Hotel Continental a C-4
Hotel du Nord b C-4
Temporary Annexe Grand Hotel c D-5
Post Office Telegraph Telephone f E-4
Roads and streets to be
avoided by motor cars.
[Illustration: ENLARGED PLAN OF CENTRE OF TOWN]
[Illustration: CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS]
CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS
Plan of Cathedral
and
Archi-episcopal Palace
1. Staircase of the Towers.
2. Site of the Labyrinth (p. 53).
3. Main Pulpit (p. 53).
4. Site of "La Rouelle de Saint-Nicaise"
(Flag-stone with memorial inscription) (p. 53).
5. Pillar supporting the "Vintage Scene" (p. 52).
6. Altar of the Rear Choir (p. 57).
7. 14th century Tombstones (p. 53).
8. Tomb of Cardinal de Lorraine.
9. The Treasure (p. 58).
10. Clock with Automatons (p. 55).
11. Tombstone of Hughes Libergier (p. 55).
12. Norman Door (p. 45).
13. Great Organ (p. 55).
14. Lady Chapel (p. 55).
15. Chapel of the Holy Sacrament (p. 56).
16. Rosary Chapel (p. 57).
17. Roman Mosaic (p. 57).
=West Facade=
(_See full views on pp. 28 and 29_).
Better than any other, this part of the building reveals the desire for
unity and harmony which guided the various builders of the Cathedral.
The doorway, probably designed by Jean d'Orbais, was very likely not
begun till about 1250, by Gaucher, of Rheims. Bernard of Soissons built
the great rose-window and the facade as far as the Gallery of the Kings.
The architects of the 14th century built the lateral parts forming the
first storey of the towers, the Kings' Gallery and the gable. The upper
storey of the towers was only finished in the 15th century. Except for
slight modifications in detail, the original plan was respected. This
facade, with its full open-work towers and immense rose-window,
demonstrates that the architects knew how to obtain the maximum of
resistance with wonderfully light construction.
The =Western Doorway= (_photo below_) comprises three doors flanked by
two full arcades, and surmounted by gables adorned with statues.
Between the gables are pinnacles on small columns (the left-hand ones
have been destroyed). At the foot of the pinnacles are statues of seated
musicians, which recall those on the house in the Rue de Tambour (_see
p. 80_), but which have been partly destroyed.
The splaying of the doors is adorned with great statues backed up
against columns and separated by smaller columns, the capitals of which
are connected to a foliate frieze of elegant design. The bases are
ornamented with carved drapery. The tympana of the doors contain
window-lights, while five rows of statues, separated by lines of flowers
and foliage, fill up the archings, which suffered severely in the
bombardment of September 19, 1914. About a dozen subjects were destroyed
or spoilt. During the subsequent bombardments, shell splinters did
further damage.
[Illustration: DOORWAY OF THE WEST FRONT BEFORE THE WAR]
Generally the sculptural decoration on the ground-floor dates from the
middle of the 13th century.
In September, 1914, several of the great statues of the lateral
splayings were completely destroyed and the others more or less
seriously damaged. However, subsequent damage was slight, thanks to the
protective measures taken in 1915.
=Central Door=
The lavish decoration of the central door suffered mutilations during
the last three centuries. The inscription carved on the lintel dates
from 1802 and replaced carving descriptive of the life of the Virgin,
destroyed during the Revolution. The sculpture on the arches, especially
that of the three upper lines, was partly restored in the 17th and 18th
centuries.
The beautiful statues in the splayings of the door represent: _to the
right_ (_photo, p. 36_), the =Annunciation= and =Visitation= (the latter
group is striking by reason of its inspiration from the antique); _to
the left, the_ =Purification= (_photo, p. 36_).
The Virgin of the Annunciation group was damaged by shell splinters on
September 4, 1914.
[Illustration: CENTRAL DOOR OF THE WEST FRONT BEFORE THE WAR (_Cliche
LL._)]
[Illustration: _The Annunciation._ _The Visitation._
RIGHT-HAND SPLAYING OF CENTRAL DOOR]
In the gable, a pretty group representing the =Coronation of the Holy
Virgin= was injured by the fires of 1914.
Of the two fine statues on the top of the buttresses framing the Central
door, only the right-hand one (=Solomon=) exists to-day; the other,
representing the =Queen of Sheba=, was destroyed by a shell in
September, 1914, except the head, which was saved.
[Illustration: LEFT-HAND SPLAYING AND LINTEL OF THE CENTRAL DOOR
(_Cliche LL._)]
=The Right-Hand Door=
_See photograph on p. 25._
On the lintel, =Saint Paul=, blind, is being led to Ananias, who
restores his sight and baptizes him.
On the jambs are pretty little figures which have been variously
interpreted. The majority represent vices and virtues, _e.g. on the
inner portion_: =Courage=, in knightly raiment; =Cowardice= fleeing
before a hare; =Charity= holding out a purse; =Avarice= with a cash-box;
_on the outer portion_: =Pride= blasted and overthrown with his horse;
=Sloth=, represented as a man seated with his head resting on his
elbows, in a stall; =Wisdom= seated, holding a book and a lighted lamp.
On the same jambs other figures are supposed to symbolise the seasons:
=Autumn= sitting on a vine-trellis; =Winter= standing before a fire
place; =Spring= in the midst of flowers; =Summer= with bared chest.
[Illustration: RIGHT-HAND SPLAYING OF THE RIGHT-HAND DOOR
_The two central figures have been decapitated._]
The six statues in the splaying on the right (_photo above_) represent:
the aged =Simeon= holding Christ in his arms; =John the Baptist=,
=Isaiah=, =Moses= with the brazen serpent and the tables of the Law;
=Abraham= about to sacrifice Isaac; =Samuel= carrying a lamb (which has
been broken). They differ by their more archaic style from the other
sculptures of the lower facade, and closely resemble those of the
central door of the north transept of the Cathedral of Chartres. Like
the latter, they date without doubt from the beginning of the 13th
century. Possibly they belonged to an earlier doorway, or were prepared
in advance for a purpose not realised, being finally utilised in the
place where they now stand.
The =Last Judgment=, in the gable, was severely damaged by shell
splinters.
=The Left-Hand Door=
This door, on account of the scaffolding which surrounded it, was
seriously damaged by the fires of September, 1914 (_see p. 17_).
On the lintel is =Saint Paul=, thrown from his horse at the gates of
Damascus. On the outside of the jambs, fourteen seated figures
meditating, are supposed by some to be embodiments of the arts and
sciences, but represent more probably prophets or teachers. Along the
splayings are eleven statues, which have not definitely been identified.
In the left-hand splaying is =Saint Nicaise= between two angels. The
right-hand angel, generally known as the "=Smile of Rheims=," was
decapitated on September 19, 1914. Fortunately, the fragments of the
head of this fine statue were saved.
The sculptures in the archings depict scenes from the Passion, while the
group which adorns the gable represents =The Crucifixion=.
These archings and gable were greatly damaged by the fires of September
19, 1914, and the bombardments.
[Illustration: LEFT-HAND DOOR OF THE WEST FRONT
_The headless angel on the left against the door was known as the "Smile
of Rheims."_]
[Illustration: LEFT-HAND SPLAYING OF THE LEFT-HAND DOOR, BEFORE THE WAR
_St. Nicaise (between two angels) and St. Clotilda. The angel on the
right, known as the "Smile of Rheims," was decapitated._ (_See photo, p.
38._) _Cliche LL._]
[Illustration: GABLE OF THE LEFT-HAND DOOR, WITH CRUCIFIXION
(_Cliche LL._)]
[Illustration: FIRST STOREY OF THE WEST FRONT]
=The First Storey=
In the centre is the great rose-window, best seen from the interior of
the nave. The stained-glass is broken. On either side, against the
arching which surmounts it, were two large statues. One of them, _David
as a youth in shepherd's garb_ (also known as the _Pilgrim_), was
destroyed by the bombardments. The other very fine statue is variously
said to be _Saul_, _Solomon_ and _St. James_.
The arching which begins above these statues was adorned with small
groups of figures representing scenes from the life of Solomon. Most of
them were destroyed at the same time as the Pilgrim statue.
Above the arching, a gigantic statue (twice restored) represents _David
challenging Goliath_. The bombardments of 1914 destroyed a similar
statue on the left representing _David slaying Goliath with a stone from
his sling_.
The first storey of the towers flanking the rose-window is broken by
lofty twin bays crowned with gables. The niches and pinnacles of the
buttresses are identical with those of the nave, but the style of their
decoration denotes a more recent period (early 14th century).
The northern tower was badly damaged by the bombardment of September 19,
1914, which fired the scaffolding around it (_see photo, p. 9_). Two of
the pinnacled niches surmounting the buttresses were decapitated, while
the flames completely disfigured the statues, including that of Christ.
A large calibre shell burst in the southern tower on April 19, 1917,
causing very serious damage.
[Illustration: SECOND STOREY AND UPPER STOREY OF THE TOWERS]
=The Second Storey=
The second storey comprises a series of niches, surmounted by sharply
pointed gables and adorned with gigantic statues, known as the _Kings'
Gallery_.
The central group, consisting of seven figures, commemorates the
_Baptism of Clovis_. Clovis, standing in the baptismal font; between
Saint Remi, receiving the Sacred Ampulla, and Clotilda.
The balcony in front of the _Baptism of Clovis_ was formerly called the
_Gloria Gallery_, as it was the custom for the choir-boys to sing the
_Gloria_ there on Palm Sunday.
=The Upper Portion of the Towers=
The upper storey of the towers, built on an octagonal plan, is flanked
with four open-work turrets, one of which contains stairs leading to the
platforms.
The northern tower, badly damaged by the fire of 1914, lost several of
the fine colonnettes of its corner turrets in 1918.
In the same year, the pierced staircase of the southern tower was almost
entirely destroyed.
At the time of the last restorations, the foundations of the spires
provided for in the original plans, but which have never been built,
were laid.
In the belfry of the northern tower are two magnificent deep-toned
bells. One of them is modern and was cast at Le Mans, and blessed in
1849 by Cardinal Gousset. The other, one of the finest bells known, and
presented to the church in 1570 by Cardinal Charles de Lorraine, is the
work of the Rheims metal-founder, Pierre Deschamps.
The scaffolding fire of 1914 reached the belfry, bringing down the
bells, which were broken in the fall.
=The Lateral Facades and Chevet=
The lateral facades of the Cathedral are of rare beauty. Nowhere have
abutments and flying buttresses been so harmoniously employed as here.
They are not merely supports, but form part of the decorative scheme of
the nave, and ensure the harmony of the whole. Buttresses, finished off
with pinnacles, serve as points of support for two superimposed
flying-buttresses. The octagonal pinnacles are flanked with four small
triangular pyramids and supported in front by two slender detached
columns. Between the latter, under canopies, angels with outstretched
wings carry the instruments of the Passion and various other emblems
(_see photo, p. 49_).
_Skirt the Cathedral on the left, passing in front of the North Facade
(see photo below), to reach the Northern Transept._
[Illustration: THE NORTHERN TRANSEPT IN 1919]
=The Northern Facade and Transept=
The transept is pierced with broad bays, whose completion, as in all the
windows of the Cathedral, consists of two twin arches surmounted by a
six-leaved rose. The niches in the buttresses are ornamented with
statues believed by some to represent Kings of France. At any rate, that
of the buttress on the western front of the north-west tower greatly
resembles the figure of St. Louis carved on the doorway of the church of
St. Vincent at Carcassonne.
The carvings of the lower windows were either destroyed or damaged on
September 19, 1914, at the same time as the stained-glass. The two
towers which flank the crossings were left unfinished.
Before the fire of 1481, there was a lantern over the intersection of
the transept.
[Illustration: CENTRAL DOOR OF THE NORTHERN TRANSEPT]
=The Central Door of the Northern Transept=
The sculptural decoration, while rich, is more sober than that of the
doorway of the western facade. It is commemorative of the glory of the
Archbishops of Rheims.
The statue of the Pontiff with a tiara, backing up to the
dividing-pillar, is supposed to be that of St. Sixtus, first Bishop of
Rheims. In the splaying, on the left, is St. Nicaise holding his head in
his hands, between St. Eutropia, an angel and a figure improbably said
to be Clovis.
The pediment was pierced by a shell and scarred with splinters. It is
divided into five tiers, and represent the life of St. Remi and St.
Nicaise.
Beginning at the bottom, the figures represent: _on the first tier_, the
beheading of St. Nicaise by the Vandals and the Baptism of Clovis by St.
Remi; _on the second_, St. Remi, as a child, restores sight to Montanus
and, as a man, exorcises the demons who had set fire to Rheims; _on the
third_, the story of Job; _on the fourth_, the restoring to life of a
young Toulouse girl, and the miracle of the cask filled with wine by St.
Remi; _on the fifth_, Christ between two angels.
[Illustration: LEFT-HAND DOOR OF THE NORTHERN TRANSEPT: THE LAST
JUDGMENT
_The dead rise from their graves._]
=The Left-Hand Door of the Northern Transept=
This door, which has long been walled up, is called _The Doorway of the
Last Judgment_, on account of the carving on the tympanum.
In the upper part, Christ is supported on one side by the Holy Virgin,
and on the other by John the Baptist. Below (_two rows_) the dead rise
from their graves (_photo above_). Lower down, on one side are _The
Virtues_, represented by seated women; on the other, _The Vices_,
mutilated in 1780 on account of their realism. On the lowest tier, _to
the left_, angels carry souls to Abraham's bosom: _on the right_, Satan
leads a chain of damned souls to Hell (_photo below_), amongst whom are
a king, a bishop, and a monk.
In the arching are three rows of angels carrying books or blowing
trumpets, and the wise and foolish virgins.
Backing up to the dividing pillar is an exceedingly fine 13th century
statue, which recalls the "_Beautiful God_" of Amiens Cathedral (_see
the Michelin Guide: Amiens Before and During the War_); Jesus blessing
with His right hand, holds the globe of the world in His left (_see
photo p. 45_).
This statue was decapitated by a shell which struck the doorway in 1918,
also taking off the head of the first statue on the left-hand portion of
the doorway.
[Illustration: LEFT-HAND DOOR OF THE NORTHERN TRANSEPT: THE LAST
JUDGMENT
_Satan drags a chain of damned Souls to Hell._]
On the plinth of the dividing pillar is a bas-relief, remarkable for its
delicate carving.
According to local tradition, this plinth was erected at the expense of
a dishonest master-draper, convicted of selling by false measure.
_On the left_, the merchant is seen in his shop. In front of the
counter, customers of both sexes look at the outspread stuffs, while
clerks write in books.
_On the right_, the merchant kneels before a statue of the Virgin in
penance.
Near-by, burgesses talk together and seem to judge the delinquent's
conduct severely.
The six statues against the walls represent the apostles: _on the
right_, St. John, St. James and St. Paul; _on the left_, St. Andrew, St.
Peter and St. Bartholomew.
The rose is carved in a voussoir; the uprights are decorated with
statues of Adam and Eve in long tunics, and the arch with twenty-two
groups of small figures depicting, _from left to right_, the story of
Adam and Eve, the various tasks to which they and their descendants were
condemned, and the story of Cain and Abel.
[Illustration: DIVIDING-PILLAR OF THE LEFT-HAND DOOR OF THE NORTHERN
TRANSEPT
_The statue of Christ was decapitated by a shell._
_On the plinth is the legend of the Master-draper_ (_see text
opposite_).]
Above the rose an open-work gallery contains seven statues of the
prophets. The statues are 13th century, but the gallery was restored in
1846.
The balustrading and triangular gable flanked with pinnacles, which
dominate the gallery, date from the beginning of the 16th century, but
have been repaired in recent times. On the gable is a colossal
=Annunciation=; the Archangel and Mary are under Flamboyant canopies.
=The Right-Hand Door of the Northern Transept (Norman Door)=
This little door formerly connected, by means of a vaulted passage, the
Cathedral with the Cloister (no longer existing) of the Chapter.
Its tympanum is a relic of the Cathedral built by Archbishop Samson. It
depicts, in beautiful Romanesque relief, a majestic Virgin. The
archivolt which frames it, doubtless belonged to a 12th century tomb. At
the top of the arch, angels carry away a soul, while on the uprights,
clerks officiate at a funeral service.
=The Chevet=
(_See photograph of Cathedral, taken from aeroplane, p. 30._)
The Chevet, begun by Jean D'Orbais and finished by Jean Le Loup, was
inaugurated by the Chapter about 1241. It is one of the finest 13th
century chevets in existence.
It is stayed by two rows of buttresses supporting double
flying-buttresses. Like those of the nave, the buttresses are surmounted
with pinnacles, beneath which niches shelter statues of flying angels.
[Illustration: THE CHEVET BEFORE THE WAR
_One of the finest 13th century Chevets._]
All around the apse, between the windows of the radial chapels and on
the main buttresses, are statues of angels, some of them of great
beauty.
The 13th century clerestory gallery, which surrounds the upper portion
of the apsidal chapels, was restored by Viollet-le-Duc. It was partially
destroyed by the bombardments. On April 19, 1917, three large calibre
shells, which burst on the chevet, destroyed forty to fifty feet of it.
At the same time, the buttress jutting on the centre of the destroyed
gallery lost its pinnacle, and behind, an arch of the flying-buttress.
The buttresses between the above-mentioned one and the corner of the
South Transept Tower lost either a colonnette or their pinnacle with
angel statue.
The slender spire which, before the War, rose above the chevet, was
known as the =Angel Spire=, on account of a bronze angel which
surmounted it, and which was removed in 1860 as unsafe. This spire, the
work of Colard le Moine, was built in 1485, after the fire of 1481. Its
pierced base with balustrading was supported by eight leaden caryatids,
some of which, in the popular costume of the Louis XI. period, became
deformed in consequence of the rotting of their oaken core.
The fire of September 19, 1914, caused by the German shells, entirely
destroyed the spire and its caryatids.
[Illustration: THE CHEVET IN 1919
_The roof with the "Angel Spire" was destroyed._]
The bombardments in the spring of the following year further damaged the
gallery, also causing fresh mutilations to the flying buttresses and the
pinnacles of the apse.
A plain stone gallery with blind arcading, which formerly ran round the
chevet on a level with the springing of the roof, was replaced by
Viollet-le-Duc, with pierced battlemented arcading. Part of the original
gallery which surrounded the entire building, level with the roof, still
exists on the northern side.
On October 12, 1914, a shell destroyed about twenty five feet of the
gallery round the chevet, which later was further damaged by another
shell.
=The Lateral Facade and South Transept=
This facade and transept (_which should be seen from the courtyard of
the Archbishop's Palace_) are identical, as a whole, with the northern
facade and transept (_see pp. 28 and 42_).
The gallery at the springing of the roof of the nave was entirely
rebuilt in 1878 by Architect Millet, in a style foreign to that of the
Cathedral.
Among the statues of the transept buttresses that at the corner of the
south-western tower, bestriding a lion, is thought by some to represent
=Pepin-the-Short=, and another near him, =Charlemagne=.
[Illustration: THE LATERAL FACADE AND SOUTHERN TRANSEPT IN 1919]
The facade of the transept has no doorway. Above the lower storey, the
architectural arrangement is the same as that of the northern transept.
At the base of the rose-window, on each side, are two very fine statues.
_On the left_, =The Christian Religion=, symbolised by a crowned woman
with chalice and standard. This statue was destroyed by a German shell
in 1918, after being damaged in April 1917.
_On the right_, =The Synagogue=, with eyes bandaged and a crown on one
side, was not seriously damaged.
In consequence of the fire of 1481, the gable of South Transept was
rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century by three master-masons, one
of whom, Guichart Antoine, co-operated later with the building of =Notre
Dame de l'Epine=. (_See the Michelin Guide: The Revigny Pass._) It was
restored about 1888 in the original style. The subject sculptured on the
pediment represents the =Assumption of the Virgin=.
The =Sagittarius= which surmounted the gable was destroyed in 1914. It
was a modern faithful copy of the old lead-covered wooden Sagittarius,
which was carved, gilded and painted about 1503 by the Rheims sculptor,
Jean Bourcamus. According to tradition, this Sagittarius, which appeared
to be shooting its arrow at the bronze stag of the archi-episcopal
palace, symbolised the rivalry between the Archbishop and the Chapter of
the Cathedral.
[Illustration: GABLE OF THE SOUTHERN TRANSEPT IN 1914]
[Illustration: THE SOUTHERN LATERAL FACADE IN 1914]
[Illustration: REVERSE SIDE OF THE CENTRAL DOOR IN 1914
_See complete view on p. 52._]
=THE INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL=
=The Inner Western Facade=
(_See description of the Exterior on pp. 34 to 41._)
This is a masterpiece. Its sculptural decoration is unique, and as rich
as that of the outer facade.
In the tympanum of the central door a sixteen-leaved rose-window, the
stained-glass of which was made shortly before the Revolution, is faced
with three small trefoil rose-windows.
At the top of the dividing pillar St. Nicaise, headless, is between two
angels and two armed men personifying the barbarians who killed him.
The entire door, as far as the triforium, is framed by seven rows of
superimposed niches separated by panels of sculptured foliage. The
basements are covered with figured drapery, as on the outside. In each
niche, under a trefoil arcade, is a statue. The subjects represented
are, _from bottom to top_: _on the right_: =The Life of John the
Baptist=; _on the left_: =The Fulfilment of the Prophecy= and =The
Childhood of Christ=.
[Illustration: STATUES ON REVERSE SIDE OF DOORS AFTER FIRE, SEPT., 1914]
The first row on the right is known as "=The Knight's Communion="; a
priest offers the Host to a knight wearing 13th century armour, and
turns his back on another knight clothed in a leathern Carolingian tunic
with iron scales, and armed with a small round buckler.
Above the door, a gallery with nine openings lights the triforium.
On the highest storey, the great rose-window occupies the whole breadth
of the nave. It is the masterpiece of Bernard de Soissons (_see p. 40_).
In the form of a gigantic flower with twelve petals, each of the latter
is sub-divided by quatrefoils and trefoil archings. Its harmonious
gracefulness and seeming lightness, in spite of the great thickness of
its border (about 7 ft.), and mullions (about 2 ft. 6 in.), are very
striking.
The stained-glass, which, with the stonework, formed a harmonious whole,
was restored in modern times. The subject represented was: =The Virgin
surrounded by angels, kings and patriarchs=.
The fire of 1914 destroyed the stained-glass.
The side-doors have only a quatrefoil rose-window (_see pp. 25 and 34_),
and their framework of niches consists only of four rows of two niches
each. However, two lines of niches, in which are statues in demi-relief,
form the contour of the arches which frame their top.
The subjects of the sculptures are allied, in the case of each door, to
those of the outer decoration, _i.e._ "=The Life of St. Stephen=."
The wooden doors and their tambours were destroyed by the fire of
September 19, 1914, which also disfigured or destroyed the statues
framing them (_see photos above_).
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE NAVE IN 1919]
=The Great Nave=
The fire of September 19, 1914, destroyed the framework of the Nave and
its 15th century lead roof. In the following years a number of shells
pierced the vaulting, without, however, damaging its vital parts. It
will be possible to restore it.
It seems to be clearly established that although the first four bays
were built later than the others, the nave as a whole, like that of the
Cathedral of Amiens, was completely finished before 1300 A.D. Vaulted
throughout on diagonal ribs, the nave, which is perfectly regular, has
three stories: the lowest, formed of great arches, rests on massive
pillars; the triforium, formed of two, four, five, or six arcades,
extends round the entire building; the high twin-bay windows are
surmounted with a six-leaved rose-window.
The pillars, which have been likened to a row of antique columns, are
composed of a great cylindrical shaft, reinforced by four smaller
engaged columns, standing on an octagonal base. The pillars which follow
the first bay of the nave and carry one of the corners of the towers, as
also the four pillars of the transept square, are more massive.
[Illustration: CAPITAL IN THE NAVE]
The capitals of the pillars and of the columns (_photo opposite_) are
most beautifully decorated. The dominating subject of their decoration
is natural foliage (vine, oak, thistle, ivy, ranunculus, fig-tree).
Occasionally, human or animal figures or monsters, and scenes from
nature, _i.e._ the dainty =Vintage scene= on the capital of the sixth
pillar on the right of the nave, are interspersed. The ornamentation of
the capitals of six pillars of the first bays is more elaborate and more
recent in style. These capitals are not, like those of the other
pillars, divided on the four flanking columns into two equal courses by
an astragal, neither do they include, like some of the others, crockets,
acanthus leaves and other conventional ornaments of an older and less
realistic style.
[Illustration: ROOF OF THE NAVE IN 1914
_In the foreground on the right: Corner of the Southern Transept._]
The 13th and 14th century stained-glass of the high windows represents,
on two superimposed lines, figures of kings of France and archbishops of
Rheims. Some of the glass was broken, but the finest was saved.
In the third and fourth bays there was formerly a square =Labyrinth=,
flanked at the corners by polygonal compartments. In the interior, a
line of white tiles bordered with black stones ran from one side, and
after complicated windings reached a central compartment. At the corners
of the compartments were figures of the four first architects of the
Cathedral: Jean d'Orbais, Jean le Loup, Gaucher of Rheims and Bernard of
Soissons. The central figure is probably that of Archbishop Aubri de
Humbert, who laid the first stone of the edifice. This Labyrinth, the
drawings of which revealed the names of the builders of the Cathedral,
was destroyed in 1778 by the Chapter, to prevent the children playing
there.
[Illustration: ROOF OF THE NAVE IN 1919
_In the foreground, on the right: Corner of the Southern Transept._]
Between the Labyrinth and the Choir are about twenty 14th century
tombstones.
The =great pulpit= set up against the fifth left-hand pillar was made,
in the time of Louis XV., by a Rheims artist (Blondel). It comes from
the old church of St. Pierre-le-Vieil.
In the sixth bay, just before the entrance to the choir, the spot where
St. Nicaise was beheaded, on the threshold of his church, was formerly
indicated by a small circular chapel known as _La Rouelle de St.
Nicaise_. The tiny building was replaced by a memorial inscription on
the flagstone, supposed to have been stained with the blood of the
martyr.
=The Aisles of the Naves=
The windows of the Aisles are similar to the lofty windows of the nave.
The walls were formerly hung with valuable tapestries, which were taken
down and evacuated by the _Historical Monuments Department_ at the
outbreak of the War. The two oldest, dating back to about 1440, and
known as the tapestries of the _fort roi Clovis_, were presented by
Cardinal Charles de Lorraine, and depict the history of Clovis. Those of
the Renaissance, given in 1530 by Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt, who
caused himself to be portrayed kneeling in the picture of the Birth of
Christ, depict the _Life of the Virgin_. The most modern, presented in
1640 by Archbishop Henri de Lorraine and worked by the Fleming, Daniel
Pepersack, represent Jesus at the _Marriage at Cana in Galilee_ and
_Jesus among the Doctors_.
At the foot of the walls, three stone steps serve as seats.
[Illustration: TAPESTRIES IN THE SOUTHERN SIDE AISLE, BEFORE THE WAR]
=The Interior of the Northern Transept=
(_See plan, p. 33, and the Exterior, p. 42._)
The inner facade is partially hidden by the great organ, built about
1487 and transformed several times since then. Of the original organ the
loft only remains, the Gothic balustrading of which is pierced with
Flamboyant arcading.
[Illustration: THE NORTHERN TRANSEPT _(see p. 33)_]
The facade originally consisted of three lofty bays with lancet-shaped
windows surmounted by a gallery lighted by three rose-windows of six
lobes each and one of twelve lobes. The subsequent addition of a doorway
about the _middle_ of the 13th century caused the partial suppression of
the bays, of which the transformed summits alone remain.
Almost all the high windows of the transept contained 13th century
_grisaille_ glass, which was damaged or broken by the bombardments, as
was also the 13th century stained-glass of the great rose-window
(repaired in 1869), which represented _The Story of the Creation_ and
_The Fall of Adam_.
The reverse side of the Central Door is bare, except the dividing
pillar, the statue of which is hidden by the 18th century wooden
tambour.
The small western side-door, which formerly communicated with the
cloister of the Chapter, is entirely covered with 18th century woodwork.
The adjoining bay, closed in by a beautiful 13th century wrought-iron
railing, is the old chartulary or muniment room of the Chapter. Near the
railing, in the corner of the transept, is a clock with automatons,
which come out when the hours strike. Its woodwork is 14th and 15th
century and its works 17th and 18th century.
To the right of the door of the organ stair, a =tombstone= to =Hugues
Libergier= was set up against the wall. He was the architect who, in
1231, commenced the abbatial church of St. Nicaise. The tombstone has
been in the Cathedral since 1800. The altar in the Lady-Chapel,
surmounted with a statue by Francois Ladatte (1742), replaced a Gothic
altar-screen destroyed in 1739.
The picture _The Washing of the Disciples' Feet_ is by Jerome Muziano.
On the western walls of the transept is a fine tapestry, the pendant of
which is in the south transept. These two great tapestries, made at the
Gobelins, after cartoons by Raphael, represent the life of St. Paul.
They were removed in 1914, at the same time as those in the aisles.
[Illustration: THE VAULTING OF THE CHOIR FELL IN ON THE HIGH ALTAR
_The photo on p. 31 shows the collapse, seen from above._]
=The Choir=
(_See the Chevet, p. 46._)
The ambulatory with its radiating chapels is of incomparable beauty.
Excepting the larger central chapel, known as the _Chapel of the Holy
Sacrament_, which is nine-sided, each chapel has seven sides rising from
a circular floor.
In each chapel, three windows similar to those of the nave, light the
three hindmost walls. Blind windows imitate the true ones on the side
walls.
At the base of the windows a narrow gallery, passing through the
pillars, continues all along the side-aisles of the transept and nave--a
peculiarity in Champagne architecture.
The 13th century stained-glass of the high windows was destroyed by the
bombardment of September 19, 1914.
In April, 1917, part of the vaulting fell in on the High Altar (_photo
above_).
The costly marble High Altar was erected in 1747 by Canon Godinot, who
spent considerable sums in making alterations to the Cathedral, not all
of which were happy. Its six chandeliers date from the consecration of
Charles X.
The High Altar of the rear choir dates from 1764 and came from the
Church of St. Nicaise. On either side of this altar are two 14th century
tumulary stones. Behind is the tomb of Cardinal de Lorraine.
The small pulpit of the rear choir, the medallions of which depict the
life of St. Theresa, dates from 1678. It is a gift of the widow of M.
Pommery (_photo below_).
Twenty-two archbishops of Rheims were buried under the choir pavement.
Their tombstones were removed in 1747. The present flag-stones came from
the old church of St. Nicaise.
[Illustration: THE SMALL PULPIT IN THE REAR CHOIR]
The archbishop's throne, by Viollet-le-Duc, was destroyed by the fire of
1914, together with the 18th century stalls.
The railings (1826-1832) replaced, not very happily, an ancient stone
rood-loft destroyed in 1761.
=The Interior of the Southern Transept=
(_See plan, p. 33, and the Exterior, p. 47_)
A gap was made in the vaulting by the bombardment of April 19, 1917.
The arrangement of the inner facade is similar to that of the northern
transept, except that the three high bays with lancet windows, which are
partially hidden in the northern transept, are here entirely visible.
The stained-glass of the rose-window, destroyed by a hurricane in 1580,
was replaced in 1581 by the Rheims artist Nicolas Derode. It represents
the Eternal Father surrounded by the twelve apostles.
In the Rosary Chapel is a Renaissance altar-screen (1541), attributed to
the Rheims sculptor Pierre Jacques. The general scheme represents _The
dead body of Christ on the knees of the Virgin_, and above, _Christ
coming forth from the sepulchre_. It was a gift of Canon Paul
Grandraoul, who is shown on his knees before Mary Magdalene.
The Roman mosaic work in the centre of the chapel was discovered in the
courtyard of the archbishop's palace in 1849. Among the most remarkable
scenes are: _Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene_, attributed to Titian;
_Christ with the angels_, by Thaddeo Zuccaro; _The Nativity_, attributed
to Tintoret; _Manna in the Desert_, attributed to Nicolas Poussin.
[Illustration: ST. REMI'S CHALICE. (_Cliche LL._)]
=The Cathedral Treasure=
This is kept in a sacristy built by Viollet-le-Duc, which is reached
through a plain door in the southern facade of the transept.
The treasure, which is very rich in precious reliquaries, chalices, and
other pieces of goldsmith's work, was saved from the fire of September
19, 1914, by the Cure of the Cathedral and one of his abbes. After being
temporarily placed in the house of the Cardinal, it was evacuated in
1915, at the order of the Historical Monuments Department.
Among the best known of these art treasures are the Chalice of St. Remi
and St. Ursula's Skiff.
The =Chalice of St. Remi=, with its gold filagree work, six rows of
chasing, and precious stones set in a _collier_, is a remarkable work of
art. It was in this chalice that, by special privilege, the kings of
France communicated in wine at the conclusion of their consecration.
Tradition has it that the gold of which it is made was that of the
Soissons Vase, whereas in reality it is 12th century. Confiscated in
1793 and deposited in the _Bibliotheque Nationale_, it was restored to
the Cathedral by Napoleon III.
[Illustration: ST. URSULA'S SKIFF. (_Cliche LL._)]
=St. Ursula's Skiff= is a reliquary given by Henri III. It represents a
ship carved out of cornelian, floating on a sea of enamel. The ship,
whose mast bears the royal crown, is adorned with the escutcheons of
France and Poland, and contains eleven small figures. That of St. Ursula
is said to be the portrait of the Queen of France.
Amongst the other remarkable works of art in the Treasure are the
following: the _reliquaries_ of Archbishop Samson, St. Sixtus (12th
century), St. Peter and St. Paul (14th century), and the Holy Sepulchre
(16th century); a _monstrance_ of gilt copper (13th century); a
_liturgical comb_ of ivory, said to have belonged to St. Bernard (12th
century); a rock-crystal _cross_, which formerly belonged to Cardinal de
Lorraine; _orfrays_ embroidered with silver thread (13th century); the
_credence_ and _oil vessels_ of Abbot de la Salle; a _fragment_ of a
carved wood crozier (incorrectly said to be the crozier of St.
Gibrien), two other fragments of which are in the Town Museum (12th
century); the _vases_, _utensils_, and _sacred ornaments_ which were
used at the consecration of Charles X.; the _reliquary_ of the Sacred
Ampulla, designed by Lafitte for the consecration of Charles X. The
original Sacred Ampulla was broken in 1793. The present one, which has
only served for the consecration of Charles X., is a replica said to
have been made with the few drops of balsam of the Clovis Ampulla, which
pious hands saved from the broken fragments of the sacred vessel.
[Illustration: CASKET OF THE SACRED AMPULLA. (_Cliche LL._)]
[Illustration: FRAGMENTS SAVED FROM THE RUINS. (_Cliche LL._)]
[Illustration (Map)]
=FIRST ITINERARY FOR VISITING RHEIMS=
=Starting-point: Place du Parvis Notre-Dame=
1. The Archbishop's Palace (p. 63).
2. The Theatre (p. 68)
3. The House of Levesque de Pouilly (p. 68).
4. The Stores: Galeries Remoises (p. 73).
5. The Maison Fossier (p. 75).
6. The House of J. B. de la Salle (p. 75).
7. The House of the Enfant d'Or (p. 75).
8. The Statue of Louis XV. (p. 79).
9. The Musicians' House (p. 80).
10. The House of De Muire (p. 83).
11. The House of Le Vergeur (p. 85).
12. A 16th Century House (p. 86).
13. The General Post Office and Chamber of Commerce (p. 87).
14. The Cloister of the Franciscan Friars (p. 90).
15. The House of Thiret de Prain (p. 89).
16. The House of de la Pourcelette (p. 92).
[Illustration: REMOVING THE STATUE OF JOAN-OF-ARC IN MAY, 1918]
=Place du Parvis=
The Place du Parvis (_photo below_) is in front of the main facade of
the Cathedral. The shells made enormous craters there.
In the centre of the square stands an =equestrian statue of
Joan-of-Arc=, by Paul Dubois, of which there is a replica in the Place
St. Augustin in Paris. It was removed in May, 1918, by the Historical
Monuments Department (_photo above_).
[Illustration: THE PLACE DU PARVIS
_On the right: The Law Courts. In the centre: The Theatre. On the left:
The Grand Hotel. In centre of Square: Statue of Joan-of-Arc._]
Looking towards the Cathedral, the tourist will see on the right the
ruins of the _Hotel du Lion d'Or_ and of the _Hotel de la Maison Rouge_.
The latter was completely destroyed. Above the door was the inscription:
"In the year 1429, at the consecration of Charles VII., in this
hostelry--then called the 'Striped Ass'--the father and mother of Jeanne
d'Arcq were lodged at the expense of the Municipality." In reality only
the father of Joan-of-Arc lodged there.
It was at the Hotel du Lion d'Or (_photo opposite_) and at the Grand
Hotel (No. 4 in the Rue Libergier, which opens out in front of the
statue of Joan-of-Arc) that the Field-Marshal French stayed in August,
1914, and later General von Zuchow, commanding the Saxon troops which
entered Rheims on September 4, 1914.
[Illustration: INNER COURTYARD OF THE LION D'OR HOTEL. (_Cliche A.S._)]
On the right of the Cathedral are the ruins of the Archbishop's Palace
(_see plan, p. 33_). A general view of them is seen in the photograph on
p. 48.
=The Archbishop's Palace=
Of the three buildings which surrounded every Cathedral in the Middle
Ages--the bishop's palace, the cloister of the canons, and the house set
apart for the sick and poor (Hotel-Dieu)--only the archbishop's palace
existed at Rheims in 1914. It extended all along the south lateral
facade of the Cathedral, on the site of the ancient abode of St.
Nicaise, which had replaced a Roman palace. Of the ancient building
erected by the successors of St. Nicaise down to the 13th century, there
remained only the graceful two-storied chapel, doubtless contemporary
with the chevet of the Cathedral. The round entrance tower, known as
Eon's tower (from the name of the heretic who was imprisoned there in
the 12th century), and the great bronze stag placed in the middle of the
courtyard by Archbishop Samson in the 11th century, still existed in the
17th century, but about that time the one was demolished and the other
melted down. This stag, into which on feast-days wine was poured, which
flowed out again by the mouth, was a beautiful specimen of the art of
the old metal-founders of Rheims.
The archbishop's palace and most of its rich collections were burnt in
the fire of September 19, 1914. Of the palace proper there remains only
the great chimney-piece of the Salle du Tau, on which the Latin motto,
"Good faith preserved makes rich," is inscribed (_see p. 64_), the very
opposite of the German "scrap of paper" theory.
=The Archeveche=: The buildings which lined the courtyard were of
different periods. The wing abutting on the entrance-gate was 19th
century, while the correct but heavy and dull southern facade was
rebuilt in the 17th century by Archbishop Maurice Le Tellier, from the
plans of Robert de Cotte.
[Illustration: THE SALLE DU TAU, BEFORE THE WAR]
=The Salle du Tau (or Kings' Hall)=
(_See plan, p. 33._)
At the bottom of the courtyard there used to be a large late 15th and
early 16th century hall, access to which was gained by a horse-shoe
stair with late 17th century wrought-iron hand-rail.
A small porch-like structure at the top of the stair was an unfortunate
addition of 1825.
The hall was known as the =Salle du Tau=, in memory of the ancient
palace which was shaped like the Greek letter _Tau_, or the Kings' Hall,
on account of the portraits of the Kings consecrated at Rheims, received
in 1825.
Built by the Cardinal Archbishop Guillaume Briconnet between 1497 and
1507, it comprised two stories.
[Illustration: THE SALLE DU TAU IN 1918
_Behind the ruined Hall are seen the Southern Transept and Chevet of the
Cathedral._]
The upper hall, in which the royal banquet was served at the
consecrations, became the Stock Exchange at the beginning of the 19th
century. It was disfigured by poor paintings and false Gothic
ornamentation at the time of the consecration of Charles X.
The walls were hung with four admirable tapestries by Pepersack and
several others given by Robert de Lenoncourt.
The vast chimney-piece with the Briconnet and Church of Rheims Arms is
all that the fire of 1914 spared of the ancient decoration. It is
visible in the photographs on page 64, at the bottom of the hall.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE SALLE DU TAU (OR KINGS' HALL). (_See
plan, p. 33._)]
The lower hall, with its Gothic arching, was as large as the upper one.
The capitals of the prismatic pillars and the key-stones of the arches
were adorned with escutcheons, fleur-de-lys, flowers and crockets.
=The Archi-episcopal Chapel=
(_See plan, p. 33._)
This was without doubt the work of Jean d'Orbais, the first architect of
the Cathedral. It resembled the latter in many respects.
With its seven-sided apse, four-bay nave and lancet-shaped windows
without rubber-work, it was remarkably slender and graceful.
Its finest ornament was the 13th century bas-relief, _The Adoration of
the Magi_, in the tympanum of the entrance door.
The white marble inner portico of the door dated from the Restoration.
The other, formed of in-laid wood panels, was adorned with five 16th or
early 17th century painted figures.
The lower chapel, partly subterranean, was fitted up as a lapidary
museum in 1865 and 1896.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE ARCHI-EPISCOPAL CHAPEL. (_See plan, p.
33._)]
[Illustration: THE ROYAL APARTMENTS IN THE ARCHBISHOP'S PALACE]
=The Royal Apartments=
From the Kings' Hall, access was obtained to five royal saloons with
windows looking on the gardens and adorned with portraits of
archbishops.
It was in the archbishop's palace that the Kings stayed at the time of
their consecration or when passing through Rheims. Henry IV. lived there
during his two sojourns at Rheims. He washed the feet of the poor on
Holy Thursday in the great hall and listened to the sermon of Father
Cotton. Louis XIII. and Richelieu stayed there in 1641, Louis XIV. in
1680, Peter the Great in 1717, Louis XV. in 1722 and 1744, the Queen in
1765, Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette in 1774, and Charles X. in 1825.
From year VI. (Revolution Calendar) to 1824 it was occupied by the
tribunals. The archbishops formerly held many Councils and Synods there,
but lived there only rarely. In the Middle Ages they preferred living in
their fortified castle of Porte Mars (_see p._ 6). In the 17th and 18th
centuries they lived mostly outside Rheims.
_After visiting the ruins of the Archbishop's Palace return to the Place
du Parvis. Take the Rue Libergier, opposite the Cathedral, turning into
the first street on the right (Rue Chanzy). The Museum is soon reached
(see Itinerary, p. 61)._
=The Museum=, formerly =The Grand Seminaire=
This fine 18th century building was erected by Nicolas Bonhomme in
1743-1752. The carved entrance-door and terraced central pavilion,
bordered with a fine balustrade (damaged by shell splinters), are the
remains of the ancient Abbey of St. Denis, the church of which was
destroyed at the time of the Revolution. The right wing was rebuilt in
the 19th century, by order of Cardinal Thomas Gousset. The ground-floor
of the left wing is old, but the other floors are modern. These
buildings were comparatively little damaged by the bombardments.
[Illustration: THE ENTRANCE TO THE COURTYARD OF THE OLD GRAND SEMINAIRE
(18th century)]
Successively occupied since 1790 by the District Council, a free
secondary school, and by the Russians in 1814-1815, the buildings were
handed over to the Grand Seminaire in 1822. Since the separation of the
Church and State in 1905, they have been fitted up as a Museum.
The Museum was struck at the beginning of the bombardment on September
4, 1914, several pictures in the Modern Gallery being destroyed. Later,
it was again hit by shells, but the greater part of the collections had
already been removed to a place of safety.
[Illustration: THE OLD GRAND SEMINAIRE (MUSEUM)]
[Illustration: THE BED IN WHICH NAPOLEON SLEPT IN 1814
(_In ruined house at No. 18 Rue de Vesle._)]
_Continue along the Rue Chanzy, which skirts the_ =Theatre= (1873), of
which only the walls remain. _Take the Rue de Vesle (first street on the
left. See Itinerary, p. 61)._
Among the ruins of this street, in the yard of No. 18 on the left, is a
building of which only the ground-floor and front with large windows and
spacious dormers remain.
It was there that Napoleon I. slept after his return to Rheims. His room
had been preserved exactly as it was in 1814 (_see p. 8_).
[Illustration: THE PARIS GATE]
At No. 27 are vestiges of the old =Hotel Levesque de Pouilly=. Inside
the court there was a 16th century house, the residence of a family
which furnished Rheims with some remarkable administrators, chief among
whom was _Levesque de Pouilly_, "lieutenant of the inhabitants." Among
the celebrated guests received by him were Voltaire and Madame du
Chatelet (1749). In a letter to him, Lord Bolingbroke wrote: "_I know
but three men who are worthy of governing the nation: You, Pope and
myself._"
[Illustration: THE VAULTING AND BELFRY OF THE CHURCH OF ST. JACQUES
(_Cliche LL._)]
_On the right, between Nos. 44 and 46, is the Rue St. Jacques._
_Follow the Rue de Vesle to the end, where the_ =Paris Gate= _stands,
about 1 km. from the entrance to the Rue St. Jacques._
This Gate replaced the Vesle Gate which formerly abutted on the river.
In consequence of the growth of the city it was built in the _faubourg_
about 1845. Its beautiful wrought-iron work (_photo opposite_), by the
local master-locksmiths Lecoq and Revel, was erected by the City in
1774, at the time of the consecration of Louis XVI.
_From the Paris Gate, return by the Rue de Vesle to the Rue St. Jacques,
on the right of which stands the_ Church of St. Jacques.
The =Church of St. Jacques=, whose fine tower contributed to the charm
of the general appearance of the city, was destroyed by the bombardments
of 1918. Begun in the 12th century, it was finished in the 16th. Before
the war, it was the only parish church in Rheims which had been
preserved intact.
[Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. JACQUES (_Cliche
LL._)]
[Illustration: THE PLACE DROUET D'ERLON, BEFORE THE WAR
_On the right: Belfry of the Church of St. Jacques._]
_The Rue St. Jacques leads to the long_ Place Drouet d'Erlon, which was
much damaged by the bombardments of 1918 (_photo opposite_).
Formerly known as _Place de la Couture_, this square, like the
old streets with picturesque names: _Rue des Telliers_,
_Rue du Clou-dans-le-Fer_, _Rue de la Belle Image_, _Rue de la
Grosse-Ecritoire_, _Rue du Cadran St. Pierre_, formed part of the
_Quartier des Loges_, built in the 12th century by Cardinal
Guillaume-aux-blanches-mains for the wood and iron workers. The
house-fronts above the first storey rested mostly on wooden pillars,
leaving recesses or covered galleries on the ground floor.
In the centre of the square stood a statue of Marshal Drouet d'Erlon,
afterwards removed to the crossing of the Boulevards Gerbert and Victor
Hugo, and replaced by a =monumental fountain=, the gift of M. Sube.
_Follow the Place Drouet d'Erlon to the Boulevard de la Republique,
which skirts_ =The Promenades=.
[Illustration: THE PLACE DROUET D'ERLON, AFTER THE WAR
_The Belfry of the Church of St. Jacques no longer exists._]
[Illustration: THE SUBE FOUNTAIN, IN THE PLACE DROUET D'ERLON
_Seen from the Rue Buirette (in ruins)._]
The Promenades, greatly damaged by the war, have sometimes been wrongly
attributed to Le Notre. Their designer was a Rheims gardener, Jean le
Roux. Commenced in 1731, they were finished and extended in 1787. They
were formerly reached by the Gates of Mars and Vesles, but preferably by
the Promenade Gate specially opened in the ramparts in 1740 and
inaugurated by Louis XV. in 1744, on his return from Flanders. The
Promenades were first called _Cours Le Pelletier_ (the name of the
_Intendant of Champagne_, who approved the plans), then _Cours Royal_,
after the passage of Louis XV. They were encroached upon by the railway
station, built in 1860.
In the centre of the Promenades, opposite the station, in the _Square
Colbert_, laid out by the landscape gardener Vare in 1860, is a statue
of Colbert.
_Take the Rue Thiers, which begins at the Square Colbert and leads to
the_ =Hotel-de-Ville=.
[Illustration: THE "SQUARE COLBERT" IN THE MIDDLE OF THE "PROMENADES"
_The Entrance to the Station is just opposite this "Square."_]
[Illustration: THE TOWN HALL IN 1918]
=The Hotel-de-Ville=
This building, which was destroyed by shell-fire on May 13, 1917, was
similar in many respects to the old Hotel-de-Ville in Paris, burnt in
1871.
Commenced in 1627, from plans by the Rheims architect, Jean Bonhomme, it
was completed in stages, at long intervals. Only the central _pavilion_
and the left-hand portion were 17th century.
The building was a beautiful specimen of the architecture of the Louis
XIII. period. Seventy-eight columns, Doric on the ground-floor and
Corinthian on the first storey, framed the windows of the facade, whose
bases on the first floor carried trophies in bas-relief and a graceful
frieze. The niches in the central portico were empty, but the pediment
on twisted columns enclosed an equestrian statue of Louis XIII.
In the interior, in the great vestibule, a staircase with a remarkable
wrought-iron balustrade led to the City Library, which was destroyed by
the fire of 1917 (_photo, p. 73_).
On the right, the room where the Municipal Council meetings were held,
contained rich panelling alternated with paintings by Lamatte,
commemorating episodes in the history of Rheims. On the left, the
mayor's office contained magnificent Louis XVI. woodwork.
On the other side of the courtyard, in the centre of which is a statue
of "La Vigne," by St. Marceaux, was the great marriage-hall, containing
a Gallo-Roman mosaic, framed with rosettes and an interlaced border,
representing a gladiatorial fight.
A number of the pictures and works of art in the Hotel-de-Ville were
saved by the firemen and soldiers. The mosaic in the marriage-hall was
protected by sand-bags and is intact.
_In the Place de l'Hotel-de-Ville, between the Rue Thiers and the Banque
de France, are two small streets: the Rue Salin and the Rue de
Pouilly._
[Illustration: THE GRAND STAIRCASE OF THE TOWN HALL]
At No. 5 of the Rue Salin, the old 17th century _Hotel Coquebert_, which
was destroyed by the shells, used to be the headquarters of the _Society
of Friends of Old Rheims_. Several of the illustrations in this Guide
are taken from the collections of this Society.
In the Rue de Pouilly, close to the Hotel-de-Ville, are the =ruins= of
the _Galeries Remoises_ stores. These shops were partly housed in a
Gothic building, of which only a few chimney-stacks remain (_see chimney
in photo below_).
_Opposite the Hotel-de-Ville take the Rue Colbert to the Place des
Marches._
[Illustration: THE RUE COLBERT, BETWEEN THE TOWN HALL AND THE
MARKET-PLACE]
[Illustration: RUINS IN THE MARKET-PLACE
_Seen from the Rue de Tambour. The "Maison de l'Enfant d'Or" is among
the ruined houses seen in the middle (see pp. 75 to 77). The "Hotel de
la Salle" and "Maison Fossier" (p. 76), on the right-hand side of the
Square, are not visible in the above photograph._]
=The Place des Marches=
Built on the site of the ancient _forum_, the Market Square, before the
war, still contained several remarkable 15th century wooden houses.
Unfortunately, they were destroyed by the terrible bombardment of May
8-15, 1918, together with the Square.
[Illustration: THE "HOTEL DE LA SALLE"
_On the left: the Carriage Entrance with Caryatids: Adam and Eve._]
[Illustration: THE COURTYARD OF THE "HOTEL DE LA SALLE"
_The graceful Turret has partially collapsed._]
_After turning to the right, on leaving the Rue Colbert, and quite close
to the Square, at No. 4 in the Rue de l'Arbalete_, is the house, dating
from the middle of the 16th century, where =J. B. de la Salle= was born.
Although this house suffered from the bombardments of 1918, its front is
practically intact. It is the finest Renaissance front in Rheims, after
that of =Le Vergeur's House= (_see p. 85_).
The carriage entrance is flanked with two life-size caryatids, popularly
called _Adam and Eve_, on account of their nudity. Along the first
storey runs a broad frieze ornamentated with trophies of arms and a
shield of unknown significance. Between two windows of this storey a
niche, resting on a console, is crowned with a canopy. The shops on the
ground-floor somewhat spoilt the general look of the building. The
interior of the house was less interesting than the front.
In the courtyard is a strikingly graceful three-storey turret (_photo
above_), one side of which has collapsed.
Among the wooden houses destroyed by the bombardments of 1918 in the
Place des Marches, the following must be mentioned: the =Maison Fossier=
(_see p. 76_), which stood in the Square at the right-hand corner of the
Rue de l'Arbalete, and especially the =Maison de l'Enfant d'Or=
(sometimes wrongly called the House of Jacques Callou), which stood near
the Rue des Elus. The latter house took its name from an old sign
representing the gilt figure of a sleeping child. Hence, punningly, the
name _Golden_ or _Sleeping_ Child.
In spite of alterations, this house (_photo, p. 77_), with its
pent-house roof, two overhanging storeys, windows crowned with finials,
and sculptural decoration (_see carved console, p. 77_), was a
well-preserved specimen of 15th century architecture.
_From the Place des Marches, follow the Rue Colbert to the_ =Place
Royale=.
[Illustration: BEFORE THE WAR
_See text, page 75._]
[Illustration: AFTER THE WAR
THE "MAISON FOSSIER," BEFORE AND AFTER THE WAR
_See Itinerary, p. 61 (No. 5 of Explanatory Notes)._]
[Illustration: SEE TEXT. _p. 75_
RUINS OF THE "MAISON DE L'ENFANT D'OR"
_Second house on the left, after the Rue des Elus. (See p. 77.)_]
[Illustration: THIS VERY CURIOUS 15TH CENTURY HOUSE STOOD IN THE
MARKET-PLACE
It was completely destroyed (_see p. 76._)
THE "MAISON DE L'ENFANT D'OR," BEFORE THE WAR]
[Illustration: BRACKET OF THE "MAISON DE L'ENFANT D'OR," REPRESENTING
SAMSON SLAYING THE LION]
[Illustration: THE PLACE ROYALE IN 1765
THE INAUGURATION OF THE STATUE OF "LOUIS LE BIENAIME."
_August 20, 1765; engraving by Varin. The original statue (by Pigalle)
is in the middle of the Square._]
=The Place Royale=
The Place Royale, which had previously suffered severely on September
19-22, 1914, was completely destroyed by fire, with the exception of the
modern buildings of the Societe Generale Bank, during the bombardment of
April 8-15, 1918.
[Illustration: THE PLACE ROYALE IN 1918
_The plinth of the statue was protected by masonry-work._]
Commenced in 1756, from plans by the architect Legendre, it formed an
oblong, of severe and imposing appearance, at the cross-ways of the four
main streets of the City. In order to carry out Legendre's plans,
forty-nine houses had to be acquired and pulled down. The Square
remained unfinished, only three of its sides being built. The Louis
XV.-XVI. transition style houses were of uniform construction, and were
remarkable for their arcades and eaveless roofs, around which latter ran
a balustrade. The central house (formerly the _Hotel des Fermes_) had a
Doric front with a statue of Mercury surrounded by children arranging
bales or carrying grapes to the wine-press. A =statue of Louis XV.=, in
the middle of the Square, was protected from the bombardments by
masonry-work (_photos, p. 78 and below_).
The monarch is represented in a Roman mantle and laurel wreath. On
either side of the pedestal are two allegorical bronze figures. One, a
woman, holding a helm with one hand and leading a lion with the other,
symbolizes _gentleness of Government_; the other, a contented man
resting in the midst of abundance, represents _the happiness of
nations_. The wolf and the lamb sleeping side by side at their feet are
symbolical of the Golden Age.
[Illustration: STATUE OF LOUIS XV., PLACE ROYALE, WITH PARTIALLY BUILT
PROTECTING WALL OF MASONRY
_The two allegorical figures are supposed to be likenesses of the
Sculptor Pigalle and his wife._]
The monument, inaugurated in 1765, is the work of Pigalle, but the two
allegorical figures, which are supposed to be portraits of the sculptor
and his wife, alone are original.
The original statue of Louis XV. was removed at the time of the
Revolution (August 15, 1792), and sent to the foundry. It was first
replaced by a pyramid surmounted by a "Fame," in memory of the defenders
of the _Patrie_, then by a plaster Goddess of Liberty, and in 1803 by a
trophy of arms and flags. The present statue, erected under Louis XVIII.
(1818), is due to the sculptor Cartellier, and is an exact replica of
the original one.
It was on the steps of the monument that the Conventionist Ruhl smashed
the Sacred Ampulla under the Revolution.
_From the Place Royale, return to the Market Square, cross over to the
Rue de Tambour (parallel with the Rue Colbert)._
The Rue de Tambour owes its name either to the statue of a
tambourine-player on one of its houses, or to the presence of the
town-drummer who lived in it. It was first damaged, then burnt, in
April, 1918.
[Illustration: THE STATUES OF THE MUSICIANS' HOUSE
_The house was destroyed by bombardment, but the statues were saved._]
Previous to 1918, old houses in this street were still numerous. The
most celebrated was the now completely destroyed =Musicians' House=
(_photo above_), the true origin of which is unknown.
It has variously been supposed to have been the house of a rich burgess,
of the Tom Fiddlers' Brotherhood, and the Mint of the Archbishops of
Rheims. The first storey of the facade had been preserved intact since
the 13th century. In the Gothic niches which separated the mullioned and
transomed windows, five large seated figures on carved consoles (_photo
above_) represented _a tambourine and flute player_, _a piper_, _a
falconer_ with crossed legs, _a harpist_ and _an organ-grinder_ crowned
with a garland of flowers. The falcon on the wrist of the central figure
was removed by the organisers of the consecration of Charles X., as it
was feared that the royal banners might get caught on it.
Fortunately, these statues, which are remarkable for their natural
expression and vigour were removed to a place of safety before the house
was destroyed.
Thanks to a public subscription, the town was able to acquire them
shortly before the war, thus preventing them from being sold abroad.
The cellars of this house are curious, but there exists no proof that
they date back, as has been said, to the Roman period.
[Illustration: 14TH CENTURY DOORWAY, 22 RUE DE TAMBOUR]
The adjoining house (No. 22) is 14th century, and probably dates back to
about the end of the reign of Philippe-le-Bel. Its front has been
greatly spoilt, but still contains a fine door surmounted by an
elliptical arch (_photo above_).
At No. 13 of this street, two 13th century carved heads, one of a man
and the other of a woman wearing one of the mortar-shaped hats in
fashion until the end of the reign of St. Louis, have been built into
the facade.
_At the end of the Rue de Tambour, take the Rue de Mars, on the right of
the Hotel-de-Ville, at the end of which, on the left, stands the
Triumphal Arch of the_ =Mars Gate=.
[Illustration: THE RUE DE MARS. THE TOWN HALL IS ON THE LEFT]
[Illustration: MARS GATE]
=The Mars Gate=
[Illustration: 18TH CENTURY ENGRAVING BY COLLIN OF THE VAULTING OF THE
ROMULUS AND REMUS ARCADE OF THE MARS GATE
_In the centre: Romulus and Remus suckled by the she-wolf._]
This monument was long believed to be a Roman =gate=--hence its
name--although the ornamentation of its four sides proves that it cannot
originally have been connected with the ramparts. It was only in the
Middle Ages that it was included in the fortified castle (_photo, p. 6_)
built by the archbishops a few steps to the rear. About 1334 its arcades
were walled up, while towards 1554 it was buried under a mass of rubbish
during the building of the fortifications. Partly disinterred in 1594,
when the archbishops' castle was pulled down, it was not completely
cleared until 1816-1817. Restored, then classed as an _historical
monument_ (thanks to Prosper Merimee), it is one of the largest Roman
structures remaining in France. Forty-four feet high, one hundred and
eight wide, and sixteen thick, it was really a triumphal arch built on
the Caesarean Way at the entrance to the town, probably in the 4th
century. It comprises three arches separated by fluted Corinthian
columns which support the entablature. On the two main facades between
the columns are carved medallions and niches which have lost their
statues. The vaulting of the arches is divided into sunken panels, the
carving of which is mostly in a good state of preservation. Under the
eastern arch _Romulus and Remus_ are seen suckled by the she-wolf. Under
the middle arch, the twelve months of the year, represented by persons
(five of whom have been destroyed), occupied in the labours of the four
seasons, surround Abundance and Fortune. Under the western arch Love is
seen descending from the sky above Leda and the Swan.
[Illustration: HOTEL NOEL DE MUIRE
_Note the curious masonry-work of the first storey, composed of
polygonal stones in relief._]
_Behind the Mars Gate is the Place de la Republique, containing_ a
statue by Bartholdi, damaged by shell-fire. _In front of the Gate, take
the Rue Henri IV., leading behind the Hotel-de-Ville, then turn to the
left into the Rue de Sedan._ The house at No. 3 was destroyed by shells,
except the =Louis XVI. front= with its gracefully carved garlands, which
escaped injury.
_Take the Rue du Grenier-a-Sel, on the right, to the_ =Hotel Noel de
Muire=, _on the left, at the corner of the Rue Linguet._
This house consists of the remains of a sort of Henry II. manor with
turrets and dormer-windows. The walls, rounded at the corners like those
of the Templars, are of brick and dressed stone. The plinth separating
the two stories is decorated with carved wreathed foliage. Fret-work and
hexagonal points frame the windows, while a broad cornice on consoles
carries the roof. Formerly the residence of the lords of Muire, this
house was popularly known as the _Maison des Petits Pates_, on account
of the polygonal shape of the stones in relief. Theodore de Beze, one of
the leaders of the Reformation in France, lived there with his friend,
Noel de Muire.
[Illustration: THE RUE DU MARC]
_Take the Rue du Marc, which continues the Rue du Grenier-a-Sel (photo
above)._
The =Rue du Marc= was the quarter where the old noble families and the
higher _bourgeoisie_ of Rheims lived. It suffered considerably from the
bombardments.
At No. 3 is a Henry IV. house, the windows of which are framed with
graceful ornamentation (_photo below_).
However, the most remarkable house in the street is undoubtedly the
=Hotel Nicolas le Vergeur= (No. 1), which, unfortunately, was partly
destroyed by the shells (_see p. 85_).
[Illustration: HOUSE DATING BACK TO THE REIGN OF HENRI IV. (1589-1610)
AT NO. 3 RUE DU MARC]
=The Hotel Nicolas Le Vergeur=
The interior building, which has a 17th century carriage entrance,
offers two fine examples of 15th and 16th century architecture. It is
the finest Renaissance structure in Rheims. The main front, incomparably
the most graceful, was but little damaged by the bombardments (_photo
below_).
On the ground-floor the great arched doorway is divided by a wooden post
into two delicately carved compartments. Pilasters decorated with heads,
flowers, birds, and horns of plenty frame the three stone-mullioned
windows. Above these runs a frieze of trophies and medallions, with
portraits of noble lords with upturned moustaches and pointed beards,
and of great ladies with _collerettes_ and high head-dresses, gracious
or haughty, standing well out in relief.
[Illustration: HOTEL NICOLAS LE VERGEUR]
On the first storey, carved panels above the window form a sort of broad
frieze of bas-reliefs representing men-at-arms or knights of the time of
Francois I. and Henri II. fighting at tournaments with lance, sword, or
pike.
In one of the rooms overlooking the Rue Pluche were, a fine stone
_mantelpiece_ decorated with graceful delicate foliage; a timber-work
_ceiling_ with large and small beams, carrying panels decorated with
scrolls, and 15th century _tile-flooring_ of terra-cotta, varnished and
painted green and yellow.
At the back of the courtyard, a building, supposed by some to be an old
chapel, had been transformed into vast cellars and store-rooms. The
_oaken ceiling_ of the latter, about fifty feet long and twenty-one
broad, destroyed in 1918, was one of the most beautiful in the world.
The beams, whose extremities carried grotesque figures, were carved on
all their sides with foliage, dragons, birds, and fruits. The beams were
connected by joists resting on stems, which represented apes, dragons,
persons, and foliage. Between the joists the panels had the appearance
of scrolls.
_After visiting the Hotel Le Vergeur, turn to the right into the Rue
Pluche, which leads to the Place des Marches. Skirt the Square on the
left, then take the first street on the left_: =Rue Courmeaux=.
[Illustration: HOTEL ROGIER DE MONCLIN, 18 RUE COURMEAUX]
_At No. 18 are the_ ruins of the =Hotel Rogier de Monclin=, destroyed
after April, 1918. This house dated back to the Louis XV. period, but
had been disfigured by modern alterations. The facade overlooking the
courtyard, the entrance-hall, and the staircase with ornamental
balustrade, were interesting. At the time of the consecration of Louis
XVI., one of the saloons was furnished for the King's brother, the Comte
(or _Monsieur_) d'Artois, whence the name "_Rue de Monsieur_," formerly
borne by the Rue Courmeaux.
_At No. 30_ is a Renaissance door, almost intact (_photo below_). _At
No. 34, at the corner of the Rue Legendre_, is a late 16th century
house, whose interior arrangement and facade are intact, except for the
woodwork of the windows, which was modernised in the 18th century. It
was built on the site of the old wool-market, after Marshal de
Saint-Paul, at the time of the League, had compelled the inhabitants of
the Faubourg Ceres to destroy their houses.
[Illustration: RENAISSANCE DOOR,
_30, Rue Courmeaux_.]
[Illustration: CERES ESPLANADE]
_Return to the Rue Courmeaux and take the Rue Bonhomme on the left,
which leads to the Rue Ceres._
The =Rue Ceres= was totally destroyed by fire, from the Place Royale to
the Post Office, which had to be given up in the autumn of 1914.
_At No. 30_ is the =Chamber of Commerce=, one of the finest late 18th
century buildings in Rheims. The magnificent Louis XVI. rooms escaped
practically uninjured. The staircase leading to the first storey, with
its delicate balustrade, is very remarkable.
[Illustration: CHURCH OF ST. ANDRE,
_Rue du Faubourg Ceres._]
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. ANDRE]
_The Rue Ceres ends at the Esplanade Ceres_ (_photo, p. 87_), which was
made outside the old ramparts near the Ceres Gate. The name Ceres is
derived from a tower that long served as a prison (_carcer_, whence by
corruption _chair_, _cere_, and then by false mythological association,
_Ceres_). It was in this tower (no longer existing, but famous as early
as the 9th century) that, according to the _chansons de geste_, Ogier
the Dane, handed over by Charlemagne to the custody of the Bishop of
Rheims, was incarcerated.
_From the Esplanade continue, if desired, by the Rue du Faubourg Ceres_
(greatly damaged by the bombardments), to the =Church of St. Andre=, a
modern building erected by the architect Brunette.
It was struck several times by shells and will have to be rebuilt. As
early as the first bombardment of September 4th, 1914, shell splinters
damaged the doorway, transept, stained glass (part of which was 16th
century and came from the old church), small organ, and the painting of
the _Baptism of Clovis_. Subsequently, the vaulting and parts of the
walls collapsed.
The Church possesses a precious =reliquary= of copper (15th century) and
a =statue of St. Andre= (patron of the church) of painted and gilded
stone, attributed without authority, to Pierre Jacques.
[Illustration: RELIQUARY OF ST. ANDRE]
[Illustration: HOTEL THIRET DE PRAIN IN 1916
_19 Rue Eugene Desteuque._]
_Return to the Esplanade Ceres, turn to the left at the beginning of the
Boulevard de la Paix, then to the right into the_ =Rue Eugene
Desteuque=.
_At No. 19 of this street_ are the ruins of the =Hotel Thiret de Prain=.
=The Hotel Thiret de Prain=
This was a mansion in the days of Henry IV. and Louis XIII. Richelieu
stayed there in 1641.
[Illustration: HOTEL THIRET DE PRAIN IN 1918
_These two photographs illustrate the systematic destructions practised
by the Germans._]
An imposing building, bordered with streets on its four sides, it had
retained its original appearance. The carriage-entrance in the Rue
Eugene Desteuque alone had been rebuilt in 1697. The principal entrance
was surmounted with a gallery, the walls, ceiling and beams of which
were covered with delicate decorative paintings.
On the first floor one of the corner rooms, looking east, contained a
large Henry IV. mantelpiece, above which were the arms of the nobles of
Prain. Only the metallic portion remains.
[Illustration: INTERIOR FACADE OF THE CLOISTER OF THE FRANCISCAN FRIARS
_In the courtyard of No. 9, Rue des Trois-Raisinets._]
The dove-cot of the Hotel, a massive square tower with pent-house roof,
overlooking the Rue d'Avenay, was destroyed by the bombardments.
_On the left of the Rue Eugene-Desteuque, opposite the Hotel
Thiret-de-Prain, is the_ Rue des Trois-Raisinets. At No. 9 are the ruins
of a Franciscan Cloister (_photo above_).
This street (_photo below_), like the Cloister, suffered severely from
the bombardments.
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE MARGOTIN FACTORY
_14, Rue des Trois-Raisinets._]
_Return to the Rue Eugene-Desteuque and follow the same as far as the_
Rue de la Grue (_on the right_). This street was badly damaged by
shell-fire and is impracticable for motor-cars.
It was named after the sign carved on a stone (_photo, p. 91_) of the
house at No. 5 (entirely destroyed by the shells). At the end stood the
house where J. B. Colbert was born (at the corner of the Rues Ceres and
de Nanteuil, _photo below_).
[Illustration: THE SIGN WHICH GAVE ITS NAME TO THE RUE DE LA GRUE
_It was at No. 5, but has been destroyed._]
_Return to the Rue Eugene-Desteuque, follow it as far as the_ Rue de
l'Universite. _Turn into the latter on the left._
This street was destroyed as early as September, 1914. At No. 25 are the
ruins of a Professional School for Girls, formerly the St. Martha
Hospital. The latter, also known as the "Hopital des Magneuses," was
founded in the 17th century by Mesdames de Magneux, and rebuilt in the
18th century in the Louis XVI. style.
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE HOUSE WHERE COLBERT WAS BORN
_At the corner of the Rues Ceres and de Nanteuil._]
At No. 40, opposite the Sub-Prefecture, now in ruins, is the =Maison de
Jean Maillefer=, named after the rich merchant who built it in 1652. It
was scarcely finished, when it was chosen--and this was a source of
pride to its owner--as an abode for Anne of Austria, at the time of the
consecration of Louis XIV. The inside of the courtyard alone has
retained practically its ancient appearance. The front looking on the
street had recently been put back and altered. Some of the sculpture
which adorned it came from another house.
_A short distance farther on, on the left, is the_ Place Godinot, named
after a canon of the 18th century, who caused numerous alterations to be
made in the decoration of the choir and sanctuary of the Cathedral.
_Take the Rue St. Just on the right, and follow its continuation_ (_the
Rue des Anglais_) as far as the Rue d'Anjou, _which take on the right_.
The =Hotel de la Pourcelette= (No. 7) evokes memories of _Mabillon_, who
lived there when a young student at the University of Rheims.
_At the end of the Rue d'Anjou, turn to the left into the Rue du
Cardinal de Lorraine, and follow the same to the short_ Rue des
Tournelles _on the left_.
In the house at No. 3 of this street were incorporated the turret and
two principal windows of an old Gothic 16th century structure, situated
at No. 18 of the Rue des Anglais, and in ruins since 1898. The
drawing-room likewise contains a large stone chimney-piece, which
formerly stood in the great hall of the old house.
[Illustration: LOUIS XIII. DOOR
_At No. 20 Rue du Carrouge._]
_At the end of the Rue des Tournelles, turn to the right into the Rue
des Fusiliers, which leads to the Place du Parvis. Cross the latter to
the Rue Tronson Ducoudray. Follow this street, which runs between the_
Palais de Justice _and_ _the_ Theatre, _turn to the left, in front of
the latter, into the Rue de Vesle, and take the first street on the
right_, the Rue de Talleyrand.
_Follow this street_, the greater part of which was destroyed by fire
during the bombardments of April, 1918. It suffered further damage in
the months that followed, and a number of interesting old houses were
destroyed.
_Turn into the first street on the right (Rue du Cadran St. Pierre), and
follow the same as far as the Rue de la Clef. Take the latter on the
right._
Before doing so, however, take a look at the =fine Louis XIII. entrance=
(_photo, p. 92_) of the house at No. 20 of the Rue du Carrouge opposite.
_At No. 4 of the Rue de la Clef are the_ ruins of the former =Hotel de
Bezannes=, partly built by Pierre de Bezannes, Lieutenant of Rheims in
1458 This house contains some fine 16th and 18th century woodwork.
_The Rue des Deux Anges, which continues the Rue de la Clef, leads to
the_ Place du Palais, destroyed during the bombardments of April, 1918.
_In this square stands the_ =Palais de Justice=. The _Palais_ replaced
the old Hotel-Dieu, but has been almost entirely rebuilt. It is a
building of little note, the principal entrance in particular being
stiff to excess.
[Illustration: RUE CARNOT
_The Place Royale is seen in the background._]
Its only interest is provided by two relics of the past: the vast
cellars or subterranean vaults with pointed arches supported by columns
with Gothic capitals; and the facade of the Audience-Chamber, formerly
the principal ward of the old Hotel Dieu, the exterior of which has
retained its venerable appearance and the interior, vestiges of its
lofty timber-work and wainscoted vaulting.
The ground-floor of the _Palais_ alone escaped damage from fire and the
shells, thanks to a terrace of reinforced concrete.
_On the left of the Palais take the Rue Carnot_, destroyed by the
bombardments of April, 1918.
The Rue Carnot communicates with the courtyard of the Chapter-House,
also burnt, by a great gate and passage which pass right through a
house.
This entrance was built about 1530, in the transition style between the
Gothic and Renaissance. Its elliptical arch bears a scutcheon with the
arms of the Chapter. Consoles, decorated with grotesque figures, support
the beams. The points of the turrets have disappeared, a supporting
shaft has been mutilated, and the carved wooden leaves of the door have
been removed to the Lycee, yet the gate is still imposing.
It is the last remaining vestige of the Chapter buildings which, with
their gates closing at the same time as those of the city, at the sound
of the bell, formed a "city within a city." In point of fact, the
Chapter was once lord of that part of the city which lies around the
Cathedral, and which it administered. The canons, jealous of their
prerogatives, were often in conflict with the archbishops.
[Illustration: DOOR OF THE CHAPTER-HOUSE COURTYARD
_The Northern Transept of the Cathedral is seen in the background._]
A few capitals and shafts of the ancient cloister of the Chapter,
adjoining the Cathedral, were recently discovered and placed under one
of the penthouses built between the buttresses of Notre-Dame.
_Go through the gate, cross the Place du Chapitre, follow the Rue du
Preau towards the Cathedral, then turn to the right into the Rue Robert
de Coucy, which leads back to the Place du Parvis Notre-Dame._
=SECOND ITINERARY FOR VISITING RHEIMS=
[Illustration (Map)]
_Starting from the Place du Parvis-Notre-Dame, take the Rue Libergier,
opposite the Cathedral. Turn to the left into the_ Rue Chanzy, which was
destroyed by the bombardments of April-August, 1918.
[Illustration: RUE CHANZY]
[Illustration: DOOR AND BALCONY OF THE HOTEL DE COURTAGNON, (_18th
Century_), _at No. 71 Rue Chanzy_]
The ruins of the 18th century =Hotel Lagoille de Courtagnon= may be seen
at No. 71 of this street. It was destroyed by the bombardments of April,
1918, with the exception of a part of the front. The finely carved door
and remarkable ironwork of the balcony are visible in the above
photograph.
[Illustration: ORNAMENTAL RAIN-WATER PIPE-HEAD OF LEAD UNDER THE ROOF OF
THE HOSPICE NOEL CAQUE (_see p. 97_)]
[Illustration: GALLO-ROMAN BAS-RELIEF _at No. 65, Rue de l'Universite.
This bas-relief and the one opposite, on the wall of the Lycee, are the
last remaining vestiges of a Gallo-Roman gate_.]
The =Hospice Noel Caque= (formerly Hospice St. Marcoul), _on the right_,
was seriously damaged by the bombardments of April, 1918. It dated from
the middle of the 17th century, and was well preserved, with the
exception of the chapel, rebuilt in 1873.
_Take the Rue de Contrai, on the left, which leads to the_ Rue de
l'Universite. Inserted in the facade of the house at No. 65 (_on the
right_), and in the wall of the Lycee (_on the left_), are two stone
=bas-reliefs= ornamented with trophies of arms and Roman insignia, the
sole remaining vestiges of the _Porte Basee_ (_from Basilea_) which
formerly stood there on the Caesarean way, at the southern extremity of
the Gallo-Roman town. (_See photo above of the right-hand bas-relief._)
[Illustration: THE FACADE OF THE LYCEE DESTROYED BY THE BOMBARDMENTS]
_Follow the Rue de l'Universite and skirt the_ =Lycee de Garcons=, of
which only the chapel and one of the buildings are left. The rest was
burnt or destroyed by shell-fire.
[Illustration: DOOR OF THE PETIT LYCEE, _5, Rue Vauthier-le-Noir_. _On
either side of the arcade are heads of "Jean qui rit" and "Jean qui
pleure."_]
The Lycee replaced the old _College des Bons Enfants_, founded in the
Middle Ages, and rebuilt in the 16th century by the Cardinal de
Lorraine, founder of the University of Rheims.
Of the old _College_, only the central part remained, in the second
court built by Archbishop Charles Maurice Le Tellier in 1686 and the
following years.
The gate of the _Cour des Etudes_ dates from 1688.
The ancient door of the College--the tympana of whose arcading contain
two laughing and crying heads--was transferred to the entrance of the
_Petit Lycee_, at No. 5 of the street on the right of the Lycee (Rue
Vauthier-le-Noir) (_photo above_).
_Shortly after the Lycee, turn to the right into the Place Godinot, then
take the Rue St. Pierre-les-Dames on the right._ At No. 8 are the ruins
of the =Abbey of St. Pierre-les-Dames=.
Of this celebrated Abbey, where several royal persons stayed: _Mary
Stuart_ twice, in her childhood and after she was widowed; _Henry IV._,
on a visit to his cousin, the Abbess Renee II.; _Anne of Austria_, of
whom the _Congregation_ library contains a portrait; there remains
hardly anything but two 16th century _pavillons_ belonging to the period
when Renee de Lorraine, sister of the Queen of Scotland and aunt of Mary
Stuart, was abbess of the convent. Built of stone and brick with marble
incrustations, and adorned with beautiful carvings, these _pavillons_
were pure Renaissance in style. The head of an angel with unfolded wings
and the head of a grinning demon surmounted the two windows of one of
the ground-floors. On the first floor of the same _pavillon_ the window,
framed with delicate ornaments, opened above a cornice, the principal
sculptural subject of which was a nude woman, helmeted, suckling two
children.
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE ABBEY OF ST. PIERRE-LES-DAMES, _8, Rue St.
Pierre-les-Dames_.]
_The Rue St. Pierre-les-Dames leads to the Rue des Murs, into which turn
to the right, then to the left into the Rue du Barbatre. Follow the
latter to the end._ This street suffered greatly from the early
bombardments, and was almost entirely destroyed in the summer of 1918.
_At Nos. 137 and 139, at the corner of the Rue Montlaurent_, are the
ruins of the =Hotel Feret de Montlaurent=.
=Hotel Feret de Montlaurent.=
[Illustration: GALLERY FACING THE COURTYARD OF THE HOTEL FERET DE
MONTLAURENT
_The statues in the niches represent the sun and planets._]
This large building, occupied by the _Cercle Catholique_, was commenced
about 1540 by Hubert Feret, a _Lieutenant_ of the people, and the most
celebrated member of a family which played an important part at Rheims
in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. The outside facade has been
greatly altered. At No. 137 it was entirely rebuilt under Louis XVI. At
No. 139 the ground-floor openings have been modified.
As in many of the mansions of the 16th century, most of the decoration
is on the inner facades. Inside the courtyard, on the ground-floor of
the wing abutting on the Rue Montlaurent, there is a six-arched gallery
which was damaged but not destroyed (_photo,_ p. 99). Between the
arch-centres and at the ends of the gallery are seven niches, three feet
high, enclosing stone statues of the sun and the six planets known in
the 16th century.
Taken in their order they are: =Saturn=, with a scythe in his hand and
serpent round his arm, devouring a child, and the zodiacal signs
Aquarius and Capricornus at his feet; =Jupiter=, holding a lighted
torch, with Sagittarius at his feet; =Mars=, armed from head to foot,
surmounting Cancer and Aries; the =Sun=, personified by Phoebus with
flowing mantle, a lion at his side; =Venus=, clothed only in her hair,
surmounting Taurus and Baloena; =Mercury=, with wings on his head and
heels, the caduceus in his hand, Virgo and Gemini at his feet; the
=Moon=, represented by Diana bearing a crescent; below her Scorpio.
The escutcheons on the wall at the back of this facade bear the initials
of Regnault Feret, who completed the mansion. In the second court there
are still vestiges of the chapel of this family.
_At No. 142 of the same street_, the entrance to the =Cour Maupinot=
(one of the numerous _cours_ which have survived in Rheims) is framed in
pilasters, the carved entablature of which supports a triangular
pediment (_photo below_).
_The Rue Barbatre is continued by the Rue des Salines, which leads to
the Place St. Nicaise._
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO MAUPINOT COURT. THE DOORWAY IS RENAISSANCE,
_142, Rue du Barbatre. See Itinerary, p. 95_]
The Place St. Nicaise was destroyed by the bombardments of April-August,
1918. It took its name from the celebrated Bishop of Rheims, who, with
his sister St. Eutropia, was put to death by the Vandals in 407.
The Church of St. Nicaise, rebuilt in the 13th century by Libergier and
Robert de Coucy, was destroyed at the time of the Revolution. Amongst
other curiosities it contained a loose pillar, which Peter the Great had
pointed out to him at the time of his journey through Rheims.
At the corner of the Place St. Nicaise, between the Boulevard
Victor-Hugo and the Rue St. Nicaise, is the entrance to the =Champion
Cellars=, in which the _Dubail_ school was installed during the war
(_see p. 24_).
_Take the Rue St. Nicaise to the Boulevard Henry Vasnier (photo below),
turn into the latter, on the right, and follow same as far as the_
=Rond-Point St. Nicaise=.
All this part of the town, which was quite close to the German lines,
was constantly under the fire of their guns. It was violently bombarded
during the German offensives of May, June and July, 1918.
_Near the Rond-Point de St. Nicaise are the_ =Pommery Cellars=, which
gave shelter to many citizens and school-classes during the war (_see p.
24_).
=The Pommery Cellars=
These cellars are among the finest in Rheims, and form, with their
eleven miles of streets, squares and boulevards lighted by electricity,
rail-tracks, waggons, lifts, electric pumps and siphons, quite an
underground city. A visit to them will give the tourist an idea of the
importance and complexity of the Champagne wine industry in Rheims.
[Illustration: THE "HENRY VASNIER," SEEN FROM THE "ROND-POINT ST.
NICAISE"]
[Illustration: TRENCHES AND SHELTERS IN THE SQUARE ST. NICAISE
_See Itinerary, p. 95, and panorama seen from the top of St. Nicaise
Hill, p. 27._]
_The Boulevard Diancourt, which skirts the Square St. Nicaise, begins at
the_ Rond-Point St. Nicaise.
This square was much cut up by the bombardments, and by the trenches and
defensive works made there during the war (_photo above_).
The square contains two eminences, from the top of which there is a fine
panoramic view of Rheims.
The photograph on page 27 was taken from the eminence nearest the
Rond-Point St. Nicaise.
The other eminence is crowned by a limestone tower--all that remains of
the ancient city ramparts.
_Follow the Boulevard Diancourt to the Place Dieu-Lumiere._
The name _Dieu-Lumiere_, borne by the old gate through which Joan-of-Arc
and the Dauphin entered Rheims, was not derived, as supposed at the
Renaissance, from the Sun-God Apollo, but from the old Gate
_Dieu-li-Mire_ (God the Physician), so called in the Middle Ages on
account of the proximity of a Cistercian hospital.
_Cross the square and take the Rue Dieu-Lumiere on the right to the_
Place St.-Timothee. The wood-panelled houses, whose _loges_ faced the
Place St.-Timothee, were destroyed by the bombardments of
April-September, 1918, except the one at the corner of the Rue St.
Julien. This house, though severely damaged, has retained its butcher's
stall with 17th century wooden balustrading.
_Take the Rue St. Julien on the left to the Place St.-Remi, in which
stands the_ =Church of St. Remi=.
=The Church of St. Remi=
The Church of St. Remi is the oldest church in Rheims, and one of the
oldest in all France. Although it is not certain that it replaced a
Roman basilica, said to have stood on the site of the present transept,
there is no doubt that Gallo-Roman building materials, taken from
neighbouring edifices, were used in its construction or restoration.
To-day, the church covers a ground-space of about an acre and a quarter.
In shape a Latin cross, it measures inside about 450 feet in length, 98
feet in breadth and 124 feet in height under the vaulting. Only the
southern facade shows to advantage, but in spite of its varied styles,
which mark the different stages of its growth, the church realises to
the full the purpose of its founders. Its architecture and decoration,
especially in the interior, make it, as was intended, a grand and
dignified depository for sacred remains.
The Church of St. Remi stands on the site of a former cemetery, in the
middle of which was the Chapel of St. Christopher, where St. Remi was
buried. The chapel soon became popular and grew rapidly, especially
between the 6th and 9th centuries, when it became a great fortified
church. The present church, which replaced it, is not only one of the
finest Romanesque churches in the north of France, but also forms a
curious epitome of the history of architecture for several centuries.
Begun in 1039 under Abbot Thierry, it was still far from finished when
consecrated in 1049 by Pope Leo IX. Building was continued in 1170 by
Abbot Pierre de Celle, the future Bishop of Chartres, whose restorations
were the first application of the Gothic style to a great building in
Rheims; in the 13th and 14th centuries, under Abbot Jean Canart, and in
the 15th century, under Abbot Robert de Lenoncourt. Partially
transformed at the end of the 16th century, it has been restored and
partly rebuilt at intervals since 1839.
=The Church of St. Remi during the War=
The Church of St. Remi escaped severe damage until the middle of 1918.
The bombardment of September 4, 1914, injured one of the tapestries
depicting the life of St. Remi, and destroyed a fine painting: _The
Entry of Clovis into Rheims_. The bombardment of November 16, 1914,
wrecked the apsidal chapel of the Virgin, bringing down the vaulting,
destroying the key-stone and pointed arches, crushing the altar beneath
a heap of ruins, smashing the magnificent windows of the apsidal
gallery, and destroying the priceless 12th century stained-glass
depicting _Christ crucified between the Virgin and St. John_. The Church
narrowly escaped destruction when the Hotel-Dieu Hospital was burnt down
in 1916. From April, 1918, it was marked down by the German batteries.
The roof was entirely burnt, and the dummy vaulting of the nave
collapsed. Of the fine 15th century timber-work nothing remains, but
parts of the lofty 13th century vaulting over the choir and transept
withstood the bombardment. The treasure, tapestries, sacristy doors,
storied tile-flooring of the chapel of St. Eloi, the old stained-glass
of the lofty windows, and the apsidal windows round the gallery of the
first storey, were saved by the Historical Monuments Department.
The tomb of St. Remi is intact. The relics of the saint which, at the
request of the Archbishop of Rheims had not been disturbed, were removed
by the vicar of the parish at the time of the final evacuation of the
town. The reliquary was taken away by officers at a later date, while
the church was burning.
=The Apse of St. Remi Church=
The Apse was rebuilt under Pierre de Celle in 1170, in early Gothic.
Five three-sided radiating chapels arranged in three stages, one behind
the other, have flowing and elegant lines, broken by the enormous
projections of the buttresses which were added at a later period.
This apse is one of the earliest religious edifices in France, in which
flying buttresses were employed.
The latter, very simple in design, rest on outside fluted columns
detached from the wall of the apse. This is one of the last examples of
fluting, as applied to columns, the process disappearing generally with
the introduction of pointed architecture, only to reappear at the
Renaissance.
The persistence of this fluting is doubtless explained by the influence
of the many specimens of Roman architecture which Rheims had preserved.
=The Doorway of the Southern Transept=
Although the transept dates from the 11th century, its southern facade
was built in 1480 by Robert de Lenoncourt.
The doorway, which bears the Lenoncourt arms, comprises only one door,
divided by a pillar with statues of St. Remi and the Virgin.
The deep vaulting of the door is ornamented with vine-foliage. At the
base, in the supporting walls, are statues of St. Sixtus and St.
Sinicius (the first missionaries to Rheims) bare-footed, clothed in long
embroidered mantles and holding books. In the vaulting above the
head-covering of the missionaries are eight groups of statuettes
representing episodes in the Life and Passion of Jesus.
Tourists who follow the Itinerary on page 95, come out by the Rue St.
Julien, in front of the doorway of the south transept. The latter is
between the ruined apse (_on the right_) and the south lateral facade
(_on the left_).
[Illustration: SOUTHERN TRANSEPT OF ST. REMI CHURCH]
[Illustration: DOORWAY OF THE SOUTHERN TRANSEPT (_see photo, p. 104_)]
The 15th century leaves of the door are composed of wood panels in blind
arcading, ornamented with flowering clover.
On the buttresses which frame the doorway are five statues of saints,
including St. Remi, St. Benedict, and St. Christopher carrying a
kneeling Jesus on his shoulder.
The tympanum of the gable above the great flamboyant window is arranged
on a Gothic pediment. Its decoration represents the _Assumption of the
Virgin and her crowning in Heaven_.
On the top of the pediment, and crowning the whole, is St. Michael
trampling Satan underfoot.
The whole of the doorway is a beautiful example of Flamboyant Gothic.
Its rich carvings and delicate ornamentation are in striking contrast
with the severity of the rest of the building.
At the intersection of the transept, there was formerly a wooden spire,
built in 1394, which was pulled down as unsafe in 1825, by order of
those who had charge of the arrangements connected with the consecration
of Charles X.
On the right-hand side of the transept, and also in the north transept,
are small semi-circular chapels.
=South Lateral Facade=
This front has the bare, massive appearance of the 11th century
buildings. The remarkable Roman arches, massive buttresses and blind
doorway, framed by two primitive capitals with a wreath-shaped astragal,
are apparently vestiges of constructions of an earlier date than those
of Abbot Thierry.
The semi-cylindrical abutments are among the oldest of mediaeval
buttresses. They are crowned with cones or capitals, the greater part of
which are devoid of decoration.
=The West Front of St. Remi Church=
[Illustration (St. Remi Church)]
Between its two towers, this gabled facade, the recesses and blind
arcading of which form almost its sole decoration, is in strong contrast
with the principal facade of the Cathedral. At once elegant and severe,
like most of the monastic buildings of the 12th century, it lacks unity.
All that part situated above the five windows of the first storey,
including the rose-window, has been rebuilt in modern times. The very
simple rose-window, between two lines of superimposed arcading, is
protected, in the Champagne style, by a relieving-arch. The northern
tower (_on the left_) was almost entirely rebuilt in the 19th century,
on the lines of the old one. The simpler southern tower (_on the
right_), with its arched windows and loopholes, is Roman of the 11th or
12th century. The pointed part of the facade is late 12th century, and
dates from the time of the restorations by Pierre de Celle.
Three doors open on the nave. The central one is flanked by two columns
with statues of St. Peter and St. Remi. The marble and granite columns
came, no doubt, from some neighbouring Gallo-Roman building. These
statues, with arms pressed close to their sides in the ancient stiff
manner, are probably from the original basilicas.
=The Inner Side of the Western Doorway=
Here, the architecture is peculiar. Pierced columns form a gallery
connecting the upper courses. The galleries of the first storey are
supported by two great columnar shafts, each formed of two portions
joined by a stone ring and surmounted by bell-shaped marble capitals.
The columns and capitals are Gallo-Roman.
=The Nave=
[Illustration: THE NAVE (_seen from the Choir_) (_Cliche LL._)]
Alterations were made at different times to the nave which, in the 11th
century, had a timber-work roof. Pierre de Celle lengthened it by two
bays, the pointed arches of which contrast with the circular ones of the
lower bays, and also increased its height. _Note the ogives above the
round arches._ The visible timber-work was replaced with vaulting on
diagonal ribs sustained by clusters of small Gothic columns backing up
against the Roman piers, the latter being still visible. These heavy
piers (composed of fourteen small columns) which surround the central
nave, and whose capitals (_photo, p. 108_), with Barbaric wreathed
astragals and foliage, recall the Carolingian period, contrast
strikingly with the lightness of the apse. They are undoubtedly 11th
century. All the stone vaulting of the nave, as far as the transept,
was replaced after 1839 with wood and plaster, which collapsed under the
bombardments of 1918, when the roof was burnt.
[Illustration: ROMAN CAPITAL IN THE NAVE]
[Illustration: THE NAVE AND CHOIR IN 1914 (_Cliche LL._)]
The pulpit, with its Benedictine monogram, is late 17th century. It is
ornamented with three bas-reliefs: _St. Remi receiving the Sacred
Ampulla_, _St. Benedict imploring the Holy Spirit_, and _St. Benedict
giving the Injunction to his monks_. As far as the pulpit, on both sides
of the nave, the granite columns resting on the piers date from the
Gallo-Roman period.
[Illustration: TRIFORIUM OF ST. REMI CHURCH (_seen from entrance_)]
The side-aisles of the nave are surmounted with a triforium (_photo
above_) with semi-circular vaulting at right-angles to the nave. The
south aisle is almost entirely in ruins (_photo, p. 107_).
[Illustration: THE NAVE AND CHOIR IN 1919]
=The Tapestries=
The priceless tapestries which, before the war, decorated the tribunals
of the side-aisles, were saved.
[Illustration: THE TENTH TAPESTRY OF ST. REMI, DAMAGED BY
SHELL-SPLINTERS ON SEPT. 4, 1914
(_See description, pp. 110, 111._)]
Those given by Robert de Lenoncourt and restored by _Les Gobelins_, are
rich in composition and decorative effect. In an architectural frame of
the Renaissance period, they represent the following legendary scenes
from the life of St. Remi, the costumes belonging to the period of
Francois I.:--
1. The blind hermit Montanus visits the new-born Remi, who, touching him
with his fingers wet with milk, restores his sight.
2. The hermit St. Remi, called by the people to the bishopric, receives
the mitre.
3. Four miracles are performed by the saint: he extinguishes a fire
lighted by demons in the city; he restores life to a girl; he is served
at table by angels; when wine ran short at the table of his cousin
Celsa, he blessed an empty cask, which was immediately filled.
4. The Battle of Tolbiac; Clovis instructed and baptized by Remi; the
miraculous dove and an angel bring from heaven the Sacred Ampulla and
the fleur-de-lys scutcheon.
5. Remi gives Clovis a cask of wine, telling him that he will always be
victorious so long as the cask remains full; a miller who refused to
give his mill to the Church, sees his wheel turn the wrong way and his
mill fall down; St. Genebaud, Bishop of Soissons, punished by Remi for
his sins, is afterwards delivered from his fetters by the saint.
6. The miracle of Hydrissen: Remi raises a man from the dead, who
confirms his wish to leave a portion of his wealth to the Church, to the
confusion of his son-in-law who contested the will.
7. Remi contemplating a heap of corn which he had collected to provide
against famine, and which some drunkards had burnt. At a Council, Remi
paralyses the tongue of a heretic priest, and then restores speech to
him after repentance.
8. Remi, singing Matins in the chapel of the Virgin, is assisted by St.
Peter and St. Paul and blessed by Mary. Remi, blind, dictates his will
in the presence of St. Genebaud and St. Medard. Remi recovers his sight,
celebrates mass and gives the Communion to his clergy. Remi dies and
four angels carry away his soul.
9. Remi's funeral; the procession goes towards the church of St.
Timothy, where it is proposed to bury the saint, but in front of St.
Christopher's, on the site of the present basilica, the saint, by making
it impossible to lift his coffin, manifests his desire to be interred in
this chapel. The saint's winding-sheet, carried in procession, dispels
the plague that had been ravaging the city.
10. Angels transfer the relics of the saint to his mausoleum. A soldier
who had tried to break in the door of the church, cannot withdraw his
foot. Remi punishes the Bishop of Mayence, guilty of theft. Remi reveals
himself with the Virgin and St. John. The Archbishop of Rheims, Robert
de Lenoncourt, kneeling, presents the ten pieces of tapestry to the
saint.
The latter tapestry was riddled with splinters (_photo, p. 110_) during
the bombardment of September 4, 1914.
=The Treasure=
This was kept in the sacristy, the 15th century carved wood doors of
which have Flamboyant style frames.
Formerly the richest of all the church treasures of France, it was
impoverished in the course of the centuries, through wars and
revolutions.
The =enamels= by Landin of Limoges (1633), dedicated to the lives of St.
Timothy and St. Remi, a 12th century abbot's =crozier=, =reliquaries=
and =sacerdotal ornaments= are noteworthy.
The treasure was removed, together with the doors of the sacristy, by
the Historical Monuments Department.
=The North Transept=
Three small white marble Gallo-Roman or Carolingian capitals crown the
colonnettes of the triforium.
Formerly, the church contained several tombs. Let into the wall of the
north transept is a Latin epitaph, praising the virtues of a woman named
Guiberge, who seems to have combined in her person the perfections of
six women, _i.e._ the beauty of Rachel, the fidelity of Rebecca, the
modesty of Susanna, the piety of Tabitha, the warm affections of Ruth,
and the high morals of Anna.
[Illustration: THE RUINED TRANSEPT
_In the foreground: Renaissance Balustrade round the Choir (see p. 115),
at the intersection of the Northern Transept. At the back: Inner side of
the South Transept Door._]
=The South Transept=
The first chapel on the right of the apse, against the transept, is the
chapel of St. Eloi.
In 1846, forty-eight storied flag-stones, taken from the flooring of the
sanctuary of the church of St. Nicaise and collected by the architect
Brunette, were placed there.
These 14th century lozenge-shaped stones are engraved in black, the
hollowed-out portions being filled with lead. Each stone has a pretty
border with a square medallion, in the middle of which two or three
figures represent a scene from the Old Testament, from Noah to Daniel in
the lions' den.
This chapel also contained two very expressive mediaeval statues of
painted wood and a 14th century Christ, all of which came from the old
church of St. Balsamic.
The second chapel on the eastern side of the south transept contained an
Entombment dating from 1531. In this group, which belonged to the old
church of the Commandery of the Temple of Rheims, Joseph of Arimathea
and Nicodemus hold the winding-sheet. Salome, and Mary the mother of St.
James, stand near the tomb, while the Virgin, overcome with grief, is
supported by St. John.
[Illustration: THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY ENTOMBMENT, FORMERLY IN ONE OF THE
CHAPELS OF THE SOUTHERN TRANSEPT (_Cliche LL._)]
Facing this Burial Scene was the Altar-screen of the Three Baptisms, the
work of Nicolas Jacques and the gift of Jean Lespagnol in 1610. This
screen, which formed the background of the baptismal fonts, represented
in three bas-reliefs: The baptism of Clovis (_on the right_), the
baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist (_in the centre_), and the baptism
of Constantine (_on the left_).
The railing round the baptismal fonts belongs to the second half of the
18th century, and was taken from the church of St. Pierre-le-Vieil.
=The Choir of St. Remi Church=
[Illustration: SCULPTURED CONSOLES OF COLONNETTES IN THE CHOIR]
The Choir was rebuilt by Pierre de Celle. The plan is very like that of
the choir of the Cathedral, of which it is the prototype.
As in the Cathedral, it intrudes upon the nave, of which it occupies the
three last bays. In the latter, the columns placed against the six piers
were removed. The groups of small columns which support the ribs of the
vaulting rest upon a corbel-table carried by three consoles (_photo
above_), which in turn rest on colonnettes with crocketed capitals. The
central consoles are ornamented with figures of angels and symbolic
animals, while under the lateral consoles are statuettes of prophets
holding scrolls, on which their names are inscribed in painted letters.
Five circular radiating chapels open out on the vast ambulatory. The
plan of the latter, like that of Notre-Dame-de-Chalons, evokes all that
is most original in the Gothic architecture of Champagne. The bays with
their alternations of square-ogival and triangular vaulting do not
correspond with the breadth of the radiating chapels, which are
connected to one another by three arcades resting on light columns. In
the lower nave, from the curiously large number of points of support, it
would seem that the builders had doubts as to the strength of the
pointed style and, by way of precaution, greatly increased the number of
points of support inside the church and of the exterior buttresses. The
tribunes rising above the arcades are surmounted with a triforium
lighted by high windows, which still retain their beautiful early 18th
century stained-glass. The somewhat stiff figures stand out on a
uniformly blue ground. In the upper part, apostles, evangelists, and the
sixteen greater prophets are grouped around a stately Virgin. In the
lower part, the principal archbishops of Rheims on thrones are seated
round St. Remi who occupies the place of honour below the Virgin. In the
two last windows are effigies of Archbishops Samson (_deceased in 1161_)
and Henry of France, during whose episcopate Pierre de Celle caused the
apse to be built.
[Illustration: FRAGMENT OF PASCHAL CHANDELIER DESTROYED BY THE
BOMBARDMENTS OF 1914]
The choir is surrounded by a Renaissance railing which is out of harmony
with the general scheme. It was erected between 1656 and 1669, at the
joint expense of the widow of the famous barrister Omer Talon, the Town
Council, the Duke of Longueville, and the Grand Prior of St. Remi. The
sculptor Francois Jacques seems to have co-operated therewith.
The great _crown of light_ hanging at the entrance to the choir was an
imitation of the original crown, destroyed in 1793, and which was
garnished with ninety-six candles, symbolizing the ninety-six years of
St. Remi's life (_see p. 108_).
The 18th century high-altar of red marble which, like the cross and the
six chandeliers, came from the church of the Minims, was crushed beneath
the falling vaulting.
At the time of the Revolution (1792) the chandelier (masterpiece of the
old Rheims metal-founders), which adorned the centre of the Sanctuary,
was broken and melted down, with the exception of a portion of one of
the feet. This fragment (_photo above_), preserved in the Archaeological
Museum, was destroyed by the bombardment of 1914.
=The Tomb and Reliquary of St. Remi=
[Illustration: TOMB AND RELIQUARY OF ST. REMI]
The present tomb, erected in 1847, is only a memorial of the sumptuous
mausoleum, profusely decorated with gold medals, diamonds and sapphires,
which was destroyed at the time of the Revolution.
It is a Renaissance chapel, ornamented with the statues of the original
tomb, which form by far the most interesting part of the monument. The
twelve Peers are represented in their coronation robes: the Archbishop,
Duke of Rheims, carries the Cross; the Archbishop, Duke of Laon, the
sceptre; the Bishop, Count of Beauvais, the royal mantle; the Bishop,
Count of Chalons, the ring; the Bishop, Count of Noyon, the girdle; the
Duke of Burgundy, the crown; the Duke of Aquitaine, the standard; the
Duke of Normandy, a second standard; the Count of Flanders, the sword;
the Count of Toulouse, the spurs; the Count of Champagne, the military
standard of the King.
The Reliquary of St. Remi, which is in the mausoleum, dates from 1896.
It was bought by national subscription and presented to the church on
the occasion of the centenary of the baptism of Clovis. In the niches of
the lower part of the reliquary are statuettes of the twelve apostles.
Higher up, in the recesses of the long sides, enamels illustrating
episodes in the life of St. Remi are imbedded. On the two ends, two
enamels represent the Battle of Tolbiac and the Baptism of Clovis.
_Leave the Church of St. Remi by the western doorway, which faces the
Place de l'Hopital civil, cross the square, then turn to the right into
the Rue Simon. The entrance to the_ Hotel-Dieu Hospital _is on the
right_.
=The Hotel-Dieu=
This hospital is installed in the buildings of the ancient Abbey of the
Benedictine monks of St. Remi who, for centuries, were the guardians of
the relics of the famous Bishop of Rheims.
During the invasion, at the time of the Revolution, the Abbey was
transformed into a military hospital, but it was only in 1827 that it
became officially the _Hotel-Dieu,_ in place of the old Municipal
Hospital (_see "Palais de Justice" p. 93_). The furnishings of the
latter were then transferred to the Abbey buildings, disaffected since
the Restoration.
Of the ancient abbey, where _Charles-le-Simple_ and the _Duc Robert_
were proclaimed king, and where several archbishops were elected, only a
few vestiges remain. Damaged by the fires of 1098, 1481, and 1751, it
was completely destroyed by the great conflagration of January 15, 1774.
The present abbey, rebuilt by Duroche, the King's architect, was
scarcely finished when the Revolution broke out.
Incendiary bombs dropped by German aeroplanes in August, 1916, destroyed
most of the buildings.
The monumental facade which faces the Court of Honour is Louis XVI. in
style.
The second court, that behind the main buildings, is bordered by a
cloister built by the Rheims architect, Nicolas Bonhomme, in the first
part of the 18th century, in place of the 13th and 14th century cloister
destroyed in 1707. The buttresses of the side which abuts on the church
of St. Remi, and those of the opposite side, are 12th century.
The marble fountain with bronze furnishings, in the centre of the court,
was formerly in the Place St. Nicaise. It was erected in 1750 from
designs by _Coustou_.
[Illustration: THE CLOISTER AND FOUNTAIN OF THE HOTEL-DIEU]
[Illustration: THE GRAND STAIRCASE OF THE HOTEL-DIEU
_Through the windows is seen the North Front of St. Remi._]
_At the back of the court, on the left_, is an exceedingly fine Louis
XVI. staircase with wrought-iron handrail (_photo above_).
The =Lapidary Museum=, which was formerly in the crypt of the
archi-episcopal chapel (_see p. 65_), was installed under one of the
galleries of the cloister in 1896. Of the tombstones, storied
floor-tiles, and various carvings which it contains, the most remarkable
is the =Tomb of Jovinus=.
Consul in 367, Jovinus commanded the armies in Gaul, under the Emperor
Julian, and successfully resisted three attempts at invasion by the
Alemanni. As a Christian, he founded a basilica at Rheims.
The white marble tomb with carvings is apparently Graeco-Roman of the 3rd
century, and dates back before the time of Jovinus, who died in 370. It
is possible that Jovinus had the first occupant of the tomb ejected, or
that he bought an old sarcophagus and had his own portrait affixed to
it.
The chapel installed in the old library of the abbey contained some fine
Louis XVI. wood carvings (_see photo below of the ruins of the chapel_).
[Illustration: CHAPEL OF THE HOTEL-DIEU IN 1919]
[Illustration: THE OLD CHAPTER-HOUSE OF THE ABBEY]
The =chapter-house= of the abbey, which served as a refectory, was
rebuilt about the end of the 12th century. With its pointed arches, it
belonged to the early period of Gothic architecture. The most remarkable
portion was the vestibule facing the cloister. The decoration of the
lateral arcades of the vestibule included Roman capitals, nearly all of
which are intact (_photo below_), and which are of great value from the
standpoint of the history of art and costumes. In the refectory were the
_Godard_ tables made out of a single branch of a gigantic oak-tree from
the forest of St. Basle. They were given to the old _Hotel-Dieu_ by
Canon Godard, whose name is incrusted in lead in the wood, as a rebus:
_Go_, followed by the figure of a dart (French: _dard_).
Near the chapter-house, a round-arched chamber was all that remained of
the early portion of the abbey.
[Illustration: ROMAN CAPITALS IN THE VESTIBULE OF THE CHAPTER-HOUSE]
[Illustration: THE GRAND STAIRCASE OF THE HOPITAL GENERAL]
_After visiting the Hotel-Dieu, follow the Rue Simon, which skirts the
Ecole de Medecine, then turn to the right into the Rue St. Remi. At the
end of same, take the Rue Gambetta on the left, and follow it as far as
the_ =Hopital General= _on the right._
=The Hopital General=
This is the old Order-House of the Jesuits, built at the beginning of
the 17th century. The =refectory= is ornamented with rich woodwork and
paintings, by the Rheims artist Helart. Of greater interest is the
_library_, situated under the gables, and which is reached by a fine
staircase. The room is adorned with a profusion of wood-carvings and
mouldings. Exceedingly fine consoles carry the ceiling, whose carved
panels are profusely ornamented with crowns, polygons, florets and heads
of angels. The oaken pilasters which separate the bookshelves are
decorated with a variety of leaves and flowers. In spite of this wealth
of ornament, the general effect is harmonious. The recesses in the
woodwork, opposite the dummy dormer-windows, were for reading.
Ancient vines cover the walls of the chapel, near the entrance to the
_hopital_.
_At the side of the Hopital General stands the_ =Church of St. Maurice=.
This church was entirely rebuilt by the Jesuits after the destruction of
the ancient edifice, which was one of the oldest in Rheims. Here may be
seen the _Eagle Reading-Desk_, a fine piece of 17th century
wood-carving; two _Louis XIV. portable iron desks_ and the _paschal
chandelier_ of carved wood; the _17th century confessionals_ of the
lateral chapels, and in the sacristy remarkable _Louis XIII.,
hand-embroidered guipures_ of open-work designs, after the style of the
models by the Rheims artist, Georges Baussonnet.
_Return to the Place du Parvis, in front of the Cathedral, via the Rue
Gambetta and its continuation, the Rue Chanzy._