Meaux Cathedral
The Cathedral of Meaux or Cathédrale Saint-Étienne ( German Stefanskathedrale ) is a Roman Catholic church in Meaux in the French department of Seine-et-Marne in the Île-de-France region . The cathedral of the diocese of Meaux, with the title of a minor basilica, is dedicated to St. Stephen consecrated. The Gothic structure was built between the 12th and 16th centuries. The long construction period of almost four centuries is partly explained by the Hundred Years War and the occupation of the city by the English.
history
Construction of the Gothic cathedral began with the choir between 1175 and 1180. After 1198, the widow of the Count of Champagne Henry I was buried in the cathedral. Before 1200, the ambulatory , three chapels of the chapel wreath , the double aisles next to the choir with their roofs were under construction.
From 1215 to 1220, the construction of the transept's crossing began, as well as the upper floors of the choir, the triforium and the high windows. In addition, the choir was built over with Gothic arches. This is evidenced by a drawing by Villard de Honnecourt from around 1220, which shows this original choir with three outgoing chapels. A new architect built the transept and the last two bays of the nave from 1220 to 1235, and as early as 1235 the chapel was laid on the right aisle of the nave at the level of the last bay.
Almost 50 years after the choir was built, it was necessary to rebuild it, as the weak foundations under the original choir continued to sit. The current choir in the high Gothic style was built between 1253 and 1278 by Gautier de Vainfroy, who had previously worked on the construction site of the cathedral of Évreux . To solve the problem of the stability of the choir, Gautier Varinfroy used a solution that was already static for the cathedral in Rouen .
A new construction campaign began in 1266 and was financed by Joan I , the last heiress of the Champagne district and future wife of Philip IV. The facades of the two transverse struts of the transept were then modified to bring them up to date. Work on the facade of the south transept was continued by an unknown architect.
Pierre de Varinfroy, a descendant of Gautier, was inspired by the facade of the northern arm of Notre-Dame de Paris . For this he used the sculptures from the early 13th century, which were reassembled on the new portal. In 1317 King Philip V donated two chapels to expand the chapel wreath, and in 1322 Charles IV also took part in the construction. Around 1331–1335, Jean Rose from Meaux financed the last side chapel to the right of the nave.
In 1335 King Philip VI approved . the extension of the nave by three bays, the last to the west of the building. From then on, work was resumed, but only affected the right half of the first three bays and the right and the central door of the west facade. In 1336 the tympana of these two portals were carved, but in 1358 the work was stopped after a peasant revolt. Shortly afterwards the Hundred Years War began and, like almost everywhere in France, construction work ceased.
They were resumed in 1390 with the construction of the left part of the first three bays, which lasted until 1410. Then France's military situation deteriorated during the reign of Charles VI. seriously and the work was interrupted again after the occupation of the city by the English (1422-1439).
The first three bays of the nave were not completed until the second half of the 15th century. Further work followed: the fourth and fifth yoke of the nave were rebuilt in the flamboyant style at the end of the 15th century . The left portal was completed before 1506. The same applies to the first left chapel of the nave. With the completion of the right tower in a long construction phase from 1505 to 1540, the construction of the cathedral was completed, the second tower of the facade was no longer completed.
In 1562 the cathedral was plundered and damaged by the Huguenots . At the beginning of the 19th century, several events weakened the building. On August 29, 1808, lightning struck the cathedral and destroyed part of Gaspard and André Eustache's organ, the entrance door and a tower. On March 28, 1814, there was an explosion in a nearby powder magazine. A long restoration took place from 1839 to 1894. To standardize the style, the restorers made adjustments to the third, previously flamboyant yoke.
The cathedral is part of the first list of historic monuments by Prosper Mérimée from 1840. Monuments by Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), Bishop of Meaux from 1681 to 1704, and by Ernest Henri Dubois (1863–1930), were listed in the 1911 Cathedral erected.
Pope Pius X also awarded the cathedral the title of minor basilica in 1912 .
architecture
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The cathedral of Meaux is not particularly big, it is only 85 meters long (about 130 meters in Paris and 145 meters in Amiens ). The short nave has only five bays, the first two of which form part of the western facade block as the foredeck. This means that the nave is shorter than the choir with its ambulatory and chapel wreath in the five-sided apse . In between there is a very short transept with the crossing. The ridge height of the basilica is 48 meters, the vaulted height of the choir is 33 meters high, that of the side aisles is only 16 meters. The interior of the cathedral is distinguished by its luminosity and the delicacy of the carved ornaments. The Varreddes stone used in the construction of the building required significant restoration.
The large west facade has three monumental portals. As in many other Romanesque or Gothic cathedrals, the central portal is dedicated to the Last Judgment . Its tympanum represents the resurrection of the dead and the image of paradise and hell. The tympanum of the left portal is dedicated to the life of St. Dedicated to John the Baptist , the right one to the life of the Virgin Mary .
Only the 60 meter high north tower of the cathedral (opposite 69 meters for Notre-Dame de Paris) has been completed; the southern one was made of wood to hold the bells temporarily. After all, it was not dismantled and is known as the Black Tower. In the middle of the facade there is a large flamboyant rose window from the second half of the 15th century.
On the south side, at the end of the transept, is the Saint-Etienne portal, also known as the Merciers gate. Its tympanum depicts the life of the first Christian martyr. In the north, the second portal of the transept is dedicated to St. Stephen.
Furnishing
The rear of the transept facades, especially in the south cross, is particularly remarkable and beautiful. They are richly decorated and contain real fabrics or stone embroidery. They are partly inspired by Notre-Dame de Paris, but the style is more selected here and the ornamentation is richer.
In the choir of the cathedral, which is surrounded by wrought-iron gates, lies the black marble tombstone of Jacques Bénigne Bossuet, the most important figure in the history of the city, who is also remembered by two statues. Another funerary monument in a southern chapel commemorates Jean Rose and his wife. He died in 1364 and founded a hospital for orphans.
The organ goes back to an instrument that was built in the 17th century. The case dates from 1627 and was created by the artist Valéran de Héman (1584–1640). The instrument has been changed and reorganized several times over the years, including by the organ builders Francois-Henri Clocquot and Victor Gonzales, and most recently by the organ builder Danion-Gonzales. Today the instrument has 67 stops on five manual works and a pedal.
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literature
- Amédée Aufauvre, Charles Fichot: Les monuments de Seine-et-Marne: description historique et archéologique et reproduction des édifices religieux, militaires et civils du département - Cathédrale de Meaux, Paris, 1858, pp. 165–171
- Notice historique et descriptive sur la cathédrale de Meaux , A. Dubois, Imprimeur de l'Évéché, Meaux, 1839
- Dictionnaire des églises de France, Belgique, Luxembourg, Suisse (Tome IV-D), Robert Laffont, Paris, pp. 104-106.
- Yves Esquieu: Quartier cathédral , Rempart / Desclée de Brouwer, Paris, ISBN 2-904365-23-0 , 1994.
- Peter Kurmann: La cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Meaux , Droz, Genève
- Stephan Albrecht: Le portail Saint-Étienne de la cathédrale de Meaux et son prototype parisien: un copier-coller , dans Bulletin monumental , 2017, number 175-1, pp. 3–20, ISBN 978-2-901837-66-4
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry no. PA00087087 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ Basilique-Cathédrale Saint-Étienne on gcatholic.org (English)
- ↑ Floor plan of the cathedral of Meaux .
- ↑ To the organ
- ↑ Comprehensive information on the organ
Coordinates: 48 ° 57 ′ 36 " N , 2 ° 52 ′ 44" E