(_pp. 28 to 120_)
=THE CATHEDRAL= (_pp. 28 to 60_)
=FIRST ITINERARY= (_pp. 61 to 94_)
=The Archi-episcopal Palace, Museum, Church of St. Jacques, Promenades,
Town Hall, Place Royale, Musicians' House, Mars Gate, Faubourg Ceres,
Church of St. Andre, Palais-de-Justice, etc.=
=SECOND ITINERARY= (_pp. 95 to 120_)
=The Lycee, Abbey of St. Pierre-les-Dames, Rue Barbatre, Church of St.
Maurice, Church of St. Remi, Hotel-Dieu Hospital, etc.=
[Illustration: GERMAN PRISONERS CLEARING A STREET (OCT., 1918)]
=The Cathedral=
The Cathedral of Rheims, which Charles VIII. declared to be "pre-eminent
among all the churches of the kingdom," and which a local poet in the
reign of Louis XIII. extolled above the seven wonders of the world, is
one of the most beautiful Gothic churches extant.
Few edifices combine such grandeur, simplicity and grace; still fewer,
its characteristic unity and symmetry.
The work of at least four architects, the building operations extended
over two centuries, yet it has retained rare unity both of plan and
style. The whole is so harmonious as to give the impression of being the
effort of a single master-mind.
=Historical Account=
The Cathedral stands on the site of former churches, successively
erected between the 5th and 13th centuries. On the night of May 6, 1210,
a terrible fire destroyed the then existing edifice, together with a
portion of the city.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL BEFORE THE WAR]
Exactly one year later, Archbishop Aubri de Humbert laid the first stone
of a new edifice, which was destined to become the Cathedral of to-day.
Begun in 1211, the building went on without pause for twenty years,
after which, there was a slackening, followed by a vigorous resumption
in 1299. Another pause occurred during the Hundred Years' War. The
Cathedral, less the tower spires provided for in the plans, was finished
in 1428. The spires were not yet built when the great fire of July 24th,
1481, entirely destroyed the roof of the Cathedral, further deferring
their construction, which was subsequently abandoned.
The funds for this colossal work were furnished partly by the clergy and
the people, partly by Papal Indulgences granted to donors, and by
collections in Christian lands, especially in the ecclesiastical
province of Rheims. The wonderful plans of the Cathedral were long
believed to be the work of _Robert de Coucy_, whereas the original ones
were in fact drawn by _Jean d'Orbais_, who began their execution between
1211 and 1231. His work was continued with wonderful fidelity by
_Jean-le-Loup_, from 1231-1247; by _Gaucher of Rheims_ in 1247-1255,
_Bernard of Soissons_ from 1255 to 1290, _Robert de Coucy_ until 1311,
and afterwards by _Maitre Colard_, _Gilles le Macon_, _Jean de Dijon_
and _Colard de Givry_ in the course of the 14th and 15th centuries.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL AFTER THE FIRE OF SEPT. 19, 1914]
In the 17th and 18th centuries only repairs rendered necessary by the
wear of the stone were effected. In the 19th century, beginning in 1845,
important restorations, principally by Viollet-le-Duc, were carried out
with regularity.
The Cathedral's approximate measurements are 480 feet long (it is the
longest church in France), and 160 feet wide at the intersection of the
transept. The vaulting, less lofty than that at Beauvais (156 feet) and
Amiens (143 feet), is 123 feet in height. The towers are six in number
(as in the cathedral at Laon), of which the four situated at the
extremities of the transept have never had more than one storey. The
principal towers are about 266 feet in height, or about 60 feet higher
than those of Notre-Dame in Paris.
The plan of the Cathedral is in shape a Latin cross, with radiating
chapels. It is built entirely of stone from the neighbourhood of Rheims.
Forty pillars support the vaults, which are further sustained by fifty
buttresses. Three great doorways and eight secondary doors give access
to the interior, which is lighted by a hundred windows and rose-windows;
2,303 figures of all sizes decorate the exterior and interior.
[Illustration: THE CATHEDRAL PHOTOGRAPHED FROM AEROPLANE IN 1916]
=The Cathedral During the War=
In revenging themselves on Rheims for their disappointments and
failures, the Germans seem to have been particularly determined to
destroy the building which is at once one of the most precious artistic
treasures of France and one of the most ancient evidences of her
history. In 1814 the then Allies bombarded Rheims but respected the
Cathedral. It is true that there were Germans who found fault with this
respectful forbearance. One of them, _Johann Joseph Goeres_, author of a
voluminous work entitled "_Christian Mysticism_," dared to write in
April, 1814: "_Destroy, reduce to ashes, this Rheims basilica, where
Chlodoric was consecrated, and where was born that empire of the Franks,
those turncoat brothers of the noble Germans; burn the Cathedral._" In
the course of the recent war the Germans followed the vindictive advice
of Goeres, although, less frank than he, they did not dare, in face of
the indignation of Christendom and of the whole world, boast of their
vandalism.
[Illustration: THE PIERCED VAULTING AND TOWERS OF THE CATHEDRAL IN 1919]
By way of excuse they alleged sometimes errors in firing, sometimes that
the French had established a battery of artillery near the Cathedral and
an observation-post in one of the towers (a projector was installed on
the Cathedral, on September 13, 1914, _i.e._ the day that the French
re-entered Rheims, and it remained there only one night).
On November 9, 1914, General Rouquerol declared to the French
Government, who had demanded an enquiry, that the nearest battery to the
Cathedral was at that time more than 1,200 yards away; that on the day
(September 19) the Cathedral was set on fire by the German shells, the
nearest French batteries were still quite close to the spot occupied by
the above-mentioned battery, whose position the French Premier verified
personally. The General concluded that the German artillery could not
have made an error of 1,200 yards in firing, but that they had
deliberately aimed at the Cathedral.
The Cathedral, though terribly shattered, is still standing. The
description of the edifice (pp. 33 to 60) gives particulars of the
damage and destructions which occurred principally in September, 1914,
April, 1917, and July, 1918.
On September 19, 1914, incendiary shells set fire to various portions of
the building. The roof was burnt, but the vaulting escaped injury. The
tambours of the side doors and the statues on the latter were destroyed
by the flames. The 18th century stalls, consecration carpet of Charles
X. and archi-episcopal throne were likewise burnt. The great rose-window
of the western facade, together with several other stained-glass
windows, were destroyed, as were also the "Angel" steeple and its
caryatids above the chevet. The northern tower was seriously injured by
the burning of the scaffolding around it (_see photo, p. 9_). The
statues were eaten into by the flames and subsequently crumbled away,
some of them being irrecoverably lost.
In 1915 and 1916 the Cathedral was struck a hundred times, but it was
during the bombardments of April 15, 19 and 24, 1917, that it suffered
most. For seven consecutive hours, at the rate of twelve per hour, the
Germans fired 12-in., 14-in. and 15-in. shells on the edifice, causing
terrible havoc, especially to the south-western side.
During the terrible bombardments of April, 1918, the Cathedral did not
suffer--for once the Germans seemed to have decided to spare it; but,
unfortunately, the truce did not last. In the following months the
bombardment began again, and the ravages increased, especially in the
two towers and the vaulting. However, both vaulting and towers, in spite
of their injuries, have not been irreparably damaged in their vital
parts, and are capable of restoration.
That the damage is not more serious is due to the protective measures
taken by the Cathedral architect and by the Department of Historical
Monuments. As early as 1915, the doorways of the western facade were
protected with beams and sand-bags (_see photo, p. 25_), while the
Treasure was removed and placed in safety, together with the paintings
and tapestries.
In 1916 and following years masonry protections were placed around some
of the more valuable statues. The fallen fragments of carvings and
sculpture were carefully collected, with a view to future restoration.
In this way the debris of the head of the beautiful statue of the
"Visitation" Group, known as the "Smile of Rheims," on the left-hand
side of the central doorway of the western facade, were saved.
At the beginning of 1918, it was found possible to save the remains of
the stained-glass of the windows, and other glass-work still
intact--amongst which was some of the finest in the nave. The salvage
was difficult, for scaffolding would have furnished the Germans with an
excuse for further bombardments. Recourse was had to a small body of
Paris firemen and two glaziers who, in foggy weather, and before
daybreak, climbed up to the iron framework of the windows and
accomplished their work at great heights with remarkable courage and
skill.
[Illustration: REIMS]
REIMS
SCALE.
-------------------------
0 500 1,000 M.
PORTE DE MARS A. D-3-4
MUSICIANS' HOUSE B. D-4
BARRACKS C.
**CATHEDRAL D. D-4-5
ARCHI-EPISCOPAL PALACE E. D-5
CHURCH OF ST. MAURICE F. E-5-6
POLICE STATION G. D-2
HOTEL DE VILLE H. D-4
LAW COURTS J. D-4
*HOTEL DIEU K. E-6
*CHURCH OF ST. REMY L. E-6
MUSEUM M. D-5
OCTROIS (Tolls) O.
SUB-PREFECTURE P. E-4-5
THEATRE T. D-4-5
POPULATION 115,178 H
ALTITUDE 83 M