[In very early times, under the Frankish monarchs, the principal
church of Paris was dedicated to =St. Stephen the Protomartyr=.
It stood on part of the site now covered by Notre-Dame, and was
always enumerated first among the churches of the city. A
smaller edifice, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, also
occupied a part of the site of the existing cathedral. About the
middle of the twelfth century, however, it was resolved to erect
a much larger cathedral on the Île de la Cité, suitable for the
capital of so important a country as France had become under
Louis VI and Louis VII; and since the cult of the Blessed Virgin
had then long been increasing, it was also decided to dedicate
the new building to Our Lady alone, to the exclusion of St.
Stephen. The two early churches were therefore cleared away by
degrees, and in 1163 the work of erecting the present church was
begun under Bishop Maurice de Sully, the first stone being laid
by Pope Alexander III, in person. The relics of St. Stephen were
reverently conveyed to a new church erected in his honour on the
hill of Ste. Geneviève, south of the river (now represented by
St. Étienne-du-Mont, to be described hereafter), and Our Lady
was left in sole possession of the episcopal edifice.
Nevertheless, it would seem that the builders feared to excite
the enmity of so powerful a saint as the Protomartyr; for many
=memorials of St. Stephen= remain to this day in the existing
cathedral, and will be pointed out during the course of our
separate survey.
=Notre-Dame de Paris= is an edifice in the =Early French Gothic
style=, the first great church in that style to be erected in
France, and the model on which many others were afterwards
based. Begun in 1163, it was consecrated in 1182, but the
western front was not commenced till 1218, and the nave was only
finished towards the middle of the 13th century. Much desecrated
in the Revolution, the cathedral has been on the whole admirably
restored. It stands at present lower than it once did, owing to
the gradual rise of the surrounding ground; formerly, it was
approached by thirteen steps (the regulation number, imitated
from the Temple at Jerusalem). It has =two western towers=,
instead of one in the centre where nave and transepts intersect,
as is usual in England; so have all the cathedrals in France
which imitate it. This peculiarity is due to the fact that
French Gothic =aims= especially =at height=, and, the nave being
raised so very high, a tower could not safely be added above it.
Other differences between English and French Gothic will be
pointed out in detail in the course of our survey.
Though Notre-Dame was the first great building in Paris proper,
it must be borne in mind that the magnificent Basilica of St.
Denis, four miles to the north, and also the Abbey Church of St.
Germain-des-Prés, in the southern suburb, antedated it by
several years.
Recollect three things about Notre-Dame. (1) It is =a church of
Our Lady=: therefore, most of it bears reference to her cult and
legends. (2) It is the =cathedral church of Paris=: therefore,
it is full of memorials of local saints—St. Denis, Ste.
Geneviève, St. Marcel, Bishop of Paris, etc., amongst whom must
also be classed St. Stephen. (3) It is =a royal church=:
therefore it contains many reminders of the close alliance of
Church and State. Thus understood, Notre-Dame becomes an epic in
stone.