Rheims and the Battles for its Possession Part 7

Among the statues of the transept b.u.t.tresses that at the corner of the south-western tower, bestriding a lion, is thought by some to represent =Pepin-the-Short=, and another near him, =Charlemagne=.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE LATERAL FAcADE AND SOUTHERN TRANSEPT IN 1919]

The facade of the transept has no doorway. Above the lower storey, the architectural arrangement is the same as that of the northern transept.

At the base of the rose-window, on each side, are two very fine statues.

_On the left_, =The Christian Religion=, symbolised by a crowned woman with chalice and standard. This statue was destroyed by a German sh.e.l.l in 1918, after being damaged in April 1917.

_On the right_, =The Synagogue=, with eyes bandaged and a crown on one side, was not seriously damaged.

In consequence of the fire of 1481, the gable of South Transept was rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century by three master-masons, one of whom, Guichart Antoine, co-operated later with the building of =Notre Dame de l'Epine=. (_See the Michelin Guide: The Revigny Pa.s.s._) It was restored about 1888 in the original style. The subject sculptured on the pediment represents the =a.s.sumption of the Virgin=.

The =Sagittarius= which surmounted the gable was destroyed in 1914. It was a modern faithful copy of the old lead-covered wooden Sagittarius, which was carved, gilded and painted about 1503 by the Rheims sculptor, Jean Bourcamus. According to tradition, this Sagittarius, which appeared to be shooting its arrow at the bronze stag of the archi-episcopal palace, symbolised the rivalry between the Archbishop and the Chapter of the Cathedral.

[Ill.u.s.tration: GABLE OF THE SOUTHERN TRANSEPT IN 1914]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SOUTHERN LATERAL FAcADE IN 1914]

[Ill.u.s.tration: REVERSE SIDE OF THE CENTRAL DOOR IN 1914 _See complete view on p. 52._]

=THE INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL=

=The Inner Western Facade=

(_See description of the Exterior on pp. 34 to 41._)

This is a masterpiece. Its sculptural decoration is unique, and as rich as that of the outer facade.

In the tympanum of the central door a sixteen-leaved rose-window, the stained-gla.s.s of which was made shortly before the Revolution, is faced with three small trefoil rose-windows.

At the top of the dividing pillar St. Nicaise, headless, is between two angels and two armed men personifying the barbarians who killed him.

The entire door, as far as the triforium, is framed by seven rows of superimposed niches separated by panels of sculptured foliage. The bas.e.m.e.nts are covered with figured drapery, as on the outside. In each niche, under a trefoil arcade, is a statue. The subjects represented are, _from bottom to top_: _on the right_: =The Life of John the Baptist=; _on the left_: =The Fulfilment of the Prophecy= and =The Childhood of Christ=.

[Ill.u.s.tration: STATUES ON REVERSE SIDE OF DOORS AFTER FIRE, SEPT., 1914]

The first row on the right is known as "=The Knight's Communion="; a priest offers the Host to a knight wearing 13th century armour, and turns his back on another knight clothed in a leathern Carolingian tunic with iron scales, and armed with a small round buckler.

Above the door, a gallery with nine openings lights the triforium.

On the highest storey, the great rose-window occupies the whole breadth of the nave. It is the masterpiece of Bernard de Soissons (_see p. 40_).

In the form of a gigantic flower with twelve petals, each of the latter is sub-divided by quatrefoils and trefoil archings. Its harmonious gracefulness and seeming lightness, in spite of the great thickness of its border (about 7 ft.), and mullions (about 2 ft. 6 in.), are very striking.

The stained-gla.s.s, which, with the stonework, formed a harmonious whole, was restored in modern times. The subject represented was: =The Virgin surrounded by angels, kings and patriarchs=.

The fire of 1914 destroyed the stained-gla.s.s.

The side-doors have only a quatrefoil rose-window (_see pp. 25 and 34_), and their framework of niches consists only of four rows of two niches each. However, two lines of niches, in which are statues in demi-relief, form the contour of the arches which frame their top.

The subjects of the sculptures are allied, in the case of each door, to those of the outer decoration, _i.e._ "=The Life of St. Stephen=."

The wooden doors and their tambours were destroyed by the fire of September 19, 1914, which also disfigured or destroyed the statues framing them (_see photos above_).

[Ill.u.s.tration: INTERIOR OF THE NAVE IN 1919]

=The Great Nave=

The fire of September 19, 1914, destroyed the framework of the Nave and its 15th century lead roof. In the following years a number of sh.e.l.ls pierced the vaulting, without, however, damaging its vital parts. It will be possible to restore it.

It seems to be clearly established that although the first four bays were built later than the others, the nave as a whole, like that of the Cathedral of Amiens, was completely finished before 1300 A.D. Vaulted throughout on diagonal ribs, the nave, which is perfectly regular, has three stories: the lowest, formed of great arches, rests on ma.s.sive pillars; the triforium, formed of two, four, five, or six arcades, extends round the entire building; the high twin-bay windows are surmounted with a six-leaved rose-window.

The pillars, which have been likened to a row of antique columns, are composed of a great cylindrical shaft, reinforced by four smaller engaged columns, standing on an octagonal base. The pillars which follow the first bay of the nave and carry one of the corners of the towers, as also the four pillars of the transept square, are more ma.s.sive.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CAPITAL IN THE NAVE]

The capitals of the pillars and of the columns (_photo opposite_) are most beautifully decorated. The dominating subject of their decoration is natural foliage (vine, oak, thistle, ivy, ranunculus, fig-tree).

Occasionally, human or animal figures or monsters, and scenes from nature, _i.e._ the dainty =Vintage scene= on the capital of the sixth pillar on the right of the nave, are interspersed. The ornamentation of the capitals of six pillars of the first bays is more elaborate and more recent in style. These capitals are not, like those of the other pillars, divided on the four flanking columns into two equal courses by an astragal, neither do they include, like some of the others, crockets, acanthus leaves and other conventional ornaments of an older and less realistic style.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROOF OF THE NAVE IN 1914 _In the foreground on the right: Corner of the Southern Transept._]

The 13th and 14th century stained-gla.s.s of the high windows represents, on two superimposed lines, figures of kings of France and archbishops of Rheims. Some of the gla.s.s was broken, but the finest was saved.

In the third and fourth bays there was formerly a square =Labyrinth=, flanked at the corners by polygonal compartments. In the interior, a line of white tiles bordered with black stones ran from one side, and after complicated windings reached a central compartment. At the corners of the compartments were figures of the four first architects of the Cathedral: Jean d'Orbais, Jean le Loup, Gaucher of Rheims and Bernard of Soissons. The central figure is probably that of Archbishop Aubri de Humbert, who laid the first stone of the edifice. This Labyrinth, the drawings of which revealed the names of the builders of the Cathedral, was destroyed in 1778 by the Chapter, to prevent the children playing there.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ROOF OF THE NAVE IN 1919 _In the foreground, on the right: Corner of the Southern Transept._]

Between the Labyrinth and the Choir are about twenty 14th century tombstones.

The =great pulpit= set up against the fifth left-hand pillar was made, in the time of Louis XV., by a Rheims artist (Blondel). It comes from the old church of St. Pierre-le-Vieil.

In the sixth bay, just before the entrance to the choir, the spot where St. Nicaise was beheaded, on the threshold of his church, was formerly indicated by a small circular chapel known as _La Rouelle de St.

Nicaise_. The tiny building was replaced by a memorial inscription on the flagstone, supposed to have been stained with the blood of the martyr.

=The Aisles of the Naves=

The windows of the Aisles are similar to the lofty windows of the nave.

The walls were formerly hung with valuable tapestries, which were taken down and evacuated by the _Historical Monuments Department_ at the outbreak of the War. The two oldest, dating back to about 1440, and known as the tapestries of the _fort roi Clovis_, were presented by Cardinal Charles de Lorraine, and depict the history of Clovis. Those of the Renaissance, given in 1530 by Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt, who caused himself to be portrayed kneeling in the picture of the Birth of Christ, depict the _Life of the Virgin_. The most modern, presented in 1640 by Archbishop Henri de Lorraine and worked by the Fleming, Daniel Pepersack, represent Jesus at the _Marriage at Cana in Galilee_ and _Jesus among the Doctors_.

At the foot of the walls, three stone steps serve as seats.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TAPESTRIES IN THE SOUTHERN SIDE AISLE, BEFORE THE WAR]