Abstract
This essay seeks to animate the debate over the original form of the twelfth-century cathedral of Notre-Dame of Paris. The problem is first located within a historiographic framework, and then the four existing interpretations are elucidated. A limited archaeological exercise allows certain clear conclusions to be reached, notably, that the twelfth-century Parisian cathedral probably already incorporated long-reach flying buttresses much like the present units. Thus, Notre-Dame of Paris regains its place as a masterpiece of engineering ingenuity achieved as Paris became the capital city and France began to assume the geographical shape that we know today.
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Stephen Murray
Stephen Murray is chairman of the Department of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University. In his books and articles on Troyes, Beauvais, Amiens, and Notre-Dame of Paris he has explored the economic, political, artistic, and spiritual life of the Gothic cathedral [Columbia University, Department of Art History and Archaeology, New York, N.Y. 10027, [email protected]].