Laon Cathedral
Laon Cathedral | ||
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Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon ( Style French Gothic | | |
Groundbreaking | 1150[1] | |
Completed | 1235[2] | |
Administration | ||
Diocese | Soissons (formerly Laon) | |
Type | Cathédrale | |
Designated | 1840 | |
Reference no. | PA00115710 |
Laon Cathedral (
History
Early history
The
A later church building, dating from the tenth or eleventh centuries, was torched during the Easter Insurrection on 25 April 1112. The merchants and bourgeoisie of Laon had procured a communal charter, which was soon revoked by Bishop Gaudry. The commune revolted, murdering the bishop. The episcopal palace was set alight; the fire soon spread to the cathedral. Afterward, the peasant population took the opportunity to pillage the town. Three months after the insurrection, members of the clergy at Laon toured France and England with relics belonging to the bishopric. Using funds raised from the tour, the church was reconstructed and consecrated on August 20, 1114, under Barthélemy de Jur.
However, as the population of Laon grew, it soon became clear that a larger cathedral was necessary. Laon's economy was booming, and Anselm of Laon's school of theology and exegesis was becoming one of the most acclaimed in Europe. Additionally, Laon's communal charter was reestablished in 1130. By the late 1150s, construction on the current cathedral had begun under Gautier de Mortagne; it was essentially completed by 1230.[4]
Current building
The present Laon Cathedral dates from the 12th and early 13th centuries, an early example of the
Later history
Laon lost its status as a bishopric during the
The cathedral was modified extensively during the nineteenth century. The tower foundations were rebuilt with masonry to prevent them from collapsing. The
By this time, fissures had appeared in the upper walls at the west end of the nave. To help counteract this problem, a low arch was constructed, crossing to nave near the entry portals. In 1899, timber flooring was installed between the towers in the west end of the nave to accommodate the installation of the current organ. The low structural arch became the platform's east support. This project remains controversial, as the organ pipes currently block the lower western windows and half of the rose window. However, the older and much smaller stone organ platform still survives under the current timber construction.[5]: 50–58
Although the cathedral suffered some damage during the French Revolution and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, it escaped both World Wars unharmed.
Architecture
Contemporary with Noyon Cathedral and Notre-Dame de Paris, Laon Cathedral is one of the most elaborate and best-preserved of the early French Gothic cathedrals. It is notable for the stylistic unity and consistency maintained over the different phases of its construction. The cathedral consists of a cruciform plan with the traditional nave, transepts, and choir, all flanked by single side aisles. Numerous chapels have been built projecting out the exterior aisle walls. The nave has twelve bays (including the bay over the organ platform), counterbalanced by the ten in the choir. Both transepts have four bays. A central lantern tower, the focal point of the cathedral's interior, rises over the intersection. The ceiling over the choir and the nave (with the exception of the west end, near the organ) incorporates sexpartite vaulting, while the ceiling in the transepts incorporates quadripartite vaulting.
Vertically, Laon Cathedral is divided into four tiers: ground-level side aisles, a tribune-level passageway with double arches, a short triforium-level passageway with triple arches, and clerestory windows. The passageways on the two middle levels circumnavigate the entirety of the building, possibly indicating Norman influence. The unusual four-tiered configuration was previously used in both Tournai Cathedral in modern-day Belgium and Noyon Cathedral, and is reflected locally in the south transept of nearby Soissons Cathedral. The height of the interior is emphasized by the colonnette shafts rising from the tops of the columns separating the aisle bays; these colonnette shafts regularly alternate between three and five in number.[6]: 9–13
Although the choirs of most Gothic churches terminate with apses, Laon's choir is an exception: it terminates with a flat wall. The cathedral's original choir was much shorter, and it terminated in a more conventional apse and ambulatory. Although the original choir encoded the stylistic template for the rest of the building, it was demolished and replaced in the early thirteenth century. The longer, current choir was more proportionally appropriate for the cathedral.[6]: 48–51
Each end of the church culminates in a rose window, except for the southern transept. Instead, the south transept features a massive arched tracery window, which replaced the original rose in the early fourteenth century. The facades of both transepts incorporate twin entry doors; the south doors open next to the cathedral's adjoining cloister and chapter house, while the north doors open near the old episcopal palace. The massive west facade of the cathedral, at the nave end, is notable for its dynamic use of spatial projections. Three deeply recessed portals provide entry into the church; an arched passageway sits over them; between this passageway and a second, higher one, two Gothic-arched lancet windows and the central rose window cut into the wall. The facade is topped by the uppermost portions of the twin towers and four smaller pinnacles.[5]: 50–58
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Portals
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Floor plan
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Crossing tower
Towers
Of the seven planned
Stained glass
The cathedral's
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West rose
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North rose
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East windows
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South window
Notable people
- Theologian Anselm of Laon served as dean and chancellor of the cathedral in the early twelfth century.
- Composer Pierre Dumagewas organist of the cathedral from 1710 to 1719.
- Adolf Hitler visited the cathedral on June 25, 1940.[10]
- Artist Robert Delaunay depicted the cathedral towers in his 1912 painting Les Tours de Laon, exemplifying his transition away from figurative compositions towards the abstract movement of Orphism.[11]
See also
- Early Gothic architecture
- Gothic cathedrals and churches
- French Gothic architecture
- French Gothic stained glass windows
- List of Gothic Cathedrals in Europe
References
- ^ Stoddard, Whitney (1966). Monastery and Cathedral in France: Medieval Architecture, Sculpture, Stained Glass, Manuscripts, the Art of the Church Treasuries. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. pp. 129–136.
- ^ Stoddard, Whitney (1966). Monastery and Cathedral in France: Medieval Architecture, Sculpture, Stained Glass, Manuscripts, the Art of the Church Treasuries. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. pp. 129–136.
- ^ Base Mérimée: PA00115710, Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
- ^ Stoddard, Whitney (1966). Monastery and Cathedral in France: Medieval Architecture, Sculpture, Stained Glass, Manuscripts, the Art of the Church Treasuries. Middletown, Connecticut: Wesleyan University Press. pp. 129–136.
- ^ ISBN 0905203569.
- ^ ISBN 9780905203553.
- ISSN 0307-8078.
- JSTOR 987608.
- ^ a b abelard (2006-01-22). "Cathedral 5: Laon". Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- ^ "June 25". The Hitler Pages. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- ISBN 9781844037049.