Notre-Dame of Paris and the Anticipation of Gothic

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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Notes on contributors

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]].