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140-763: Since at least around the year 400 AD, a relic believed by many to be the crown of thorns has been venerated . In 1238, the Latin Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople yielded the relic to French King Louis IX . It was kept in the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris until 15 April 2019, when it was rescued from a fire and moved to the Louvre Museum . Reproductions of the crown are available to tourists from shops in Jerusalem. The three Biblical gospels that mention

280-477: A wax seal . In Catholic theology, sacred relics must not be worshipped, because only God is worshipped and adored. Instead, the veneration given to them was " dulia ". Saint Jerome declared, "We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the Creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore Him whose martyrs they are." Until 2017,

420-581: A North Vietnamese flag at the top the flèche, and sabotaged the stairway leading to it. The flag was cut from the flèche by Paris Fire Brigade Sergeant Raymond Belle in a daring helicopter mission, the first of its kind in France. The Requiem Mass of Charles de Gaulle was held in Notre-Dame on 12 November 1970. The next year, on 26 June 1971, Philippe Petit walked across a tight-rope strung between Notre-Dame's two bell towers entertaining spectators. After

560-481: A band; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha; and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet. Also cited is the veneration of relics from the martyr and bishop Saint Polycarp of Smyrna recorded in the Martyrdom of Polycarp , written sometime from 150 to 160 AD. With regard to relics that are objects, an often cited passage is Acts 19:11–12, which says that Paul

700-464: A car containing seven gasoline canisters was found near Notre-Dame . On 10 February 2017, French police arrested four persons in Montpellier already known by authorities to have ties to radical Islamist organizations on charges of plotting to travel to Paris and attack the cathedral. Later that year, on 6 June, visitors were shut inside Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris after a man with a hammer attacked

840-546: A certificate of authentication, signed and sealed by someone in the Congregation for Saints , or by the local Bishop where the saint lived. Without such authentication, relics are not to be used for public veneration. The Congregation for Saints, as part of the Roman Curia , holds the authority to verify relics in which documentation is lost or missing. The documents and reliquaries of authenticated relics are usually affixed with

980-399: A gabled portal to the north transept topped by a spectacular rose window. Shortly afterward (from 1258) Pierre de Montreuil executed a similar scheme on the southern transept. Both these transept portals were richly embellished with sculpture; the south portal depicts scenes from the lives of Saint Stephen and of various local saints, while the north portal featured the infancy of Christ and

1120-455: A great church built just outside the walls of Tours. When Saint Martin died on November 8, 397, at a village halfway between Tours and Poitiers , the inhabitants of these cities were ready to fight for his body, which the people of Tours managed to secure by stealth. Tours became the chief point of Christian pilgrimage in Gaul, a place for the healing of the sick. Gregory of Tours travelled to

1260-467: A large team of sculptors, glass makers and other craftsmen, and working from drawings or engravings, Viollet-le-Duc remade or added decorations if he felt they were in the spirit of the original style. One of the latter items was a taller and more ornate flèche , to replace the original 13th-century flèche, which had been removed in 1786. The decoration of the restoration included a bronze roof statue of Saint Thomas that resembles Viollet-le-Duc, as well as

1400-453: A multipartite arrangement of so many lateral vaults, above and below? Where, I ask, would they find such light-filled amenities as the many surrounding chapels? Furthermore, let them tell me in what church I may see such a large cross, of which one arm separates the choir from the nave. Finally, I would willingly learn where [there are] two such circles, situated opposite each other in a straight line, which on account of their appearance are given

1540-551: A new and much larger church. He summarily demolished the earlier cathedral and recycled its materials. Sully 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. The chronicler Jean de Saint-Victor  [ fr ] recorded in the Memorial Historiarum that the construction of Notre-Dame began between 24 March and 25 April 1163 with

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1680-437: A new location. Offerings made at a site of pilgrimage were an important source of revenue for the community who received them on behalf of the saint. According to Patrick Geary , "[t]o the communities fortunate enough to have a saint's remains in its church, the benefits in terms of revenue and status were enormous, and competition to acquire relics and to promote the local saint's virtues over those of neighboring communities

1820-561: A ninth-century Italian deacon named Deusdona, with access to the Roman catacombs, as crossing the Alps to visit monastic fairs of northern Europe much like a contemporary art dealer. Canterbury was a popular destination for English pilgrims, who traveled to witness the miracle-working relics of St Thomas Becket , the sainted Archbishop of Canterbury who was assassinated by knights of King Henry II in 1170. After Becket's death, his successor and

1960-420: A plant native to Africa and Southern and Western Asia, and had allegedly been removed from the crown and kept in separate reliquaries since soon after they arrived in France. New reliquaries were provided for the relic, one commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte , another, in jeweled rock crystal and more suitably Gothic , was made to the designs of Eugène Viollet-le-Duc . In 2001, when the surviving treasures from

2100-413: A police officer outside . On 15 April 2019 the cathedral caught fire, destroying the flèche and the "forest" of oak roof beams supporting the lead roof. It was speculated that the fire was linked to ongoing renovation work. The fire broke out in the attic of the cathedral at 18:18, investigators concluded. The smoke detectors immediately signaled the fire to a cathedral employee, who did not summon

2240-734: A priest by his bishop as a means of bestowing faculties upon him (i.e., granting him permission to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries). The antimens is kept on the Holy Table (altar), and it is forbidden to celebrate the Divine Liturgy (Eucharist) without it. Occasionally, in cases of fixed altars, the relics are built in the altar table itself and sealed with a special mixture called wax-mastic . The necessity of provide relics for antimensions in new churches often necessitates continuous division of relics. An account of this process can be found in

2380-550: A publication now in the public domain :  Thurston, Herbert (1908). " Crown of Thorns ". Catholic Encyclopedia . Vol. 4. Relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Relics are an important aspect of some forms of Buddhism , Christianity , Islam , shamanism , and many other religions. Relic derives from

2520-466: A relic of the second class is anything known to have been touched or used by a saint; a relic of the third class is a devotional object touched to a first-class relic and, usually, formally blessed as a sacramental. M. de Mély was able to enumerate more than 700 holy thorns relics. The statement in one medieval obituary that Peter de Aveiro gave to the cathedral of Angers , "unam de spinis quae fuit apposita coronae spinae nostri Redemptoris" ("one of

2660-569: A ship from. A study in 1870 found that, put together, the claimed relics of the cross at that much later time weighed less than 1.7 kg. By the middle of the 16th century, the number of relics in Christian churches became enormous, and there was practically no possibility to distinguish the authentic from the falsification, since both of them had been in the temples for centuries and were objects for worship. In 1543, John Calvin wrote about fake relics in his Treatise on Relics , in which he described

2800-476: A single thorn. But if diligent search were made, the number might be increased fourfold. It is most evident that there must here be falsehood and imposition. How will the truth be ascertained? It ought, moreover, to be observed, that in the ancient Church it was never known what had become of that crown. Hence it is easy to conclude, that the first twig of that now shown grew many years after our Saviour's death. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from

2940-485: A special Mass was held in the cathedral to celebrate the liberation of Paris from the Germans; it was attended by General Charles De Gaulle and General Philippe Leclerc . In 1963, on the initiative of culture minister André Malraux and to mark the 800th anniversary of the cathedral, the façade was cleaned of the centuries of soot and grime, restoring it to its original off-white colour. On 19 January 1969, vandals placed

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3080-431: A testament to its authenticity. In Likeness and Presence , Belting argued that the cult of relics helped to stimulate the rise of painting in medieval Europe. Reliquaries are containers used to protect and display relics. While frequently taking the form of caskets, they have many other forms, including simulations of the relic encased within (e.g., a gilded depiction of an arm for a relic consisting of arm bones). Since

3220-710: A treatise of the pre-revolutionary Russian church historian Nikolay Romansky  [ ru ] . According to Romansky, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church operated a special office, located in the Church of Philip the Apostle in the Moscow Kremlin , where bones of numerous saints, authenticated by the church's hierarchs, were stored, and pieces of them were prayerfully separated with hammer and chisel to be sent to

3360-579: Is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris , France. The cathedral, dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary (Our Lady), is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture . Several attributes set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style , particularly its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress , its enormous and colourful rose windows , and

3500-486: Is a widely recognized symbol of the city of Paris and the French nation . In 1805, it was awarded honorary status as a minor basilica . As the cathedral of the archdiocese of Paris , Notre-Dame contains the cathedra of the archbishop of Paris (currently Laurent Ulrich ). In the early 21st century, approximately 12 million people visited Notre-Dame annually, making it the most visited monument in Paris. The cathedral

3640-422: Is because the mortal remains of the deceased are associated in some manner with the holiness of their souls which await reunion with their bodies in the resurrection ." Thomas Aquinas (d. 1274) pointed out that it was natural that people should treasure what is associated with the dead, much like the personal effects of a relative. In an interview with Catholic News Service , Fr. Mario Conte, executive editor of

3780-470: Is documented as receiving more than one thorn from Charles V and VI, his brother and nephew. Two "holy thorns" were venerated, one at St. Michael's church in Ghent, the other at Stonyhurst College , both professing to be thorns given by Mary, Queen of Scots to Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland . The "Gazetteer of Relics and Miraculous Images" lists the following, following Cruz 1984: The appearance of

3920-462: Is doubtful and obscure, are among the largest in size, afford a good illustration of this peculiarity. Not all of the reputed holy thorns are considered to be "first-class" relics (relics held to be of the original crown). In Roman Catholic tradition, a relic of the first class is a part of the body of a saint or, in this case, any of the objects used in the Crucifixion that carried the blood of Christ;

4060-544: Is due to God alone. Thus Orthodox teaching warns the faithful against idolatry and at the same time remains true to scriptural teaching (vis. 2 Kings 13:20–21) as understood by Orthodox Sacred Tradition . The examination of the relics is an important step in the glorification (canonization) of new saints. Sometimes, one of the signs of sanctification is the condition of the relics of the saint. Some saints will be incorrupt , meaning that their remains do not decay under conditions when they normally would (natural mummification

4200-408: Is not the same as incorruption) . Sometimes even when the flesh does decay the bones themselves will manifest signs of sanctity. They may be honey-coloured or give off a sweet aroma . Some relics will exude myrrh . The absence of such manifestations is not necessarily a sign that the person is not a Saint. Relics play a major role in the consecration of a church . The consecrating bishop will place

4340-499: Is possible, to remind them that the Buddha was a real person, and to also promote good virtue. One of the earliest sources that purports to show the efficacy of relics is found in 2 Kings 13:20–21: And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now the bands of the Moabites used to invade the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied

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4480-535: Is renowned for its Lent sermons, a tradition founded in the 1830s by the Dominican Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire . These sermons have increasingly been given by leading public figures or government-employed academics. Over time, the cathedral has gradually been stripped of many decorations and artworks. However, the cathedral still contains Gothic, Baroque , and 19th-century sculptures, 17th- and early 18th-century altarpieces, and some of

4620-684: Is reserved for the display of the Blessed Sacrament (host or prosphora and Eucharistic wine after consecration in the sacrament of the Eucharist). The importance of relics in the Byzantine world can be seen from the veneration given to the pieces of the True Cross . Many great works of Byzantine enamel are staurothekes , or relics containing fragments of the True Cross. Other significant relics included

4760-525: Is stated to have given a thorn to Germain , Bishop of Paris , which was long preserved at Saint-Germain-des-Prés , while the Empress Irene , in 798 or 802, sent Charlemagne several thorns which were deposited by him at Aachen . Eight of these are said to have been there at the consecration of the basilica of Aachen; the subsequent history of several of them can be traced without difficulty: four were given to Saint-Corneille of Compiègne in 877 by Charles

4900-578: The Golden Legend or the works of Caesarius of Heisterbach . These miracle tales made relics much sought-after during the period. By the Late Middle Ages, the collecting of, and dealing in, relics had reached enormous proportions, and had spread from the church to royalty, and then to the nobility and merchant classes. The Council of Trent of 1563 enjoined bishops to instruct their flocks that "the holy bodies of holy martyrs ... are to be venerated by

5040-521: The Passiflora plant to elements of the Passion: the flower's radial filaments , which can number more than a hundred and vary from flower to flower, represent the crown of thorns. Carnations symbolize the passion as they represent the crown of thorns. A critique of the adoration of the crown of thorns was set forth in 1543 by John Calvin in the work Treatise on Relics . He described numerous parts of

5180-504: The Cathedral of Saint Étienne , was built on the site, close to the royal palace. The entrance was situated about 40 metres (130 ft) west of the present west front of Notre-Dame, and the apse was located about where the west façade is today. It was roughly half the size of the later Notre-Dame, 70 metres (230 ft) long—and separated into nave and four aisles by marble columns, then decorated with mosaics . The last church before

5320-594: The Catholic Church , and it was deposited in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris . The exact plant species used to make the crown is not confirmed. The relic that the church received was examined in the nineteenth century, and it appeared to be a twisted circlet of rushes of Juncus balticus , a plant native to maritime areas of northern Britain, the Baltic region , and Scandinavia. The thorns preserved in various other reliquaries appeared to be Ziziphus spina-christi ,

5460-572: The Concordat of 1801 , Napoleon Bonaparte restored Notre-Dame to the Catholic Church, though this was only finalized on 18 April 1802. Napoleon also named Paris's new bishop, Jean-Baptiste de Belloy , who restored the cathedral's interior. Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine made quasi-Gothic modifications to Notre-Dame for the coronation of Napoleon as Emperor of the French within

5600-696: The Latin reliquiae , meaning "remains", and a form of the Latin verb relinquere , to "leave behind, or abandon". A reliquary is a shrine that houses one or more religious relics. In ancient Greece , a city or sanctuary might claim to possess, without necessarily displaying, the remains of a venerated hero as a part of a hero cult . Other venerable objects associated with the hero were more likely to be on display in sanctuaries, such as spears, shields, or other weaponry; chariots , ships or figureheads ; furniture such as chairs or tripods ; and clothing. The sanctuary of

5740-603: The Leucippides at Sparta claimed to display the egg of Leda . The bones were not regarded as holding a particular power derived from the hero, with some exceptions, such as the divine shoulder of Pelops held at Olympia . Miracles and healing were not regularly attributed to them; rather, their presence was meant to serve a tutelary function, as the tomb of Oedipus was said to protect Athens . The bones of Orestes and Theseus were supposed to have been stolen or removed from their original resting place and reburied. On

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5880-579: The Liberation of Paris from German occupation was celebrated in Notre-Dame with the singing of the Magnificat . Beginning in 1963, the cathedral's façade was cleaned of soot and grime. Another cleaning and restoration project was carried out between 1991 and 2000. A fire in April 2019 caused serious damage and forced the cathedral to close for five years; it is planned to reopen on 7-8 December 2024. The cathedral

6020-425: The Magnificat of 30 May 1980, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the parvis of the cathedral. The Requiem Mass of François Mitterrand was held at the cathedral, as with past French heads of state, on 11 January 1996. The stone masonry of the cathedral's exterior had deteriorated in the 19th and 20th century due to increased air pollution in Paris, which accelerated erosion of decorations and discoloured

6160-566: The Musée de Cluny . For a time the Goddess of Liberty replaced the Virgin Mary on several altars. The cathedral's great bells escaped being melted down. All of the other large statues on the façade, with the exception of the statue of the Virgin Mary on the portal of the cloister, were destroyed. The cathedral came to be used as a warehouse for the storage of food and other non-religious purposes. With

6300-703: The Paris Commune of March through May 1871, the cathedral and other churches were closed, and some two hundred priests and the Archbishop of Paris were taken as hostages. In May, during the Semaine sanglante of "Bloody Week", as the army recaptured the city, the Communards targeted the cathedral, along with the Tuileries Palace and other landmarks, for destruction; the Communards piled the furniture together in order to burn

6440-648: The Seventh Crusade , Louis IX of France bought from Baldwin II of Constantinople what was venerated as Jesus' Crown of Thorns. It is kept in Paris to this day, in the Louvre Museum . Individual thorns were given by the French monarch to other European royals: the Holy Thorn Reliquary in the British Museum , for example, containing a single thorn, was made in the 1390s for the French prince Jean, duc de Berry , who

6580-538: The Virgin Mary for the choir. At this same time, Charles de La Fosse painted his Adoration of the Magi , now in the Louvre . Louis Antoine de Noailles , archbishop of Paris , extensively modified the roof of Notre-Dame in 1726, renovating its framing and removing the gargoyles with lead gutters. Noailles also strengthened the buttresses, galleries, terraces, and vaults. In 1756, the cathedral's canons decided that its interior

6720-452: The catacombs of Rome . These places were always outside the walls of the city, but martyriums began to be built over the site of the burial. Since it was considered beneficial to the soul to be buried close to the remains of saints, several large "funerary halls" were built over the sites of martyr's graves, including Old Saint Peter's Basilica . These were initially not regular churches, but "covered cemeteries" crammed with graves, wherein

6860-614: The church of St. John , three, and as many at Koenigsberg. At the church of St. Salvator , in Spain, are several, but how many I know not; at Compostella , in the church of St. Jago , two; in Vivarais , three; also at Toulouse , Mascon , Charrox in Poictou , St. Clair, Sanflor , San Maximin in Provence , in the monastery of Selles , and also in the church of St. Martin at Noyon , each place having

7000-418: The fire brigade but instead sent a cathedral guard to investigate. The guard was sent to the wrong location, to the attic of the adjoining sacristy, and reported there was no fire. The guard telephoned his supervisor, who did not immediately answer. About 15 minutes later the error was discovered, whereupon the guard's supervisor told him to go to the correct location. The fire brigade was still not notified. By

7140-453: The girdle worn by the Virgin , and pieces of the body or clothing of saints. Such relics (called contact relics , or secondary relics) were, however, scarce and did not provide most believers with ready access to proximity to the holy. The growth in the production and popularity of reproducible contact relics in the fifth and sixth centuries testifies to the need felt for more widespread access to

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7280-544: The naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration. Notre-Dame is also exceptional for its three pipe organs (one historic) and its immense church bells . Built during the medieval era , construction of the cathedral began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely completed by 1260, though it was modified in succeeding centuries. In the 1790s, during the French Revolution , Notre-Dame suffered extensive desecration ; much of its religious imagery

7420-573: The relics of the passion of Christ , which included the Crown of thorns , a nail from the Cross and a sliver of the Cross, which he had purchased at great expense from the Latin Emperor Baldwin II , in the cathedral during the construction of the Sainte-Chapelle . An under-shirt , believed to have belonged to Louis, was added to the collection of relics at some time after his death. Transepts were added at

7560-459: The 15-metre (49 ft) flying buttresses of the choir. Jean le Bouteiller, Ravy's nephew, succeeded him in 1344 and was himself replaced on his death in 1363 by his deputy, Raymond du Temple. Philip the Fair opened the first Estates General in the cathedral in 1302. An important innovation in the 13th century was the introduction of the flying buttress . Before the buttresses, all of the weight of

7700-403: The 19th-century restorers. Today, thirteen of the grands mays hang in Notre-Dame although these paintings suffered water damage during the fire of 2019 and were removed for conservation. An altarpiece depicting The Visitation , painted by Jean Jouvenet in 1707, was also located in the cathedral. The canon Antoine de La Porte commissioned for Louis XIV six paintings depicting the life of

7840-571: The Apostle 's handkerchiefs were imbued by God with healing power. In the gospel accounts of Jesus healing the bleeding woman and again in the Gospel of Mark 6:56, those who touched Jesus' garment were healed. The practice of venerating relics seems to have been taken for granted by writers like Augustine , St. Ambrose , Gregory of Nyssa , St. Chrysostom , and St. Gregory Nazianzen . Dom Bernardo Cignitti, O.S.B., wrote, "[T]he remains of certain dead are surrounded with special care and veneration. This

7980-471: The April 2019 fire. Notre-Dame began a year-long celebration of the 850th anniversary of the laying of the first building block for the cathedral on 12 December 2012. During that anniversary year, on 21 May 2013, Dominique Venner , a historian and white nationalist, placed a letter on the church altar and shot himself, dying instantly. Around 1,500 visitors were evacuated from the cathedral. French police arrested two people on 8 September 2016 after

8120-780: The Bald ; Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks, sent one to the Anglo-Saxon King Athelstan in 927, on the occasion of certain marriage negotiations, and it eventually found its way to Malmesbury Abbey ; another was presented to a Spanish princess about 1160; and again another was taken to Andechs Abbey in Germany in the year 1200. In 1238, Baldwin II , the Latin Emperor of Constantinople , anxious to obtain support for his tottering empire, offered

8260-494: The Canterbury chapter quickly used his relics to promote the cult of the as-yet-uncanonized martyr. The motivations included the assertion of the Church's independence against rulers, a desire to have an English (indeed Norman English ) saint of European reputation, and the desire to promote Canterbury as a destination for pilgrimage. In the first years after Becket's death, donations at the shrine accounted for twenty-eight percent of

8400-552: The Catholic Church divided relics into three classes: In 2017, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints abolished the relics of the third degree, introducing a two-stage scale of classification of relics: significant (insigni) and non-significant (non insigni) relics. The first are the bodies or their significant parts, as well as the entire contents of the urn with the ashes preserved after cremation. The second includes small fragments of

8540-510: The Eastern Empire, though still prohibited in the West. The Eastern capital was therefore able to acquire the remains of Saints Timothy , Andrew and Luke , and the division of bodies also began, the 5th century theologian Theodoretus declaring that "Grace remains entire with every part." In the West, a decree of Theodosius only allowed the moving of a whole sarcophagus with its contents, but

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8680-541: The Messenger of St. Anthony magazine in Padua , Italy , said, "Saints' relics help people overcome the abstract and make a connection with the holy ... Saints do not perform miracles. Only God performs miracles, but saints are intercessors." In the early Church the disturbance of the remains of martyrs and other saints was not practiced. They were allowed to remain in their often unidentified resting places such as in cemeteries and

8820-517: The Paris Fire Brigade saved the relic during the Notre-Dame de Paris fire of April 15, 2019. The Catholic Encyclopedia states: Authorities are agreed that a sort of helmet of thorns must have been plaited by the Roman soldiers, this band of rushes being employed to hold the thorns together. It seems likely according to M. De Mély, that already at the time when the circlet was brought to Paris

8960-485: The Romano-Christian concepts that gave relics such a powerful draw. He distinguished Gregory's constant usage of sanctus and virtus , the first with its familiar meaning of "sacred" or "holy", and the second as "the mystic potency emanating from the person or thing that is sacred... In a practical way the second word [virtus] ... describes the uncanny, mysterious power emanating from the supernatural and affecting

9100-516: The Sainte-Chapelle were exhibited at the Louvre , the chaplet was solemnly presented every Friday at Notre-Dame. Pope John Paul II translated it personally to Sainte-Chapelle during World Youth Day . The relic can be seen only on the first Friday of every month, when it is exhibited for a special veneration Mass, as well as each Friday of Lent (see also Feast of the Crown of Thorns ). Members of

9240-405: The Seine by ferry. The first phase began with the construction of the choir and its two ambulatories . According to Robert of Torigni , the choir was completed in 1177 and the high altar consecrated on 19 May 1182 by Cardinal Henri de Château-Marçay , the Papal legate in Paris, and Maurice de Sully. The second phase, from 1182 to 1190, concerned the construction of the four sections of

9380-398: The advice of the Delphic Oracle , the Spartans searched for the bones of Orestes and brought them home, without which they had been told they could not expect victory in their war against the neighboring Tegeans . Plutarch says that the Athenians were likewise instructed by the oracle to locate and steal the relics of Theseus from the Dolopians . The body of the legendary Eurystheus

9520-440: The availability of access to the divine but were not infinitely reproducible (an original relic was required), and still usually required believers to undertake pilgrimage or have contact with somebody who had. The earliest recorded removal, or translation of saintly remains was that of Saint Babylas at Antioch in 354, but, partly perhaps because Constantinople lacked the many saintly graves of Rome, they soon became common in

9660-413: The bodies, as well as objects used by saints and blesseds. The sale or disposal by other means of "sacred relics" (meaning first and second class) without the permission of the Apostolic See is now strictly forbidden by canon 1190 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law . However, the Catholic Church permitted the sale of third-class relics. Relics may not be placed upon the altar for public veneration, as that

9800-483: The boy-king Henry VI of England was crowned king of France in Notre-Dame, aged ten, the traditional coronation church of Reims Cathedral being under French control. During the Renaissance , the Gothic style fell out of style, and the internal pillars and walls of Notre-Dame were covered with tapestries. In 1548, rioting Huguenots damaged some of the statues of Notre-Dame, considering them idolatrous . The fountain  [ fr ] in Notre-Dame's parvis

9940-478: The bush botanically known as Ziziphus spina-christi , more popularly, the jujube tree . This reaches the height of fifteen or twenty feet and is found growing in abundance by the wayside around Jerusalem. The crooked branches of this shrub are armed with thorns growing in pairs, a straight spine and a curved one commonly occurring together at each point. The relic preserved in the Capella della Spina at Pisa , as well as that at Trier , which though their early history

10080-591: The cathedral of Notre-Dame was a Romanesque remodeling of Saint-Étienne that, although enlarged and remodeled, was found to be unfit for the growing population of Paris. A baptistery , the Church of Saint-John-le-Rond , built about 452, was located on the north side of the west front of Notre-Dame until the work of Jacques-Germain Soufflot in the 18th century. In 1160, the Bishop of Paris , Maurice de Sully , decided to build

10220-456: The cathedral's total revenues. In the absence of real ways of assessing authenticity, relic-collectors became prey to the unscrupulous, and some extremely high prices were paid. Forgeries proliferated from the very beginning. Augustine already denounced impostors who wandered around disguised as monks, making a profit from the sale of spurious relics. In his Admonitio Generalis of 789, Charlemagne ordered that "the false names of martyrs and

10360-503: The cathedral. The arson was halted when the Communard government realised that the fire would also destroy the neighbouring Hôtel-Dieu hospital, filled with hundreds of patients. During the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the cathedral suffered some minor damage from stray bullets. Some of the medieval glass was damaged, and was replaced by glass with modern abstract designs. On 26 August,

10500-601: The cathedral. The building's exterior was whitewashed and the interior decorated in Neoclassical style, then in vogue. In the decades after the Napoleonic Wars , Notre-Dame fell into such a state of disrepair that Paris officials considered its demolition. Victor Hugo , who admired the cathedral, wrote the novel Notre-Dame de Paris (published in English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ) in 1831 to save Notre-Dame. The book

10640-427: The ceiling of the cathedral had several holes but was otherwise intact. The Great Organ, which has over 8,000 pipes and was built by François Thierry in the 18th century was also saved but damaged by water. An ornate tapestry woven in the early 1800s, on public display for only the third time in recent decades, was saved from the fire. Because of the renovation, the copper statues on the flèche had been removed before

10780-402: The choir, where the altar was located, in order to bring more light into the centre of the church. The use of simpler four-part rather than six-part rib vaults meant that the roofs were stronger and could be higher. After Bishop Maurice de Sully's death in 1196, his successor, Eudes de Sully oversaw the completion of the transepts, and continued work on the nave , which was nearing completion at

10920-450: The city of Jerusalem. "There", he says, "we may behold the thorny crown, which was only set upon the head of Our Redeemer in order that all the thorns of the world might be gathered together and broken" (Migne, LXX, 621). When Gregory of Tours in De gloria martyri avers that the thorns in the crown still looked green, a freshness which was miraculously renewed each day, he does not much strengthen

11060-738: The compilers considered that it seemed to be quite as probable that this was only meant for a laurel wreath . The image of the crown of thorns is often used symbolically to contrast with earthly monarchical crowns. In the symbolism of King Charles the Martyr , the executed English King Charles I is depicted putting aside his earthly crown to take up the crown of thorns, as in William Marshall 's print Eikon Basilike . This contrast appears elsewhere in art, for example in Frank Dicksee's painting The Two Crowns . Catholic missionaries likened several parts of

11200-415: The cremated remains or ringsel of prominent Buddhists. In rare cases, the whole body is conserved, as in the case of Dudjom Rinpoche . A year after his death in 1987, his physical body was moved from France and placed in a stupa in one of his monasteries near Boudhanath , Nepal. Pilgrims may view his body through a glass window in the stupa. The Buddha's relics are used to show people that enlightenment

11340-490: The crown of thorns do not say what happened to it after the crucifixion. The oldest known mention of the crown already being venerated as a relic was made by Paulinus of Nola , writing after 409, who refers to the crown as a relic that was adored by the faithful ( Epistle Macarius in Migne , Patrologia Latina , LXI, 407). Cassiodorus ( c.  570 ) speaks of the crown of thorns among other relics which were "the glory" of

11480-421: The crown of thorns in art, notably upon the head of Christ in representations of the Crucifixion or the subject Ecce Homo , arises after the time of St. Louis and the building of the Sainte-Chapelle. The Catholic Encyclopedia reported that some archaeologists had professed to discover a figure of the crown of thorns in the circle which sometimes surrounds the chi-rho emblem on early Christian sarcophagi , but

11620-714: The crown of thorns known to him, located in different cities. Based on a large number of parts of the crown of thorns, Calvin wrote: In regard to the Crown of thorns, it would seem that its twigs had been planted that they might grow again. Otherwise I know not how it could have attained to such a size. First, a third part of it is at Paris, in the Holy Chapel, and then at Rome there are three thorns in Santa Croce , and some portion also in St. Eustathius . At Sienna, I know not how many thorns, at Vincennes one, at Bourges five, at Besançon , in

11760-540: The crown of thorns to Louis IX of France . It was then in the hands of the Venetians as security for a great loan of 13,134 gold pieces, yet it was redeemed and conveyed to Paris where Louis IX built the Sainte-Chapelle , completed in 1248, to receive it. The relic stayed there until the French Revolution , when, after finding a home for a while in the Bibliothèque Nationale , the Concordat of 1801 restored it to

11900-551: The dioceses that needed to place them into new antimensions. Many churches were built along pilgrimage routes. A number in Europe were either founded or rebuilt specifically to enshrine relics, (such as San Marco in Venice ) and to welcome and awe the large crowds of pilgrims who came to seek their help. Romanesque buildings developed passageways behind the altar to allow for the creation of several smaller chapels designed to house relics. From

12040-399: The divine. These contact relics usually involved the placing of readily available objects, such as pieces of cloth, clay tablets, or water then bottled for believers, in contact with a relic. Alternatively, such objects could be dipped into water which had been in contact with the relic (such as the bone of a saint). These relics, a firmly embedded part of veneration by this period, increased

12180-541: The eleventh and twelfth centuries, substantial numbers of pilgrims flocked to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, in which the supposed relics of the apostle James, son of Zebedee , discovered c. 830, are housed. Santiago de Compostela remains a significant pilgrimage site, with around 200,000 pilgrims, both secular and Christian, completing the numerous pilgrimage routes to the cathedral in 2012 alone. By venerating relics through visitation, gifts, and providing services, medieval Christians believed that they would acquire

12320-404: The exterior, this collection of small rooms is seen as a cluster of delicate, curved roofs at one end of the church, a distinctive feature of many Romanesque churches. Gothic churches featured lofty, recessed porches which provided space for statuary and the display of relics. Historian and philosopher of art Hans Belting observed that in medieval painting, images explained the relic and served as

12460-408: The faithful, for through these [bodies] many benefits are bestowed by God on men". The Council further insisted that "in the invocation of saints, the veneration of relics and the sacred use of images, every superstition shall be removed and all filthy lucre abolished." There are also many relics associated with Jesus . In his introduction to Gregory's History of the Franks , Ernest Brehaut analyzed

12600-410: The fire had spread to the north tower, where the eight bells were located. The firefighters concentrated their efforts in the tower. They feared that, if the bells fell, they could wreck the tower, and endanger the structure of the other tower and the whole cathedral. They had to ascend a stairway threatened by fire, and to contend with low water pressure for their hoses. As others watered the stairway and

12740-448: The fire. Since 1905, France's cathedrals (including Notre-Dame) have been owned by the state, which is self-insured. Some costs might be recovered through insurance coverage if the fire is found to have been caused by contractors working on the site. The French insurer AXA provided insurance coverage for two of the contracting firms working on Notre-Dame's restoration before the blaze. AXA also provided insurance coverage for some of

12880-535: The first buttresses is not known with precision beyond an installation date in the 13th century. Art historian Andrew Tallon , however, has argued, based on detailed laser scans of the entire structure, that the buttresses were part of the original design. According to Tallon, the scans indicate that "the upper part of the building has not moved one smidgen in 800 years," whereas if they were added later some movement from prior to their addition would be expected. Tallon thus concluded that flying buttresses were present from

13020-485: The historical authenticity of a relic he had not seen, but the Breviary of Jerusalem (a short text dated to about 530 AD), and the itinerary of Antoninus of Piacenza (6th century) clearly state that the crown of thorns was then shown in the "Basilica of Mount Zion ," although there is uncertainty about the actual site to which the authors refer. From these fragments of evidence and others of later date (the "Pilgrimage" of

13160-411: The late 2010s. The entire renovation was estimated to cost €100 million, which the archbishop of Paris planned to raise through funds from the national government and private donations. A €6 million renovation of the cathedral's flèche began in late 2018 and continued into the following year, requiring the temporary removal of copper statues on the roof and other decorative elements days before

13300-459: The laying of the cornerstone in the presence of King Louis VII and Pope Alexander III . Four phases of construction took place under bishops Maurice de Sully and Eudes de Sully (not related to Maurice), according to masters whose names have been lost. Analysis of vault stones that fell in the 2019 fire shows that they were quarried in Vexin , a county northwest of Paris, and presumably brought up

13440-463: The monk Bernard shows that the relic was still at Mount Zion in 870), it is shown that a purported crown of thorns was venerated at Jerusalem in the first centuries of the common era. Some time afterwards, the crown was purportedly moved to Constantinople, the then capital of the Roman empire. Historian François de Mély supposed that the whole crown was transferred from Jerusalem to Constantinople not much earlier than 1063. In any case, Emperor Justinian

13580-579: The most important relics in Christendom – including the Crown of Thorns , and a sliver and nail from the True Cross . It is believed that before the arrival of Christianity in France , a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter stood on the site of Notre-Dame. Evidence for this includes the Pillar of the Boatmen , discovered beneath the cathedral in 1710. In the 4th or 5th century, a large early Christian church,

13720-604: The mystical life of the Church, and especially by receiving the Sacred Mysteries ( Sacraments ). In the Orthodox service books , the remains of the departed faithful are referred to as "relics", and are treated with honour and respect. For this reason, the bodies of Orthodox Christians are traditionally not embalmed . The veneration of the relics of the saints is of great importance in Orthodoxy, and very often churches will display

13860-416: The name of the fourth vowel [O]; among which smaller orbs and circles, with wondrous artifice, so that some arranged circularly, others angularly, surround windows ruddy with precious colours and beautiful with the most subtle figures of the pictures. In fact, I believe that this church offers the carefully discerning such cause for admiration that its inspection can scarcely sate the soul. On 16 December 1431,

14000-602: The natural... These points of contact and yielding are the miracles we continually hear of." Rome became a major destination for Christian pilgrims as it was easier to access for European pilgrims than the Holy Land . Constantine the Great erected great basilicas over the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul. A distinction of these sites was the presence of holy relics. Over the course of the Middle Ages, other religious structures acquired relics and became destinations for pilgrimage . In

14140-471: The nave behind the choir and its aisles to the height of the clerestories . It began after the completion of the choir but ended before the final allotted section of the nave was finished. Beginning in 1190, the bases of the façade were put in place, and the first traverses were completed. Heraclius of Caesarea called for the Third Crusade in 1185 from the still-incomplete cathedral. Louis IX deposited

14280-552: The outset. The first buttresses were replaced by larger and stronger ones in the 14th century; these had a reach of fifteen metres (50 ft) between the walls and counter-supports. John of Jandun recognized the cathedral as one of Paris's three most important buildings [prominent structures] in his 1323 Treatise on the Praises of Paris : That most glorious church of the most glorious Virgin Mary, mother of God, deservedly shines out, like

14420-526: The protection and intercession of the sanctified dead. Relics of local saints drew visitors to sites like Saint Frideswide's in Oxford , and San Nicola Peregrino in Trani . Instead of having to travel to be near to a venerated saint , relics of the saint could be venerated locally. Believers would make pilgrimages to places believed to have been sanctified by the physical presence of Christ or prominent saints, such as

14560-442: The relics of Theseus, the bones are sometimes described in literary sources as gigantic, an indication of the hero's "larger than life" status. On the basis of their reported size, it has been conjectured that such bones were those of prehistoric creatures , the startling discovery of which may have prompted the sanctifying of the site. The head of the poet-prophet Orpheus was supposed to have been transported to Lesbos , where it

14700-537: The relics of saints prominently. In a number of monasteries , particularly those on the semi-autonomous Mount Athos in Greece, all of the relics the monastery possesses are displayed and venerated each evening at Compline . As with the veneration of icons , the veneration ( Greek ; δουλια, dulia ) of relics in the Orthodox Church is clearly distinguished from adoration (λατρεια, latria ); i.e., that worship which

14840-400: The relics on a diskos (paten) in a church near the church that is to be consecrated, they will then be taken in a cross procession to the new church, carried three times around the new structure and then placed in the Holy Table (altar) as part of the consecration service. The relics of saints (traditionally, always those of a martyr) are also sewn into the antimension which is given to

14980-578: The relics themselves were considered valuable, they were enshrined in containers crafted of or covered with gold, silver, gems, and enamel. Ivory was widely used in the Middle Ages for reliquaries, its pure white color an indication of the holy status of its contents. These objects constituted a major form of artistic production across Europe and Byzantium throughout the Middle Ages. Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( French: [nɔtʁ(ə) dam də paʁi] ; meaning " Our Lady of Paris "), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame ,

15120-442: The restoration of the nearby Sainte-Chapelle , were appointed in 1844. The next year, Viollet-le-Duc submitted a budget of 3,888,500 francs , which was reduced to 2,650,000 francs, for the restoration of Notre-Dame and the construction of a new sacristy building. This budget was exhausted in 1850, and work stopped as Viollet-le-Duc made proposals for more money. In totality, the restoration cost over 12 million francs. Supervising

15260-399: The roof pressed outward and down to the walls, and the abutments supporting them. With the flying buttress, the weight was carried by the ribs of the vault entirely outside the structure to a series of counter-supports, which were topped with stone pinnacles which gave them greater weight. The buttresses meant that the walls could be higher and thinner, and could have larger windows. The date of

15400-425: The roof, a team of 20 firefighters climbed the narrow stairway of the south tower, crossed to the north tower, lowered hoses to be connected to fire engines outside the cathedral, and sprayed water on the fire beneath the bells. By 21:45, they brought the fire under control. The main structure was intact; firefighters saved the façade, towers, walls, buttresses, and stained-glass windows. The stone vaulting that forms

15540-512: The saints reflects a belief that the saints in heaven intercede for those on earth. A number of cures and miracles have been attributed to relics, not because of their own power, but because of the holiness of the saint they represent. Many tales of miracles and other marvels were attributed to relics beginning in the early centuries of the church. These became popular during the Middle Ages . They were collected in books of hagiography such as

15680-456: The sculpture of mythical creatures on the Galerie des Chimères . The construction of the sacristy was especially financially costly. To secure a firm foundation, it was necessary for Viollet-le-Duc's labourers to dig nine metres (thirty feet). Master glassworkers meticulously copied styles of the 13th century, as written about by art historians Antoine Lusson and Adolphe Napoléon Didron . During

15820-604: The shrine when he had contracted a serious illness. Later, as bishop of Tours, Gregory wrote extensively about miracles attributed to the intercession of St Martin. Nestorian Christianity utilized the hanānā –a mixture made with the dust of Thomas the Apostle 's tomb–for healing. Within the Assyrian Church of the East , it is consumed by a couple getting married in the Mystery of Crowning . The Second Council of Nicaea in 787 drew on

15960-510: The sick, to seek intercession for relief from famine or plague, to take solemn oaths, and to pressure warring factions to make peace in the presence of the sacred. Courts held relics since Merovingian times. St Angilbert acquired for Charlemagne one of the most impressive collections in Christendom. An active market developed and relics entered into commerce along the same trade routes followed by other portable commodities. Matthew Brown likens

16100-606: The site of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem . As holy relics attracted pilgrims and these religious tourists needed to be housed, fed, and provided with souvenirs, relics became a source of income not only for the destinations that held them, but for the abbeys, churches, and towns en route. Relics were prized as they were portable. They could be possessed, inventoried, bequeathed, stolen, counterfeited, and smuggled. They could add value to an established site or confer significance on

16240-434: The sixty or seventy thorns, which seem to have been afterwards distributed by St. Louis and his successors, had been separated from the band of rushes and were kept in a different reliquary . None of these now remain at Paris. Some small fragments of rush are also preserved [...] at Arras and at Lyons. With regard to the origin and character of the thorns, both tradition and existing remains suggest that they must have come from

16380-452: The spines which were attached to the thorny crown of our Redeemer") indicates that many of the thorns were relics of the third class—objects touched to a relic of the first class, in this case some part of the crown itself. Again, even in comparatively modern times, it is not always easy to trace the history of these objects of devotion, as first-class relics were often divided and any number of authentic third-class relics may exist. Prior to

16520-469: The state of affairs with relics in Catholic churches. Calvin says that the saints have two or three or more bodies with arms and legs, and even a few extra limbs and heads. Due to the existence of counterfeit relics, the Church began to regulate the use of relics. Canon Law required the authentication of relics if they were to be publicly venerated . They had to be sealed in a reliquary and accompanied by

16660-408: The stone. By the late 1980s, several gargoyles and turrets had also fallen or become too loose to remain safely in place. A decade-long renovation programme began in 1991 and replaced much of the exterior, with care given to retain the authentic architectural elements of the cathedral, including rigorous inspection of new limestone blocks. A discreet system of electrical wires, not visible from below,

16800-426: The story of Theophilus in the tympanum , with a highly influential statue of the Virgin and Child in the trumeau . Master builders Pierre de Chelles , Jean Ravy  [ fr ] , Jean le Bouteiller, and Raymond du Temple  [ fr ] succeeded de Chelles and de Montreuil and then each other in the construction of the cathedral. Ravy completed de Chelles's rood screen and chevet chapels, then began

16940-528: The sun among stars. And although some speakers, by their own free judgment, because [they are] able to see only a few things easily, may say that some other is more beautiful, I believe, however, respectfully, that, if they attend more diligently to the whole and the parts, they will quickly retract this opinion. Where indeed, I ask, would they find two towers of such magnificence and perfection, so high, so large, so strong, clothed round about with such multiple varieties of ornaments? Where, I ask, would they find such

17080-455: The teaching of St. John Damascene that homage or respect is not really paid to an inanimate object, but to the holy person, the veneration of a holy person is itself honour paid to God. The Council decreed that every altar should contain a relic, making it clear that this was already the norm, as it remains to the present day in Catholic and Orthodox churches. The veneration of the relics of

17220-431: The time of his death in 1208. By this time, the western façade was already largely built, though it was not completed until around the mid-1240s. Between 1225 and 1250 the upper gallery of the nave was constructed, along with the two towers on the west façade. Another significant change came in the mid-13th century, when the transepts were remodelled in the latest Rayonnant style; in the late 1240s Jean de Chelles added

17360-557: The time the guard had climbed the 300 steps to the cathedral attic, the fire was well advanced. The alarm system was not designed to automatically notify the fire brigade, which was finally summoned at 18:51 after the guard had returned from the attic and reported a now-raging fire, and more than half an hour after the fire alarm had begun sounding. Firefighters arrived in less than ten minutes. The cathedral's flèche collapsed at 19:50, bringing down some 750 tonnes of stone and lead. The firefighters inside were ordered back down. By this time

17500-416: The top of the northern towers at Notre-Dame were melted down and recast into new bronze bells in 2013, to celebrate the building's 850th anniversary. They were designed to recreate the sound of the cathedral's original bells from the 17th century. Despite the 1990s renovation, the cathedral had continued to show signs of deterioration that prompted the national government to propose a new renovation program in

17640-659: The town of Libretha, whence the people of Dion had transferred the relics to their own keeping. According to the Chronicon Paschale , the bones of the Persian Zoroaster were venerated, but the tradition of Zoroastrianism and its scriptures offer no support of this. In Buddhism , relics of the Buddha and various sages are venerated. After the Buddha's death, his remains were divided into eight portions. Afterward, these relics were enshrined in stupas wherever Buddhism

17780-422: The uncertain memorials of saints should not be venerated." The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) of the Catholic Church condemned abuses such as counterfeit relics and exaggerated claims. Pieces of the True Cross were one of the most highly sought-after of such relics; many churches claimed to possess a piece of it, so many that John Calvin famously remarked that there were enough pieces of the True Cross to build

17920-505: The upheavals of the barbarian invasions relaxed the rules, as remains needed to be relocated to safer places. The veneration of relics continues to be of importance in the Eastern Orthodox Church . As a natural outgrowth of the concept in Orthodox theology of theosis , the physical bodies of the saints are considered to be transformed by divine grace —indeed, all Orthodox Christians are considered to be sanctified by living

18060-555: Was added in 1625 to provide nearby Parisians with running water. Since 1449, the Parisian goldsmith guild had made regular donations to the cathedral chapter. In 1630, the guild began donating a large altarpiece every year on the first of May. These works came to be known as the grands mays . The subject matter was restricted to episodes from the Acts of the Apostles . The prestigious commission

18200-519: Was also installed on the roof to deter pigeons. The cathedral's pipe organ was upgraded with a computerized system to control the mechanical connections to the pipes . The west face was cleaned and restored in time for millennium celebrations in December 1999. The Requiem Mass of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger , former archbishop of Paris and Jewish convert to Catholicism, was held in Notre-Dame on 10 August 2007. The set of four 19th-century bells at

18340-517: Was also supposed to protect Athens from enemy attack, and in Thebes , that of the prophet Amphiaraus , whose cult was oracular and healing. Plutarch narrates transferrals similar to that of Theseus for the bodies of the historical Demetrius I of Macedon and Phocion the Good . The bones or ashes of Aesculapius at Epidaurus , and of Perdiccas I at Macedon, were treated with the deepest veneration. As with

18480-469: Was an enormous success, raising awareness of the cathedral's decaying state. The same year as Hugo's novel was published, anti- Legitimists plundered Notre-Dame's sacristy . In 1844 King Louis Philippe ordered that the church be restored. The architect who had hitherto been in charge of Notre-Dame's maintenance, Étienne-Hippolyte Godde , was dismissed. In his stead, Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc , who had distinguished themselves with

18620-458: Was awarded to the most prominent painters and, after 1648, members of the Académie Royale . Seventy-six paintings had been donated by 1708, when the custom was discontinued for financial reasons. Those works were confiscated in 1793 and the majority were subsequently dispersed among regional museums in France. Those that remained in the cathedral were removed or relocated within the building by

18760-496: Was celebrated funerary and memorial services. It may have been thought that when the souls of the martyrs went to heaven on resurrection day they would be accompanied by those interred nearby, who would thus gain favour with God. Some early Christians attributed healing powers to the dust from graves of saints, including Gregory of Tours . The cult of Martin of Tours was very popular in Merovingian Gaul , and centered at

18900-527: Was damaged or destroyed. In the 19th century, the coronation of Napoleon and the funerals of many of the French Republic's presidents took place at the cathedral. The 1831 publication of Victor Hugo 's novel Notre-Dame de Paris (in English: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame ) inspired interest which led to restoration between 1844 and 1864, supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc . On 26 August 1944,

19040-407: Was enshrined and visited as an oracle . The 2nd-century geographer Pausanias reported that the bones of Orpheus were kept in a stone vase displayed on a pillar near Dion , his place of death and a major religious center. These too were regarded as having oracular power, which might be accessed through dreaming in a ritual of incubation . The accidental exposure of the bones brought a disaster upon

19180-415: Was keen." Local clergy promoted their own patron saints in an effort to secure their own market share. On occasion guards had to watch over mortally ill holy men and women to prevent the unauthorized dismemberment of their corpses as soon as they died. Geary also suggests that the danger of someone murdering an aging holy man in order to acquire his relics was a legitimate concern. Relics were used to cure

19320-507: Was rededicated in 1793 to the Cult of Reason , and then to the Cult of the Supreme Being in 1794. During this time, many of the treasures of the cathedral were either destroyed or plundered. The twenty-eight statues of biblical kings located at the west façade, mistaken for statues of French kings, were beheaded. Many of the heads were found during a 1977 excavation nearby, and are on display at

19460-471: Was spread. Some relics believed to be original remains of the body of the Buddha still survive, including the relic of the tooth of the Buddha in Sri Lanka. A stupa is a building created specifically for the relics. Many Buddhist temples have stupas and historically, the placement of relics in a stupa often became the initial structure around which the whole temple would be based. Today, many stupas also hold

19600-436: Was too dark. The medieval stained glass windows, except the rosettes, were removed and replaced with plain, white glass panes. Lastly, Jacques-Germain Soufflot was tasked with the modification of the portals at the front of the cathedral to allow processions to enter more easily. After the French Revolution in 1789, Notre-Dame and the rest of the church's property in France was seized and made public property. The cathedral

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