Notre-Dame Cathedral of Reims

Abstract

The Notre-Dame Cathedral of Reims is one of the most important masterpieces in the history of architecture. Considered a paradigm of the French Gothic style, it is an immense structure designed with a sophisticated vision and constructed with innovative techniques. Traditionally believed to have begun in 1211, a year after a documented fire destroyed the previous cathedral (these dates have been challenged recently, see Prache 2005, cited under the 13th-Century Structure), the building is known for its stylistic uniformity and spacious compactness. Four architects, whose names are famously inscribed in the now-destroyed labyrinth (itself now serves as the logo of the monuments historiques), guided the construction through the 1290s. Views of the cathedral, still under construction, were included in Villard de Honnecourt’s drawings. A number of architectural elements associated with the French Gothic originated at Reims (bar tracery and wall passages), and the cathedral’s imposing west facade is decorated with such iconic images as the Visitation Group and the Smiling Angel. The mid-1230s work stoppage caused by civil unrest forced the workshops to seek employment elsewhere, thereby dispersing the rémois sculptural style especially in German-speaking lands. Much of the 13th-century stained glass on the upper levels has survived, decorated with complex ecclesiastical and royal iconography; similar narratives also appear in sculptures. The cathedral stands at the center of an elaborate archiepiscopal complex, with the archbishop’s palace (now the museum Palais du Tau) to its south and the claustral complex (demolished) to its north and east. In 496, according to Gregory of Tours, the Merovingian king Clovis was baptized by bishop Remi at the cathedral, an event that would lead to the privilege bestowed exclusively on archbishops of Reims to anoint and crown French kings. The historical and political significance of Reims Cathedral, especially its association with French identity both as a quintessential French Gothic building and as the coronation cathedral, was held hostage during World War I when German bombardment caused serious, often irreparable damage. Repair beginning at the end of World War I accidentally exposed foundations of earlier, pre-13th-century structures. The ensuing excavation and restoration work, meticulously documented, uncovered hitherto unknown archaeological information about pre-13th-century cathedrals. More than a century after the start of World War I, gestures of Franco-German reconciliation continue to unfold at Reims.