly done in a
historical survey text unlike Viollet-le-Duc's lectures which were not "surveys".
Material preferences, building methods and structural elements are included in
almost all texts yet they were part of the stylistic method. The second
chapteriscalled:Les architectures de l'Antiquité classiquewith the subtitles: L'Égypte
des pharaons; La Perse; Le monde grec; Le monde romain and L'héritage de
l'Antiquité classique. The text could be interpreted as being a little bit more inclusive
compared to older publishings yet with Kostof's book having been published for
almost a decade before the original edition of Monnier's book was published, it did
not break any grounds in terms of novelty but one should bear in mind that this could
be considered a "pocket book" instead of a canonic survey work.
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Figure 5.3.2. Contents page of Histoire de l'Architecture by Gérard Monnier, 2021.
The third chapter is Les architecture du Moyen Âge followed by two
subchapters:L'architecture de l'Occident chrétien and L'architecture du Moyen Âge
en dehors de l'Europe. The fourth chapter, L'architecture des temps modernes has
three subchapters:L'Italie de la Renaissance (1400-1560); L'architecture de la
modernité en Europe (1450-1560); and Les interprétations de la nouvelle tradition
savante (1560-1750). Chapter five is titled:Du néoclassicisme a l'éclectisme et au
rationalisme (1750-1890) with four subchapters: Les sources culturelles du
néoclassicisme et de l'éclectisme; Le néoclassicisme; L'éclectisme and La
rationalisme critique et l'architecture. The last chapter of the survey book is called:
Les architectures contemporaines (depuis 1890) followed by five subchapters: Les
données politiques et sociales (1890-1950); Les mutations: problèmes nouveaux,
architecture nouvelle (1890-1914); Des manifestes aux modèles (1918-1950);
L'architecture, instrument de la croissance (1950-1975) and finally; L'architecture et
la transformation de la civilisation industrielle (depuis 1975).
The third chapter of the text focused on the Middle Ages, separating the subject into
two pieces: The Christian Western architecture and the architecture of the Middle
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Ages outside of Europe. The Western side of the chapter had five parts: De la Rome
chrétienne à Byzance; L'architecture carolingienne; L'architecture romane;
L'architecture gothique and L'architecture militaire et civile. The second half of the
chapter focusing on "outside of Europe" has three parts: L'Islam; L'Inde and
L'Amérique précolombienne.
The largest portion belongs to the Gothic architecture; the author claims that the
advancements of the architects of the era were exceptional for the history of
architecture. From the early beginnings of the twelfth century to the fifteenth
century, the evolution of the art of building are precise: luminous spaces, linear lines
and large voids which are all characteristics that identifies Gothic architecture in
popular culture (Monnier, 2021). The chapter continued with the origins of the
architectural style, stating that it began in the 1140s with the Basilica of St.-Denis
and the other grand work sites, all happening in the capital that became an
intellectual, academic and artistic centre. From a technological point, according to
Monnier, Gothic architecture combined the extension of geometry, that it was an art
du trait with an empirical invention was construction. Yet from a cultural context
Gothic architecture aspired to gather in the cathedral a condensation of all that the
urban society of the time produces of marvellous: "dynamic and exalting spectaclearchitecture,
where the liturgy and its rituals, the most recent visual arts, but also the
choirs and the theatre of the mysteries meet." (Monnier, 2021). Because it was
rapidly spreading on the continent, the style became a unifying moment for the
"Western" civilisation. The text continued with structural elements such as the flying
buttresses, giving Notre-Dame de Paris as an example, with creating open and new
spaces in the interior of these monuments.
The second part called L'expansion de l'architecturegothique began by listing a
number of cathedrals that were being built since de beginning of the era: Reims,
Amiens, Beauvais and Mans. Here for the second time, he mentioned Notre-Dame de
Paris that he gave as an example, the rose window on the southern façade as a
perfected architectural element. He went on to write that the opus francigenum had
an intellectual and technical aspect that imposed itself on all the grand programs of
sacred architecture, giving examples from regions outside the Île-de-France and
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France itself. The chapter continued with other European countries that did not
adhere to the style of France or ones that did, yet not at the same time: Italy, Portugal
and even England who created its own language with Early English and Decorated
Style, according to the author (Monnier, 2021).
Figure. 5.3.3. The plan of the ideal chevet in a gothic church by Villard de Honnecourt,
Histoire de l'Architecture, 2021.
Figure 5.3.4. Plan of Notre-Dame de Paris by Gérard Monnier, 2021.
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The third and last part titled Les enjeux sociaux et urbains de l'architecture gothique,
where Monnier stated that the importance of intellectual and technological data
should not diminish the other challenges: The evolution of construction professions,
the new relationship of the discipline of architecture with the artistic culture and the
displacement of project ownership. According to the text, the development in the
construction profession meant the requirements of new skills; meticulous geometrical
and dimensional knowledge of the architectural elements which was under the
jurisdiction of the trades of carpentry now moving towards masonry. "This
knowledge nourishes the tradition of a 'French architecture', which legitimizes the
unity it establishes between art and technique, and which will be valued until the
eighteenth century." (Monnier, 2021). The master of the discipline's emergence
resulted in the development of lodges with the masters being under contract with the
project owner (the architect); one example given by Monnier was Pierre de
Montreuil (d.1267), and his work on the southern facade of Notre-Dame de Paris.
The transformation of the project management was also mentioned: The chapter of
the cathedral...manages the construction and its financing (Monnier, 2021). Yet this
financing was a weak point in Gothic architecture; it resulted in slow construction
times (sometimes lasting centuries). At the last part, the author stated that Gothic
architecture created a spirit of competition, that architects, masters and buildings
were in competition for their structural and decorative developments.
In Monnier, even though the opportunity is presented as a contemporary survey
book, there are no photographs, and the number of illustrations or achromatic
drawings, are very few. Monnier had chosen to utilise a drawing of the plan of the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris (Figure 5.3.4) in the chapter when writing about
the voids, the empty spaces created in these "new" edifices and Villard de
Honnecourts drawing (Figure 5.3.3) of an ideal chevet in a Gothic church. Other
chapters contained similar drawings, with a total of twenty illustrations in the entirety
of the book.
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5.4. Global Time-Cuts by Ching, Jarzombek and Prakash
F.D.K. Ching (b.1943) specialized on architectural and design graphics, famously
known for his book called Architecture: Form, Space & Order; M.M. Jarzombek
(b.1954), a Professor of History and Theory of Architecture at MIT and an
architectural historian and V. Prakash who is a professor of Architecture at
University of Washington, architectural historian and theorist, wrote A Global
History of Architecture (2011) and as the title suggests aimed at a much broader view
of history. Because it was one of the most recent survey books, the already
undertaken and discussed topics of inclusiveness, became the main purpose of this
text:
This book is global in that it aspires to represent the history of the whole
world. Whereas any such book must inevitably be selective about what it can
and cannot include, we have attempted to represent a wide swath of the globe,
in all its diversity (2011, p.xi).
The main structure of this text was synchronism by following a chronological
method yet with a non-visible line that guides us through cultures, continents and
architectural styles. Instead of chapters that would be divided by styles or locations,
they had organized the book by “time-cuts.” (Figure 5.4.1) and that: “Each time-cut
should, therefore, be seen more as a marker amid the complexity of the flowing river
of history rather than a strict chronological measuring rod.” (2011, p.xiii). The book
created parallel lines and interconnections of styles and cultures, however as Banister
Fletcher and Kimball & Edgell and many others, due to the commitment to great
breadth of global inclusiveness, depth would not be possible (Komisar, 2012).
In A Global History of Architecture, history began at Early Cultures and Ritual, then
the time-cuts came (Figure 5.4.2). There were eighteen time-cuts as chapters and
even so, there was consistency in how they were chosen. The first three chapters all
spanned through a millennium, 3500 BCE, 2500 BCE and 1500 BCE. The change to
four hundred year segments in the next two chapters (800 BCE and 400 BCE) had
concluded on the 0 year mark. The next eight chapters, including the 1400 CE, were
all in two hundred year segments. Then the time-cuts were reduced to centuries for
three chapters, and the last two parts were fifty-year arrangements for the twentieth
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century (1900 CE and 1950 CE). One should be aware that each "time-cut marks not
the beginning of a time period, but roughly the middle of the period with which each
chapter is concerned." (2011, p.xiii). The last bold written chapter was the
Globalisation Takes Command. One can observe that not all sub-sections in the book
were included in the contents page. There was no explanation for this but in total
there were five hundred eighty-six sub-sections. Some were named after an
architectural element, some after architects themselves or period names and many
after a specific monument.
Figure 5.4.1. The "Time-Cuts" explanation of A Global History of Architecture, 2011.
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Figure 5.4.2. First 'Contents' page in A Global History of Architecture.
Every time-cut began as mentioned before, with a description or an introduction to
the time period at hand. The authors stated that each time-cut was arranged in an
order that had its own internal logic. They were aware of the difficulties this may
create but that there was no starting point on a globe, "that it does not really begin in
the East or the West...". The five hundred eighty-six subsections were "conceived as
mini case studies..." which could be consumed individually. The number of case
studies chosen for a period was not equal on each subject as they were chosen by the
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"judgement of the importance of the material and the availability of literature on a
topic." (2011, p.xiv). A world map came after each time-cut introduction, always the
same map with different locations / monuments pinpointed according to the subject.
Next was the timeline, putting the chapter name, in this case a moment in history (i.e.
200 BE) was put in the middle. Empires, important moments or events in history and
chosen monuments are included, places strategically by proximity or cultural
relevance.
The survey was successful in terms of its aim, a global history of architecture: "Not
only does A Global History own the territory, it pulls off this audacious task with
panache, intelligence and - for the most part - grace." (Ghirardo, 2008, p.134).
Understandably, because of the quantity of information necessary to create this sense
of globalization, their choices of monuments had to be selective, "...of a certain scale,
complexity, and symbolic significance." (Ghirardo, 2008, p.134)and that the
everyday architecture was scarce, hence the lack of depth within the narrative. The
content pages were straightforward; the absences of architectural styles, country or
region names even the simplicity of the chapter titles; using only time-cuts. The
subtitles were mostly the name of the monuments that were being described, the
region or the architect themselves. Richard Ingersoll would use the same method in
his book, no title meant no dogmatic ornamental differentiations, no presumptions or
creating a narrow narrative.
Ching, Jarzombek and Prakash’s chapter that included Gothic architecture was called
1000 CE and it began with South and Southeast Asia and the architectural
developments that were observed there. Then at the same introduction Islamic
Architecture was discussed. The same introduction to the time period continued with
European history, the war on domination of the land by the Ottonian Kings in
Germany and the Normans in England – “a combination of religious and military
institutions to stamp their authority on the land…” (2011, p.331) and its effect on
architecture that resulted in monasteries, cathedrals and castles. According to the
authors a new type of “religious geography” emerged that will eventually link distant
lands and spread architectural knowledge.
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Figure 5.4.3. A map of Europe during the High Middle Ages / Reconstruction of St.- Denis
at the time of Abbot Suger.
If one had to pick the 'Gothic' parts of the text, the first acknowledged monument
was St. Michael in Hildesheim, Germany. This was where the co-authors mentioned
Abbot Suger whom “served as head of government in the King’s place when the
King was absent on the Crusades…”(2011, p.367). Because this survey had decided
to use chosen buildings as subtitles, there were mentions of multiple monuments
such as the Speyer Cathedral, Durham Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral and so on. It
can be noted that just as it was done by Fletcher, the first examples were from
England rather than France. Under each example or subtitle, brief information about
the state of Europe, the culture and history was given and Speyer Cathedral was not
excluded in that manner. It was stated that despite the problems of the era, the
increase in trading and the competition among European cities resulted in the
advance of architectural production and of experimentation with new forms.
“Particularly important was the introduction of stone vaulting. The implications were
profound – spatially, structurally, and symbolically.” (2011, p.369). According to the
text it was one of the earliest churches that have been built in this new style and that
the third Abbey Church of Cluny was a rival to Speyer Cathedral. At the same time
the British monument could also be seen as an “end stage of Romanesque style”
(2011, p.369).
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The novelty of Durham Cathedral (Figure 5.4.4) - which was the next subtitle- was
the structural openness of the walls, “The openings do not deny the weight and mass
of the wall, as would become the tendency later, but rather, illuminated from behind,
they seem to release their load gradually as the wall ascends.” (2011, p.370).The
authors suggested that Durham Cathedral was considered a forerunner of the style
mainly because of its ribbed vaults and pointed arches, which are today considered
Gothic features. The next example was the Canterbury Cathedral which its choir was
destroyed in a fire in 1174. The fore mentioned (by other historians) William of Sens
would erect the new choir which would then be finished by William the Englishman.
“The project shows how England adopted French construction techniques –
specifically the flying buttresses and the six-partite vault…” (2011, p.372).
The next chapter was 1200 CE, where the history of religion was said to be never
static, especially during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, which was
observable in the Christian world. It was written to be diverse and fluid: Large urban
cathedrals, pilgrimage churches, and churches where earthly wealth was renounced
and simplicity was preferred, all erected simultaneously at the time. The survey
continues with Europe: The High Middle Ages, when the thirteenth century
European cities’ skylines had changed drastically by spires and towers. Six hundred
churches and cathedrals were at the centre of these cities due to a rapid building
activity. The sculptural programs necessity and place in the middle ages is discussed:
“The shift in focus dates to the Synod of Arras (1025), during which it was decided
that sculptural programs could serve to help the illiterate visualize what they could
not understand through the written word.” (2011, p.471). This was where the focus
was shifted to French Gothic architecture by explaining St.-Denis’ and Abbot
Suger’s role (Figure 5.4.3). The changes of the plan and the creation of the chevet by
Suger and the, yet again mentioned, sculptures which were "a concession to the
unlettered, for few in the general population at the time could read and write.” (2011,
p.417). The façade design would play an important role, a foretell of the interior
design with the tympanum over the west central door where Christ sitting in
judgement was depicted, and where the rose window, “one of the first of its kind”
was placed. According to the authors, all the design decisions that were made and
mentioned at St.-Denis were the reason why it “broke new ground and is thus
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heralded as initiating the Gothic style.” (2011, p.417), all architectural elements that
existed before and all that was invented during, coming together to form an
integrated stylistic statement.
Figure 5.4.4. Durham Cathedral's plan, partial section and interior.
According to the text, at the height of the construction era of the Middle Ages, the
Cistercian leader St. Bernard of Clairvaux – who was also mentioned in Kostof’s text
– urged a return to the austere rules of the early monastic days (2011, p.418), and
eventually resulted in the foundation of the Cistercians in 1115. Towards the end of
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the twelfth century Europe, there were 530 Cistercian abbeys, creating a religious
network. Their population increase was due to the acceptance of labourers, artisans
and peasants, since manual labour was considered a form of prayer. These
monasteries were often located at inaccessible lands as was the tradition at the time.
Simple buildings built by the monks themselves with almost no sculptural programs
since they were forbidden. The Fontenay Abbey (founded in 1119) near Montbard,
France which is the oldest one still in existence was given as the “building that best
represents the Cistercian aesthetic…”, with a design that was far from the technical
and mathematical formation of the cathedrals of the era and its location choice was
the result of the necessity of the elimination of distractions (2011, p.419).
A new subtitle emergeed: Cathedral Design. Even though some cathedrals and their
design elements were already mentioned before, here the thirteenth century building
process was discussed. It was stated that the cathedral building was “by far the
largest construction enterprise ever attempted in Europe.” (2011, p.420), and because
of their size and complexity, they took many decades to be completed. The book
stated that there were various aspects of church design that changed during the
century and the interior elevation of the nave was one of those changes. They became
an architectural unit in their own right where the balance of verticality and
horizontality was sought. Notre Dame de Paris was given as an example to this
novelty with its four horizontally layered elevation: “the ground-level arcade, over
which run two galleries – the tribune and triforium – above which runs an upper,
windowed story clerestory.” (2011, p.420). The novelties continue with the flying
buttresses. According to the authors, Chartres Cathedral was the epitome of the new
style where they gave descriptions of the architectural elements.
The next subtitle was the Amiens Cathedral, comparing it to the Cathedral of
Bourges and Chartres. The choices of examples given here were similar to the
surveys that were mentioned before. The next monument was the Notre-Dame of
Reims and here the change of the context of the church was discussed. Before, the
church was “a place emphasizing the enactment of liturgical processes into a more
public space where relics could be viewed and worshipped.” (2011, p.422). The
changes occurred on a philosophical context as well since the discussion focused on
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issues of liturgy, whereas the focus changed to the quality of light – meaning God –
and geometry – meaning the order of the universe (2011, p.422). The text continued
with the important of the Virgin Mary’s image in the stylistic context.
The monasteries that preferred isolation before the thirteenth century, were now
situated at the heart of the cities, another changed that occurred during the century,
when the book suggested “The 13th century can be seen as the second
Christianization of Europe. In the first was fought in the name of (often forcible)
conversion and was largely dynastic in structure, the second was based on broad
outreach and popular appeal.” (2011, p.423). The last Gothic example was the Exeter
Cathedral under which English Gothic styles were briefly mentioned, and the
possible influence of the East towards the decorative elements that were observable
from that point forward. A briefer comparison was made between English and
French cathedrals.
Figure 5.4.5. Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Reims' section and plan / Western façade of
Amiens Cathedral / Western façade of Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Reims, France
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The survey book’s time-cut which focused on Gothic architecture consists of sixteen
illustrations, seven of which were French examples. The chapter started with Speyer
Cathedral, continued with Durham and Canterbury Cathedrals. The seven
illustrations of French Gothic began with St.-Denis and continued with two of
Fontenay Abbey. Chartres, Bourges, and Notre-Dame of Reims were all shown once,
Amiens Cathedral twice. Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral was not illustrated in those
pages (Figure 5.4.5). The monument was mentioned in different chapters yet there
were no visual representations.
5.5. Richard Ingersoll's "Democratic" World Architecture
Spiro Kostof's student, Richard Ingersoll (1942-2021) who was an architectural
historian and a professor in Syracuse Florence, wrote this book, basing his work on
his professor’s original text. Ingersoll explained that it was intended as a third edition
to Kostof’s work, but that over time, he developed a new structure with a stricter
sense of time periods, with more attention given to distinct cultures, resulting in a
different book in itself (2013, p.xi). World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History
was described in the preface as “a comprehensive survey of architectural activity
from prehistoric times until today.” (2013, p.x). By his own admission, Ingersoll
wrote that the canonical approach was inevitable in order to create a comprehensive
presentation of architectural history. According to the author, his work offers the
most comprehensive and accessible survey book for architectural history, a tall order
that he claimed to have achieved with innovative features; chapters that are
organized chronologically, using blocks of time, starting from thousand-year periods
to twenty-year periods whilst going through eras (Figure 5.5.1).100
100Even though the first edition (2013) was co-authored with Spiro Kostof, from this point forward I
will be studying the second edition (2019) which was a single author work, meaning Richard Ingersoll
himself, still acknowledging his professors influence.
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Figure 5.5.1. Contents page of World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History, 2013.
There were twenty chapters and each had three sub-sections. These three focuses on
different themes, locations or cultures, showing simultaneous developments in
different contexts (2013, p.vii). As was mentioned also in Ching & Jarzombek and
Prakash's book, in World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History each section could
be read individually, without any interruptions nor missing information. Yet another
similarity between the latter and this survey work was that there are timelines
showing historical and architectural events, and maps at the beginning of each
chapter as was an introduction, key words used to describe the narrative that will
follow, almost as a combination of Kostof and A Global History of Architecture.
In the new book, Ingersoll pays less attention to the urban, but puts more
emphasis on social aspects like class and gender, and greatly expands the
multiculturality of the original work by describing and analyzing in detail the
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architecture of almost forty different cultures, each considered within its own
geographical framework, and quite independently of western tradition
(Fernández-Galiano, 2013).
The author claimed his survey followed a more democratic approach to architectural
history, that there exist a balance between the over three dozen cultures that were
researched and chosen in his text. What was striking was the visual aspect of the
book, over a thousand large, colourful images are included, even the chapters in the
content pages each have a designated photograph.
Chapter 9: 1200–1350 consists of three sub-chapters titled The Mercantile
Mediterranean and the Sub-Saharan Africa and in the middle was where the Gothic
Europe: The Fabric of the Great Cathedrals can be found. The author, in the
introductory part of the chapter, indicated that after the year 1000, was when
European cities began to increase in population and cultural aspects and skylines
began to change both in Christian and Islamic contexts. The St.-Denis innovations
(Figure 5.5.2) and the ultimate spreading of the new style was mentioned again with
Chartres Cathedral also being mentioned. The usage of pointed arches, ribbed vault s
and flying buttresses and the ultimate “modulated light” were included. The
movement of designers and masons and them bringing the Gothic style with them to
their homelands was given as the reason for the loss of “nationalistic connotations
and blended into the local styles.” (2013, p.320). The first sub-chapter had focused
on the Mediterranean Romanesque and the slow transition to Gothic. On page 323
the Construction, Technology, Theory section mentioned the eleventh century
Cathedral of Amalfi’s connection to North Africa and the relation between the
culture's result in the use of pointed arches and ablaq, a contemporary novelty with
the St. Benedict at Monte Cassino which would be an influence to the Cluny III.
(2013, p.323) The rest of the chapter was mostly focusing on the Romanesque style.
The sub-chapter Gothic Europe began by the effect of the Italian merchants success
and how it may had been the reason for the rest of Europe’s stimulation of
commercial and cultural exchange (2013, p.344). The markets began to thrive which
resulted in the demand for public space and new cathedrals, and that Bruges, Paris,
Lübeck and Cologne, great market cities doubled in size at the end of the thirteenth
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century. Here again the term Opus Francigenum was mentioned and yet again the
pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses and the height and light were
described as the Gothic. The spread of this new style was possible due to travelling
masons, just as was suggested in A Global History of Architecture (2013, p.344).
Figure 5.5.2. St-Denis' western façade, the plan of the choir and the view into the chevet in
the survey.
According to Ingersoll, Gothic era coincided with the growth of the European
population, the growth of the medieval towns and relatively stable political structure.
As a result of “emancipation from feudal bonds inspired the foundation of hundreds
of new towns across Europe, most built on orthogonal plans that revived the idea of
public space.” (2013, p.344). The faubourgs were explained as permanent settlement
areas outside the city gates, were mentioned where trading fairs took place in the
middle ages, and the economic growth resulting in the rebuilding of the Cathedral of
Troyes in which the “new French manner” was exemplified by the increase of height
and the reduction of walls to skeletal frames. For the next few pages, examples of
these new cities that were emerging were discussed and how new rights given to
traders made those settle to them instead of the older cities, Bruges, Belgium and
Carcassonne, France given as examples in detail and how by creating these cities a
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power war was being played by the English and French trying to take control over
Southern France as it was now known (2013, pp.345-349).
Figure 5.5.3. Chartres Cathedral and its plan from Ingersoll's book
Under The Gothic Cathedral: The Crown of the City, Ingersoll wrote about what
made a Gothic cathedral, the accentuation of verticality, the elimination of mass of
the walls, the “heavenly” interior light, technical possibilities of construction known
as pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses. As was done by the other
survey books, the author claimed that the style started with Abbot Suger’s St.-Denis
(2013, p.350). It continued with technical details and the new work that took place
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which affected the rest of France’s contemporary church construction sites. Because
France’s territory tripled during the thirteenth century, cities such as Amiens, Rouen,
Troyes and Reims were created, with their cathedrals. According to the author, the
Cathedral of Reims was important since kings were crowned there and the city of
Laon was a strategically important one because of its location on the northern border
(2013, p.352). Cathedrals of Laon, Chartres and Ste.-Chapelle were described in the
next few pages. On page 353 (between said descriptions), Ingersoll explained the
pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses used in Gothic architecture under
the section titled: Construction, Technology, Theory.
The text continued with the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris and its many
construction phases which began in 1163. The work resumed in the middle of the
thirteenth century to enlarge the existing openings and the work on the western
façade had been discussed in detail (2013, pp.356-359). The sculptural program was
mentioned as well. Gothic architecture in other regions are discussed by comparisons
and technical details under the section titled: The Spread of Gothic: International yet
Local (2013, pp.357-363). In this section English, German and Italian examples were
given, compared to French cathedrals. The notebooks of Villard de Honnecourt were
mentioned here as it was done in other texts, a catalogue of sorts of the “type of
knowledge an itinerant master mason could contribute to a foreign context.” (2013,
p.360).
As we have observed from the previous text book, the examples and representations
are decreasing in numbers. St.-Denis Abbey’s façade, plan was chosen as well as a
view into its chevet and the North transept and wheel window. One of Villard de
Honnecourt’s drawings can be found at page 353. Chartres Cathedral was illustrated
in two consecutive pages (2013, pp.355–356) with a layout plan, the flying buttresses
and “fortified enclave surrounding” the monument (Figure 5.5.3). Notre Dame de
Paris was represented by four photographs on pages 359 and 360 (Figures 5.5.4-
5.5.5). The view from the southeast with flying buttresses, the transept rose window,
the western façade and a gargoyle was shown. Lincoln and Wells Cathedral are
illustrated by one photograph each with Spanish, Belgian and Italian examples were
given as well.
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Figure 5.5.4. Notre Dame de Paris in World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History, 2013.
The fifth chapter of the dissertation traced the global architectural history survey
books and their approach to Gothic style and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. The eight
architectural survey books were examined in order to create a sense of fluid
evolution on architectural historiography. After more than a century, how historians
chose their methods, their Gothic narrative, their own voices or lack thereof, how
they created their own canons, what did they include or did not, how did they
progress and what did learn from each other, and how the narrative of architectural
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history progressed, evolved into what it is today can be observed. The reason for the
examination of the chosen survey books and their approach to Gothic architecture
was to be able to observe how the Gothic style and eventually the Notre-Dame de
Paris was perceived by these historians throughout architectural history writing.
Figure 5.5.5. Notre-Dame de Paris in the foot note time table in World Architecture: A
Cross-Cultural History, 2013.
In the previous chapter and this one, we have observed the nationalistic approach of
Choisy and the English-centric / Imperialistic approach of Fletcher in the earlier
editions, began by creating the base, albeit a narrow one filled with exclusion,
'incorrect' terminologies and with a singular authorial voice, choosing a stylistic
method to create his text. His view placed English Gothic style to the top of the
discussion even though the general consensus is that Gothic style emerged from
France. They declared Notre-Dame de Paris to be the oldest of the French Gothic
cathedrals and complimented its western façade by stating that it was the grandest
composition of France, if not the Gothic style itself yet at the same time declaring
Amiens Cathedral to be the most characteristic of French Cathedrals. Salisbury
Cathedral was deemeed to be the most characteristic one of English Gothic thus why
the two monuments were compared extensively. One can understand the subtle
differences in the declarations yet the Cathedral of Notre-Dame's reference statue
could still not be maintained through architectural historiography just yet. Kimball &
Edgell were much more inclusive yet their distance to Europe may have played a role
in the books own exclusion from the architectural historiography canon. They, as did
Victor Hugo, Viollet-le-Duc and Choisy, and later on would be repeated by Kostof
and Ingersoll, called the style Opus Francigenum, the French Work hence the choice
to begin the chapter with French examples still arguing that if one looks at individual
Gothic architectural elements, some of them were first seen in England. Although
Notre-Dame de Paris was mentioned more times than it did in Fletcher's book,
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Cathedral of Amiens was declared to be probably the more perfect building whilst
being compared to another favourite: Chartres Cathedral. Edgell also stated that it
was during this period of time - meaning the time of Amiens, Reims and Chartres
Cathedrals, that Gothic in France achieved its full evolution. This statement once
again would be contradictory to the "definite reference" statue of Notre-Dame de
Paris. Pevsner, focused on an Outline of Eurocentric history - even though he
managed to exclude most of the continent. The content was created by architectural
styles yet again with periods of time outlined on chapter titles themselves. Here, as
opposed to his predecessor, Pevsner deemed the Cathedral of Paris to be a high
gothic example, a statement that did not find company in other books mentioned in
this dissertation.
Spiro Kostof's intentions were in good faith but not without failing to separate the
'others' from a western context, yet the most innovative chapters and titles were his.
He also deemed the Gothic style to be French, choosing The French Manner as the
title to the chapter about the subject matter. Notre-Dame de Paris is indeed
mentioned yet one cannot ignore the fact that there is a whole chapter dedicated to
another French Gothic monument: Chartres Cathedral called the best loved and
noblest of Gothic churches. One cannot presume to understand his conclusion of
Chartres Cathedral being the best loved, but his approach to the edifice compared to
the capital's cathedral created the conclusion of the lack of importance imposed on
Notre-Dame de Paris. Kostof's chapter designs and titles were innovative until Ching
and his co-authors decided to forego titles altogether, using only time-cuts to create
their divisions. Just as Fletchers choose to do, here we can observe the earliest
examples of the style to be from England and just as in Kostof's text, here Chartres is
dedicated a singular sub-title filled with descriptions and details, as well as being
called the epitome of the Gothic style, unlike Notre-Dame de Paris which was
mentioned only to strengthen other monuments architectural element assertions. The
Cathedral of Paris was not illustrated even once in this work. Ingersoll, in his
professor Kostof's footsteps yet following the innovations of the new century, opted
for the time-cuts and vivid images to create a visual history of architecture. Ingersoll,
as many did before him, claimed that St.-Denis Basilica was the starting point of the
Gothic style but most importantly, h claimed that this monument was the reason for
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the spreading of the style, almost like a Point Zérolocated in the Place du Parvisde
Notre-Dame. This was the book that dedicated more space, descriptions and visual
aids to the Cathedral than any other English-written surveys researched for this
dissertation. The question of why was it included more emerges and one can only
assume that the 850th year celebrations of the monument which took place in 2013,
the same year Ingersoll's book was published, may have played a role in that
decision. The monuments popularity grew exponentially during those years as a large
PR campaign was put in place for the anniversary celebrations that would last an
entire year.
In this chapter and the previous one, the search of the "definite reference" statue of
the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was being researched and the result would be
that the monuments place in architectural historiography mostly depends on the
nationality of the author, their view of nationalism, heritage and conservation.
Through this research one can conclude that Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral was not
considered to be a "definite reference" to the Gothic style, nor can we conclude that it
was the reason for its spreading through Europe and beyond. So how come UNESCO
decided that it was going to be a "definite reference", or how is it still the best known
and may be the most popular Gothic monument around the world?
Chartres Cathedral which was discussed most frequently by Fletcher and Kostof, the
latter who had given it a special sub-chapter in his survey book was only mentioned
thirty-three times. This comparison was intriguing in the sense that survey books
written in English focused more on the Cathedral of Chartres rather than the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris yet surveys written by French authors preferred to
dedicate more of their writings to the Cathedral of their capital.
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CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION
This dissertation illustrated and discussed the "definite reference" identification of
the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, illustrate how the Gothic monument was
being perceived in the nineteenth century and forward alongside Gothic architectural
style, and in what ways the world-famous architectural masterpiece was received as a
reference in architectural historiography. The Gothic edifice who received more than
thirty thousand visitors every day before the fire of 2019, was considered to be
'Heaven on Earth', a 'celestial Kingdom' as all Gothic cathedrals were. They were
considered to be a synthesis of the French nation; "All of France is in our cathedrals"
once wrote Auguste Rodin. It was deemed as the most beautiful example of Gothic
architecture by UNESCO in 1991 and the best known monument in Western Europe.
Yet the definitiveness of the reference is quite if we dive into the historiography. The
history of the "queen of French cathedrals", Notre-Dame de Paris began in 1163 with
its first stone being laid on the Île de la Cité. For centuries, the new Cathedral's
construction and additions continued by the hand of generations, the large portion of
the edifice was completed in 1245 yet for centuries it would endure restorations,
additions, changes and even vandalism at the hand of its own people and its
architects..
When the French Revolution of 1789 began, the Church lost its power and its
protection given by the monarchy. This broken link resulted in vandalism towards
many Gothic churches and cathedrals of France, especially the Cathedral of Paris
since it represented the capital, the institution of Church and the Crown. During these
turbulent times, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame became the centre of two different
cults: Culte de la Raison and Le Culte de L'ÊtreSuprême. These cults plundered the
treasures of the monument, beheaded any statue that resembled a monarch and torn
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down the thirteenth century spire. After all the turmoil of the Revolution of 1789,
Napoleon I signed a Concordat between himself and Pope Puis VII to reconcile the
people with the Church. The future emperor held his coronation in the Cathedral of
Paris in 1804 to cement the reconciliation. The destructive aftermath of the French
Revolution and this historic curiosity were key moments in the history of
preservation and restoration since it led to many artefacts including architectural
pieces to be documented, listed, archived and exhibited in museums, such as the
Musée des monuments français which was opened by Alexandre Lenoir in 1795: all
that was lost during the Revolution and purposeful vandalism led to the peoples need
to protect what was left. In 1830 the post of Inspecteur-Général des Monuments
Historiquesand then the Commission des Monuments Historiques were established
with the aim of classifying historic monuments and funding restoration projects one
of which will be the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. The fact that all Gothic
monuments were built over centuries resulted in constant alterations but not all the
alterations had been acceptable according to Viollet-le-Duc who wrote a detailed
historical list of the damaged done to the Gothic masterpiece in 1851 in the Revue
Générale de l'Architecture.
Gothic cathedrals were considered as literary pieces that described the important
historical and religious characters and events calling the façade of the Cathedral as an
architectural page: "...there are assuredly, few finer architectural pages than that front
of that cathedral..."(Hugo, 1993, p.89) In reference to Viollet-le-Duc's comments
formulating Notre-Dame as an "object of restoration", one has to look first at Victor
Hugo's masterpiece, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame from a fictive context: a novel
that would not only represent the romantic movement but also the importance of
heritage architecture which will result in its restoration. While writing the 1831
novel, he used the Cathedral as an actor, almost as the main actor, always in the
background or as a setting for the major events occurring in the story. Victor Hugo's
novel Notre-Dame of Paris assumed a pivotal role in this redirection of interest in
medieval monuments, the monarchy's interest in erasing the immediate memory of
the sacking of the archbishopric and the profanations of 1830 also was critical."
(Deen Schildgen, 2008, pp.128-129).The edifice was described by Hugo as a
research depiction without any factual historical claim in the first chapter of Book
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III: he described the state of ruin one could find the Notre-Dame in and that men
were as much to blame as time. (Figure 6.1.) He was an avid defender of the
patrimoine, not only did he criticized the revolutionaries, the government and its
people and the architects in his Guerre aux Démolisseurs! but also ironically, his
emphasis of the monument would lead to an extensive restoration project that would
result in Viollet-le-Duc being criticized for his work. The 1831 novel by Hugo and
the resulting restoration of the monument is still the main reason for its place in
popular culture yet this popularity was not achieved by simply Hugo's book as it was
claimed by the official site of the Cathedral. When the early editions of the novel
were published, the nation was once again reminded that Gothic architecture was the
culmination of their people, of their past and even amongst the chaos of the July
Revolution (1830) that the monument was not the image of monarchy but that it was
indeed the image of France inherited; a collective memory, the patrimoine.
Figure 6.1. The statues of Cathedral of Paris found in 1977, displayed at Cluny Museum.
(Source: Personal archive)
Hugo described the Cathedral of Paris in detail, but he did not hesitate to describe the
state in which the monument was in the nineteenth century: vandalised, battered,
disfigured. Yet he also shared his belief that Notre-Dame was the result of his
people's culmination, their shared culture and history, their past and even their future.
The descriptions in the Hunchback of Notre-Dame became an inspiration to many
artists in different mediums, painters from around the world, photographers,
caricaturists, writers, and so on. For instance, its popularity could be seen in the
Salon de 1833 where several paintings depicting scenes from the novel was
exhibited. One of those paintings was "Quasimodo sauvant la Esmeralda des mains
de sesbourreaux" by Eugénie Henry / Latil depicting a scene from the novel with the
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south portal of the western façade seen behind. According to Madame Alexandre
Aragon who wrote a review of the Salon for the Journal des femmes, the Salon's
most popular subject for illustrations was Hugo's novel, increasing its popularity and
encouraging this new found interest in Gothic monuments with Notre-Dame at the
centre (1833, pp.168-169). Hugo himself was depicted numerous times, including the
lithograph by Benjamin Roubaud where he was sitting in Paris with his elbow resting
on "his" Cathedral (1841) (Figure 6.2).
Hugo began the novel with a preface letter in which he described a visit to one of the
towers of the Cathedral where he saw a carving of a Greek word: ANAΓKH which is
translated as "Helplessness in the face of faith.". This belief that one cannot change
fate was the underlying subject of the novel: the high point being the famous "this
will kill that" scene in Book V, "...the book will kill the edifice.". Hugo who once
stated that the façade of a cathedral was finer than any "architectural pages" believed
that the capital's Cathedral was a story and history-depicting one that the written
word would be the end of. When one asked the question of whether or not the book
killed the edifice, the definite answer is no. On the contrary, this particular book that
put the monument as its main character became so popular that it was reprinted
multiple times in its first year of publishing alone. It was translated to English just a
year later as it was considered a masterpiece; it would be what will save the
Cathedral from further destruction through restoration. On April 30th 1844, a decree
appointed Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc as the architects that would be responsible for
the restoration project of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, and they prepared an
extensive report for the process that they would wish to follow. When the project was
completed in 1864, many were outspoken about their disagreement of the way
Viollet-le-Duc had chosen to restore certain elements of the building: he eliminated
what he believed to be unnecessary additions and, he designed a new spire for the
Cathedral. All these additions and restorations reflecting the traces of the nineteenth
century understanding of restoration, strengthened the definite-ness of the reference
since in Hugo's definition, "a definite version" of an original must have additions,
corrections and revisions by nature.
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In the introduction, the texts included in the research phase showed that the number
of times the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was considered to be a "definite
reference" was rare. Almost none of the authors focusing on the art and architecture
of the Middle Ages even mentioned the monument itself in their work. This could be
a direct result of the excessive amount of interest that was shown to the monument
due to Victor Hugo's novel which may have had a counter effect. The increase of
interest may have resulted in a lack of mention since the edifice was already popular.
The need to reference it may have been thought as unnecessary.
Figure 6.2. (Left) Quasimodo saving Esmeralda, 1832. (Source: Maison de Victor Hugo /
Public Domain) (Right) Hugo depicted as resting on 'his' cathedral, 1841. (Source: BNF
Gallica / Public Domain)
The search of how “definite” (Figure 6.3) the building was in the historiography of
Gothic architecture was the main topic of the last two chapters. Viollet-le-Duc was
one of the first architects who theorized architectural restoration, and because of him
being one of the principal architects on the restoration project of the Cathedral, his
dictionary and Lectures on Architecture mentioned the building as their primary
"object of study". He focused on the capital's Cathedral more than any other Gothic
monument in his texts claiming it was the first one to be started; either because he
believed in its significant role in Gothic architecture or he simply was more
knowledgeable about the edifice. Whilst he acknowledged the dominance of England
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in Gothic architecture, he insisted that it must remain French. In his Entretiens sur
l'architecture, the seventh lecture is where he dived into the subject of Gothic
architecture that he deemed it the special genius of the nation of France. He stated
that in thirteenth century France, art was considered as an instrument of royalty and
was designed as a means of creating a national unity, resulting in the construction of
a cathedral whenever it was possible. He also stated that there was no other
monument that better exemplified the differences between the French art of secular
school and Romanesque styles. He claimed that the façade was unfinished as it
should have included two spires adorning both the western towers which he showed
in a drawing even though at the same time he deemed it the most imposing as a
whole, the most sound in construction and the most skilful executed in its details. An
admirer of Viollet-le-Duc was Auguste Choisy and when he published his Histoire
de l'architecture (1899) the largest entry he wrote in his text was about Gothic
architecture. He thought that its structural evolution represented the zenith of rational
thought in architecture and that the history of Gothic had he most amazing effort of
logic in art. Although Choisy stated that the Cathedral of Beauvais was the ideal of
French Gothic architecture, he did not shy away from giving Notre-Dame de Paris as
an example for his narrative, more than any other examples, and did not hesitate to
call Gothic style as "their" architecture; Viollet-le-Duc and Victor Hugo both
claimed that the style was a French invention and that it was their nationalistic style.
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Figure 6.3. Map of Paris, focusing on the Banks of the Seine, 1991. (UNESCO). (Source:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/600/multiple=1&unique_number=710)
In Bannister Fletcher Sr. and his son's book, A History of Architecture on the
Comparative Method (1896) took a contrary approach to French written texts; here
one can observe that even though there are comparative pages and discussions, and
that Fletcher does not deny the fact that the style emerged from France, the sections
focusing on Gothic architecture began with the English Gothic and the Englishness
and was always the centre point. According to the authors Notre-Dame's western
façade, which was deemed the oldest French cathedral by Fletcher and son - just like
Viollet-le-Duc, was the grandest composition of France, "if not the whole style", a
grand compliment considering the source. Even though because of the imperialistic
point of view of the authors, the visual representations of the style was mainly from
English monuments and that, the Cathédrale d'Amiens was chosen as the most
characteristics of the French cathedrals and Salisbury as its English counterpart.
Notre-Dame de Paris was not as upfront as it had been in the French context.
American historians Kimball and Edgell wrote in A History of Architecture that other
countries merely imitated the Gothic from France or that their application was
241
superficial. One can argue that in the last century, the academic work that has been
done on the subject may have changed their mind today, especially with the French
vs. British debate on the origins of the style. Amiens Cathedral was once again
singled out and was chosen as the "more perfect building.", representing Gothic
architecture. Notre-Dame was once again represented through illustrations yet
Amiens was the definite dominant in the text creating the illusion of it being a better
reference to the Gothic style. Nikolaus Pevsner's An Outline of European
Architecture was published in 1943 and became part of the canon of architectural
historiography albeit in a narrow narrative. As was the case for almost all historians
in this dissertation, Pevsner's Gothic began with Abbot Suger and his St.-Denis
redesign as he stated that this is where Gothic architecture began. The chapter
focuses on many French cathedrals, one of them being Notre-Dame de Paris and
another Reims, as they were the two of all others to be illustrated twice in the Gothic
sections. Yet again, Notre-Dame was given an exception without being given too
much importance, shattering the definitiveness of the reference.
Yet this lack of textual emphasis was not visible when one focuses on the visuals of
these books. In Choisy we see sectional perspectives. In Fletcher we observe
architectural element drawings alongside rose windows, models and photographs of
the monument. In Kimball and Edgell's book we see plans and sections wherein
Pevsner we observe elevations alongside the text. So, while there were bold and
insightful references about other Gothic churches - other than Notre-Dame, before
the 1950s, it would be wrong to render the multiple visual representations of the
Cathedral as redundant. The drawings of the building, its façades or details gave the
connection to the French's "definite" style. Choisy wrote not because he wanted to
promote the building, or make a statement like Hugo, but rather for the people of
architecture to see the Gothic style as vibrant and beautiful. Similar to Choisy,
Fletcher and others followed the same path in their visuals and chose Notre-Dame de
Paris as the definite model to draw. The French architectural historians - although
not lacking in numbers, did not produce as much survey books. Whether it be from
descriptions, structural elements, chosen from many examples and high numbers of
illustrations, the monument was at the centre of most discussions without making it
242
too obvious. They did not particularly emphasized its importance but managed to put
it forward in our subconscious.
This condition has changed when we look at the global history books written after
the 1950s. According to Kostof, Gothic being the "The French Manner" began in
France and spread through Europe but what sets this book apart is the focus that was
given to the Cathédrale de Chartres which was given an entire chapter and the title
of "the noblest and the best loved of Gothic churches,", six years after the
UNESCO's description of the monument being the "complete and perfected
expression..." (Figure 6.4). The capital's Cathedral was only mentioned once in the
illustrations: a hand drawn map showing its and other cathedral's location.
In A Global History of Architecture (2011) the sheer amount of styles, cultures and
monuments resulted in the individual architectural information and history to be very
brief. One can observe the emergence of Gothic architecture in the book through the
time-cuts. The first discussion of the style began with English examples, just like
Fletcher's survey. Once again, St.-Denis was deemed ground zero for the styles
diffusion. Under the subtitle Cathedral Design, Notre-Dame was given as an example
briefly yet the monument was not even given a standalone subtitle, nor was it
illustrated whilst Chartres Cathedral was chosen as the epitome of the style. Richard
Ingersoll's survey World Architecture: A Cross-Cultural History (2013) gave the
Cathedral of Notre-Dame more space compared to his predecessors. St.-Denis was
yet again ground zero for the spread of the style due to travelling merchants although
in this survey, Notre-Dame was given an individual page with colourful photographs.
Considering the lack of representation in the last two books, this is a very large leap
in the opposite direction but it can very well be the result of 2013 being the 850th
anniversary celebration of the monument.
Upon studying these French and English written architectural survey books as part of
the "object of study" context, one can claim to see how Gothic architecture and
especially the Cathedral of Notre-Dame was being perceived in different manners.
The French were more inclined to put their Cathedral "the queen" up front and
discuss and depict it in a more detailed way but considering the few books that were
243
written was by the restorer of the monument himself and at a time when the
restoration took place this could be understandable. Whereas global architectural
history texts either include it as an afterthought or without focusing on the monument
differently than most of the other examples, and an exception could not make the
rule, as in the Ingersoll case. The differences between social and cultural aspects and
conscious choices can be observed through the surveys. Should the Parisian
Cathedral still be considered as one of the most important examples of Gothic
architecture, should it be considered a "definite reference", and if it could at one
time, should it still be? The "perfect" example Chartres Cathedral was the most
referenced, mentioned monument in the sources that was covered so far. It was
deemed the "most authentic and most complete example" and that it was "at once a
symbol and a basic building type: the most elucidating example which one could
choose to define the cultural, social and aesthetic reality of the Gothic cathedral" by
UNESCO in 1979. The document's statements seems to be in accordance with most
of the aforementioned authors approach, to mention Notre-Dame de Paris when
necessary, yet focus on Chartres Cathedral more since it is considered to be a better
example of the style. Seeing the importance of Chartres not only as an architectural
masterpiece but also as a "reference", a guide to the style itself, how can one
continue to imagine Notre-Dame de Paris first when the discussion of Gothic art
arises? Should the power of Victor Hugo's novel or the nineteenth century restoration
still be considered enough? Will the different media platforms that will eventually
publicize the monument even more, in paintings, movies and musicals be definite
enough? Was its popularity, its place as a "definite reference" or simply the fact that
it is the capital's Cathedral that would make it the best known and most visited
cathedral in the world? The written word of Hugo may have saved the monument
from destruction, yet did its popularity in the nineteenth century rendered it
uninteresting for future discussions?
244
Figure 6.4. Cathedral of Chartres as a "reference point" (Source:
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/81/
At the time of the novel's 1831 publishing, photography evolved and Notre-Dame de
Paris became one of the most famous subjects of this new art form. Photographers
such as Henri Le Seq, Édouard Baldus and Charles Marville were promenading in
Paris and documenting the state in which the Cathedral was before and after the
Restoration project of Lassus and Viollet-le-Duc. Photography made it easier for
people to obtain the image of the monument, made it real and accessible to all of
them (Figure 6.5).
245
Figure 6.5. (Left) Notre Dame de Paris, 1851 by Henri le Secq. (Source: mutualart.com)
(Middle) Apse of Notre-Dame of Paris, Viewed from the Bank of La Tournelle 1860-70 by
Charles Soulier. (Source: Paul Getty Museum / Public Domain) (Right) The Red Door by
Charles Marville, 1852. (Source: Paul Getty Museum / Public Domain)
Great artists came to Paris to sketch and paint their own version of the Cathedral in
their own styles; Vincent Van Gogh and his sketch titled The Roofs of Paris and
Notre-Dame (1886), Childe Hassam & his Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris (1888),
Maximilien Luce and his The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame (1901), Henri
Matisse withA Glimpse of Notre Dame in the Late Afternoon (1902) (Figure 6.6),
Edward Hopper Notre Dame de Paris (1907) (Figure 6.7), Pablo Picasso and his
Notre Dame de Paris (1954) only caused for the monuments popularity to be
enhanced through paintings.
Figure 6.6. (Left) Maximilien Luce's 'The Quia Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame', 1901.
(Source: Musée d'Orsay / Public Domain) (Right) Henri Matisse's 'Notre-Dame, une fin
d'après-midi', 1902. (Source: Albright - Know Gallery / Public Domain)
246
Figure 6.7. Edward Hopper, "Notre Dame de Paris", 1907. (Source: Whitney Museum of
American Art)
Figure 6.8. A screenshot of Auguste & Louis Lumière's "Paris" documentary dating 1896.
(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao5OE0eBLgQ)
247
In 1896, the Lumière brothers, Auguste (1862-1954) and Louis Lumière (1864-1948)
filmed a moment in the life of Cathédrale de Paris and its court (Figure 6.8). This
would not be the last time the monument was filmed or that it became an actor in a
movie. Hugo's novel would be adapted to the big screen many times; in 1939 it will
be released as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Figure 6.9), directed by William
Dieterle; in 1982 another movie with the same title would be released, this time with
Sir Anthony Hopkins playing the role of Quasimodo. Walt Disney Pictures released
their animated musical drama, The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996 (Figure 6.10),
introducing the novel, the story and eventually the Cathedral itself to new
generations, with a much happier ending than the novel, so much so that a sequel was
created with Quasimodo and Esmeralda still alive and happy. In 1997, another movie
was released, by Peter Medak just after the immense success of the Disney movie.
Figure 6.9. The Hunchback of Notre Dame's 1939 movie poster. (Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1939-The-Hunchback-of-Notre-Dame.jpg)
248
Figure 6.10. Movie poster and screenshot of Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame, 1996.
(Source: Walt Disney Pictures - The Hunchback of Notre Dame DVD)
The Cathedral has been in the background of most movies that had a scene in Paris
as if to prove to the viewer that they were actually there. The same trick has been
used for many cities; a movie scenario that takes place in New York would have a
scene in Times Square or that in order for it to be believable a movie in Rome would
most definitely depict a scene in front of the Colosseum. The canon of architectural
monuments are in the background as a safeguard. There have been movie
adaptations, television adaptations, ballet and theatre adaptations of the novel but the
most successful adaptation after the animation was the musical Notre-Dame de Paris.
The music was written by Riccardo Cocciante, heavily influenced by the Disney
animation and it premiered in 1998, Paris and it is still touring in 2022.
Notre-Dame de Paris celebrated its 850th anniversary in 2013 with an almost yearlong
celebration with different events that began in December 12th, 2012 and ended
in November 24th,2013 alongside with renovation projects including the replacement
of four belles. Four of the bells of Notre-Dame that dated from 1856 were replaced
with eight new bells in occasion for the 850th anniversary (Figure 6.11). The new
bells were rang for the first time in March 23, 2013.101 These celebratory events were
heavily televised and social media played an important role in the popularization of
the monument in the twenty-first century.
101 Retrieved June 6, 2022, from http://www.notredamedeparis2013.com/projets/nouvelle-sonnerie-decloches/
249
Figure 6.11. The nine new bronze bells are displayed in 2013. (Source:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/02/02/new-notre-dame-bells/1885675)
In November 2014, an action-adventure video game part of the series Assassin's
Creed was released by Ubisoft, a French video game company, with the subtitle:
Unity (Figure 6.12). The story of the game follows Assassin Arno Dorian and it takes
place during the French Revolution of 1789 with the goal of uncovering the real
dangers behind the chaos that is taking place in France. Since the game was located
in the last years of the eighteenth century Paris, the developers accumulated, in over
four years, "5000 hours of research" on the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in order to be
able to create it digitally. The Unisoft creative director Maxime Durand stated that
because of the Cathedral's iconic standing and the fact that the game revolves around
climbing buildings, they "...have to make sure that the details would be well
done.".102 There were speculations on whether or not this game and its resources
could be used for the restoration project after the 2019 fire of the Cathedral yet even
though the monument is incredibly detailed and meticulously researched, Ubisoft
was not yet using 3D mapping technology which ends the hope for an
interdisciplinary project.103 On 10 September 2020, they released a free Virtual
102 Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://www.businessinsider.com/notre-dame-fire-assassins-creedmaxime-
durand-ubisoft-interview-2019-4
103 Ubisoft has pledged a half a million euros to the restoration of the Cathedral after the fire and they
offered to share their research in the event that it can be helpful.
250
Reality visit of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris based on their previously
released game.
Figure 6.12. Ubisoft's 'Assassin's Creed: Unity' Game screenshot of Notre-Dame de Paris.
(Source: Ubisoft, Assassin's Creed: Unity)
In 2017, to commemorate the hundred years of WWI, Bruno Seillier created a
twenty-minute video projection to be projected onto the western façade of the
Cathedral of Paris (Figure 6.13). Seillier stated that they used 3D mapping for the
"Dame de Coeur" which includes seventeen luminous images with a story line
depicting the 850 years of the monument and an American soldier who is afraid of
dying before ever seeing the Gothic Notre-Dame. This lightshow became a popular
attraction in Europe where many of the major cities are now imitating.104
Figure
6.13. "Dame de coeur" light show on the western façade of Notre-Dame de Paris, 2017.
(Source: https://www.lightzoomlumiere.fr/2018/10/17/dame-de-coeur-son-et-lumiere-surnotre-
dame-de-paris/)
104Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/
2017/11/10/563424315/spectacular-light-show-at-notre-dame-cathedral-commemorates-world-war-i
251
In 860 years of history being at the centre of a nation, part of its patrimoine,
collective heritage, history and culture - being destroyed by said nation, being saved
by it, protected, adored, and hated; how did the written word and architectural history
perceived this monument that can only be described as the heart of Paris and France?
On 15 April 2019 when a fire broke out (Poulot, 2019) under the timber roof of the
Cathedral it resulted in a fire that lasted more than three hours (Figure 6.14). Violletle-
Duc's nineteenth century spire collapsed and the fire moved inside the north tower
whilst the world watched through live footage and shared the event through millions
of messages via social media.105 Due to the structural equilibrium achieved in the
Gothic monument, if in any case the damage to the north tower would have increased
it would have resulted in its collapse and then the whole edifice would have been
destroyed since the thirteen tons Emmanuel (the bell) would have caused irreparable
damage.106 Even with the extent of the long lasting fire, the integrity of the medieval
structure survived without any damage to the flying buttresses, rose windows and the
towers (Figure 6.15). The crown of thorns that is believed to be the one that Jesus
Christ wore during his crucifixion, the Tunic of St. Louis, the famous Cockerelthat
was located on the spire that fell and more, the artefacts that makes the monument
even more popular were saved and archived.107 What may have made the monument
this popular began with Hugo and its "romantic" rediscovery but one cannot deny
that its international status was definitively established during the 20th century, to the
point of gradually becoming a sort of archetypal monument to be preserved, both
praised and reviled for this status (Poulot, 2019).
The president of France Emmanuel Macron launched an international fundraising
since just as all others in France, the Cathedral is owned by the state since 1905: One
billion Euros were donated in a matter of days and the securing of the building and
105Retrieved June 17 2022 from https://www.visibrain.com/fr/blog/les-reseaux-sociaux-pleurentnotre-
dame-de-paris-depuis-l-incendie/
106Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/07/16/world/europe/notredame.
html
107Retrieved June 6, 2022, fromhttps://metro.co.uk/2019/04/16/notre-dame-crown-thorns-st-louistunic-
saved-cathedral-fire-9219579/
252
restoration work began immediately.108 The goal is to complete the work as it was
before the fire in five years (Kincaid, 2020, pp.21-39), in time for the 2024 Olympics
that Paris is suppose to held. Yet experts claim the restoration work would last more
than twenty years.109 The French prime minister Édouard Philippe announced an
international architectural competition for the design of the new spire that is expected
to be built after the fire. Many architectural offices participated in the competition,
submitting very different designs yet the competition itself was heavily criticized as
it would ignore the heritage laws of France and its UNESCO World Heritage Site
Status. The French senate incorporated a clause that obligated the Cathédrale de
Notre-Dame to be restored to how it was before the fire of 2019 (Figures 6.16-
6.17).110 The steps that are needed to be taken for the new restoration project was
written in an article in 2020 (Praticò et al., 2020, pp.810-820).
The fire of 2019 and the damage was broadcasted live on the Cathedral of Paris, over
news channels and social media. The monument that attracted thirteen million
visitors every year has been closed since the incident but all information and progress
of the restoration project can be followed from the Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris
and the Éternelle Notre-Dame111 organizations who are offering virtual reality
exhibitions and virtual tours of the monument. A movie titled Notre-Dame Brûle
(2022) directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud was released on 16 March 2022 (only in
French and Italian movie theatres) where the plot of the movie is a dramatization of
the events of the 2019 fire .
108Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://www.dw.com/en/construction-work-on-notre-dame-beginsagain/
a-53118416
109Retrieved June 6, 2022, fromhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/notre-dame-cathedral-rebuild-inparis-
could-take-40-years/
110 Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/notre-damecathedral-
roof-fire-design-competition-paris-france-a8968791.html
111 https://www.friendsofnotredamedeparis.org/& / https://www.eternellenotredame.com/
253
Figure 6.14. (Left) The spire of Notre-Dame under restoration, before the fire of 2019.
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vue_de_la_fl%C3%A8che_depuis_les_tours.jpg)
(Right) The spire of the Notre-Dame Cathedral during the early stages of the 2019 fire.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, a 860 year old monument, after centuries of
constructions, alterations, restorations, mindless vandalism, wars, handful of
revolutions and a devastating fire still survives and thrives almost like a phoenix born
from its ashes. The fire brought back the medieval notion of togetherness,
community, a unifying cause, a heritage that belongs to not only France but to all
humanity. The Cathedral which was the most visited monument in France112 at the
time of the fire, increased its popularity even higher due to the internationally
televised fire incident. On 20 April, the French TV channel France Inter created a
special segment in which an actor read extracts from Victor Hugo's Notre-Dame de
Paris, but also from works by Paul Claudel, Charles Péguy and Chateaubriand which
then was imitated on other channels. More generally, there was a worldwide
proliferation of publications of pieces of French literature classics, reprints of works
from the neo-Gothic period, and poetic anthologies about the cathedral, starting with
Hugo (Poulot, 2019).
112 Retrieved April 16, 2019 from Paris: Officialwebsite of theConventionandVisitorsBureau,
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris.
254
Figure 6.15. Notre-Dame' roof burning during the fire of April 15, 2019. (Source:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/04/16/notre-dame-cathedral-paris-firehistory-
macron-column/3482618002/)
Figure 6.16. Notre Dame's restoration project, 2021. (Source: Personal archive)
After less than a month since the fire of April 2019, Sylvain Tesson published his
book, titled Notre-Dame de Paris: Ô reine de douleur(2019), and Adrien Goetz
published his work titled: Notre-Dame de l'humanité (2019) with a cover of the spire
on fire. Writers from around the world began publishing about the monument such as
Ken Follett and his book titled Notre-Dame: A Short History of the Meaning of
255
Cathedrals (2019), and Susan Clayton and her book titled Notre Dame Cathedral
Commemorative Book: We Will Rebuild! 15 April 2019 (2019). These authors all
pledged the money that the books make to the restoration donations with the same
sentimentality that their written word may help save the monument beloved by
millions (Figure 6.18).
Figure 6.17. Notre Dame's spire burning during the 15th April 2019 fire. (Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fl%C3%A8che_en_feu_-_Spire_on_Fire.jpeg)
256
The beloved Cathedral of Notre-Dame may not have received the rightful
acknowledgement in architectural historiography yet as a "definite reference" that is
considered to be part of a collective knowledge, history, culture and memory, it has
found its place as "the queen of cathedrals". Even two centuries later, Victor Hugo's
statement; "this will kill that" still did not fulfil its sense of ANAΓKH, of doom, on
the contrary "this saved that!
Figure 6.18. The damage on the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral after the fire of 2019.
(Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/17/world/europe/donate-notre-dame-fire.html)
257
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APPENDICES
A. BOOK I CHAPTER I - "LA GRAND'SALLE" DESCRIPTIONS
"...the Great Hall, then and long afterwards considered to be the largest covered
apartment in the world (Sauval113, the Paris historian, it is hardly necessary to state,
had not yet measured the great hall in the chateau of Montargis). The open square in
front of the Palace, thronged with people, presented to the gazers from the windows
the aspects of a sea into which five or six streets, like the mouths of so many rivers,
every moment discharged fresh floods of human heads. The waves of this deluge,
constantly increasing, broke against the angles of the houses that projected here and
there, like so many promontories, into the irregularly shaped basin of the square. In
the centre of the high Gothic façade of the Palace, the great triple-faced staircase,
continually ascended and descended by the restless multitudes, with currents
breaking on the intermediate landing or streaming over the two lateral slopes, flowed
like a waterfall tumbling into a lake...
... If the reader consent, we shall cross the threshold of the Great Hall together. Let
me endeavour to reproduce the impression made on his senses as we struggle through
the surging crowd in frock, smock, jerkin, doublet, and every conceivable dress of
the period.
At first our ears are stunned with the buzzing, our eyes are dazzled with the glare.
Over our heads is the roof, consisting of a double vault of pointed arches, lined with
carved wood, painted light blue, and sprinkled with golden fleur-de-lis. Under our
feet the marble floor, like a checkerboard, is alternated with black and white squares.
A few paces from us stands an enormous pillar, then another, then a third, seven
113Henri Sauval (d.1676) was a French historian, by whom Hugo was influenced and referred to for
descriptions of Paris and certain monuments during the fifteenthcentury when the story takes place.
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altogether, extending the whole length of the Hall, and supporting the central line
that separates the double vaults of the roof. Around the first four are dealers' stands
glittering with glass and tinsel ware; around the other three are oaken benches, worn
and polished by the gowns of the lawyers and the breeches of those that employ
them. Everywhere around the building, along the lofty walls, between the doors,
between the windows, between the pillars, appears an interminable like of the statues
of the kings of France,... In the long Gothic windows, the stained glass shines with a
thousand colours. In the wide entrances the doors are richly and delicately carved.
Everywhere all around - on vaults, pillars, walls, lintels, panels, doors, and statues -
glows a rich tint of blue and gold, already a little faded, but even seventy years later,
in spite of dust and cobwebs, Du Breul, the historian, will see enough to admire it
from tradition.... The old Palace would be still standing, with its Grand Hall, and I
could say to my reader, 'Go and look at it' - which would be a great convenience for
us both; saving me from writing, him from reading, my imperfect description.".114
114Hugo,V. (1993)., pp.4-6.
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B. BOOK II CHAPTER II - "LA PLACE DE GRÈVE" DESCRIPTIONS
"There remains today but a small and scarcely perceptible vestige of the Place de
Grève, such as it existed formerly; all that is left is the charming turret which
occupies the northern angle of the Square, and which, already buried under the
ignoble whitewashing which obstructs the delicate lines of its carving, will soon,
perhaps, have totally disappeared, under that increase of new houses which is so
rapidly consuming all the old façades of Paris.
Those who, like ourselves, never pass over the Place de Grève without casting a look
of pity and sympathy on this poor little tower, squeezed between two ruins of the
time of Louis XV, can easily reconstruct in their mind's eye the assemblage of
edifices to which it belonged, and thus imagine themselves in the old Gothic Square
of the fifteenth century.
It was then, as now, an irregular place, bounded on one side by the quay, and on the
three others by a series of lofty houses, narrow and sombre. In the daytime you might
admire the variety of these buildings, carved in stone or in wood, and already
presenting complete examples of the various kinds of domestic architecture of the
Middle Ages, going back from the fifteenth to the eleventh century - from the
perpendicular window which was beginning to supersede the Gothic to the circular
Roman arch which the Gothic had in turn supplanted, and which still occupied
underneath the first storey of that ancient house of the Tour-Rolland, forming the
angle of the Place with the Seine, on the side of the Rue de la Tannerie. By night,
nothing was distinguishable of that mass of buildings but the black indentation of
their gables, extending its range of acute angles round three sides of the Place. For it
is one of the essential differences between the towns of that day and those of the
present, that now it is the fronts of the houses that look to the squares and streets, but
then it was the gable ends. During the two centuries past they have turned fairly
around.
274
In the centre of the eastern side of the Square rose a heavy and hybrid construction
formed by three dwellings juxtaposed. The whole was called by three several names,
describing its history, its purpose and its architecture; the Maison au Dauphin, or
Dauphin’s House, because Charles V, when dauphin, had lived there the Trades
House, because it was used as the Hotel de Ville, or Town Hall and the Maison aux
Piliers or Pillar House, on account of a series of heavy pillars which supported its
three storeys. The City had there all that a goodly town like Paris needs; a chapel to
pray in; a courtroom for holding magisterial sittings, and, when needed,
reprimanding the king’s officers; and in the garrets an arsenal stored with artillery
and ammunition.
For the good people of Paris, well knowing that it was not sufficient, in every
emergency, to plead and to pray for the franchises of their city, had always in
reserve, in the attics of the Town Hall, some few good though rusty arquebusses.
The Square of La Gréve had then that sinister aspect which it still derives from the
execrable ideas which it awakens, and from the gloomy-looking Town Hall built by
Dominique Bocador, which has taken the place of the Maison aux Piliers. It must be
observed that a permanent gibbet and pillory, a justice and a ladder, as they were
then called, erected side by side in the centre of the Square, contributed not a little to
make the passer-by avert his eyes from this fatal spot, where so many beings in full
life and health had suffered their last agony; and which was to give birth, fifty years
later, to that Saint Vallier’s 48 fever, as it was called, that disease which was but the
terror of the scaffold, the most monstrous of all maladies, inflicted as it was, not by
the hand of God, but by that of man.
It is consolatory, we may remark, to reflect that the punishment of death, which,
three centuries ago, with its iron wheels, with its stone gibbets, with all its apparatus
for torture permanently fixed in the ground, encumbered the Square of the Grève, the
Market Place, the Place Dauphine, the Croix du Trahoir, the Pig Market, the hideous
Montfaucon, the Barriere des Sergens, the Place aux Chats, the Gate of Saint Denis,
Champeaux, the Baudets Gate, the Porte Saint Jacques - not to mention judicial
drownings in the river Seine - is consolatory to reflect that now, after losing, one
275
after another, every fragment of her panoply, her profusion of executions, her refined
and fanciful penal laws, her torture, for applying which she made anew every five
years a bed of leather in the Grand Chatelet - this ancient queen of feudal society,
nearly thrust from our laws and our towns, tracked from code to code, driven from
place to place, now possesses, in our vast metropolis of Paris, but one dishonoured
corner of the Grève - but one miserable guillotine - stealthy - timid - ashamed -
which seems always afraid of being taken in the act, so quickly does it disappear
after giving its blow.".115
115Hugo,V. (1993)., pp. 47-49.
276
C. BOOK III CHAPTER I - "NOTRE-DAME" DESCRIPTIONS
"The church of Notre-Dame at Paris is doubtless still a majestic and sublime edifice.
But, however beautiful it has remained in growing old, it is difficult to suppress a
sigh, to restrain a feeling of indignation at the numberless degradations and
mutilations which the hand of time and that of man have inflicted upon this
venerable monument, regardless alike of Charlemagne, who laid the first stone, and
of Philip Augustus, who laid the last.
Upon the face of this ancient queen of French cathedrals, beside each wrinkle we
constantly find a scar. Tempus edax, homo edacior(Time is destructive, man more
destructive) - which we would willingly render thus - Time is blind, but man is
stupid.
If we had leisure to examine one by one, with the reader, the traces of destruction
imprinted on this ancient church, those due to Time would be found to form the
lesser portion - the worst destruction has been perpetrated by men - especially by
‘men of art.’ Since there are individuals who have styled themselves architects
during the last two centuries.
And first of all - to cite only a few leading examples - there are assuredly, few finer
architectural pages than that front of that cathedral, in which, successively and at
once, the three receding portals with their pointed arches, the decorated and indented
band of the twenty-eight royal niches, the immense central rose-window, flanked by
the two lateral windows, like the priest by the deacon and sub-deacon; the lofty and
slender gallery of trifoliated arcades, supporting a heavy platform upon its light and
delicate columns; and lastly the two dark and massive towers, with their eaves of
slate - harmonious parts of one magnificent whole - rising one above another in five
gigantic storeys - unfold themselves to the eye, collectively and simply - with their
innumerable details of statuary, sculpture and carving, powerfully contributing to the
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calm grandeur of the whole; a vast symphony in stone, if we may so express it; the
colossal work of a man and of a nation; combining unity with complexity, like the
Iliads and the old Romance epics to which it is a sister-production; the prodigious
result of a draught upon the whole resources of an era -in which, upon every stone, is
seen displayed, in a hundred varieties, the fancy of the workman disciplined by the
genius of the artist - a sort of human Creation, in short, mighty and prolific like the
Divine Creation, of which it seems to have caught the double character - variety and
eternity.
And what we say of the front must be said of the whole church - and what we say of
the cathedral church of Paris must be said of all the churches of Christendom in the
Middle Ages. Everything is in its place in that art, self-created, logical and well
proportioned. To measure the toe is to measure the giant.
Let us return to the front of Notre-Dame, as it still appears to us when we gazein
pious admiration upon the solemn and mighty cathedral, inspiring terror, as
itschroniclers express it - quae mole sua terrorem incutitspectantibus (which by its
massiveness strikes terror into beholders).
The front is now lacking in three things of importance: first, the flight of eleven steps
which formerly raised it above the level of the ground; then, lower range of statues,
which occupied the niches of the three portals; and lastly, the upper series, ofthe
twenty-eight most ancient kings of France, which filled the gallery on the first storey,
beginning with Childebert and ending with Philip Augustus, each holding in his hand
the imperial ball.
As for the flight of steps, it is Time that had caused it to disappear, by raising, with
slow but resistless progress, the level of the ground in the City. But while this floodtide
of the pavement of Paris devoured, one after another, the eleven steps which
added to the majestic elevation of the structure, Time has given to the church,
perhaps, yet more than it has taken away; for it is Time who has spread over its face
that dark grey tint of centuries which makes of the old age of architectural
monuments their season of beauty.
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But who has thrown down the two ranges of statues? who has left the niches empty?
who has cut, in the middle of the central portal, that new and bastard pointed arch?
and who has dared to frame in that doorway the heavy, unmeaning wooden door,
carved in the style of Louis XV, beside the arabesque of Biscornette? The men, the
architects, the artist of our times.
And - if we enter the interiors of the edifice - who has overturned the colossal Saint
Christopher, proverbial for his magnitude among statues as the Grand Hall of the
Palace was among halls - as the spire of Strasburg among steeples? And those
myriads of statues which thronged the Spaces between the columns of the nave and
the choir - kneeling - standing - and on horseback, men, women, children, kings,
bishops, warriors, in stone, in marble, in gold, in silver, in brass, and even in wax -
who has brutally swept them out? It is not Time.
And who has substituted for the ancient Gothic altar, splendidly loaded with shrines
and reliquaries, that heavy sarcophagus of marble, with angels’ heads and clouds,
looking like an unmatched fragment from the Val de Grâce or the Invalides? Who
has stupidly fixed that heavy anachronism of stone into the Carlovingianpavement of
Hercandus? Was it not Louis XIV fulfilling the vow of Louis XIII?
And who has put cold white glass in place of those deep-stained panes which made
the wondering eyes of our forefathers hesitate between the round window over the
grand doorway and the lancet windows of the chancel? And what would a precentor
of the sixteenth century say could he see that fine yellow stain with which the Vandal
archbishops have besmeared their cathedral? He would remember that it was the
colour with which the hangman painted such buildings as were adjudged infamous -
he would recollect the Hôtel of the Petit-Bourbon, which had thus been besmeared
with yellow for the treason of the constable - ‘yellow, after all, so well mixed,’ says
Sauval, ‘and so well applied, that the lapse of a century and more has not yet taken
its colour.’ He would believe that the holy place had become accursed, and would
flee from it.
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And, then, if we climb higher in the cathedral - without stopping at a thousand
barbarities of every kind - what have they done with that charming little spire which
rose from the intersection of the cross, and which, no less bold and light than its
neighbour the spire of the Sainte Chapelle (destroyed also), pierced into the sky yet
farther than the towers - perforated, sharp, sonorous, airy? An architect ‘of good
taste’ amputated it in 1787, and thought it was sufficient to hide the wound with that
great plaster of lead which resembles the lid of a porridge-pot.
Thus it is that the wondrous art of the Middle Ages has been treated in almost every
country, and especially in France. In its ruin three sorts of inroads are
distinguishable, having marred it to different depths, first, Time, which has
insensibly made breaches here and there, and rusted its Whole surface; then,
religious and political revolutions, which, blind and furious in their nature, have
tumultuously wreaked their wrath upon it, torn its rich garment of sculpture and
carving, shivered its rose-shaped windows, broken its necklace of arabesques and
miniature figures, torn down its statues, here for their mitre, there for their crown;
and lastly, changing fashion, growing ever more grotesque and absurd, commencing
with the anarchical yet splendid deviations of the Renaissance, have succeeded one
another in the unavoidable decline of architecture. Fashion has done more mischief
than revolutions. It has cut to the quick - it has attacked the very bone and framework
of the art. It has mangled, dislocated, killed the edifice - in its form as well as in its
meaning - in its logic as well as in its beauty. And then it has restored - which at least
neither Time nor revolutions have pretended to do. It has audaciously fitted into the
wounds of Gothic architecture its wretched gewgaws of a day - its marble ribands -
its metal plumes - a very leprosy of egg-shaped mouldings, volutes and wreaths - of
draperies, garlands and fringes - of stone flames, brazen clouds, fleshy Cupids, and
lastly, cherubim - which we find beginning to ravage the face of art in the oratory of
Catherine de Médicis, and destroying it two centuries after, tortured and convulsed,
in the Dubarry’s boudoir.
Thus, to sum up the points which we have here laid down, three kinds of ravages
which today disfigure Gothic architecture: wrinkles and warts upon the surface -
these are the work of Time; violences, brutalities, contusions, fractures - these are the
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work of revolutions, from Luther down to Mirabeau; amputations, dislocation of
members, restorations - these are the labours, Grecian Roman and barbaric, of the
professors according to Vitruvius and Vignola. That magnificent art which the
Vandals had produced, the academies have murdered. To the work of centuries and
of revolutions, which, at least, devastate with impartiality and grandeur, has been
added that cloud of school-trained architects licensed, privileged and patented,
degrading with all the discernment and selection of bad taste - substituting the
gingerbread - work of Louis XV for the Gothic tracery, to the greater glory of the
Parthenon. This is the kick of the ass at the dying lion. ’Tis the old oak, in the last
stage of decay, stung and gnawed by caterpillars.
How remote is all this from the time when Robert Cenalis, comparing Notre Dame at
Paris to the famous temple of Diana at Ephesus, 'so much vaunted by the ancient
pagans,' which immortalised Erostratus, thought the Gaulish cathedral ‘more
excellent in length, breadth, height and structure.’
Notre-Dame, however, as an architectural monument, is not one of those which can
be called complete, definite, belonging to a class. It is no longer a Roman, nor is it
yet Gothic. This edifice is not a typical one. It has not, like the abbey of Tournus, the
solemn and massive squareness, the round broad vault, the icy bareness, the majestic
simplicity, of the edifices which have the circular arch for their base. Nor is it, like
the cathedral of Bourges, the magnificent, airy, multiform, tufted, pinnacled, florid
production of the pointed arch. Impossible to rank Notre-Dame among that antique
family of churches, gloomy, mysterious, lowering, crushed, as it were, by the weight
of the circular arch - almost Egyptian, even to their ceilings - all hieroglyphical, all
sacerdotal, all symbolical - more abounding, in their ornaments, in lozenges and
zigzags than in flowers - more in flowers than animals - more in animals than human
figures - the work not so much of the architect as of the bishop - the first
transformation of the art - all stamped with theocratical and military discipline -
having its root in the Lower Empire, and stopping at the time of William the
Conqueror. Nor can our cathedral be ranked in that other family of lofty, airy
churches, rich in sculpture and stained glass, of pointed forms and daring attitudes -
belonging to commoners and plain citizens, as political symbols - as works of art,
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free, capricious, lawless - the second transformation of architecture - no longer
hieroglyphical, immutable and sacerdotal, but artistic, progressive and popular -
beginning at the return from the crusades and ending with Louis XL Notre-Dame of
Paris, then, is not of purely Roman race like the former, nor of purely Arabic race
like the latter.
It is an edifice of the transition period. The Saxon architect was just finishing the first
pillars of the nave, when the pointed arch, arriving from the crusade, came and
placed itself as a conqueror upon the broad Roman capitals which had been designed
to support only circular arches. The Gothic arch, thenceforward master of the field,
constituted the remainder of the church. However, inexperienced and timid at its
commencement, we find it widening its compass, and, as it were, self-restraining, not
yet daring to spring into arrows and lancets, as it did later in so many wonderful
cathedrals. One would have said it was conscious of the neighbourhood of the heavy
Roman pillars.
Indeed, these edifices of the transition from the Roman to the Gothic are not less
valuable studies than the pure models. They express a blending in art which would be
lost without them. It is the grafting of the Gothic upon the circular arch.
Notre-Dame, in particular, is a curious example of this variety. Every face, every
stone, of this venerable monument, is a page not only of the history of the country,
but of the history of science and ar. Thus, to point out here only some of the principle
details; while the small Porte Rouge attaints almost to the limits of the Gothic
delicacy of the fifteenth century, the pillars of the nave, in their amplitude and
solemnity, go back almost as far as the Carlovingian abbey of Saint Germain des
Prés. One would think there was an interval of sixth centuries between that door and
those pillars. Even the hermetics find, in the emblematical devices of the great portal,
a satisfactory compendium of their science, of which the church of Saint Jacques de
la Boucherie was so complete a hieroglyphic. Thus the Roman abbey - the
philosophers’ church - Gothic art - Saxon art - the heavy round pillar, which recalls
Gregory VII - the hermetical symbolism by which Nicolas Flamel anticipated Luther
-papal unity and schism - Saint Germain des Prés and Saint Jacques de la Boucherie,
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all are mingled combined and amalgamated in None-Dame. This central and
maternal church is, among the other old churches of Paris, a sort of chimera; she has
the head of one, the limbs of another, the back of a third - something of all.
We repeat it, these hybrid constructions are not the least interesting to the artist, the
antiquary and the historian. They show us in how great a degree architecture is a
primitive thing - demonstrating (as the Cyclopean vestiges, the Egyptian pyramids
and the gigantic Hindoo pagodas demonstrate) that the greatest productions of
architecture are not so much the work of individuals as of society - the offspring
rather of national efforts than the conceptions of men of genius, a deposit left by a
whole people - the piled up works of centuries - the residue of successive
evaporations of human society - in short, a species of formation. Each wave of time
leaves its alluvium - each race deposits its strata upon the monument - each
individual contributes his stone. So do the beavers - so do the bees - so does man.
The great symbol of architecture, Babel, is a beehive.
Great edifices, like great mountains, are the work of ages. Art often undergoes a
transformation while they are still pending - pendent opera interrupta (the
interrupted work is discontinued), they go on again quietly, in accordance with the
change in the art. The altered art takes up the monument where it was left off,
encrusts itself upon it, assimilates it to itself, develops it after its own fashion, and
finishes it if it can. The thing is done without disturbance, without effort, without
reaction, according to a law natural and tranquil. It is like a budding graft - a sap that
circulates a vegetation that goes forward. Certainly there is matter for very large
volumes, and often for the universal history of humanity, in those successive
weldings of several species of art at different elevations upon the same monument.
The man, the artist, the individual, disappear upon those great masses, leaving no
name of an author behind. Human intelligence is there to be traced only in its
aggregate. Time is the architect - the nation is the builder.
To consider in this place only the architecture of Christian Europe, the younger sister
of the great masonries of the East, it presents to us an immense formation divided
into three superincumbent zones, clearly defined; the Roman zone, the Gothic zone,
and the zone of the Renaissance, which we would willingly entitle the Graeco
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Roman. The Roman stratum, the most ancient and the deepest, is occupied by the
circular arch, which reappears rising from the Grecian column in the modern and
upper stratum of the Revival. The pointed arch is found between the two. The
buildings which belong exclusively to one or other of these three strata are perfectly
distinct, uniform and complete. Such is the abbey of Jumièges; such is the cathedral
of Reims; such is the church of Sainte Croix at Orleans. But the three zones mingle
and combine at their borders, like the colours of the prism. And hence the complex
monuments - the edifices of gradation and transition. One is Roman at the base,
Gothic in the middle and Graeco-Roman at the top. This is caused by the fact that it
has taken six hundred years to build it. This variety is rare; the donjon tower of
Etampes is a specimen. But monuments of two formations are more frequent. Such is
Notre-Dame at Paris, a structure of the pointed arch, which, in its earliest columns,
dips into that Roman zone in which the portal of Saint Denis and the nave of Saint
Germain des Prés are entirely immersed. Such is the charming semi-Gothic chapterhouse
of Bocherville, which the Roman layer mounts half-way. Such is the cathedral
of Rouen, which would have been entirely Gothic had not the extremity of its central
spire pierced into the zone of the Renaissance.
However, all these gradations, all these differences, only affect the surface of an
edifice. Art has but changed its skin - the conformation of the Christian temple itself
has remained untouched. It is ever the same internal framework, the same logical
disposition of parts. Whatever be the sculptured and decorated exterior of a
cathedral, we always find beneath it at least the germ and rudiment of the Roman
basilica. It unfolds itself upon the ground forever according to the same law. There
are invariably two naves intersecting each other in the form of a cross, the upper
extremity of which cross is rounded into a chancel forming the choir; there are
always two side aisles for processions and chapels - a sort of lateral gallery
communicating with the principal nave by the spaces between the columns. This
settled, the number of chapels, doorways, Steeples, spires, may be modified
indefinitely, following the fancy of the age, the people, of the art. The performance
of the worship being provided for, architecture is at liberty to do what she pleases.
Statues, painted glass, rose-shaped windows, arabesques, indentations, capitals, basreliefs
- all these objects of imagination she combines in such arrangement as best
suits her. Hence the prodigious external variety of these edifices, in the main
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structure of which dwells so much order and unity. The trunk of the tree is
unchanging -the foliage is variable.".116
116Hugo,V. (1993)., pp. 89-95.
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D. BOOK III CHAPTER II - "PARİS À VOL D'OİSEAU" DESCRIPTIONS
"The Paris of three hundred and fifty years ago, the Paris of the fifteenth century,
was already a giant city. We modern Parisians are mistaken as to the ground which
we think we have gained. Since the time of Louis XI, Paris has not increased much
more than a third. She certainly has lost much more in beauty that she has gained in
size.
Paris was born, as everyone knows, in that ancient island of the Cité, or City, which
is shaped like a cradle. The shores of this island were its first enclosure; the Seine its
first moat. For several centuries Paris remained in its island state; with two bridges,
one on the north, the other on the south; and two tête-de-ponts (bridge towers), which
were at once its gates and its fortresses - the Grand Châtelet on theright bank of the
northern channel of the river and the Petit Châtelet on the left bank ofthe southern
channel. When, however, under the first line of French kings, Paris found herself too
much confined within the limits of her island, and unable to turn about, she crossed
the water. Then on each side, beyond either Châtelet, a first line of walls and towers
began to cut into the country on both sides of the Seine. Of this ancient boundary
wall some vestiges still remained as late as the last century; now nothing but the
memory of it survives, with here and there a local tradition, as the Baudets or
Baudoyer gate - porta Bagauda. By degrees, the flood of houses, perpetually driven
from the heart of the town outward, overflowed and wore away this enclosure. Philip
Augustus made a new embankment. He imprisoned Paris within a circular chain of
great towers, lofty and massive. For upwards of a century the houses pressed upon
one another, accumulated and rose higher in this basin, like water in a reservoir.
They began to deepen - to pile storey on storey - to climb, as it were, one upon
another. They shot out in height, like growth that is compressed laterally; and strove
each to lift its head above its neighbours, in order to get a breath of air. The streets
became deeper and narrower, and every open space was overrun by buildings and
disappeared. The houses at last leaped the wall of Philip Augustus, and scattered
themselves merrily over the plain, irregularly and all awry, like children escaped
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from school. There they strutted proudly about, cut themselves gardens from the
fields and took their case. In 1367, the suburbs already extended so far that a new
boundary wall became necessary, particularly on the right bank of the river; Charles
V built it. But a city like Paris is perpetually on the increase - and it is only such
cities that become capitals. They are a sort of funnel, through which flow all that is
geographical, political, moral andintellectual in a country - all the natural tendencies
of a people - wells of civilisation, as it were, and also sinks - where commerce,
manufactures, intelligence, population - all the vigour, all the life, all the soul of a
nation - filter and collect incessantly, drop by drop, and century after century. So the
boundary of Charles V suffered the same fate as that of Philip Augustus. At the end
of the fifteenth century, the Faubourg strides across it, passes beyond it, and runs
farther. In the sixteenth we find it rapidly receding, and becoming buried deeper and
deeper in the old town, so dense was the new town becoming outside it. Thus, in the
fifteenth century - to stop there - Paris had already worn away the three concentric
circles of walls which, in the time of Julian theApostate, existed, so to speak, in germ
in the Grand Châtelet and the Petit Châtelet. The growing city had successively burst
its four girdles of walls, like a child grown too large for its garments of last year. In
the reign of Louis XI were to be seen rising here and there, amid that sea of houses,
some groups of ruinous towers belonging to the ancient bulwarks, like hill-tops in a
flood - like archipelagoes of the old Paris submerged under the inundation of the
new. Since then, unhappily for us, Paris has undergone another transformation; but it
has overleaped only one boundary more - that of Louis XV - the wretched wall of
mud and spittle, worthy of the king who built it, worthy of the poet who sang it - Le
murmurant Paris rend Paris murmurant.117
In the fifteenth century, Paris was still divided into three wholly distinct and separate
towns, having each its peculiar features, manners, customs, privileges andhistory -
the City, the University and the Ville or Town properly so called. The City, which
occupied the island, was the most ancient, the smallest, and the mother of the other
two - squeezed between them (if we may be allowed the comparison) like a little old
woman between two tall handsome daughters. The University covered the left bank
117Hugo,V. (1993)., p.98.
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of the Seine, from the Tournelle to the Tour de Nesle, points which correspond today
in modern Paris, the one to the Halle aux Vins or Wine Mart, and the other to the
Monnaie or Mint. Its circuit embraced a large portion of that tract where Julian had
constructed his baths, and comprised the hill of Sainte Genevieve. The culminating
point of this curve of walls was the Porte Papale or Papal Gate, that is to say, very
nearly, the present site of the Pantheon. The Town, which was the largest of the three
portions of Paris, occupied the right bank. Its quay, in which there were several
breaks and interruptions, ran along the Seine from the Tour de Billy to the Tour du
Bois, that is, from the spot where the Granary of Abundance now stands, to that
occupied by the Tuileries. These four points where the Seine intersected the wall of
the capital - on the left, the Tournelle and the Tour de Nesle, and on the right, the
Tour de Billy and the Tour du Bois - were called, pre-eminently, the four towers of
Paris. The Town encroached still more deeply into the country bordering on the
Seine than the University. The most salient points of its enclosure (the wall
constructed by Charles V) were at the Portes Saint Denis and Saint Martin, the sites
of which are unchanged.
As we have just said, each of these three great divisions of Paris was a city in itself -
but a city too individual to be complete - a city which could not dispense with the
other two. Hence, each had its characteristic aspect. Churches abounded in the City;
palaces in the Town, and colleges in the University. Leaving apart the minor
eccentricities of old Paris, and the caprices of those who held the droit de voirie, or
right of road, we make the general statement - and speaking only of the great masses
in the chaos of the communal jurisdictions - that the island belonged to the bishop;
the right bank to the prévôt des marchands or provost of the shop-keepers; and the
leftbank to the rector of the University. The provost of Paris, a royal and not a
municipal officer, had authority overall. The City contained Notre-Dame; the Town,
the Louvre and the Hôtel de Ville, and the University, the Sorbonne. Again, the
Town had the Great Market; the City, the Hospital; and the University, the Pré aux
Clercs (common). Offences committed by the students on the left bank, in their Pré
aux Clercs, were tried in the Palace of Justice, on the island, and punished on the
right bank at Montfaucon; unless the rector, feeling the University to be strong at that
particulartime, and the king weak, thought proper to interfere - for it was a privilege
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of thescholars to be hanged at home, that is to say, within the University precincts.
Most of these privileges, it may be noted in passing, and there were some of greater
value than the above, had been extorted from the kings by revolts and mutinies. Such
has been the course of events from time immemorial. As the French proverb saith, Le
roine lache que quand 1e peuplearrache (the king only grants what the people wrest
fromhim). There is an old French charter which states the fact with great
simplicity:speaking of loyalty, it says Civibusfidelitas in reges,
quaetamenaliquotiesseditionibusinerrupta, multapeperitprivilegia (the fidelity toward
kings, which wasnevertheless interrupted at different times - interrupted by seditious
uprisings - preserved many privileges to the people).
In the fifteenth century, the Seine bathed the shores of five islands within thecircuit
of Paris; the Ile Louviers, on which there were then trees, though now there are only
piles of wood; the Ile aux Vaches and the Ile Notre-Dame, both deserted, ornearly so,
both fiefs of the bishop (which two islands, in the seventeenth century, weremade
into one, since built upon, and now called the He Saint Louis); finally, the City,
having at its western extremity, the islet of the Passeur aux Vaches, since lost
underthe esplanade of the Pont-Neuf. The City had, at that time, five bridges; three
on the right - the Pont Notre-Dame, and the Pont au Change, of stone, and the Pont
aux Meuniers, of wood - and two on the left - the Petit Pont, of stone, and the Pont
Saint Michel, of wood, all of them laden with houses. The University had six gates,
built by Philip Augustus, which, starting from the Tournelle, came in the following
order: the Porte Saint Victor, the Porte Bordelle, the Porte Papale, the Porte Saint
Jacques, the Porte Saint Michel and the Porte Saint Germain. The Town had also six
gates, built by Charles V, viz., beginning with the Tour de Billy, they were the Porte
Saint Antoine, the Porte du Temple, the Porte Saint Martin, the Porte Saint Denis, the
PorteMontmartre and the Porte Saint Honoré. All these gates were strong, and
handsome withal - which latter attribute is by no means incompatible with strength.
A wide and deep moat, with a swift current during the winter floods, washed the base
of the wall around Paris; the Seine furnishing the water. At night the gates were shut,
the river was barred at the two extremities of the town with massive iron chains, and
Paris slept tranquilly. A bird’s-eye view of these three burghs, the City, the
University and the Ville, presented each an inextricable network of strangely tangled
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streets. Yet a glance was sufficient to show the spectator that these three portions of a
city formed but one complete whole. One immediately perceived two long parallel
streets, unbroken, undisturbed, traversing, almost in a straight line, the three towns
from one extremity to the other, from north to south, at right angles with the Seine,
connecting and mingling them, and incessantly pouring the people of each into the
precincts of the other, making the three but one. The first of these two streets ran
from the Porte Saint Jacques to the Porte Saint Martin, and was called in the
University, Rue Saint Jacques; in the City, Rue de la Juiverie (Jewery or Jewry); and
in the Town, Rue Saint Martin. It crossed the water twice, under the names of Petit
Font and Pont Notre-Dame. The second, called, on the left bank, Rue de la Harpe; in
the island, the Rue de la Barillerie; on the right bank, Rue Saint Denis; over one arm
of the Seine, Pont Saint Michel, and over the other Pont au Change; ran from the
Porte Saint Michel in the University to the Porte Saint Denis in the Town. However,
under all these names, they were still but twostreets; but they were the parent streets -
the two arteries of Paris, by which all theother veins of the triple city were fed, or
into which they emptied themselves.
Independently of these two principal, diametrical streets, running quite acrossParis,
common to the whole capital, the Town and the University had each its own special
street, traversing its length, parallel to the Seine, and intersecting the two arterial
streets at right angles. Thus, in the Town, one went down in a straight line from the
Porte Saint Antoine to the Porte Saint Honoré; in the University, from the Porte Saint
Victor to the Porte Saint Germain. These two great ways, crossing the two first
mentioned, formed with them the canvas upon which was wrought, knotted upand
crowded together on every hand, the tangled Daedalian web of the streets of Paris. In
the unintelligible designs of this network one distinguished likewise, on looking
attentively, two clusters of great streets, like magnified sheaves, one in the
University, the other in the Town, spreading out from the bridges to the gates.
Somewhat of this geometric plan still exists.
Now, what aspect did all this present viewed from the top of the towers ofNotre-
Dame in 1482? This is what we will endeavour to describe.
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For the spectator, who arrived panting upon this summit, it was at first adazzling
confusion of roofs, chimneys, streets, bridges, squares, spires, steeples. Allburst upon
the eye at once - the formally-cut gable, the acute-angled roof, the hangingturret at
the angles of the walls, the stone pyramid of the eleventh century, the slateobelisk of
the fifteenth; the donjon tower, round and bare; the church tower, square and
decorated; the large and the small, the massive and the airy. The gaze was for some
time lost in the bewilderment of this labyrinth; in which there was nothing without its
originality, its purpose, its genius - nothing but proceeded from art - from the
smallest house, with its carved and painted front, with external beams, elliptical
doorway, with projecting storeys, to the royal Louvre itself, which then had
acolonnade of towers. But these are the principal masses that were
distinguishablewhen the eye became accustomed to this medley of edifices.
First, the City. The island of the City, as Sauval says, who, amidst all hisrubbish, has
occasional happy turns of expression - The isle of the City is shaped like agreat ship,
stuck in the mud, and stranded in the current near the middle of the Seine. We have
already shown that, in the fifteenth century, this ship was moored to the two banks of
the river by five bridges. This likeness to a vessel had also struck the heraldicscribes;
for, it is thence, and not from the Norman siege, according to Favyn and Pasquier,
that the ship emblazoned upon the old escutcheon of Paris comes. To himwho can
decipher it, heraldry is an algebra - heraldry is a tongue. The whole history of the
second half of the Middle Ages is written in heraldry as that of the former half is in
the symbolism of the Roman churches. They are the hieroglyphics of
feudalismsucceeding those of theocracy.
The City, then, first presented itself to the View, with its stem to the east andits prow
to the west. Looking toward the prow, there was before one an innumerable
collection of old roofs, with the lead covered top of Sainte Chapelle rising above
them broad and round, like an elephant’s back laden with its tower. Only in this case
the tower was the most daring, most open, most daintily wrought, most delicately
carved spire that ever showed the sky through its lacework cone. In front of Notre-
Dame, close at hand, three streets opened into the Cathedral Square, which was a fine
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square of old houses. The southern side of this Place was overhung by the furrowed
and wrinkled front of the Hôtel Dieu, and its roof, which looks as if covered with
pustules and wars. Then, right and left, east and west, within that narrow circuit of
the City, were ranged the steeples of its twenty-one churches, of all dates, forms and
sizes; fromthe low and worm-eaten Roman campanile of Saint Denis du Pas, carcer
Glaucini' (Prison of Glaucinus), to the slender spires of Saint Pierre aux Boeufs and
Saint Landry. Behind Notre-Dame were revealed northward, the cloister, with its
Gothicgalleries; southward, the semi-Roman palace of the bishop; and casts ward,
theuninhabited point of the Terrain, or waste ground. Amid that accumulation of
housesthe eye could also distinguish, by the high perforated mitres of stone, which at
thatperiod were placed aloft upon the roof itself, surmounting the highest range of
palace windows, the mansion presented by the Parisians, in the reign of Charles VI,
to Juvénal des Ursins, a little farther on, the tarred booths of the Palus Market; and in
another direction, the new apse of Saint Germain le Vieux, lengthened, in 1458, by a
bit of the Rue aux Febves, and then at intervals, a square crowded with people -
apillory set up at some street corner - a fine piece of the pavement of Philip Augustus
- magnificent flagging, furrowed for the horses’ feet in the middle of the roadway,
and so badly replaced in the sixteenth century by the wretched pebbling called pavé
de la Ligue (pavements of the League) - some solitary backyard, with one of those
open turret staircases, which were built in the fifteenth century, one of which is still
to be seen in the Rue des Bourdonnais. Finally, on the right of the Sainte Chapelle, to
the westward, the Palace of Justice rested its group of towers upon the water’s brink.
The groves of the royal gardens which occupied the western point of the City hid
from view the islet of the Passeur. As for the water itself, it was hardly visible from
thetowers of Notre-Dame, on either side of the City; the Seine disappearing under
thebridges, and the bridges under the houses.
And when the glance passed these bridges, the roofs of which were visibly turning
green from mould, before their time, from the vapours of the water; if it turned to the
left, toward the University, the first edifice that struck it was a large low cluster of
towers, the Petit Châtelet, whose yawning porch seemed to devour the extremity of
the Petit Pont. Then, if your View ran along the bank from east to west, from the
Tournelle to the Tour de Nesle, there were to be seen a long line of houses exhibiting
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sculptured beams, coloured window-glass, each storey overhanging that beneath it -
an interminable zigzag of homely gables, cut at frequent intervals by the intersection
ofsome street, and now and then also by the front or the corner of some great stonebuilt
mansion, which seemed to stand at its ease with its courtyards and gardens, its
wings and its compartments, amid that rabble of houses crowding and pinching one
another, like a grand seigneur amidst a mob of rustics. There were five or six of these
mansions upon the quay, from the Logis de Lorraine, which shared with the house of
the Bemardines the great neighbouring enclosure of the Tournelle, to the Hotel de
Nesle, the principal tower of which bounded Paris on the side, and the pointed roofs
of whichwere so situated as to cut with their dark triangles, during three months of
the year, the scarlet disc of the setting sun.
This side of the Seine, however, was the least mercantile of the two; studentswere
noisier and more numerous than artisans; and there was not, properly speaking, any
quay, except from the Pont Saint Michel to the Tour de Nesle. The rest of the bank of
the Seine was either a bare mud, as was the case beyond the Bernardine monastery,
or a close range of houses with the water at their base, as between the two bridges.
There was a great clamour of washerwomen along the waterside, talking,shouting,
singing, from morning till night along the shore, and beating away at their linen - as
they do in our day. This is not the least of the gaieties of Paris.
The University presented a huge mass to the eye. From one end to the other itwas a
compact and homogeneous whole. The myriad roofs, dense, angular, adherent, nearly
all composed of the same geometrical element, when seen from above, looked like a
crystallisation of one substance. The capricious hollows of the streets divided this
pasty of houses into slices not too disproportioned. The forty-two colleges were
distributed among them very evenly, and were to be seen in every quarter. The
amusingly varied pinnacles of those fine buildings were the product of the same art
as the simple roofs which they overtopped, being really but a multiplication of the
square or cube, of the same geometrical figure. Thus they made the whole more
intricatewithout confusing it, complete without overloading it. Geometry is harmony.
Severalfine mansions also made here and there magnificent outlines against the
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picturesque attics of the left bank; the Nevers house, the house of Rome, the Reims
house, whichhave disappeared; and the Hotel de Cluny, which still exists for the
consolation of theartist, but the tower of which was so stupidly shortened a few years
ago. Nearby Cluny, that Roman palace, with fine semicircular arches, was formerly
the Baths ofJulian. here were also a number of abbeys of a more ecclesiastical
beauty, of a moresolemn grandeur than the mansions, but not less beautiful nor less
grand. Those whichfirst attracted the eye were the monastery of the Bernardines,
with its three bell towers; Sainte Geneviéve, whose square tower, still standing,
makes us regret the rest so much; the Sorbonne, half-college, half-monastery, of
which so admirable a nave still remains, the fine quadrangular Cloister of the
Mathurins; its neighbour, the Cloister of Saint Benedict, within whose walls they
have had time to knock up a theatre between the seventh and eighth editions of this
book; the Cordelicrs, with their three enormous gables, side by side the Augustins, a
hose graceful spire was, after the Tour de Nesle, the second lofty projection on that
side of Paris, from the westward.
The colleges - which are in fact the intermediate link between the cloister and the
world - held the central point in the architectural series between the fine private
residences and the abbeys, exhibiting a severe elegance, a sculpture less airy than
that of the palaces, an architecture less severe than that of the convents.
Unfortunately, scarcely anything remains of these structures in which Gothic art held
so just a balancebetween richness and economy. The churches (and they were
numerous and splendidin the University, and there displayed every period of
architecture, from the round arches of Saint Julian to the Gothic ones of Saint
Severin) - the churches rose above the whole, and like one harmony the more in that
mass of harmonies, they pierced, one after another, the varied outline of gables, of
sharply-defined spires, of perforatedsteeples and slender pinnacles, whose outline
was but a magnificent exaggeration ofthe acute angle of the roofs.
The ground of the University was hilly. The mountain of Sainte Geneviéve, onthe
southeast, formed an enormous swell, and it was a sight well worth seeing, fromthe
top of Notre-Dame, that crowd of narrow, tortuous streets (today the Latin quarter),
those clusters of houses which, scattered in every direction from the top of that
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eminence spread themselves in disorder, and almost precipitously down its sides, to
the water’s edge, looking, some as if they were falling, others as if they were
climbing up, and all as if holding on to one another. The continual motion of a
myriad black dots crossing and recrossing each other on the pavement, gave a
shimmering look to everything. These were the people in the streets, seen from a
height and a distance.
Finally in the spaces between these roofs, these spires these innumerable andirregular
structures, which so fantastically bent, twisted and indented the extreme outline of
the University, one caught a glimpse here and there of some great patch of mosscovered
wall, some thick round tower, or some crenellated town gate, resembling a
fortress - this was the wall of Philip Augustus. Beyond extended the green meadows;
beyond these ran the highways, along which were scattered a few more suburban
houses which became more infrequent as they became more distant. Some of these
suburbs were of considerable importance. There were first (starting from the
Tournelle) the burgh Saint Victor, with its bridge of one arch over the Bievre; its
abbey, in which was to be read the epitaph of King Louis the Fat -
epitaphiumLudovici Grossi; and its church with an octagonal spire flanked by four
small bell towers, of the eleventh century (a similar one can be seen at Etampes; it is
not yet destroyed). Next, the burgh Saint Marceau, which had already three churches
and aconvent. Then, leaving the mill of the Gobelins and its four white walls on the
left, there was the Faubourg Saint Jacques, with the beautiful carved cross in its
square; the church of Saint Jacques du Haut Pas, which was then Gothic, pointed and
delightful; Saint Magloire, with a fine fourteenth century nave, which Napoleon
turned into a hay-loft; Notre-Dame des Champs, where there were Byzantine
mosaics. Lastly, after leaving in the open country the Carthusian monastery, a rich
structure of the same period as the Palace of Justice, with its little gardens in sections
and the illfamed ruins of Vauvert,91 the eye fell to westward, upon the three Roman
spires of Saint Germain des Prés. The borough Saint Germain, already a large
community, had fifteen or twenty streets in the rear; the sharp steeple of Saint
Sulpice indicating one of itscorners. Close by it might be seen the square enclosure
of the Saint Germain fairground where the market now stands, then the abbot’s
pillory, a pretty little roundtower, neatly capped with a cone of lead; the tile kiln was
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farther on as well as the Ruedu Four, which led to the common bakehouse, with the
mill on its knoll and thelazaretto, a small, detached, and half-seen building. But that
which especially attracted the eye, and long held the attention, was the abbey itself. It
is certain that thismonastery, which had an aspect of grandeur both as a church and
as a seigniory, thisabbatial palace, in which the bishops of Paris deemed themselves
happy to sleep a single night - this refectory, upon which the architect had bestowed
the air, the beauty, and the splendid rose-shaped window of a cathedral - this elegant
chapel of the Virgin- this monumental dormitory - those spacious gardens - the
portcullis and drawbridge - the circuit of battlements which marked its indented
outline against the verdure of the surrounding meadows -those courtyards where
gleamed men-at-arms intermingledwith golden copes the whole grouped and
clustered about three tall spires with their semicircular arches solidly planted upon a
Gothic apse - made a magnificent outlineupon the horizon.
When at length, after long contemplating the University, you turned toward theright
bank towards the Town, the character of the scene was suddenly changed. The Town
was not only much larger than the University, but also less uniform. At firstsight it
appeared to be divided into several portions, singularly distinct from eachother. First,
to the East, in that part of the Town which still takes its name from the marsh in
which Camulogenes mired Caesar, there was a collection palaces, which extended to
the waterside. Four great mansions almost contiguous - the Hôtels de Jous, de Sens,
and de Barbeau and the Logis de la Reine - mirrored their slated roofs broken by the
slender turrets in the Seine. These four edifices filled the space from the Rue des
Nonaindières to the abbey of the Celestines, whose spire formed a graceful relief to
their line of gables and battlements. Some sorry, moss-grown structuresoverhanging
the water in front of these sumptuous mansions did not conceal from view the fine
lines of their fronts, their great square stone-framed windows, their Gothic porches
loaded with statues, the boldly-cutborderings about their walls, and all those
charming accidents of architecture which make Gothic art seem to begin again its
series of combinations at every fresh building. Behind these palaces ran in
everydirection, in some places cloven, palisaded and embattled, like a citadel, in
othersconcealed by large trees like a Carthusian monastery, the vast and multiforrn
circuit ofthat wonderful Hôtel de Saint Pol, in which the French king had room to
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lodgesuperbly twenty-two princes of the rank of the dauphin and the Duke of
Burgundy, with their trains and their domestics, without counting the grands
seigneurs and theemperor when he came to visit Paris, and the lions that had a
separate residence withinthe royal establishment. And we must here observe that a
prince’s lodgings thenconsisted of not less than eleven principal apartments, from the
audience-chamber tothe oratory; besides all the galleries, baths, stove-rooms and
other ‘superfluous places,’ with which each suite of apartments was provided; not to
mention the private gardens for each of the king’s guests; besides the kitchens,
cellars, pantries and general refectories of the household; the servants’ quarters, in
which there were two and twenty general offices, from the bake-house to the wine
cellars; games of different kinds, as mall, tennis, riding at the ring, etc.; aviaries, fishponds,
menageries, stables, cattle-stalls, libraries, armouries and foundries. Such
was, at that day, a royal palace - aLouvre - a Hôtel Saint Pol; a city within a city.
From the tower upon which we have placed ourselves, the Hôtel Saint Pol,though
almost half hidden by the four great dwelling-houses of which we have just spoken,
was, nevertheless, very vast and very wonderful to behold. One could clearly
distinguish in it, although they had been skilfully joined to the main building by
meansof long windowed and pillared galleries, the three residences which Charles V
had thrown into one, together with his former palace; the Hôtel du Petit-Muce, with
theopenwork balustrade so gracefully bordering its roof; the hôtel of the abbot of
SaintMaur, having the aspect of a stronghold, a massive tower, bastions, loop-holes,
iron cornice, and over the wide Saxon gateway, the abbot’s escutcheon between the
twogrooves for the drawbridge; the residence of the Count d’Etampes, whose
donjon-keep in ruins at the top, looked rounded and indented, like the crest of a cock;
here and therethree or four ancient oaks, forming a tuft together like enormous
cauliflowers; swans disporting themselves amid the clear waters of the fishponds, all
rippling with lightand shade; numerous courtyards afforded picturesque glimpses; the
Hôtel des Lions, with its low-pointed arches upon short Saxon pillars, its iron
portcullises and its perpetual roaring; through all this the scaly spire of the Ave
Maria; on the left, thehouse of the provost of Paris, flanked by four turrets delicately
moulded andperforated; and, in the centre in the background the Hôtel Saint Pol,
properly speaking, with its multiple fronts, its successive embellishments since the
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time of Charles V, the hybrid excrescences with which the fancy of the artists had
loaded it in thecourse of two centuries; with all the apses of its chapels, all the gables
of its galleries,its endless weathercocks, turned to the four winds, and its two
contiguous towers, theconical roof of which, surrounded by battlements at its base,
looked like cocked hats.
Continuing to mount the steps of this amphitheatre of palaces spread out afarupon the
ground, after crossing a deep fissure in the roofs of the Town, which marked the
passage of the Rue Saint Antoine, the eye travelled on to the Logis d’Angoulême,a
vast structure of several different periods, in which there were some parts quite new
and almost white that did not harmonise with the rest any better than a red patch on a
blue doublet. However, the singularly sharp and elevated roof of the modern palace,
bristling with carved gutters, and covered with sheets of lead, over which ran
sparklingincrustations of gilt copper in a thousand fantastic arabesques that roof so
curiously damaskeened, darted upwards gracefully from amid the brown ruins of the
ancient edifice, the old massive towers of which were bellying with age into the
shape ofcasks, their height shrunk with decrepitude, and breaking asunder from top
to bottom.
Behind rose the forest of spires of the Palais des Tournelles. No View in the world,
noteven at Chambord nor at the Alhambra, could be more magical, more aerial, more
enchanting, than that grove of spires, turrets, chimneys, weathercocks, spiral
staircases, perforated lanterns, which looked as if struck out with a die, pavilions,
spindle-shaped turrets, or tournelles, as they were then called -all differing in
form,height and position. It might well have been compared to a gigantic
stonecheckerboard.
To the right of the Tournelles, that group of enormous inky black towers,growing, as
it were, one into another, and looking as if bound together by their circular moat; that
donjon tower, more thickly pierced with loop-holes than with windows; that
drawbridge always, raised; that portcullis always lowered; that is the Bastille. Those
black muzzles, peering from the battlements, and which, at this distance, you
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wouldtake for gutter spouts, are cannon. Within gunshot below the terrible edifice is
the Porte Saint Antoine, almostburied between its two towers.
Beyond the Tournelles, as far as the wall of Charles V, spread out in
richcompartments of verdure and of flowers, a tufted carpet of garden grounds and
royalparks, in the midst of which one recognised, by its labyrinth of trees and alleys,
the famous Daedalus garden that Louis XI gave to Coictier. The doctor’s observatory
rose above the labyrinth, like a great isolated column with a small house for its
capital. In that small study terrible astrological predictions were made.
Upon that spot now stands the Place Royale.
As we have already observed, the region of the Palace, of which we
haveendeavoured to give the reader some idea, though by specifying only its most
salient points, filled up the angle which Charles V’s wall made with the Seine on the
east. The centre of the Town was occupied by a pile of houses for the populace. It
was there, in fact, that the three bridges of the City disgorged upon the right bank;
and bridges lead to the building of houses rather than palaces. This collection of
common dwelling houses, pressed against one another like cells in a hive had a
beauty of its own. The roofs of a great city have a certain grandeur, like the waves of
the sea. In the first place, the streets, crossed and intertwined, diversified the mass
with a hundred amusing figures, around the Halles, it was like a star with a thousand
rays.
The Rues Saint Denis and Saint Martin, with their innumerable ramifications,rose
one after the other, like. two great trees with intermingling branches; and
thencrooked lines, the Rues de la Platterie, de la Verrerie, de la Tixeranderie, etc.,
woundin and out among the whole. There were also time edifices lifting their heads
above the fixed swell of this sea of gables. There, at the entrance of the Pont aux
Changeurs, behind which the Seine was seen foaming under the mill-wheels at the
Pont aux Meuniers, there was the Châtelet; no longer a Roman tower as under Julian,
theApostate, but a feudal tower of the thirteenth century, of a stone so hard that, in
three hours’ work, the pick would not remove a piece the size of a man’s fist. Then
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there was the rich square steeple of Saint Jacques de la Boucherie, its sides all
encrusted with sculptures, and already worthy of admiration, although it was not
finished in the fifteenth century. (It lacked particularly those four monsters which,
still perched on thefour corners of its roof, look like four sphinxes giving modern
Paris the riddle ofancient Paris to solve. Rault, the sculptor, only placed them in
position in 1526; and received twenty francs for his trouble.) There was the Maison
aux Piliers, overlooking that Place de Grève of which we have already given the
reader some idea. There was the church of Saint Gervais, which a large portal in
good taste has since spoiled; that of Saint Méry, whose ancient pointed arches were
still almost rounded; and that of Saint Jean, whose magnificent spire was proverbial;
besides twenty other structures which disdained not to bury their wonders in this
wilderness of deep, dark and narrow streets. Add to these the carved stone crosses,
even more abundant at crossroads than gibbets; the cemetery of the Innocents, whose
architectural wall was to be seen in the distance, over the house-tops; the market
pillory, the top of which was visible between two chimneys of the Rue de la
Cossonnerie; the ‘ladder’ of the Croix du Trahoir, with its crossroads always black
with people; the circular buildings of the wheat-mart; thebroken fragments of the old
wall of Philip Augustus, distinguishable here and there,buried among the houses -
towers overrun with ivy, ruined gateways - crumbling andshapeless pieces of wall;
the quay with its countless shops, and its bloody knackers’ yards; the Seine covered
with boats from the Port au Foin to the For-l’Evéque; and you will have a dim idea of
the appearance, in 1482, of the central trapezium, or irregular quadrangle, of the
Town.
Together with these two quarters, the one of princely mansions, the other ofordinary
houses, the third great feature then observable in the Town, was a long belt ofabbeys
bordering it almost in its entire circumference, from east to west, and, behindthe line
of fortification by which Paris was shut in, formed a second inner circle, consisting
of convents and chapels. Thus, close to the park of the Tournelles, between the Rue
Saint Antoine and the old Rue du Temple, there was Saint Catherine’s, with its
immense grounds, bounded only by the wall of Paris. Between the old and the new
Rue du Temple there was the Temple itself, a sinister group of towers, lofty, erect
and isolated in the midst of a vast, battlemented enclosure. Between the Rue Neuve
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du Temple and the Rue Saint Martin, in the midst of its gardens, stood Saint
Martin’s, a superb fortified church, whose girdle of towers, whose tiara or steeples,
where secondin strength and splendour only to Saint Germain des Prés. Between the
two streets ofSaint Martin and Saint Denis were the precincts of the convent of the
Trinity. Andbetween the Rue Saint Denis and the Rue Montorgueil was that of the
Filles Dieu. Close by might be seen the decayed roofs and unpaved enclosures of the
Court of Miracles. This was the only profane link in this pious chain of convents.
Lastly, the fourth division, clearly outlined in the conglomeration of roofs uponthe
right bank, formed by the western angle of the great enclosure, and the banks of the
river down stream, was a fresh knot of palaces and great mansions crowding at the
foot of the Louvre. The old Louvre of Philip Augustus, that immense structure -
thegreat tower of which mustered around it twenty-three principal towers, besides all
the smaller ones - seemed, at a distance, to be set within the Gothic summits of the
Hôteld’Alencon and the Petit Bourbon. This hydra of towers, the giant keeper of
Paris, withits four-and-twenty heads ever erect with its monstrous cruppers covered
with lead orscaly with slates, and all rippling with glittering metallic reflections x
terminated withwonderful effect the configuration of the Town on the west.
An immense mass, therefore - what the Romans called an insula or island -
ofordinary dwelling-houses, flanked on either side by two great clusters of palaces,
crowned, the one by the Louvre, the other by the Toumelles, bounded on the north by
a long belt of abbeys and cultivated enclosures - blending and mingling together as
one gazed at them - above these thousand buildings, whose tiled and slated roofs '
stood out in such strange outlines, the crimped, twisted and ornamented steeples of
the forty-four churches on the right bank - myriads of cross-streets - the boundary, on
one side, a line of lofty walls with square towers (those of the University wall
beinground), and on the other, the Seine, intersected by bridges and crowded with
numberless boats -such was the Town in the fifteenth century.
Beyond the walls some few suburbs crowded to the gates but less numerousand more
scattered than those on the University side. Thus, behind the Bastille, a scoreof mean
houses clustered around the curious carvings of the cross of Faubin, and thebuttresses
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of the abbey of Saint Antoine des Champs; then there was Popincourt, lost amid the
cornfields, then, La Courtille, a jolly village of taverns; the borough of SaintLaurent
with its‘ church, whose steeple seemed, at a distance, to belong to the pointed towers
of the Porte Saint Martin; the Faubourg Saint Denis with the vast enclosure ofSaint
Ladre; beyond the - Montmartre gate the Grange Bateliere, encircled with white
walls; behind it, with its chalky declivities Montmartre, which had then almost as
many churches as windmills, but which has kept only the mills, for society no longer
demands anything but bread for the body. Then, beyond the Louvre, could be seen,
stretching away into the meadows, the Faubourg Saint Honoré, even then of
considerable extent; La Petite Bretagne, looking green; and the Pig Market;
spreadingitself out, in the centre of which rose the horrible cauldron wed for boiling
alive coiners of counterfeit money. Between La Courtille and Saint Laurent, the eye
noted on the summit of a hill that crouched amid a desert plain, a sort of structure,
whichlooked at a distance like a ruined colonnade standing upon foundations laid
bare. It was neither a Parthenon nor a temple of the Jupiter Olympus; it was
Montfaucon.
Now, if the enumeration of so many edifices, brief as we have sought to makeit, has
not destroyed as fast as we constructed it, in the reader’s mind, the generalimage of
old Paris, we will recapitulate it in a few words. In the centre the island of theCity,
shaped like a huge turtle, extending on either side its bridges all scaly with tiles,like
so many legs, from under its grey shell of roofs. On the left, the close, dense,
binding, monolithic trapezium of the University; on the right, the vast semicircle of
the Town where houses and gardens were much more mingled. The three divisions
City, University and Town veined with countless streets. Through the whole runs the
Seine, ‘the nourishing Seine,’ as Father du Breul calls it, obstructed with islands,
bridges and boats. All around an immense plain, checkered with a thousand different
crops, strewnwith beautiful villages; on the left, Issy, Vanvres, Vaugirard,
Montrouge, Gentilly, with its round tower and its square tower, etc.; and on the right,
twenty others, from Conflans to Ville l’Evéque. In the horizon a border of hills
arranged in a circle, like the rim of die basin. Finally, in the distance, to eastward,
was Vincennes, widi its seven quadrangular towers; to southward, Bicétre, and its
pointed turrets; to northward, Saint Denis and its spire; to westward, Saint Cloud and
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its donjon. Such was the Paris seen from the top of the towers of None-Dame by the
crows who lived in1482.
And yet it is of this city that Voltaire has said, that before the time of Louis XIVit
possessed only four fine piece of architecture: that is to say, the dome of
theSorbonne, the Val de Grace, the modern Louvre, and I know not what the fourth
was, perhaps the Luxembourg. Fortunately, Voltaire was none the less the author of
Candide; nor is he the less, among all the men who have succeeded one another in
the long series of humanity, the one who has best possessed the rirediabolique, the
sardonic smile. This proves moreover, that a man may be a fine genius, and yet
understand nothing of an art which he has not studied. Did not Moliere think he was
doing great honour to Raphael and Michael Angelo when he called them ‘those
Mignards of their age’?
Let us return to Paris and to the fifteenth century.
It was not then merely a handsome city - it was a homogeneous city - anarchitectural
and historical production of the Middle Ages - a chronicle in stone. It was a city
composed of two architectural strata only, the bastard Roman and the Gothic layer -
for the pure Roman stratum had long disappeared, except in the Baths of Julian,
where it still pierced through the thick crust of the Middle Ages. As for the Celtic, no
specimen of that was now to be found, even when digging wells. Fifty years later,
when the Renaissance came breaking into that unity so severe and yet so varied, with
the dazzling profuseness of its fantasies and its systems, rioting among Roman
arches, Grecian columns and Gothic windows - its sculpture tender and imaginative -
its fondness for arabesques and acanthus leaves - its architectural paganism
contemporary with Luther - Paris was perhaps more beautiful, though
lessharmonious to the eye and to the mind. But that splendid period was of short
duration. The Renaissance was not impartial. Not content with building up, it thought
proper topull down it is true it needed space. Thus Gothic Paris was complete but for
a moment. Scarcely was Saint Jacques de la Boucherie finished before the demolition
of the oldLouvre began.
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Since then this great city has been daily sinking into deformity. The GothicParis,
under which the Roman Paris was disappearing, has disappeared in its turn; butwhat
name shall we give to the Paris that has taken its place?
There is the Paris “of Catherine de Medicis at the Tuileries; the Paris of HenryII at
the Hôtel de Ville - two buildings which are still in the best taste; the Paris ofHenry
IV at the Place Royale - brick fronts with comers of stone and slated roofs -
tricoloured houses, - the Paris of Louis XIII at the Val de Grace - of architecture
crushed and squat - with basket-handle vaults, big-bellied columns and a humpbackeddome;
the Paris of Louis XIV at the Invalides - grand, rich, gilded and cold;
the Paris of Louis XV at Saint Sulpiee - with volutes, knots of ribbons, clouds,
vermicelli and chiccory, all in stone; the Paris of Louis XVI at the Pantheon - Saint
Peter’s at Rome ill-copied (the building stands awkwardly, which has not bettcred its
lines); the Parisof the Republic at the School of Medicine - a bit of poor Greek and
Roman taste, asmuch to be compared to the Coliseum or the Parthenon as the
constitution of the year III to the laws of Minos; it is called in architecture, 1e gout
messidar (the tenth month of the French republican calendar, from the 19th of June to
the 18th of July), the Paris of Napoleon at the Place Vendôme - this is sublime - a
bronze column made of cannon; the Paris of the Restoration, at the Bourse or
Exchange - a very white colonnade, supporting a very smooth frieze; the whole is
square, and cost twenty million francs. To each of these characteristic structures is
allied, by similarity of style, manner and disposition, a certain number of houses
scattered over the different quarters, which the eye of the connoisseur easily
distinguishes and assigns to their respective dates. When one knows how to look, one
finds the spirit of a century andthe physiognomy of a king even in the knocker on a
door.
The Paris of today has therefore no general physiognomy. It is a collection
ofspecimens of several different ages, and the finest have disappeared. The capital
isincreasing in houses only - and what houses! At the rate at which Paris moves it
will be renewed every fifty years. Thus, also, the historical meaning of its
architecture is daily becoming effaced. Its great structures are becoming fewer and
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fewer, seeming to be swallowed up one after another by the flood of houses. Our
fathers had a Paris of stone our sons will have a Paris of plaster.
As for the modern structures of the new Paris, we would gladly be excusedfrom
enlarging upon them. Not, indeed, that we do not grant them the admiration
theymerit. The Sainte Genevieve of M. Soufflot is certainly the finest Savoy cake
that wasever made of stone. The Palace of the Legion of Honour is also a very
distinguished piece of confectionery. The dome of the Corn Market is an English
jockey-cap on a magnificent scale. The towers of Saint Sulpice are two great
Clarinets; a good enough shape in its way; and then, the telegraph, crooked and
grinning, makes a charming ornamentation upon the roof. The church of Saint Roch
has a doorway with whosemagnificence only that of Saint Thomas d’Aquin can
compare; it has also a crucifix inrelief in a vault, and an ostensary of gilded wood.
These things are fairly marvellous.The lantern of the labyrinth at the Jardin des
Plantes, too, is vastly ingenious. As for the Palais de la Bourse, which is Grecian in
its colonnade, Roman by the circular arches of its doors and windows and
Renaissance by its great elliptic arch, it is undoubtedly a very correct and pure
structure; the proof being that it is crowned by an attic such as was never seen at
Athens, a fine straight line gracefully intersected here and there by chimney-pots. Let
us add, that if it be a rule that the architecture of a building should be so adapted to
the purpose of the building itself; that the aspect of the edifice should at once declare
that purpose, we can not too much admire a structurewhich, from its appearance,
might be either a royal palace, a chamber of deputies, a town-hall, a college, a ridingschool,
an academy, a warehouse, a courthouse, a museum, a barrack, a mausoleum,
a temple, or a theatre -and which, all the while, is an exchange. It has been thought,
too, that an edifice should be made appropriate to the climate and so this one has
evidently been built on purpose for a cold and rainy sky. It has a roof almost flat, as
they are in the East; and, consequently, in winter, when it snows, the roof has to be
swept and it is sure roofs are made to be swept. As for that purpose of which we were
just speaking, the building fulfils it admirably. It is an exchange in France, as it
would have been a temple in Greece. True it is that the architect has had much ado to
conceal the clock-face, which would have destroyed thepurity of the noble lines of
the facade; but to make amends, there is that colonnaderunning round the whole
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structure, under which, on days of high religious ceremony,the schemes of moneybrokers
and stockjobbers may be magnificently developed.
These, doubtless, are very superb structures. Add to these many a pretty
street,amusing and diversified, like the Rue de Rivoli; and I am not without hope that
Paris,as seen from a balloon, may yet present that richness of outline and opulence of
detail - that diversity of aspect - that something grandiose in its simplicity -
unexpected in its beauty - that characterises a checker-board.
However, admirable as you may think the present Paris, recall the Paris of
thefifteenth century; reconstruct it in thought; look at the sky through that
surprisingforest of spires, towers and steeples spread out amid the vast city, tear
asunder at thepoints of the islands, and fold round the piers of the bridges, the Seine,
with its largegreen and yellow slimy pools, more variegated than the skin of a
serpent; projectclearly upon a blue horizon the Gothic profile of that old Paris. Make
its outline floatin a wintry mist clinging to its innumerable chimneys; plunge it in
deep night, andobserve the fantastic play of the darkness and the lights in that
gloomy labyrinth ofbuildings; cast upon it a ray of moonlight, which shall reveal it
dimly, with its towerslifting their great heads from that foggy sea - or recall that
black silhouette; enlivenwith shadows the thousand sharp angles of its spires and
gables, and make it stand out more indented than a shark’s jaw upon the glowing
western sky at sunset - and then,compare the two.
And if you would receive an impression from the old city which the modernone can
never give you, climb on the morning of some great holiday, at sunrise, onEaster, or
Whitsunday - climb to some elevated point whence you overlook the whole capital -
and assist at the wakening of the chimes. Behold, at a signal from heaven - for it is
the sun that gives it - those thousand churches starting from their sleep. At first you
heat but scattered tinklings, going from church to church, as when musicians are
giving one another notice to begin. Then, of a sudden, behold - for there aremoments
when the ear itself seems to see - behold, ascending at the same moment, from every
steeple, a column of sound, as it were, a cloud of harmony. At first the vibration of
each bell mounts up direct, clear, and, so to speak, isolated from the rest, into the
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splendid morning sky; then, by degrees, as they expand, they mingle, unite, are lost
in each other, and confounded in one magnificent concert. It is no longeranything but
a mass of sonorous vibrations, incessantly sent forth from theinnumerable belfries -
floating, undulating, bounding and eddying, over the town, and prolonging far
beyond the horizon the deafening circle of its osculadons. Yet that seaof harmony is
not a chaos. Wide and deep as it is, it has not lost its transparency; youperceive the
windings of each group of notes that escapes from the chimes. You can follow the
dialogue, by turns solemn and shrill, of the treble and the bass; you perceive the
octaves leaping from one steeple to another; you observe them springing aloft,
winged, light and whirring, from the bell of silver; falling broken and limping from
thebell of wood. You admire among them the rich gamut incessantly descending
andreascending the seven bells of Saint Eustache; and you see clear and rapid notes,
running criss-cross, in three or four luminous zigzags, and vanishing like flashes of
lightning. Yonder is the abbey Saint Martin’s, a shrill and broken voiced songstress;
here is the sinister and sullen voice of the Bastille; at the other end is the great tower
of the Louvre, with its counter-tenor. The royal peal of the Palais unceasingly flings
on every side resplendent trills, and upon them fall, at regular intervals, heavy
strokes from the belfry of Notre-Dame, which strike sparks from them like the
hammer from the anvil. At intervals, you see passing tones, of every form, coming
from the triple peal of Saint Germain des Prés. Then again, from time to time, this
mass of sublime sounds half opens and makes way to the stretto of the Ave Maria,
which flashes andsparkles like a cluster of stars. Below, in the heart of the harmony
you vaguely catchthe chanting inside the churches, exhaled through the vibrating
pores of their vaulted roofs. This is, certainly, an opera worth hearing. Usually, the
murmur that rises up from Paris by day is the city talking; in the night it is the city
breathing; but here it is the city singing. Listen, then, to this chorus of bell-towers -
diffuse over the whole the murmur of half a million of people - the eternal lament of
the river - the endless sighing of the wind - the grave and distant quartet of the four
forests placed upon the hills, in the distance, like immense organ pipes - extinguish
to a half light all in the central chime that would otherwise be too harsh or too shrill;
and then say whetheryou know of anything in the world more rich, more joyous,
more golden, moredazzling, than this tumult of bells and chimes - this furnace of
music - these thousandsof brazen voices, all singing together in flutes of stone three
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hundred feet high, thanthis city which is but one orchestra - this symphony which
roars like a tempest.".118
118Hugo,V. (1993)., pp. 96-116.
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E. DRAWINGS OF NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS
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F.CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL INFORMATION DEVRİM TOPSAKAL, Elif Turkish (TC) / French (FR) EDUCATION
Degree Institution Year of Graduation
PhD History of Architecture 2023
Middle East Technical University
MA Architectural History, Theory and Interpretation 2013
London Metropolitan University
BA Interior Architecture and Environmental Design 2011
Bahçeşehir University
WORK EXPERIENCE
Year Place Enrollment
2021- Bahçeşehir University Part Time Instructor
Present Department of Interior Architecture
2016- İstanbul Ticaret University Full-Time Instructor
2023 Department of Interior Architecture
2017- İstanbul Gedik University Part Time Instructor
2018 Department of Interior Architecture
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FOREIGN LANGUAGES
Advanced English, Native French, Beginner Italian
PUBLICATIONS
1. Devrim Topsakal, E. (2020). "Meaning in Gothic Cathedral: Reading the Symbolism in Gothic Architecture Through Chartres Cathedral", Academic Studies in Architecture, Planning and Design II (ed. Prof.Dr.SeçilŞatır), Gece Publishing, Ankara.
2. Devrim Topsakal, E. (2015). "Reading Hugo, Studying the Church, Remembering the Past", METU History of Architecture Graduate Researches Symposium: Spaces / Times / People: Nostalgia and Architectural History.
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G. TURKISH SUMMARY / TÜRKÇE ÖZET
Bu tez, Gotik mimarinin on dokuzuncu yüzyıl ve sonrasında nasıl algılandığını ve Notre-Dame de Paris Katedrali olarak bilinen dünyaca ünlü mimari şaheserin mimarlık tarihinde ne şekilde referans alındığını araştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Katedral'in hem Fransızca hem de İngilizce yazılmış mimarlık tarihi yazımı kanonundaki yerini belirlemektir. Yapı üç bağlamda incelenmiştir: tezin ikinci bölümünde, Seine Nehri'nin ortasındaki küçük adanın güneydoğu kesiminde Gotik stilinde inşa edilen Katedral'in bulunduğu Île de la Cité'nin yakın kentsel bağlamında bir "Paris nesnesi" olarak gözlemlenmiştir.
Gotik mimari ilk olarak on ikinci yüzyılda Paris'teki Aziz Denis Bazilikası'nda, Başrahip Suger'inBazilika'nın batı cephesinin yeniden tasarlanmasını emretmesi ve Gotik kiliselerin prototipi olarak kabul edilen doğudaki koro ile devam etmesiyle görülmüştür. Niyeti, aydınlık pencereler aracılığıyla yapıya daha fazla ışık getirmekti. Kraliyet Manastırı olarak üstlendiği rol, içerdiği dini eserler ve yeni yapısal olanaklar yaratan farklı bir tarzda yeniden inşa edilmesi nedeniyle Bazilika sadece Fransa'da değil komşu ülkelerde de büyük ilgi gördü ve bu yeni tarzın on ikinci ve on altıncı yüzyıllar arasında tüm Avrupa'ya yayılmasına neden oldu. Yeni tasarım, sivri kemerli kaburga tonozları ve payandalarla inceltilen duvarları içeriyordu. Bunlar yeni yapısal unsurlar değildi, zira Romanesk gibi daha önceki üsluplarda da görülebiliyorlardı, ancak bir araya getirilme biçimleri yeni bir yaratımdı; Gotik üslup.
Aziz Denis'in yeniden tasarlanan korosunun 1144'te kutsanması tüm Avrupa'da bir inşaat çılgınlığı yaratmış, Sens (1135), Notre-Dame de Paris (1163), Reims (1211), Amiens (1220'ler) ve Chartres Katedrali (1194) Gotik tarzda inşa edilenlerden sadece birkaçı olmuştur. Aynı dönemde İngiltere de Fransa kadar hızlı bir şekilde Gotik yapılarını tasarlıyordu; Salisbury, York Minster, Lincoln, Durham ve benzerleri;
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Almanya ise Köln, Ulm, Aachen ve daha niceleri ile onları takip ediyordu. Gotik katedrallerin arkasındaki güç, sadece Orta Çağ'ın zirvesi, yapısal evrimi ve yetenekleri değil, aynı zamanda toplulukları ve olasılıkları da temsil etmeleriydi.
"Fransız katedrallerinin kraliçesi" Notre-Dame de Paris'in tarihi, 1163 yılında Île de la Cité'ye ilk taşın konulmasıyla başladı. Yüzyıllar boyunca, yeni Katedral'in inşası ve eklemeler nesiller boyu devam etti; koro 1177'de hızla tamamlandı, ardından uçan payandalar ve tonozlar inşa edildi. Nef ve koridorlar, 1225-1250 yılları arasında tamamlanan ön cepheler ve kulelerden önce bitirilmiştir. Yapının büyük bir kısmı 1245 yılında tamamlanmıştır ancak yüzyıllar boyunca kendi halkı ve mimarları tarafından restorasyonlara, eklemelere, değişikliklere ve hatta vandalizme maruz kalacaktır. İlk değişiklikler daha tamamlanmadan önce başlamış; ana çatı ve üst duvarlar yükseltilirken üst pencereleri genişletmek için üst yapının bir kısmı yıkılmıştır.
Bu anıtların yüzyıllar boyunca inşa edilmiş olması, Notre-Dame de Paris'in stilinin tamamlandığı zaman eskimiş olmasıyla sonuçlanmış ve Katedrali "rayonnant" stili olarak bilinen stile dönüştürecek dekoratif değişikliklerle sonuçlanmıştır. Değişiklikler sonraki yüzyıllarda da devam etti; koronun çevresine şapeller eklendi, başkentin artan nüfusunu barındırabilmek için dış payandaların arasına bölümler eklendi. 1851'de RevueGénérale de l'Architecture'de Gotik başyapıta verilen zararların ayrıntılı bir tarihsel listesini yazan Viollet-le-Duc'e göre tüm değişiklikler kabul edilebilir değildi; 1699'da koro kulesi ve kabartmalar kaldırıldı ve piskoposların mezarları yok oldu. Katedrale eklenen ağır mermer süslemeleri, 1725'te rood perdesinin yıkılmasını ve nefte yer alan renkli lekeli camların ve pencerelerin yok edilmesini eleştirmiştir.
1789'da Fransız Devrimi başladığında Kilise gücünü ve monarşi tarafından sağlanan korumasını kaybetmiştir. Bu kopuk bağ, Fransa'daki birçok Gotik kilise ve katedrale, özellikle de başkenti, Kilise kurumunu ve Kraliyeti temsil ettiği için Paris Katedraline yönelik vandalizmle sonuçlandı. Bu çalkantılı dönemlerde Notre-Dame Katedrali iki farklı tarikatın merkezi haline geldi: Culte de la Raison ve Le Culte de
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L'ÊtreSuprême. Bu tarikatlar anıtın hazinelerini yağmalamış, hükümdara benzeyen heykellerin kafasını kesmiş ve on üçüncü yüzyıldan kalma kule kulesini yıkmışlardır. I. Napolyon, 1789 Devrimi'nin tüm kargaşasından sonra, halkı Kilise ile barıştırmak için kendisi ve Papa Puis VII arasında bir Konkordato imzaladı. Geleceğin imparatoru, uzlaşmayı pekiştirmek için 1804 yılında Paris Katedrali'nde taç giyme törenini düzenledi.
Yapının analiz edildiği ikinci bağlam, Victor Hugo'nun ünlü romanı Notre-Dame de Paris'in kurgusal bağlamı ile birlikte "restorasyon nesnesi" olarak ele alınmıştır. On dokuzuncu yüzyılın başları, sadece ideolojik açıdan değil, sanatsal ve mimari açıdan da geçmişe yönelik bir merakı ortaya koymuştur. Neoklasisizm Fransa'da tercih edilen bir tarzdı ve I. Napolyon ve onun Roma takıntısı tarafından teşvik ediliyordu. Birçok farklı akım ve üslupta kendini gösteren geçmişe yönelik bu nostalji, Fransa'nın yakın tarihine ve on üçüncü yüzyıl ortaçağına odaklanan Le Style Troubadour adlı sanatsal bir üslupla sonuçlandı.
"Le Style Troubadour: ou le nostalgiedu bon vieuxtemps" adlı kitabı yazan François Pupil'e göre "eski güzel zamanlar" sevgiyle hatırlanıyordu ve eski güzel zamanların klasik dönemle ilgili olduğu düşünülse de Fransa'da ortaçağla ilgili olduğu belirtiliyordu. Daha çok resimlerde ve şiirlerde gözlemlenebilen bu tarz, Romantizmin kökenleri olarak kabul edilmiştir. Romantizm, kısmen, mimaride kendini bir pastiş, geçmiş tarzların, özellikle de Gotik mimarinin bir taklidi olarak ifade eden klasisizmin bir reddi olarak kabul edilir.
Fransız Devrimi'nin yıkıcı sonuçları ve bu tarihi merak, mimari parçalar da dahil olmak üzere birçok eserin belgelenmesine, listelenmesine, arşivlenmesine ve 1795 yılında Alexandre Lenoir tarafından açılan Muséedesmonumentsfrançais gibi müzelerde sergilenmesine yol açtığı için koruma ve restorasyon tarihinde kilit anlardır. 1792 tarihli 14 Ağustos kararnamesi, Kral için veya onun emriyle inşa edilen ve baskıyı temsil eden anıtlardan tüm önemli malzemelerin çıkarılmasını talep ediyordu. Aynı belgede, tüm "feodalizm kalıntılarının" yok edilmesi gerektiği belirtiliyordu. Devrimcilerin zihninde feodalizmin kalıntıları tüm kiliseleri,
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katedralleri ve Gotik tarzda inşa edilmiş olabilecek hemen her binayı içeriyordu, Notre-Dame de Paris de bir istisna değildi.
Aynı zihniyet kısa süre sonra koruma ideolojisini de yayacaktı: Devrim sırasında kaybedilen her şey ve kasıtlı vandalizm, insanların geriye kalanları koruma ihtiyacını doğurdu. 1830 yılında tarihi anıtların sınıflandırılması ve restorasyon projelerine fon sağlanması amacıyla Inspecteur-GénéraldesMonumentsHistoriques makamı ve ardından CommissiondesMonumentsHistoriques kurulmuştur ki bunlardan biri de Notre-Dame de Paris Katedrali olacaktır.
Anıtlara "restorasyon nesnesi" bağlamında bakarken, Victor Hugo'nun başyapıtı Notre-Dame'ınKamburu'na kurgusal bir bağlamdan bakmak gerekir: sadece romantik akımı değil, aynı zamanda restorasyonuyla sonuçlanacak miras mimarisinin önemini de temsil edecek bir roman. Hugo, 1831 tarihli romanını yazarken, ne anıtın ne de Paris şehrinin başına önemli bir şey gelmediği 1482 yılını bilerek seçmiştir. Katedrali bir aktör olarak, neredeyse ana aktör olarak, her zaman arka planda ya da hikayede meydana gelen büyük olayların bir dekoru olarak kullandı. Yapı, Hugo tarafından Kitap III'ün ilk bölümünde herhangi bir tarihsel iddia olmaksızın bir araştırma tasviri olarak tanımlanmıştır: Notre-Dame'ın içinde bulunabileceği harabe halini ve zaman kadar insanların da suçlu olduğunu anlatmıştır. Hugo, GuerreauxDémolisseurs! adlı eserinde devrimcileri, hükümeti, halkı ve mimarları eleştirmekle kalmamış, aynı zamanda ironik bir şekilde, anıtı tasvir etmesi, Viollet-le-Duc'un yaptığı iş nedeniyle eleştirilmesiyle sonuçlanacak kapsamlı bir restorasyon projesine yol açacaktır.
Bir başka ironi de Hugo'nun romana, Katedral'in kulelerinden birine yaptığı bir ziyareti anlattığı bir önsöz mektubuyla başlaması ve burada "Kader karşısında çaresizlik" olarak çevrilen Yunanca bir kelimenin oymasını görmesidir: ANAΓKH. Kaderin değiştirilemeyeceğine dair bu inanç romanın temel konusunu oluşturmuştur: V. Kitapta yer alan ünlü "bu onu öldürecek" sahnesi bunun en üst noktasıdır: "...kitap yapıyı öldürecek.". Bir zamanlar bir katedralin cephesinin herhangi bir "mimari sayfadan" daha ince olduğunu söyleyen Hugo, başkentin Katedrali'nin yazılı
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kelimenin sonu olacak bir hikaye ve tarih tasviri olduğuna inanıyordu. Kitabın yapıyı öldürüp öldürmediği sorusunu sordum ve cevabım hayır oldu.
Aksine, anıtı ana karakteri olarak belirleyen bu kitap o kadar popüler oldu ki, sadece yayınlandığı ilk yıl içinde defalarca yeniden basıldı ve bir yıl sonra bir başyapıt olarak görüldüğü için İngilizceye çevrilecek; restorasyon yoluyla Katedrali daha fazla yıkımdan kurtaracak olan şey olacaktı. 30 Nisan 1844 tarihli bir kararname ile Lassusve Viollet-le-Duc, Notre-Dame Katedrali'nin restorasyon projesinden sorumlu mimarlar olarak atanmış ve takip edecekleri süreç için kapsamlı bir rapor hazırlamışlardır. Proje 1864 yılında tamamlandığında, birçok kişi Viollet-le-Duc'ün binanın bazı unsurlarını restore etmek için seçtiği yola katılmadıklarını açıkça dile getirdi: Gereksiz olduğuna inandığı eklemeleri ortadan kaldırdı, Katedral için yeni bir kule kulesi tasarladı, dilediğinde anıtın orijinal halinin kişisel bir görünümü ile nasıl ilerleyeceğini seçti.
1991 yılında UNESCO, Notre-Dame de Paris Katedrali'ni "Gotik mimarinin yayılmasında kesin bir referans" oluşturduğunu resmen belirterek dünya mirası olarak tescil etmiştir. Gotik mimarinin tarih yazımındaki yerinin ne kadar "kesin" olduğu bu tezin ana araştırma konusuydu ve bu, üçüncü bağlam olan "bir çalışma nesnesi" olarak binanın mimarlık tarihi araştırma kitapları kanonunda araştırılması ve incelenmesi yoluyla elde edildi. Viollet-le-Duc, mimarlığı kuramsallaştıran ilk mimarlardan biridir ve Katedral'in restorasyon projesinin baş mimarlarından biri olması nedeniyle, sözlüğü ve Mimarlık Dersleri bu çalışmanın konusu olmuştur. On ciltten oluşan DictionnaireRaissonné, 336 sayfalık "Mimarlık" girişinde kelimeyi açıkladıktan sonra Ortaçağ mimarisinin bir özetiyle devam ettiği ve tarihi mimari ve yapısal evrimle harmanladığı için mimarlık tarihi anlatısının bir parçası olarak kabul edildi. "Katedral" girişinde Notre-Dame'a dokuz sayfa (113 sayfalık bir bölümde) ayırmış ve bu binanın inşaata ilk başlayan bina olduğunu iddia etmiştir ki bugün Sens Katedrali'nin inşasının 1135 yılında başladığını bildiğimiz için bu yanlıştır. Bununla birlikte, başkentteki Katedral'e diğer Gotik anıtlardan daha fazla odaklanmıştır; ya Gotik mimarideki önemine ve rolüne inandığı için ya da sadece metnini yazarken aynı zamanda restore ettiği yapı hakkında daha bilgili olduğu için.
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Viollet-le-Duc'ün verdiği ve iki cilt halinde yayınlanan Entretiens sur l'architecture adlı dersler dizisinin yedinci dersi, Fransa ulusunun özel dehası olarak gördüğü Gotik mimari konusuna daldığı yerdir. Dersinde, on üçüncü yüzyıl Fransa'sında sanatın kraliyetin bir aracı olarak görüldüğünü ve ulusal bir birlik yaratmanın bir aracı olarak tasarlandığını, bunun da mümkün olan her yerde bir katedral inşa edilmesiyle sonuçlandığını belirtti. Ayrıca, seküler okul Fransız sanatı ile Romanesk tarzlar arasındaki farklılıkları daha iyi örnekleyen başka bir anıt olmadığını belirtti. Bir çizimde gösterdiği batı kulelerinin her ikisini de süsleyen iki kule içermesi gerektiği için cephenin tamamlanmamış olduğunu iddia etmiştir.
Viollet-le-Duc'ün hayranlarından biri de Auguste Choisy'dir ve Histoire de l'architecture(1899) adlı eserini yayınladığında, antik çağ uzmanı olmasına rağmen metninde yazdığı en büyük yazı Gotik mimari hakkındadır. Gotik mimarinin yapısal evriminin mimaride rasyonel düşüncenin zirvesini temsil ettiğini düşünüyordu. Anlatısına örnek olarak Notre-Dame de Paris'i vermeyi diğer örneklerden daha çok tercih etti ve Gotik tarzı "onların" mimarisi olarak adlandırmaktan çekinmedi; Viollet-le-Duc ve Victor Hugo bu tarzın bir Fransız icadı olduğunu ve onların milliyetçi tarzı olduğunu iddia ettiler.
GérardMonnier, mimarlık tarihinde daha çağdaş bir yaklaşım benimsediği için seçilmiştir ve Choisy'ninki ile aynı başlığı taşıyan metninde altı bölümden birini Orta Çağ mimarisine ayırmıştır. Yine en büyük bölüm Gotik mimariye ayrılmış ve yazar bu dönemin olağanüstü bir ilerleme kaydettiğini iddia ediyor. Bu bir tür cep kitabı olduğu için örnekler, resimler ve hatta ayrıntılı tartışmalar eksiktir, ancak yazar yine de Notre-Dame de Paris Katedrali'nin birkaç resmini ayırarak bu anıtı öne çıkarmayı başarmıştır.
Fransız mimarlık tarihçileri, sayıları hiç de az olmamakla birlikte, İngilizler kadar mimarlık tarihinin tamamını kapsayan inceleme kitapları üretmemişlerdir. Fransızlar, seçtikleri belirli temalara, mimari üsluplara ve/veya Fransız Devrimi gibi belirli yüzyıllara ve olaylara odaklanmayı ya da Viollet-le-Duc'ün yaptığı gibi metinlerini on birinci yüzyıldan başlatmayı tercih etmişlerdir. Kendi dillerinde kaynak sıkıntısı
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çektikleri yerlerde, seçtikleri örneğin, tercih ettikleri tartışma konusunun ana katedralleri Notre-Dame de Paris olduğunu bize gösterdiler. İster betimlemelerden, ister yapısal unsurlardan, ister çok sayıda örnekten ve çok sayıda illüstrasyondan seçilmiş olsun, anıt çoğu tartışmanın merkezinde yer almaktadır.
Bannister Fletcher Sr. ve oğlunun A History of Architecture on theComparativeMethod (1896) adlı kitabının ilk baskısından itibaren hangi üslup ve kültürlerin ne şekilde dahil edildiğine dair pek çok spekülasyon ve eleştirel düşünce ortaya atılmış, ancak Gotik mimari hiçbir zaman pek çok baskının içeriğinin dışında bırakılmamıştır. Fransızca metinlerin aksine, burada karşılaştırmalı sayfalar ve tartışmalar olsa da ve Fletcher üslubun Fransa'dan çıktığını inkâr etmese de, Gotik mimariye odaklanan bölümlerin İngiliz Gotik'i ile başladığı ve İngilizliğin her zaman merkez nokta olduğu gözlemlenebilir. Yazarlara göre, Fletcher ve oğlu tarafından en eski Fransız katedrali olarak kabul edilen Notre-Dame'ın batı cephesi, "dünyanın değilse bile" Fransa'nın en görkemli kompozisyonuydu. Her ne kadar yazarların emperyalist bakış açısı nedeniyle üslubun görsel temsilleri ağırlıklı olarak İngiliz anıtlarından alınmış ve Fransız katedralleri arasında en karakteristik olanı olarak Cathédraled'Amiens seçilmiş olsa da, Notre-Dame de Paris yine de bir model fotoğrafı ve Batı cephesi ile Doğu'ya bakan iç mekanın iki fotoğrafı olmak üzere altı illüstrasyonla temsil edilmiştir.
Amerikalı tarihçiler Kimball ve Edgell 1918 yılında A History of Architecture adıyla yayınladıkları kitaplarında dokuzuncu bölümü Gotik mimariye ayırmışlardır. Fletcher'ın metninden farklı olarak, burada üslup Opus Francigenum olarak adlandırılmış ve Fransa'dan, özellikle de Île-de-France'dan ortaya çıktığı belirtilmiştir. Diğer ülkelerin Gotik'i sadece taklit ettiklerini ya da uygulamalarının yüzeysel olduğunu ve inşaatlarının Romanesk ilkelere göre yapıldığını yazmışlardır. Son yüzyılda bu konuda yapılan akademik çalışmaların, özellikle de üslubun kökenleri konusundaki Fransız-İngiliz tartışmasının bugün bu fikirleri değiştirmiş olabileceği iddia edilebilir. Amiens Katedrali bir kez daha seçildi ve Gotik mimariyi temsil eden "daha mükemmel bina" olarak seçildi. Notre-Dame bir kez daha
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illüstrasyonlarla temsil edilmiş, ancak yazarların asıl odaklandığı yapı Amiens olmuştur.
NikolausPevsner'inAn Outline of European Architecture adlı kitabı 1943 yılında yayımlandı ve mimarlık tarihçiliğinin kanonunun bir parçası haline geldi. Çoğu tarihçi gibi Pevsner de Gotik mimari hakkında yazarken AbbotSuger'den ve onun St. Bölüm birçok Fransız katedraline odaklanıyor, bunlardan biri Notre-Dame de Paris ve diğeri Reims, çünkü Gotik bölümlerde iki kez resmedilen diğer ikisi onlardı. Yine Notre-Dame'a çok fazla önem verilmeden bir istisna olarak yer verilmiştir.
Kostof tarafından 1985 yılında, daha önce İngilizce yazılmış olanlara kıyasla oldukça kapsayıcı bir mimari inceleme kaleme alınmıştır. Yazara göre Gotik bir kez daha "Fransız Tarzı" olarak Fransa'da başlamış ve Avrupa'ya yayılmıştır, ancak bu kitabı diğerlerinden ayıran şey, "Gotik kiliselerin en soylusu ve en sevileni" unvanıyla tam bir bölüm ayrılan Cathédrale de Chartres'a odaklanılmasıdır. Kostof, birçok "batılı ve batılı olmayan" anıtı, şehri ve daha fazlasını karşılaştırdığı bir hikaye tarzında yazmıştır. AngkorWat ile karşılaştırılan Chartres bunlardan biriydi. Başkentin Katedrali'nden illüstrasyonlarda sadece bir kez bahsediliyordu: yerini gösteren elle çizilmiş bir harita.
A Global History of Architecture'ın (2011) üçyazarı Ching, Jarzombek ve Prakash, her şeyi kapsayan bir tarih yazımı için mücadele eden adanmış tarihçilerdir. Başardıkları şey dikkate değerdir, ancak çok sayıda stil, kültür ve anıt nedeniyle bilgi ve tarih kısakalmıştır. Araştırmalarını üsluplar yerine zaman kesitlerine ayırmışlar ancak kronolojik sayfaları takip ederek Gotik mimarinin ortaya çıkışını metin boyunca gözlemlemek mümkün. İlk örneklerde Abbot Suger'in adı geçse de, tıpkı Fletcher'ın metninde olduğu gibi üslubun ilk örnekleri Britanya'dan. "Katedral Tasarımı" alt başlığı altında Notre-Dame örnek olarak verilmiş, ancak diğer birçok İngiliz ve Fransız katedralinin aksine, anıta tek başına bir alt başlık açılmamış, sadece gerekli görüldüğünde yer verilmiştir. Ayrıca, Notre-Dame'dan bahsedildiği halde, örnek olarakverildiğinde bile araştırma dahi hiç resmedilmediği gözlemlenebilir.
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Kostof'un bir zamanlar öğrencisi olan Richard Ingersoll'un Dünya Mimarisi başlıklı araştırması: A Cross-Cultural History (2013) adlı çalışmasında da benzer bir zaman kesme yöntemi kullanılmış ve Gotik mimari dokuzuncu bölümde tartışmaya açılmıştır. Metinde Notre-Dame Katedrali'ne, tarihi ve kısa açıklamalarının yanısıra fotoğraf illüstrasyonlarıyla daha fazlayer verilmiştir.
Fransızca ve İngilizce yazılmış bu mimari araştırma kitapları incelendiğinde, Gotik mimarinin ve özellikle Notre-Dame Katedrali'nin nasıl farklı şekillerde algılandığı görülebilir; Fransızlar "kraliçe" katedrallerini ön plana çıkarmaya ve daha ayrıntılı bir şekilde tartışmaya ve tasvir etmeye daha meyilliyken, İngilizce yazılı metinler ya sonradan dahil ediyor ya da diğer örneklerin çoğundan farklı olarak anıta odaklanmıyor. Sosyal ve kültürel yönler ile amaca yönelik seçimler arasındaki farklar anketler aracılığıyla gözlemlenebilir. Paris Katedrali hala Gotik mimarinin en önemli örneklerinden biri olarak görülmeli midir, "kesin referans" olarak kabul edilmeli midir ve bir zamanlar edilebildiyse, hala edilmeli midir?
Hugo'nun 1831 tarihli romanı ve bunun sonucunda anıtın restorasyonu halen popüler kültürdeki yerini korumaktadır ancak bu popülerlik Katedral'in resmi sitesinde iddia edildiği gibi sadece Hugo'nun kitabıyla elde edilmemiştir: "Notre Dame'ı Victor Hugo kurtardı". Romanın III. kitapta anıtın ve şehrin tasvirlerini içeren ilk baskıları yayınlandığında, ulusa birkez daha Gotik mimarinin halklarının, geçmişlerinin doruk noktası olduğu ve hatta Temmuz Devrimi'nin (1830) kaosu arasında anıtın monarşinin değil Fransa'nın imgesi olduğu hatırlatıldı.
Notre-Dame'ın Kamburu'ndaki betimlemeler, dünyanın dört bir yanından ressamlar, fotoğrafçılar, karikatüristler, yazarlar vb. farklı ortamlarda birçok sanatçıya ilham kaynağı oldu. İlk olarak, romandan sahnelerin tasvir edildiği birkaç tablonun sergilendiği Salon de 1833'te popülerliği görüldü. Bu tablolardan biri de Eugénie Henry / Latil'in "Quasimodo sauvant la Esmeralda des mains de sesbourreaux" adlı, romandan bir sahneyi batı cephesinin güney kapısının arkasından resmettiği tablosuydu. Journal des femmes için Salon hakkında bir inceleme yazan Madam Alexandre Aragon'a göre, Salon'un en popüler illüstrasyon konusu Hugo'nun romanı
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olmuş, bu da romanın popülerliğini artırmış ve Notre-Dame'ın merkezde olduğu Gotik anıtlara olan bu yeni ilgiyi teşvik etmiştir. Hugo'nun kendisi de, Benjamin Roubaud'nun (1811-1847) Paris'te otururken dirseğini "kendi" Katedrali'ne dayadığı litografisi (1841) de dahil olmak üzere pek çok kez resmedilmiştir.
Romanların yayınlandığı dönemde fotoğrafçılık gelişti ve Notre-Dame de Paris bu yeni sanat formunun en ünlü konularından biri haline geldi. Henri Le Seq (1818-1882), Édouard Baldus (1813-1889) ve Charles Marville (1813-1879) gibi fotoğrafçılar Paris'te dolaşıyor ve Katedral'in Lassus ve Viollet-le-Duc'ün Restorasyon projesinden önceki ve sonraki halini belgeliyorlardı. Fotoğrafaracı, insanların anıtın görüntüsünü elde etmesini kolaylaştırdı, onu gerçek ve tüm insanlar için erişilebilir hale getirdi.
Büyük sanatçılar Paris'e gelerek Katedral'in kendi tarzlarındaki versiyonlarını çizdi ve boyadı; Vincent Van Gogh ve "Paris ve Notre-Dame Çatıları" (1886), Childe Hassam ve "Notre Dame Katedrali, Paris" (1888), Maximilien Luce ve "The Quai Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame" (1901), Henri Matisse'in "A Glimpse of Notre Dame in the Late Afternoon" (1902), Edward Hopper'ın "Notre Dame de Paris" (1907), Pablo Picasso'nun "Notre Dame de Paris" (1954) gibi eserleri, anıtın popülaritesinin resimler aracılığıyla artmasına neden olmuştur.
1896 yılında Lumière kardeşler; Auguste (1862-1954) ve Louis Lumière (1895-1905) Cathédrale de Paris ve sarayının yaşamından bir anı filme aldılar. Bu, anıtın son kez filme alınmasıya da bir filmde oyuncu olarak yer alması olmayacaktı. Hugo'nun romanı birçok kez beyaz perdeye uyarlanacaktı; 1939'da William Dieterle'nin yönettiği Notre Dame'ın Kamburu adıyla gösterime girecekti; 1982'de aynı adlı başka bir film gösterime girecek, bu kez Quasimodo rolünü Sir Anthony Hopkins oynayacaktı. Walt Disney Pictures 1996 yılında Notre Dame'ın Kamburu adlı animasyon müzikal dramasını yayınlayarak romanı, hikayeyi ve nihayetinde Katedral'in kendisini yeni nesillere tanıttı, romandan çok daha mutlu bir sonla, öyleki Quasimodo ve Esmeralda'nın hala hayatta ve mutlu olduğu bir devam filmi yaratıldı.
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Disney filminin muazzam başarısının hemen ardından 1997 yılında Peter Medak tarafından yönetilen bir film daha gösterime girdi.
Katedral, izleyiciye gerçekten orada olduklarını kanıtlamak istercesine Paris'te bir sahnesi olan çoğu filmin arka planında yer aldı. Aynı numara birçok şehir için de kullanılmıştır, New York'ta geçenbir film senaryosunun Times Meydanı'nda bir sahnesi olur ya da Roma'da geçen bir filminin andırıcı olabilmesi için mutlaka Kolezyum'un önünde bir sahne tasvir edilir. Mimari anıtlar kanonu bir güvence olarak arka plandadır. Romanın sinema uyarlamaları, televizyon uyarlamaları, bale ve tiyatro uyarlamaları yapıldı ancak animasyondan sonra en başarılı uyarlama Notre-Dame de Paris müzikali oldu. Disney animasyonundan büyük ölçüde etkilenen Riccardo Cocciante tarafından yaratılan müzikalin prömiyeri 1998'de Paris'te yapıldı ve 2022'de hala turnede.
Notre-Dame de Paris, 2013 yılında 850. yıldönümünü 12 Aralık 2012'de başlayan ve 24 Kasım 2013'te sona eren farklı etkinliklerin yanısıra dört çanın değiştirilmesini de içeren yenileme projeleriyle neredeyse bir yıl süren bir kutlamayla kutladı. Notre-Dame'ın 1856 yılından kalma çanlarından dördü, 850. yıldönümü vesilesiyle sekiz yeni çanla değiştirildi. Yeni çanlar ilk kez 23 Mart 2013 tarihinde çalınmıştır. Bu kutlama etkinlikleri yoğun bir şekilde televizyonda yayınlanmış ve sosyal medya anıtın yirmi birinci yüzyılda popülerleşmesinde önemli bir rol oynamıştır.
Kasım 2014'te Ubisoft tarafından Assassin's Creed serisinin bir aksiyon-macera video oyunu alt başlığıyla piyasaya sürüldü: Unity. Oyunun hikayesi Suikastçı Arno Dorian'ı takip ediyor ve Fransa'da meydana gelen kaosun arkasındaki gerçek tehlikeleri ortaya çıkarmak amacıyla 1789 Fransız Devrimi sırasında geçiyor. Oyun on sekizinci yüzyıl Paris'inin son yıllarında geçtiğinden, geliştiriciler oyunu dijital olarak yaratabilmek için Notre-Dame Katedrali üzerinde dört yılı aşkın bir sürede "5000 saatlik araştırma" yaptılar. Unisoft kreatif direktörü Maxime Durand, Katedral'in ikonik duruşu ve oyunun binalara tırmanma etrafında dönmesi nedeniyle "...detayların iyi yapıldığından emin olmak zorunda olduklarını" belirtti. Katedralin 2019'daki yangınından sonra bu oyunun ve kaynaklarının restorasyon projesi için
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kullanılıp kullanılamayacağı konusunda spekülasyonlar vardı, ancak anıt inanılmaz derecede ayrıntılı ve titizlikle araştırılmış olsa da, Ubisoft henüz disiplinlerarası bir proje umudunu sona erdiren 3D haritalama teknolojisini kullanmıyordu. 10 Eylül 2020'de, daha önce yayınladıkları oyuna dayanarak Notre-Dame de Paris Katedrali'nin ücretsiz bir Sanal Gerçeklik ziyaretini yayınladılar.
2017 yılında, Birinci Dünya Savaşı'nın yüzüncü yılını anmak üzere Bruno Seillier, Paris Katedrali'nin batı cephesine yansıtılmak üzere yirmi dakikalık bir video projeksiyonu hazırladı. Seillier, anıtın 850 yılını ve Gotik Notre-Dame'ı hiç göremeden ölmekten korkan bir Amerikan askerini tasvir eden bir hikaye çizgisi ile on yedi ışıklı görüntü içeren "Dame de Coeur" için 3D haritalama kullandıklarını belirtti. Bu ışık gösterisi Avrupa'da popüler bir cazibe merkezi haline geldi ve birçok büyük şehir tarafından taklit edilmeye başlandı.
15 Nisan 2019 günü saat 18.20 sularında, restorasyonu devam eden Notre-Dame Katedrali'nin ahşap çatısı altında çıkan yangın üç saatten fazla sürmüş ve Île de la Cité tahliye edilmiştir. Saat 19.50 sularında Viollet-le-Duc tarafından tasarlanan ve inşa edilen on dokuzuncu yüzyıl kulesi çöktü ve yangın tüm dünyanın canlı görüntülerle izlediği kuzey kulesinin içine doğru ilerledi. Gotik anıtların yapısal dengesi nedeniyle, kuzey kulesinde meydana gelen hasar kulenin çökmesiyle sonuçlansaydı, tüm yapı yok olacaktı. Yayınlanan görüntüler anıtın gerçekten de neredeyse çökmek üzere olduğunu gösterse de, genel yapı zarar görmekten kurtulmuştur. İsa'nın çarmıha gerilirken giydiğine inanılan dikenli taç, Aziz Louis Tuniği, yıkılan kulenin üzerinde bulunan ünlü Horoz ve daha fazlası, anıtı daha da popüler yapan eserler kurtarıldı ve arşivlendi.
Fransa Cumhurbaşkanı Emmanuel Macron, Fransa'daki diğer tüm katedraller gibi 1905 yılından bu yana devlete ait olan katedral için uluslararası bir bağış kampanyası başlattı: Birkaç gün içinde bir milyar Avro bağışlandı ve binanın güvenliğinin sağlanması ve restorasyon çalışmaları hemen başladı. Çalışmaların yangından önceki haliyle, Paris'in düzenlemesi beklenen 2024 Olimpiyatlarına yetiştirilmesi hedeflenirken, uzmanlar restorasyon çalışmalarının yirmi yıldan fazla süreceğini
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belirtiyor. Fransa Başbakanı Édouard Philippe, yangından sonra inşa edilmesi beklenen yeni kulenin tasarımı için uluslararası bir mimari yarışma açıldığını duyurdu. Yarışmaya çok sayıda mimar katıldı ve çok farklı tasarımlar sundular ancak yarışmanın kendisi, Fransa'nın miras yasalarını ve UNESCO Dünya Mirası Alanı Statüsünü göz ardı edeceği için ağır bir şekilde eleştirildi. Fransız senatosu, Cathédrale de Notre-Dame'ın 2019 yangınından önceki haline getirilmesini zorunlu kılan bir madde eklemiştir.
Paris Katedrali'nin ilk kez yangın sebebi ile zarar görmesine neden olan 2019 yangını, haber kanalları ve sosyal medya üzerinden canlı olarak yayınlandı. Her yıl milyonlarca ziyaretçi çeken bu anıt olaydan bu yana kapalı ancak tüm bilgiler ve restorasyon projesinin ilerleyişi, sanal gerçeklik sergileri ve anıtın sanal turlarını sunan Notre-Dame de Paris'in Dostları ve Éternelle Notre-Dame organizasyonlarından takip edilebiliyor. Jean-Jacques Annaud'un yönettiği Notre-Dame Brûle (2022) adlı film 16 Mart 2022 tarihinde (sadece Fransız ve İtalyan sinemalarında) gösterime girmiş olup, filmin konusu 2019 yangınında yaşananların dramatizasyonudur.
İnşaatlar, tadilatlar, restorasyonlar, vandalizm, savaşlar, devrimler ve yıkıcı bir yangından sonra 860 yıllık bir anıt olan Notre-Dame de Paris Katedrali hala ayakta ve güçlü. Yangın, Orta Çağ'ın birliktelik, topluluk, birleştirici bir amaç, sadece Fransa'ya değil tüm insanlığa ait bir miras kavramını geri getirdi. Victor Hugo'nun "bu onu öldürecek" ifadesi gerçekleşmedi, aksine "bu [roman] onu [Katedral] kurtardı.