A Divine Rivalry

A compare and contrast essay of Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame de Paris

A Divine Rivalry: A Compare/ Contrast of Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame de Paris

            Gothic cathedrals were purely investments of time, money and faith in the divine. Furthermore, they were extensions of their country’s wealth, power and prosperity, and often were targets of revolution and attempted destruction. The Westminster Abbey of London, Britain, and the Notre Dame de Paris within Paris, France are no exception to these claims. Westminster Abbey was the first church in Saxon England to be constructed in the Norman Style (Jenkyns, 11). Its construction began in 1040, at the hands of the English King Edward (later known as Edward the Confessor) (“Abbey History”). Furthermore, it was the most ambitious upbringing of a church in medieval England (Jenkyns, 11).  In nine hundred years, Westminster Abbey would be rebuilt, parts would be lost to time at the hands of mankind, and its purpose would be changed several times (“Abbey History”). Notre Dame de Paris was built in 1160 upon the remains of two Christian churches, which were predated by a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter (“Notre Dame De Paris”). Because Pope Alexander III laid the foundation stone, Notre Dame is considered a Catholic Church still to this day (“Notre Dame De Paris”). Furthermore, Notre Dame would suffer damage from time and man, and would almost fall into complete disrepair until the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, who commissioned Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugene Viollet-le-Duc to restore the great cathedral after the destruction of the French Revolution to what it is in modern times (Erlande-Brandenburg, 212).  But despite their similarities in stories of birth and survival, these cathedrals have differences that set them apart. Although similar in ideology, Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame de Paris are two different churches due to their architectural history, their theological place in the Christian faith, and their survival from destruction.

            Firstly, Westminster Abbey was founded by the English King Edward, who came to be known as Edward the Confessor (“Abbey History”). He refounded the Abbey in the eleventh century A.D from an earlier monastery with unclear origins (Jenkyns, 10).  Built upon Thorney Island on the banks of the Thames River, the abbey was dedicated to St. Peter and renamed Westminster Abbey to parallel the St. Paul’s Cathedral (called the East Minster) in London (“Westminster”). Westminster then was made of stone, with round arches and massive supporting columns (“Westminster”). Also, Westminster Abbey saw additions to its east end in the early thirteenth century by means of a Lady Chapel being constructed (Jenkyns, 12). However, in 1245 AD, under the rule of King Henry III, the Abbey was demolished and reconstructed in the Gothic Cathedral style (“Abbey History”).

This style, which consisted of masonic genius was popular in Europe, and would be used all over. The style evolved from Romanesque art and was stemmed in the attempts to support massive masonry ceilings (“Gothic Architecture”). Also, it utilized a vaulted ceiling of thin stone ribs to lessen the immense weight, and the flying buttress eliminated the need for thick walls (“Gothic Architecture”). However, Henry III would not see the church completed.  After Henry III died in 1272 AD, the church experienced a lapse in its reconstruction (Jenkyns, 12). Several kings would extend patronage to the Abbey. Richard II hired the famous Henry Yevele, who oversaw the reconstruction of Westminster, and who built the church’s nave arcade in the 1390’s (Jenkyns, 13). In the early 1600’s, the western towers of the Abbey begun to be constructed under the supervision of the Abbot Islip, who was the only abbot in Westminster to equip a chantry chapel within the church (Jenkyns, 55).

            It would be during the Reformation that Westminster would suffer another crack. Henry VII ordered the demolition of the Lady Chapel, and began construction of what is known as Henry VII’s Chapel in 1503. During the reign of Henry VIII, the abbey was dissolved of its Catholic status, and a Dean and Chapter to monitor the cathedral was established along with a school (Jenkyns, 56). The Abbey was also used as a coronation center and a tomb for the monarchs of England; over 3,000 people are buried in Westminster (“Abbey History”). During the 1740s, the Western Towers from the Medieval Period were completed by Nicholas Hawksmoore; the Victorian era was mostly restorative to previous monuments (Jenkyns, 13). However, little remains of Westminster’s original stained glass; most of the glass in the rose window in the north transept and the great west window date to the 1800s, but the rest of the stained glass came from the 1900s respectively (“Abbey History”).

            Notre Dame, on the other hand was constructed on different terms but within a similar scene of environment. Notre Dame de Paris was constructed upon the Ile de la Cite, an island in the middle of the Seine River in France (Erlande-Brandenburg, 13). Previously, this was the site of a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter, the supreme Roman god (“Notre Dame”). Under the guidance of Bishop Maurice de Sully, in 1160 AD, Notre Dame de Paris went from a smaller basilica to a grand cathedral (Erlande-Brandenberg, 39). In the 1250’s, another architect by the name of Jean De Chelles who was assigned to the northern and southern transept redesign would see to the northern transept’s completion, but would die in 1258 (Erlande-Brandenberg, 11).  In its birthyears, Notre Dame would see and receive four architects who would work upon the cathedral (Erlande-Brandenberg, 30). Furthermore, unlike Westminster, the Notre Dame cathedral is far more grandiose. The two western Gothic towers crown the western façade, consist of three stories, and the doors leading inside are adorned with Gothic-era figure carvings, and are surmounted by statues of Old Testament kings (“Notre Dame De Paris”).  The high altar within the church was consecrated in 1189, and other embellishments to the church were added throughout the next 100 years. Notre Dame also has an air of mystery in its past. Its clerestory would be remodeled for the sake of illumination with surgical precision by an architect in the 1220s who is still anonymous to us, and perhaps always will be (Erlande-Brandenberg, 154).

            Sadly, Notre Dame de Paris would fall into disrepair throughout the centuries. Between the sixteenth century and the French Revolution, the cathedral was poorly maintained (Erlande-Brandenberg, 211). Art from the cathedral was stolen, and any attempts to restore it were postponed due to fiscal difficulties (Erlande-Brandenberg, 211). During the French Revolution, icons and monarchal imagery were removed, and many of the sculptures and moldings were damaged, went missing or were destroyed (Erlande-Brandenberg, 211). Post-Revolution, however, it saw salvation from destruction through Napoleon Bonaparte, who sent the architect Eugene Violett-le-Duc to restore the cathedral to its glory (“Notre Dame De Paris”). Unlike Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame retains one of its greatest treasures since the Medieval period. It contains some of its original stained glass. Most of this original glass can be seen in the western rose window. Although it had to be glazed several times before being completely restored, the subtle hints of the remaining stained glass remain (Erlande-Brandenberg, 101). Had they not been restored and cherished, these churches would have been lost forever.

            To continue, Westminster was once a Catholic church. Consecrated on December 28, 1065 under the rule of Edward the Confessor, the Abbey started off under the authority of the pope (“Abbey History”).  This would continue until the Reformation, when under Henry Tudor VIII, the abbey was dissolved and turned into a school (Jenkyns, 56). During the Counter Reformation, when Catholicism was returned specifically to England under the rule of Mary I, she reinstated the Abbey as a monastery (Jenkyns, 56) The abbey experienced another shift again after her death, when Elizabeth I reinstated her father’s decrees of a Dean and Chapter and turned it back into a school; the Westminster School regards her as their founder (Jenkyns, 56).

            This was only the beginning for Westminster. Elizabeth also refunded the chapel with a charter dated May 21, 1560 when she converted it to a Collegiate Church, which meant that a Royal Peculiar exempt from the jurisdiction of bishops was head of the church (“Abbey History”). Furthermore, instead of laymen and a monastic community, there was a collegiate body of a dean and prebendaries, minor canons and lay staff who were charged of the upkeep and continuation of the tradition of worship (“Abbey History”). In addition to being a church, Westminster Abbey is also the resting place of seventy monarchs, and thousands of bishops and clergy of the past (“Abbey History”). It was considered a high honor to be buried in the Abbey, and this still stands true to this day (“Abbey History”).

            On the other hand, Notre Dame de Paris was, and always will be under the authority of the pope. Consecrated in 1189, the cathedral was and is the seat for the Archbishop of Paris (Erlande-Brandeberg, 7). It was in this cathedral that Joan of Arc was beatified for sainthood in 1909 (“Notre Dame De Paris”). Notre Dame, therefore was a symbol of hope. Furthermore, Notre Dame saw marriages and coronations of all types. For example, Notre Dame saw the coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte, and his marriage to his first wife Josephine (“Sacred Destinations”).  This church, along with many others, became established after the Edict of Milan in 313 AD, which made Christianity more acceptable in Roman society (Erlande-Brandenberg, 13). What started as a small basilica became the cathedral we know today, and would further evolve into a symbol of faith and hope. Both Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame de Paris make this statement to be true.

            Finally, Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame de Paris would almost be destroyed by mankind. Westminster Abbey, for example suffered greatly through World War II (“Abbey History”). Artifacts had to be removed in case the Nazis managed to successfully invade Britain and Henry VII’s tomb was also removed for its own safety. The worst of this would come on May 10 or 11, 1941 when an air strike bombarded the abbey with incendiaries, causing 40-foot-high flames to rush across Westminster’s roof (“Abbey History”) The Deanery and the Cheyneygates were gutted by the flames, but luckily, nothing else was destroyed in the fire and the church was spared (“Abbey History”). In celebration of the fact the church was not destroyed and the tides of war easing into the Allie’s favor, several ceremonies were held in Westminster:  Victory in Europe Day and Victory over Japan Day (“Abbey History”).  Furthermore, Woodrow Wilson, in honor of his valiance, has a stone sarcophagus within the abbey under a canopy (Jenkyns, 160). After nine hundred years of renovation, and work, Westminster Abbey celebrated this with a spectacular mass and an adoption of its theme ‘One People’ in 1965-66 (“Abbey History”).

            Notre Dame also suffered by men and fire, but the church’s dark days were older than Westminster Abbey’s.  Notre Dame de Paris was falling into disrepair as far as the sixteenth and seventeenth century (“Notre Dame De Paris”).  Furthermore, in 1841 the cathedral’s architect Etienne Hoppolyte Godde was deemed unacceptable for the job due to public opinion (Erlande-Brandenberg, 212). It was Jean Baptiste Lassus and Eugene Violette-le-Duc who would restore this ailing church to its former glory (Erlande-Brandenberg, 212). Sadly, this church was almost set aflame during the failed Paris Commune in 1871; although there was substantial evidence of chairs being piled onto the center of the cathedral, it was very fortunate that Notre Dame didn’t go fully ablaze (“Sacred Destinations”). It would feel another test during World War II, when the stained glass was removed due to the possibility of Nazi theft (“Notre Dame De Paris”). However, in Notre Dame’s darkest hour, there was a strong glimmer of hope that was celebrated in the Te Deum Mass on August 26, 1944 in celebration of the liberation of Paris from the Germans (“Sacred Destinations”).  Finally, into the twenty-first century, Notre Dame went through an intense renewal, and yet again the church shone in majesty (“Sacred Destinations”).

            Although similar in ideology, Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame de Paris are two different churches due to their architectural history, their theological place in the Christian faith, and their survival from destruction. Westminster Abbey was the first of its kind in Britain with an inconclusive beginning, while Notre Dame was one of many cathedrals established in France in celebration of the liberation of Christianity from Roman oppression. Westminster also went through several changes in religious value, in contrast to Notre Dame which was steadfast in its roots of Catholicism. Finally, they both suffered in similar ways of mankind’s attempts to eradicate them, and these two remarkable cathedrals stand ever true in their regions of Europe. In conclusion, Westminster Abbey and Notre Dame de Paris will continue to withstand the test of humanity, and will continue to provide a safe place for the faithful until time claims them for its own in the end.

 

Works Cited

"Abbey History." WestminsterAbbey.org. The Dean and Chapter of Westminster, 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

Erlande-Brandenburg, Alain. Notre Dame De Paris. New York: Ha, 1998. Print.

"Gothic Architecture (c.1120-1500)." Gothic Architecture: Characteristics, History. Encyclopedia of Arts History, 2016. Web. 23 Nov. 2016.

Jenkyns, Richard. Westminster Abbey. London: Profile, 2004. Print.

"Notre-Dame De Paris." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 2016. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.

"Sacred Destinations." Notre Dame Cathedral - Paris, France. Sacred Destinations, 2016. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.

Author's Note

This was written in MLA format. Hence, the sources are parenthesized in the body of the text! Sources are also within text at the end of this essay!

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[pragya gaur]

Perfect one well done...welcome to writers cafe