NOTRE-DAME
ARRONDISSEMENT IV. (HÔTEL-DE-VILLE)
Rue Lutèce, the French form of the Roman word Lutetia, recording the
ancient name of the city, is a modern street on ancient historic ground.
There, on the river island, the first settlers pitched their camp,
reared their rude dwellings, laid the foundation of the city of mud to
become in future days the city of light, the brilliant Ville Lumière.
When the conquering Romans took possession of the primitive city and
built there its first palace, the island of the Seine became l’Île du
Palais.
[Illustration: NOTRE-DAME]
Of the buildings erected there through succeeding centuries, few traces
now remain. But Roman walls in perfect condition were discovered beneath
the surface of the island so recently as 1906. Close to the site of Rue
Lutèce ran, until the middle of last century, the ancient Rue des Fèves,
where was the famous Taverne de la Pomme de Pin, a favourite
meeting-place from the time of Molière of great men of letters. Crossing
Rue de la Cité, formed in 1834 along the line of the old Rue St-Éloi
which stretched where Degobert’s great statesman had founded the abbey
St-Martial, we come to the Parvis Notre-Dame. The Parvis, so wide and
open to-day, was until very recent times--well into the second half of
the nineteenth century--crowded with buildings; old shops, old streets,
erections connected with the old Hôtel-Dieu, covered in great part the
space before the Cathedral, now an open square. The statue of
Charlemagne we see there is modern, set up in 1882.
The Cathedral, beloved and venerated by Parisians from all time--“_Sacra
sancta ecclesia civitatis Parisiensis_”--stands upon the site of two
ancient churches which in early ages together formed the Episcopal
church of the capital of France. One bore the name of the martyr, St.
Stephen, the other was dedicated to Ste-Marie.
These churches stood on the site of a pre-Christian place of worship, a
temple of Mars or Jupiter: Roman remains of great extent were found
beneath the pavements when clearing away the ancient buildings on the
Parvis. Fire wrought havoc on both churches, entirely destroyed one, and
towards the year 1162 Sully set about the erection of a church worthy of
the capital of his country. Its first stone was laid by the Guelph
refugee, Pope Alexander III, in 1163. The chancel, the nave and the
façade were finished without undue delay, and in 1223 the whole of the
beautiful Gothic building was finished; alterations were made during the
years that followed until about 1300. From that time onward Notre-Dame
was made a store-house of things beautiful. The finest pictures of each
succeeding age lined its walls--at length so thickly that there was room
for no more. Much beautiful old work, including a fine rood screen, was
carted away under Louis XIV, when space was wanted for the immense
statue of the Virgin set up then in fulfilment of the vow of Louis XIII,
destroyed later. The figures on the great doors, we see to-day, are
modern: the original statuettes were hacked to pieces at the outbreak of
the Revolution by the mob who mistook the Kings of Israel for the Kings
of France!
[Illustration: RUE MASSILLON]
The _flêche_, too, is of latter-day construction, built by Viollet le
Duc, to replace the ancient turret bell-tower. Destruction and
desecration of every kind fell upon the Cathedral in Revolution days.
Priceless glass was smashed, magnificent work of every sort ruthlessly
torn down, trampled in the dust. On the Parvis--the space before the
Cathedral doors where in long-gone ages the mystery plays were acted--a
great bonfire was made of all the Mass books and Bibles, etc., found
within the sacred edifice: priceless illuminated missals, etc., perished
then. Marvellous woodwork, glorious stained-glass windows, fine statuary
happily still remain.
From the time of its erection, the grand Cathedral was closely connected
with the greatest historical events of France, just as the church built
by Childebert and the older church of St-Étienne had been before. St.
Louis was buried there in 1271. The first States-General was held there
in 1302. There Henry VI of England was crowned King of France in 1431,
and Marie-Stuart crowned Queen Consort in 1560. Henri IV heard his first
Mass there in 1694. Within the sacred walls the Revolutionists set up
the worship of reason, held sacrilegious fêtes. Napoléon I was crowned
there and was there married to Marie Louise of Austria. Napoléon III’s
wedding took place there. These are some only singled out from a long
list of historical associations. National Te Deums, Requiems, Services
of Reparation all take place at this Sancta Ecclesia Parisionis.
The Hôtel-Dieu on the north side of the Parvis is the modern hospital
raised on the site of the ancient Paris House of God, the hospital for
the Paris poor built in the thirteenth century, always in close
connection with the Cathedral and having its _annexe_ across the little
bridge St-Charles, a sort of covered gallery. Those blackened walls
stood till 1909.
Rue du Cloître Notre-Dame belonged in past ages to the Cathedral
Chapter, a cloistered thoroughfare. Its fifty-one houses have almost
entirely disappeared. Three still stand: Nos. 18, 16, 14. Pierre Lescot,
the notable sixteenth-century architect, to whom a canonry was given,
died there in 1578. Rue Chanoinesse is still inhabited by the Cathedral
canons. Its houses are all ancient. At No. 10 lived Fulbert, the uncle
of the beautiful Héloïse, who braved his anger for the sake of Abelard,
who lived and taught hard by. Racine is said to have lived at No. 16.
The old Tour de Dagobert, which did not, however, date back quite to
that monarch’s time, stood at No. 18 till 1908. Its wonderful staircase,
formed of a single oak-tree, is at the Musée Cluny. Lacordaire is said
to have lodged at No. 17. A curious old courtyard at No. 20. At No. 24,
vestiges of the old chapel St-Aignan (twelfth century). At 26, a passage
with old pillars and paved with old tombstones. Leading out of it runs
the little Rue des Chantres where the choristers lived and worked to
perfect their voices and their knowledge of music. Rue Massillon is
entirely made of old houses with most interesting features--a marvellous
carved oak staircase at No. 6, fine doors, curious courtyards. Another
beautiful staircase at No. 4. In Rue des Ursins, connected with Rue
Chanoinesse, we find many ancient houses. At No. 19 we see vestiges of
the old chapel where Mass was said secretly during the Revolution by
priests who went there disguised as workmen.
Rue de la Colombe, where we find an inscription referring to the
discovery there of Roman remains, dates from the early years of the
thirteenth century.