Notre Dame de Paris, also called Notre Dame Cathedral, is one of the most famous Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages and is distinguished for its size as well as architectural and antiquity interest. So when the fire broke on April 15 and destroyed the spire and most parts of the roof of the 850-year-old church, not only was the building structure devastated but so was the spirit of people the world over who grieved over the near destruction of an important church in the heart of Paris.
To reflect the historical significance of the iconic symbol of France, Chulalongkorn University recently organised a special lecture and a passionate presentation titled "Notre Dame De Paris: From Victor Hugo Until Today" at the Faculty of Arts. The lecture was led by Asst Prof Paniti Hoonsweang and Asst Prof Piriyadit Manit, who enlightened visitors on Notre Dame's unique architectural and romantic history, and its grave misfortune, as well as the reasons why Thais, as the rest of the world, should give attention to this significant event in history.
"If the Eiffel Tower represents Paris, then the Notre Dame Cathedral is definitely a spiritual centre of the city," said Piriyadit from the Department of Western Languages, Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Arts.
In both French and old Latin languages, the name Notre Dame de Paris simply means "Our Lady Of Paris", which is dedicated to St Mary. The cathedral -- whose construction began in 1163 and completed in 1345 -- became one of the most iconic, and most visited, structures in France's capital city. Notre Dame is not just a landmark that knits Parisians together, but is admired the world over as one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture.
Notre Dame is visited by about 13 million people a year, drawn in equal measure by its religious significance, architectural mastery and rich history.
Paniti said that Notre Dame is located at the eastern end of the Île de la Cité -- a natural island within the city of Paris -- and was built on the ruins of two earlier churches.
"In 1160, the cathedral was initiated by Maurice de Sully, bishop of Paris, who conceived the idea of converting it into a single building, on a much larger scale," Paniti explained.
Sully summarily demolished the Romanesque cathedral and chose to recycle its materials. He decided that the new church should be built in the Gothic style, which had been inaugurated at the royal abbey of Saint Denis in the late 1130s.
Notre Dame consists of a choir and apse, and a nave flanked by double aisles and square chapels. The modern central spire was added during restoration in the 19th century, replacing the original from 18th century, which had been completely removed because of instability. The interior of the cathedral is 130m by 48m in plan, and the roof is 35m high. The two towers are 68m high.
"Because of the high-ceiling construction of Gothic architecture, the whole building is designed to make people look up, as if they're getting closer to God," explained Paniti.
Notre Dame suffered damage and deterioration through the centuries. Meanwhile, Gothic art and architecture became less popular during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1715), and Europe's Neoclassic art was taking over.
The cathedral underwent a rather unfortunate renovation -- the stained glass was replaced with clear windows, a pillar was demolished in order to let carriages pass through, and the original beautiful rood screen was torn down. Although the cathedral was returned to the Catholic Church by 1802, it continued to decay. But after the French Revolution, the cathedral was rescued from possible destruction by Napoleon Bonaparte, who crowned himself emperor of the French inside the cathedral in 1804.
"Other than the coronation of Napoleon, some of the decisive events that have taken place in Notre Dame include the beatification of Joan of Arc and the coronation of Henry VI of England," said Paniti.
Popular interest in Notre Dame blossomed once again after the publication, in 1831, of Victor Hugo's Gothic novel Notre-Dame De Paris (better known in English as The Hunchback Of Notre Dame). The story follows the tragic lives of the beautiful Esmeralda and the hunchbacked named Quasimodo, the young bell-ringer of the cathedral, who falls obsessively in love with her. The novel was later enshrined in popular culture, and has been filmed multiple times, including as a Disney fairy tale in 1996, with Tom Hulce voicing the deformed bell-ringer and Demi Moore voicing Esmeralda.
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame also soared to the top of France's online best-seller list right after last month's fire.
"The popularity of Victor Hugo's novel, wherein the cathedral is the setting, was said to have inspired the major renovation project between 1844 and 1864, supervised by architects Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugene Viollet-le-Duc," said Paniti.
But Lassus passed away in 1857, leaving Viollet-le-Duc the only one to finish the job. With his design, the new spire was completed, taller and more strongly built to withstand the weather. Sadly, it's the same spire that was destroyed on April 15, as a result of the Notre Dame de Paris fire during a restoration campaign.
Piriyadit also has a word of warning for local cyberbullies who made strongly offensive comments on the devastation.
"I saw some people made fun of the news, or some even said that France was a colonisation country, so what happened with the Notre Dame serves them right," said Piriyadit. "What we all should understand is the Notre Dame isn't just a tourist attraction, but it's a religious sanctuary or the house of God for the French people. The fire did not just burn the building, but it burned the hearts of French people and the Christians too. This is a great loss for the heritage of all humanity."
