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C O U R S E L E C T U R E Notre Dame and the Wave of Cathedral Building Notes taken on January 7, 2018 by Edward Tanguay |
Paris of the 12th century was one of the great stopping places
the city had been settled by a Celtic tribe, the Parisii in the 3rd century BC
52 BC Romans establish Gallo-Roman settlement "Lutetia Parisorum"
where the Cathedral of Notre Dame built 10 centuries later
France was Christianized
occupied by Germanic King Clovis
496 converted to Christianity
508 Clovis made Paris his capital
800 Charlemagne united much of Europe under his rule
814 Charlemagne died and Europe found itself vulnerable to invasions
Muslims from the Mediterranean
Norsemen from Scandinavia
845 Paris was attacked by Viking invaders
sailed their ships up the Seine
looted and burned what they could
911 Peace treaty with Vikings
1200 population 110,000
plague was killing 800 people per day
opening of trade routes
and early basilica stood where Notre Dame now stands
Christianity became the official religion of state in Paris (Lutetia Parisiorum)
built to the west of the site of Notre Dame
possibly under the reign of King Childebert (496-558)
1182 East Choir completed
Maurice de Sully (-1196)
1163 corner stone of Notre Dame was laid
in the presence of Pope Alexander III (1105-1181)
first wall of Notre Dame built was restored in 19th century by Eugene Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc
was meant to offset a lateral pressure exerted by a wide ceiling vault
some saw in a building so high, a violation of God
3rd crusade was declared on the steps of Notre Dame
vault of 32.8 meters, it was the highest church when built
cathedrals at Noyon, Sens, Chartres (1194), Bourges, Amiens (1221), Laon, Le Mans, Beauvais (1225), and Reims (1212) all surpassed Notre Dame in height
the vault at Beauvais was so high that it collapsed in 1284
many theologians, clergymen, statesmen and feudal princes were convinced that the world would end in 1000
this may have curtailed the desire to built big and high, which became popular after 1000