Rheims Cathedral (Part Four)

Non-Italic Text and Photos from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
unless otherwise accredited.

Rheims Cathedral façade

Photo taken April 2011 by Traveler100

In 2011, the city of Reims celebrated the cathedral's 800th anniversary. The celebrations ran from 6 May to 23 October. Concerts, street performances, exhibitions, conferences, and a series of evening light shows highlighted the Cathedral and its 800th anniversary. In addition, six new stained glass windows, designed by Imi Knoebel, a German artist, were inaugurated on 25 June, 2011. The six windows cover an area of 128m² and are positioned on both sides of the Chagall windows in the apse of the cathedral.

Rheims Cathedral interior.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: Josep Renalias

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims (Latin: Archidioecesis Remensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 A.D., by St. Sixtus, the diocese was elevated to an archdiocese around 750 A.D. The archbishop received the title "primate of Gallia Belgica" in 1089.

In 1023, Archbishop Ebles acquired the Countship of Reims, making him a prince-bishop; it became a duchy and a peerage between 1060 and 1170.

Gallery of the kings on Rheims Cathedral.

The archdiocese comprises the arrondissement of Reims and the département of Ardennes, while the province comprises the région of Champagne-Ardenne. The suffragan dioceses within Reims are Amiens, Beauvais-Noyon-Senlis, Châlons, Langres, Soissons–Laon–Saint-Quentin, and Troyes. The Archepiscopal See is located in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims, where the Kings of France were traditionally crowned.

The current archbishop is Thierry Romain Camille Jordan, who was appointed in 1999.

Rheims Cathedral Triforium.

Nef de la cathédrale de Reims, montrant la galerie du triforium.

From Wikimedia Commons.

Photo: March 2007. Taken by 

Vassil.

Reims, located in the North-East of France, hosted several Councils or Synods in the Roman Catholic Church. These Councils did not universally represent the Church and are not counted among the official Ecumenical Councils.

The first Synod, said to have been held at Reims by Archbishop Sonnatius, between 624 A.D.-630 A.D., is probably identical with that held at Clichy (Clippiacum) in 626 A.D. or 627 A.D.

In 813 A.D., Archbishop Wulfar presided at a Synod of Reform (Werminghoff in "Mon. Germ. Hist.: Concilia aevi Carol. I", I, Hanover, 1904, 253 sq.).

A Council, usually called the Synod of St-Basle, was convoked at Reims by King Hugues Capet, assisted by Gerbert of Aurillac, later Pope Sylvester II, to consider the case of Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims, illegitimate son of the late King Lothair.

Arnulf (Archbishop of Reims) at the Council of Reims in 991 A.D.

Arnulf was accused of conspiring with his uncle, Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, against Hugues Capet. He was duly deposed by the Council, and Gerbert appointed in his place. This was done without the approval of Pope John XV, who refused to accept either Arnulf's removal or Gerbert's appointment. The matter dragged on until 995 A.D., when Arnulf was restored, and was only completely resolved by Pope Gregory V in 997.

Exterior view of the Chevet of Rheims Cathedral

From Wikimedia Commons.

Photo taken May 2009 by Marie51.

Held by Pope Leo IX, the Council of Rheims in 1049 A.D. inquired into Simony. Hugo of Breteuil, Bishop of Langres, fled the proceedings, and was deposed. According to Eamon Duffy: "In one week, Leo IX had asserted papal authority as it had never been asserted before".

The Council also excommunicated Geoffrey Martel, for the imprisonment of Gervase, Bishop of Le Mans.

On 3 October 1054, a Rheims Council had a dogmatic declaration about the primacy of the Roman Pontiff as Successor of Peter: "declaratum est quod solus Romanae sedis pontifex universalis Ecclesiae Primas esset et Apostolicus".

THIS CONCLUDES THE ARTICLE ON RHEIMS CATHEDRAL

Rheims Cathedral (Part Three)

Non-Italic Text and Photos from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
unless otherwise accredited.

Two Rose Windows at Rheims Cathedral.
Photo taken January 2008 by Mattana

The three portals are laden with statues and statuettes; among European cathedrals, only Chartres has more sculpted figures. The central portal, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is surmounted by a rose window framed in an arch, itself decorated with statuary, in place of the usual sculptured tympanum. The "gallery of the kings", above, shows the baptism of Clovis in the centre, flanked by statues of his successors.

The facades of the transepts are also decorated with sculptures. That on the North Side has statues of bishops of Reims, a representation of the Last Judgment and a figure of Jesus (le Beau Dieu), while that on the South Side has a modern rose window with the prophets and apostles. 

Fire destroyed the roof and the spires in 1481. Of the four towers that flanked the transepts, nothing remains above the height of the roof. Above the choir rises an elegant lead-covered timber bell-tower that is 18 m (about 59 feet) tall, reconstructed in the 15th-Century and in the 1920s.

Français : Notre-Dame de Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, France. Vitraux XIIIè siècle surplombant le chœur, représentant la Vierge, le Christ en croix, les apôtres, archevêques et évêques.

English: Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Rheims, Champagne-Ardenne, France. 

13th-Century stained-glass windows above the Choir, 

representing Our Lady, Christ, the Apostles, Archbishops and Bishops.

Photo taken August 2008 by Tango7174.

The interior of the cathedral is 138.75 m (about 455 ft) long, 30 m (approx. 98 feet) wide in the nave, and 38 m (about 125 feet) high in the centre. It comprises a nave with aisles, transepts with aisles, a choir with double aisles, and an apse with ambulatory and radiating chapels. It has interesting stained glass ranging from the 13th- to the 20th-Century. The rose window over the main portal and the gallery beneath are of rare magnificence.

The cathedral possesses fine tapestries. Of these, the most important series is that presented by Robert de Lenoncourt, archbishop under François I, representing the life of the Virgin. They are now to be seen in the former bishop's palace, the Palace of Tau. The North Transept contains a fine organ in a flamboyant Gothic Case. The Choir Clock is ornamented with curious mechanical figures.Marc Chagall designed the stained glass. installed in 1974. in the axis of the apse.

Rheims Cathedral hit by shell-fire during World War I.

"The Cathedral of Notre Dame at Rheims was one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. 

The framework was still standing when the German Army began their drive in 1918. In this instance, shells burst on the cathedral before the eyes of many spectators." (caption).

Photo is dated 20 September 1914.

"Collier's New Photographic History of the World's War" (1919), page 86.

The Treasury, kept in the Palace of Tau, includes many precious objects, among which is the Sainte Ampoule, or Holy Flask, the successor of the ancient one that contained the oil with which French kings were anointed, which was broken during the French Revolution, a fragment of which the present Ampoule contains.

Notre-Dame de Reims cathedral, the former Abbey of Saint-Remi, and the Palace of Tau were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1991.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

Rheims Cathedral (Part Two)

Non-Italic Text and Photos from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
unless otherwise accredited.

Rheims Cathedral at night.

Photo taken August 2009 by Jayanta Sen.

Unusually, the names of the cathedral's original architects are known. A labyrinth built into the floor of the nave at the time of construction, or shortly after, (similar to examples at Chartres and Amiens) included the names of four master masons (Jean d'Orbais, Jean-Le-Loup, Gaucher de Reims and Bernard de Soissons) and the number of years they worked there, though art historians still disagree over who was responsible for which parts of the building.

The labyrinth itself was destroyed in 1779, but its details and inscriptions are known from 18th-Century drawings. The clear association here between a labyrinth and master masons adds weight to the argument that such patterns were an allusion to the emerging status of the architect (through their association with the mythical artificer Daedalus, who built the Labyrinth of King Minos). 

Die Kathedrale von Reims by Domenico Quaglio (1787-1837).

English: Domenico Quaglio (1787-1837): The Cathedral of Reims.

Français : Domenico Quaglio (1787-1837): Cathédrale de Reims.

Italiano: Domenico Quaglio (1787-1837): La cattedrale di Reims.

The cathedral also contains further evidence of the rising status of the architect in the tomb of Huges Liberger (died 1268, architect of the now-destroyed Reims church of St-Nicaise). Not only is he given the honour of an engraved slab, he is shown holding a miniature model of his church (an honour formerly reserved for noble donors) and wearing the academic garb befitting an intellectual.

The towers, 81 m tall (approx. 267 ft), were originally designed to rise 120 m (approximately 394 ft). The South tower holds just two great bells; one of them, named “Charlotte” by Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine in 1570, weighs more than 10,000 kg (about 11 tons).

During the Hundred Years' War, the cathedral was under siege by the English from 1359 to 1360.

Exterior view of the Chevet of Rheims Cathedral

(Vue du chevet de la cathédrale de Reims).

Photo taken March 2007 by Vassil.

In 1875, the French National Assembly voted £80,000 for repairs of the façade and balustrades. The façade is the finest portion of the building, and one of the great masterpieces of the Middle Ages.

German shellfire, during the opening engagements of the First World War on 20 September 1914, burned, damaged and destroyed important parts of the cathedral. Scaffolding around the North Tower caught fire, spreading the blaze to all parts of the carpentry superstructure. 

The lead of the roofs melted and poured through the stone gargoyles, destroying in turn the bishop's palace. Restoration work began in 1919, under the direction of Henri Deneux, a native of Reims and chief architect of the Monuments Historiques; the cathedral was fully reopened in 1938, thanks in part to financial support from the Rockefellers, but work has been steadily going on since.

PART THREE FOLLOWS

Rheims Cathedral (Part One)

Non-Italic Text and Photos from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia,
unless otherwise accredited.

Interior of Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Rheims)

From Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Eric Pouhier (March 2006)

Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Rheims) is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned. It replaces an older church, destroyed by a fire in 1211, which was built on the site of the basilica where Clovis was baptized by Saint Remi, bishop of Reims, in 496 A.D. That original structure had been erected on the site of the Roman baths. As the cathedral it remains the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims.

A major site for tourism in the Champagne region, France, it received half a million visitors in 2006.

Excavations have shown that the present building occupies roughly the same site as the original cathedral, founded circa 400 A.D., under the episcopacy of St Nicaise. That church was rebuilt during the Carolingian period and further extended in the 12th-Century.

Rheims Cathedral

On July 6, 1210, the cathedral was damaged by fire and reconstruction started shortly afterwards, beginning at the Eastern end. Documentary records show the acquisition of land to the West of the site in 1218, suggesting the new cathedral was substantially larger than its predecessors, the lengthening of the nave presumably being an adaptation to afford room for the crowds that attended the coronations. 

In 1233, a long-running dispute between the cathedral chapter and the townsfolk (regarding issues of taxation and legal jurisdiction) boiled over into open revolt. Several clerics were killed or injured during the resulting violence and the entire cathedral chapter fled the city, leaving it under an interdict (effectively banning all public worship and sacraments). 

Work on the new cathedral was suspended for three years, only resuming in 1236, after the clergy returned to the city and the interdict was lifted following mediation by the King and the Pope. Construction then continued more slowly. 

Coronation of Charles VII in Rheims Cathedral in 1429.

Image of Joan of Arc, 1889-1890 in the Panthéon de Paris, by E. Lenepveu.

Photo taken January 2007 by 

Tijmen Stam (User:IIVQ)

The area from the crossing Eastwards was in use by 1241, but the nave was not roofed until 1299 (when the French King lifted the tax on lead used for that purpose). Work on the West facade took place in several phases, which is reflected in the very different styles of some of the sculptures. The upper parts of the facade were completed in the 14th-Century, but apparently following 13th-Century designs, giving Reims an unusual unity of style.

PART TWO FOLLOWS