Amiens Cathedral

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Our Lady of Amiens
Notre-Dame d'Amiens

Western front of Notre Dame d'Amiens

Basic information

Location

Amiens, France

Geographic
coordinates

495342N 21808ECoordinates:
495342N 21808E

Affiliation

Catholic (Roman Rite)

Region

Picardy

Province

Archdiocese of Reims

District

Diocese of Amiens

Ecclesiastical or

Cathedral

organizational
status
Status

Active

Heritage

1862, 1981

designation
Leadership

Bishop Jean-Luc Bouilleret[1]

Website

catholique-amiens.cef.fr
Architectural description

Architect(s)

Robert of Luzarches, Thomas and

Regnault de Cormont[2]

Architectural

Church

type
Architectural

French Gothic

style
Direction of

NW

faade
Groundbreaking 1220
Completed

c. 1270
Specifications

Length

145 m (476 ft)

Width

70 m (230 ft)

Width (nave)

14.60 m (47.9 ft)[3]

Height (max)

42.30 m (138.8 ft)

Spire(s)

Spire height

112.70 m (369.8 ft)[3]

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Official name: Amiens Cathedral
Type:

Cultural

Criteria:

i, ii

Designated:

1981[4]

Reference No.

162
France

State Party:
Region:

Europe and North America

Session:

5th
Monument historique
Official name: Cathdrale Notre-Dame

Designated:

1862

Reference No.

PA00116046[2]

Denomination:

glise

The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens (French: Basilique Cathdrale Notre-Dame
d'Amiens), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of
Amiens (currently Jean-Luc Bouilleret). It is situated on a slight ridge overlooking the River
Somme in Amiens, the administrative capital of the Picardy region of France, some 120 kilometres
(75 miles) north of Paris. It is the 19th largest church in the world.
Medieval cathedral builders were trying to maximize the internal dimensions in order to reach for the
heavens and bring in more light. In that regard, the Amiens cathedral is the tallest complete
cathedral in France, its stone-vaulted nave reaching an internal height of 42.30 metres (138.8 ft)
(surpassed only by the incomplete Beauvais Cathedral). It also has the greatest interior volume of
any French cathedral, estimated at 200,000 cubic metres (260,000 cu yd). The cathedral was built
between 1220 and c.1270 and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since
1981.[5] Although it has lost most of its original stained glass, Amiens Cathedral is renowned for the
quality and quantity of early 13th-century Gothic sculpture in the main west faade and the
south transept portal, and a large quantity of polychrome sculpture from later periods inside the
building.
Contents
[hide]

1 Construction
o 1.1 Structural defects
2 The exterior

o 2.1 The faade in colour

3 The interior
o 3.1 John the Baptist's head
o 3.2 Renaissance polychrome sculpture
o 3.3 The pulpit
4 In popular culture
5 References and sources
6 Further reading
7 External links

Construction[edit]

Floor plan of Amiens Cathedral

The lack of documentation concerning the construction of the Gothic cathedral may be in part the
result of fires that destroyed the chapter archives in 1218 and again in 1258a fire that damaged
the cathedral itself. Bishop Evrard de Fouilly initiated work on the cathedral in 1220. Robert de
Luzarches was the architect until 1228, and was followed by Thomas de Cormont until 1258. His
son, Renaud de Cormont, acted as the architect until 1288. The chronicle of Corbie gives a
completion date for the cathedral of 1266. Finishing works continued, however. Its floors are covered
with a number of designs, such as the bent cross (to symbolize Jesus' triumph over death).
The labyrinth was installed in 1288. The cathedral contains the alleged head of John the Baptist, a
relic brought from Constantinople by Wallon de Sarton as he was returning from the Fourth Crusade.
The construction of the cathedral at this period can be seen as resulting from a coming together of
necessity and opportunity. The destruction of earlier buildings and attempts at rebuilding by fire
forced the fairly rapid construction of a building that, consequently, has a good deal of artistic unity.
The long and relatively peaceful reign of Louis IX of France brought a prosperity to the region, based

on thriving agriculture and a booming cloth trade, that made the investment possible. The great
cathedrals of Reims and Chartres are roughly contemporary.

Structural defects[edit]
The original design of the flying buttresses around the choir had them placed too high to counteract
the force of the ceiling arch pushing outwards resulting in excessive lateral forces being placed on
the vertical columns. The structure was only saved when, centuries later, masons placed a second
row of more robust flying buttresses that connected lower down on the outer wall. This fix failed to
counteract similar issues with the lower wall which began to develop large cracks around the late
Middle Ages. This was solved by another patch that consisted of a wrought iron bar chain being
installed around the mezzanine level to resist the forces pushing the stone columns outward. The
chain was installed red hot to act as a cinch, tightening as it cooled.[6]

The exterior[edit]
The west front of the cathedral, built in a single campaign from 1220 to 1236, shows an unusual
degree of artistic unity: its lower tier with three vast deep porches is capped with the gallery of
twenty-two over lifesize kings, which stretches across the entire faade beneath therose window.
Above the rose window there is an open arcade, the galerie des sonneurs. Flanking the nave, the
two towers were built without close regard to the former design, the south tower being finished in
1366, the north one, reaching higher, in 1406.
The western portals of the cathedral are famous for their elaborate sculpture, featuring a gallery of
locally-important saints and largeeschatological scenes. Statues of saints in the portal of the
cathedral have been identified as including the locally venerated Saints Victoricus and
Gentian, Saint Domitius, Saint Ulphia, and Saint Fermin.[7]
The spire over the central crossing was added between 1529 and 1533.[3]

The faade in colour[edit]

During the process of laser cleaning in the 1990s, it was discovered that the western faade of the
cathedral was originally painted in multiple colours. A technique was perfected to determine the
exact make-up of the colours as they were applied in the 13th century. Then, in conjunction with the
laboratories of EDF and the expertise of the Society Skertzo, elaborate lighting techniques were
developed to project these colours directly on the faade with precision, recreating the polychromatic
appearance of the 13th century. When projected on the statues around the portals, the result is a
stunning display that brings the figures to life. The projected colors are faint to photograph, but a
good quality DSLR camera providse excellent results, as shown below.
The full effect of the colour may be best appreciated by direct viewing, with musical accompaniment,
which can be done at the Son et lumire shows which are held on Summer evenings, during the
Christmas Fair, and over the New Year.[8][9]

Cathedral exterior gallery

Transept and north stained glass

Choir and its altar, under the East window

Gargoyle and sculptural details

View from the north, withflying buttresses andfleche (central spire).

Tympanum of central west portal: Christ in Majesty presiding over the Day of Judgementwhile being
supported by an array of saints

Illumination of the original colours of the faade

Local saints including the decapitated martyrs,Victoricus and Gentian, at the western entrance

The western entrance illuminated with the sculptural group on the left which includes the decapitated
saints,Victoricus, Fuscian, and Gentian

Relief at lower level of the western entrance with a hedgehog as alluded to in Zephaniah2:13-14

Cathedral of Ntre Dame, Amiens in 1852

Cathedral, Amiens. Facade, 1903.

Cathedral, Amiens. The choir exterior, 1903.

Cathedral, Amiens. Lower part of faade to Gallery of Kings inclusive, 1903.

The interior[edit]
Amiens cathedral contains the largest medieval interior in Western Europe, supported by 126 pillars.
Both the nave and the chancel are vast but extremely light, with considerable amounts of stained
glass surviving, despite the depredations of war.

The north aisle, 1903

The ambulatory surrounding the choir is richly decorated with polychrome sculpture and flanked by
numerous chapels. One of the most sumptuous is the Drapers' chapel. The cloth industry was the
most dynamic component of the medieval economy, especially in northern France, and the cloth
merchants were keen to display their wealth and civic pride. Another striking chapel is dedicated
to St Thomas of Canterbury, a 13th-century dedication that complements the cathedral's own very
full list of martyrs.

The interior contains works of art and decoration from every period since the building of the
cathedral. There are notably baroque paintings of the 17th century, by artists such as Frans II
Francken and Laurent de La Hyre.

Cathedral interior gallery

Nave of Notre-Dame d'Amiens looking toward the western faade

South aisle looking westward

Close-up of a stained glass window

Chapel of the Virgin Mary

Nave of Notre-Dame d'Amiens

Nave vaults of Notre-Dame d'Amiens

Chapel of Notre-Dame de Puy (1627-1628)

Gisant of Evrard de Fouilloy, bishop of Amiens (1211-1222)

Rose of the northern transept

Renaissance choir stalls (1508-1519)

Right side of nave from organ gallery. Plumb-line from stick from gallery right near transept. Showing
vertical curves and widening, 1906.

Nave from above altar, looking back toward organ gallery and entrance

Left (north) view of transept from Triforium, showing the outward lean of the wall and of the pier in the
angle, 1903.

The famous Weeping Angel, a 17th-century sculpture on a tomb in the ambulatory, directly behind the
high altar

John the Baptist's head[edit]

Reliquary for the head of Saint John the Baptist

The initial impetus for the building of the cathedral came from the installation of the reputed head
of John the Baptist on 17 December 1206. The head was part of the loot of the Fourth Crusade,
which had been diverted from campaigning against the Turks to sacking the great Christian city
of Constantinople. A sumptuous reliquary was made to house the skull. Although later lost, a 19thcentury replica still provides a focus for prayer and meditation in the North aisle.

Renaissance polychrome sculpture[edit]

Some of the most important works of art are sequences of polychrome sculpture, dating mainly from
the late 15th and the 16th centuries. A large sequence in the North transept illustrates Jesus'
Cleansing of the Temple, with imaginative tableaux of the Temple. Both sides of the ambulatory are
lined with sequences illustrating the lives of the two saints whose cults brought large numbers of
pilgrims to the cathedral: John the Baptist and St Firmin, the first bishop of Amiens. The artists took
care to create a parallelism in the telling of the stories: both saints, decapitated for offending the rich
and powerful, suffer neglect and loss, until a later generation discovers their relics and houses them
fittingly.

The pulpit[edit]
The baroque pulpit, constructed of marble and gilded wood, dominates the nave of the cathedral. It
is supported by three allegorical female figures, apparently representing Faith, Hope and Charity, the
three Theological Virtues.

Sculpture gallery

John's impending birth as announced to his priestly father,Zachariah, who is struck dumb

Visitation of the Virgin Mary to John's mother, St. Elizabeth, who feels John the Baptist stirring within her
womb

John being named by his father Zachariah who being struck dumb is forced to communicate in writing

John the Baptist preachingrepentance in the desert

John baptising in theRiver Jordan

John being asked if he is the expectedMessiah

John proclaimingJesus as the Lamb of God

John being arrested, brought before Herod Antipas, and subsequently imprisoned

Salome demanding the head of John upon the instigation of Herodias

John being beheaded

John's head being presented at the court of Herod Antipas

The body of John being buried atSebaste

Prayer andsupplication being offered at the tomb of John the Baptist

John's body beingexhumed and burnt

John's ashes being scattered

John's head being received at Amiens in 1206 having been brought fromConstantinople by Wallon de
Sarton

The baroque pulpit

Allegorical figure supporting the pulpit

Allegorical figure supporting the pulpit

Allegorical figure supporting the pulpit

St. Christopher right of main faade. high relief

In popular culture[edit]

In the book Mr Standfast, John Buchan has his character Richard Hannay describe the
cathedral as being "the noblest church that the hand of man ever built only for God."[10]
The cathedral was featured in the video game Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, as a
stronghold for the Ancient aligned with the main antagonist, Pious Augustus. In the game it first
appeared as a chapel in the final year of Charlemagne's reign; it later appeared during the
height of the Spanish Inquisition. Lastly, it was used as a hospital for injured soldiers during
the Battle of Somme during World War One.
The cathedral was featured in an episode of the PBS science show NOVA as an example of
design flaws that now threaten the structural integrity of Gothic cathedrals.[6] In this case
improperly installed flying buttresses have resulted in the main supports bowing outwards over
time. Measurements indicate that the structure's walls were built to a height of 144 units,
echoing a statement in the book of Revelation that the walls of heaven's mansions would be 144
cubits high.
The 1979 album Winter Songs by Art Bears comprises fourteen short songs composed by Fred
Frith around texts by Chris Cutler that were based on carvings on the dado of the Cathedral's
west faade.