Celebrating Notre-Dame de Paris

A different perspective of Notre-Dame

The City of Paris has many famous landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arch of Triumph, the Champs Élysées Avenue, and of course N-D Cathedral.

It was certainly shocking news to hear that the beloved Cathedral was burning! It is certainly an iconic monument, dear to the heart of the French Nation but it is also a worldwide heritage celebrated in songs, music, movies, musicals, and in literature.

There are many reasons why it stood proudly in the heart of the French people. It proudly stands on one of the two islands on the Seine River. 

Ile de la Cité

The island, where the Cathedral has been built, is now known as 'l'île de la Cité'. Two thousand years ago, the Romans called it Lutetia. It was the home of a small Gaul tribe, whose Latin name was the Parisii. At first, the city grew on the Left bank of the Seine. This is where the old Roman Amphitheater (Lutetia Arena, 'Les Arènes de Lutèce') is still standing; it is also the reason why this section of Paris is still called “the Latin Quarter”, due to the fact that the Sorbonne was founded in the Middle Ages (A.D.1257) when Latin was the students' lingua franca.

Notre-Dame (meaning Our Lady of) de Paris is an 850-year old Gothic cathedral built on the island known as 'la Cité' next to the first Royal Palace. Then, it became the City Courthouse with a royal church known as the Sainte Chapelle on one side, and the ill-famed Conciergerie on the other. For years – until the Eiffel Tower was built in the late 19^th century – Notre-Dame remained Paris highest monument. It soon became a familiar landmark, dear not only to the heart of the Parisians but to the whole nation as well.

If the Kings of France were traditionally coronated inside the Cathedral of Reims, Napoleon 1^st chose the Paris Cathedral to become an Emperor. More lately, Notre-Dame has become an elected landmark to celebrate homilies of famous people including former Presidents. Religiously speaking, the Cathedral is the home of the Archbishop of Paris, a Roman-Catholic Cardinal.

Perhaps the most famous writer that helped build the cathedral fame was Victor Hugo. By writing

Hommage de Gargantua
by Gustave Doré.

'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame' ('Notre-Dame de Paris', 1831), he created two iconic characters that became the gothic heroes of his novel: Quasimodo, the hunchback bellringer, and Esmeralda, a French Roma girl. The plot became the source of many other stories including a Walt Disney's animated film, a classic movie starring Anthony Quinn and Gina Lollobrigida (1956) as well as a prize-winning musical, and many songs.

A selection of a few sound or visual documents on Notre-Dame.

Edith Piaf sang Notre-Dame de Paris 

The following link is from a Walt Disney animation movie 

Here are three songs celebrating the Cathedral, out of the musical 'Notre-Dame de Paris':

• 'Le Temps des Cathédrales' by Garou: song 1
• 'Belle' by Garou: song 2

English version of 'Belle': song 2a

• 'Ma Maison C'est Ta Maison' by Garou & Hélène Ségara (with English subtitles): song 3

Notre-Dame de Paris 

C'est ma maison, mon nid 

C'est ma ville, c'est ma vie 

Mon air, mon toit, mon lit

The following two excerpts from the musical seem to be highly appropriate to celebrate the monument after the dramatic accidental fire (the official cause mentions a short-circuit) :

'Et celui qui lui jettera la première pierre

Celui-là ne mérite pas d'être sur terre'

'Oh Notre-Dame

Oh, laisse-moi

Rien qu'une fois

Pousser la porte 

Des jardins d'Esméralda'

Christian Sorand

Another view of Notre-Dame with its 19th c spire

A few other links in connection with Notre-Dame.

Les Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France

“Nous espérons pouvoir participer à la reconstruction de ce magnifique monument en partageant notre savoir-faire, en formant les futurs ouvriers de cette restauration et en répondant à la demande des entreprises qui auront le marché”.

About the roof framework made of wood

(La charpente de Notre-Dame – la “Forêt”)

Scale model of the Cathedral Spire

(La flèche de Notre-Dame)

The stained-glass windows of Notre-Dame

(Les vitraux de N-D)

About Violet-le-Duc

Article with video and pictures showing the fire

Journal Le Monde: Restauration de la cathédrale

Reconstruction plan (France24)