Notre-Dame de Paris: The History and Legacy of France’s Most Famous Cathedral

*Includes pictures *Includes historic descriptions of the cathedral *Includes online resources and a bibliography for further reading ÒNotre Dame de Paris in particular is a curious specimen of this variety. Every surface every stone of this venerable pile is a page of the history not only of the country but of science and of art. ThusÑto mention here only a few of the chief detailsÑwhereas the small Porte Rouge almost touches the limits of fifteenth century Gothic delicacy the pillars of the nave by their massiveness and great girth reach back to the Carlovingian Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-PrŽs. One would imagine that six centuries lay between that door and those pillars.Ó With these words the famous 19th century novelist Victor Hugo attempted to introduce his readers to the backdrop of his seminal work later known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This it should be noted was not the name that Hugo gave to his work; instead he called it simply Notre Dame after the building in which he set it. This location was no accident for perhaps more than any other city in Europe Paris has seen every kind of trouble and happiness that can befall a place. It may be called the ÒCity of LightsÓ but it also frequently saw its leadersÕ blood spilled in the streets. It is the symbol of romance but also a place where the famed Napoleon divorced the love of his life in order to have a son. It is famed for its art and culture but it hosted Nazis during four long years of occupation. Most of all it is a city of building up and tearing down and building up again where life is ever-changing. Yet in the midst of this history of turmoil and chaos one place has survived largely unchanged a symbol to Christian believers of the unchanging truths of faith. Notre-Dame has stood as a monumental though silent witness to much of ParisÕ history. As Hugo pointed out ÒThis generative Mother-Church is among the other ancient churches of Paris a sort of Chimera: she has the head of one the limbs of another the body of a thirdÑsomething of all. These hybrid edifices are we repeat by no means the least interesting to the artist the antiquary and the historianÉThey let us realize to how great a degree architecture is a primitive matter in that they demonstrateÉthat the greatest productions of architecture are not so much the work of individuals as of a community; are rather the offspring of a nationÕs labour than the out-come of individual genius; the deposit of a whole people; the heaped-up treasure of centuries; the residuum left by the successive evaporations of human society; in a word a species of formations. Each wave of time leaves its coating of alluvium each race deposits its layer on the monuments each individual contributes his stone to it.Ó Notre-Dame de Paris: The History and Legacy of FranceÕs Most Famous Cathedral chronicles the remarkable history of the Parisian cathedral. Along with pictures depicting important people places and events you will learn about Notre-Dame like never before.

Paperback: 74 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; Large Print edition (June 20 2017)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1548227390

ISBN-13: 978-1548227395

Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.2 x 11 inches

Shipping Weight: 8 ounces