Composition of the novel by Hugo Notre Dame Cathedral. Roman V. Hugo "Notre Dame Cathedral"

The writing

The largest work of Victor Hugo, relating to this period of his activity, is the Notre Dame Cathedral.

It is often written that the people in this novel by Hugo are a tambourine, not even a people, but declassed elements of medieval society, a force that is only destructive. In asserting this, they usually forget about the most important feature of the characterization of the people in the "Notre Dame Cathedral" - that it is bred as a formidable force, possessing at the same time a great sense of justice, humanity, nobility, which neither Phoebus de Chateaupert nor the priest Frollo, and even more so with Louis XI, who furiously throws his shooters, knights, gendarmes to suppress the rising "Court of Miracles". It cannot be said that the era of Louis XI - the creator of the unified French monarchy - is reflected in this novel with sufficient completeness. But that Hugo has correctly shown many of the inhuman means by which the unified French monarchy was accomplished is beyond doubt.

The period from the mid 20's to the mid 30's. can be considered the first - a significant period of Hugo's creative development, during which deeply original works of art have already been created, which rightfully attracted the attention of all of Europe to Hugo.

Especially difficult in the development of Hugo's work were the next years - from the mid-30s. before the revolution of 1848. This period is sometimes considered to be the period of Hugo's crisis, which is proved by reference to the absence of significant new works that would be equal in strength to the previous ones or would indicate some kind of shift in the writer, a transition to new topics. Indeed, many weak works were written during these years, among which the drama Burggraf, deservedly sharply evaluated by Belinsky in a special review dedicated to the production of this drama in one of the St. Petersburg theaters, is especially indicative. Numerous samples of Hugo's poetic work during these years are also of no particular interest and are far from those high achievements of Hugo the poet, which are yet to come.

But one of the facts indicating that the development of the writer did not stop, that in him a critical attitude to the rule of the bourgeoisie is slowly but surely strengthening, not to its monarchical form, but to its essence, there was a growing protest against oppression and exploitation, against the power of the Chistogan , - one of these facts is the work on the first version of the novel "Les Misérables".

This first version differs significantly from the novel "Les Misérables", written in the 60s. and enjoying such well-deserved success with the reader. But even in it there is a criticism of the bourgeois system, a sharp opposition between the position of the propertied classes and the oppressed, exploited masses of the people, a direct reflection of the contradictions between labor and capital, towards the clarification of which Hugo moved. Since it is natural to consider the writer's work not as a kind of heap of materials, but as a process in which certain trends develop, we have the right to consider that the work on the first version of Les Misérables is the most valuable moment of this second period of Hugo's development, preparing the art of Hugo the novelist. -s.

It is important to resolve the issue of the beginning of the third stage in the artist's work. Should we date it to 1851, the year of Hugo's exile, the year of the beginning of his struggle against the Second Empire, or, having studied his activities during the years of the republic, fix the transition to this stage already in the context of the events of 1848?

Although Hugo was inclined to idealize the Second Republic, but long before the December events, he entered into a struggle with bourgeois reaction, which carried out. a systematic attack on the general democratic freedoms won in 1848. Herzen, in his Past and Thoughts, was the first to notice the beginning of the growth of his democratic sentiments, falling precisely on the years of the Second Republic, when Hugo was studying the position of the masses of France more deeply and, with increasing passion, was striving to resist the pressure of reaction - this time the reaction of the bourgeois,. grown after the massacre of the workers into an impudent and aggressive political force. Hugo's transition to the position of active democratic activity, aimed at protecting the interests of the broad masses of France, including the interests of the working class, at least within the framework of a bourgeois republic, is planned precisely in these years.

During these years, Hugo's struggle for peace also began: in 1849 he protested against the war, convincing the peoples of Europe of the possibility of a successful outcome of the struggle against militarism. Hugo arrived at the events of December with some experience in the political struggle against bourgeois reaction, with some hardening which he had received in the events of 1850; it is especially important to emphasize the fact that 1849-1850. in the life of Hugo were the period when his direct, wide communication with the masses of the people began.

Only this can explain Hugo's courageous behavior during the days of the coup and after it: the writer had already embarked on the path of active opposition to Bonapartism and went further and further, undoubtedly feeling behind him the support and love of those masses of the people of France who appreciated but the dignity of his attitude towards the coup On December 2, “Hugo stood up to his full height under the bullets,” Herzen wrote about this. Therefore, the beginning of the third stage of Hugo's creative development is appropriately attributed to 1849 - 1850, and not to the years that followed the December coup.

In his speeches in 1849 - 1850. on the eve of the coup against the bourgeois reaction, Hugo was already reflecting the democratic protest against the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, which was growing in the broad masses of the people of France and, above all, in the ranks of the working class.

Other writings on this work

Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame de Paris) is a beautiful, world-famous Catholic church located in the heart of Paris. Notre Dame de Paris is one of the most recognizable symbols of the French capital.

The cathedral is located in the east of the island of Cite. The cathedral is striking in its duality: on the one hand, the powerful energy of the Romanesque style is clearly expressed, and on the other hand, new trends of that time are used - the Gothic style, which gives the cathedral acute-angled elongated shapes, emphasizing the simplicity and elegance of the design.

Characteristics.

Notre Dame Cathedral impresses with its size and grandeur. So, the length of the structure is 130 meters, the height of the temple reaches 35 meters, and the width of the building is 48 meters. At the same time, the dimensions of one of the bells are striking - the weight of the Emmanuel bell, located in the south tower, is as much as 13 tons, and the weight of only one tongue of this bell is 0.5 tons.

The buildings are powerful and majestic. It is divided vertically by pilasters into three parts, and horizontally into three tiers of galleries. In the lowest tier of the temple there are three deep portals:

• on the left - the portal of the Virgin;
• in the center - the portal of the Last Judgment;
• on the right is Anna's portal.

Wall paintings are not used in the interior design of the cathedral. Almost the only colored decoration of the cathedral are the stained-glass windows, striking in their beauty and splendor. They cast multi-colored reflections from the sunlight, and filled the cathedral with fantastic, divinely beautiful lighting.

Divine services are held in the cathedral, for which the entire population of the city gathers. Solemn ceremonies are held in it, mysteries are played out - the forerunners of theatrical spectacles. trade agreements are concluded and even lectures are given to students. The Estates General, the first French parliament, sat in the Paris Cathedral.

In 1163, on the Ile de la Cité in the historic center of Paris, King Louis IX laid the foundation for a new cathedral in the French capital - Notre Dame de Paris - Notre Dame Cathedral. Its construction continued in several stages, from 1163 to 1345;

• 1182 - the eastern part of the cathedral was built.
• 1200 - the western part of the cathedral.
• XIII century - for almost half a century, the design of the western facade of the cathedral and the creation of its sculptural compositions went on.

Thus, the construction of the cathedral continued until the XIV century. Mighty towers rise majestically above the square - low befrois, decorated with a spire. Below is the upper tier of the cathedral made of transparent lace decorative arcade, even lower - the middle tier with a huge round window - "rose".

Cathedral stained glass.

The stained-glass window "Northern Rose" was glazed in 1255, and its diameter reaches about 13 meters. This magnificent huge stained-glass window struck with its beauty and perfectly matched color scheme. In the center of the stained glass window is the image of the Mother of God with the Child, surrounded by eight petals. The outer side of the stained-glass window "Northern Rose" is quite well preserved, because it was less subject to temperature and atmospheric influences.

Stained glass "Southern Rose" was created in 1260. The stained-glass window also reaches almost 13 meters in diameter and consists of 85 individual stained-glass panels made from fragments. Outside, the stained-glass window is made in the form of a patterned lattice depicting a flower. However, the outer part was exposed to atmospheric phenomena and therefore it was restored already today.

Below them is the so-called "Kings Gallery", which has 28 statues depicting ancient Jewish kings. At the bottom, double door entrances, perspective portals, decorated with carved ornaments and sculptures, open wide. The curved arches of the lancet arches are full of dynamic tension.

The cathedral was built of grayish-yellow stone. Inside the cathedral - a solemn twilight. Through the huge carved windows, decorated with stained-glass windows, sunlight penetrates, painted in different colors. The interior of the cathedral strikes with sophistication and splendor. There are worship services.

Huge thin ribs surrounded the structure on three sides. The central nave ends with a high gable roof covered with green copper. This majestic building in and today is striking in its beauty.

Hugo's ballads such as "King John's Tournament", "The Burgrave's Hunt", "The Legend of the Nun", "The Fairy" and others are rich in signs of national and historical color. Already in the early period of his work, Hugo turns to one of the most acute problems of romanticism, what was the renewal of dramaturgy, the creation of a romantic drama. As an antithesis to the classic principle of “ennobled nature”, Hugo develops the theory of the grotesque: this is a means of presenting the funny, the ugly in a “concentrated” form. These and many other aesthetic attitudes concern not only drama, but, in essence, romantic art in general, which is why the preface to the drama "Cromwell" has become one of the most important romantic manifestos. The ideas of this manifesto are also realized in Hugo's dramas, which are all based on historical plots, and in the novel Notre Dame Cathedral.

The idea of ​​the novel arises in an atmosphere of passion for historical genres, which began with the novels of Walter Scott. Hugo pays tribute to this passion both in dramaturgy and in the novel. At the end of the 1820s. Hugo plans to write a historical novel, and in 1828 he even concludes an agreement with the publisher Gosselin. However, the work is hampered by many circumstances, and the main of them is that modern life is increasingly attracting his attention.

Hugo started working on the novel only in 1830, just a few days before the July Revolution. His reflections on his time are closely intertwined with the general concept of the history of mankind and with ideas about the fifteenth century, about which he writes his novel. This novel is called Notre Dame Cathedral and appears in 1831. Literature, be it a novel, a poem or a drama, depicts history, but not in the way that historical science does. Chronology, the exact sequence of events, battles, conquests and the collapse of kingdoms are only the outer side of history, Hugo argued. In the novel, attention is focused on what the historian forgets or ignores - on the "wrong side" of historical events, that is, on the inside of life.

Following these new ideas for his time, Hugo creates "Notre Dame Cathedral". The writer considers the expression of the spirit of the era the main criterion for the truthfulness of a historical novel. This is a work of art fundamentally different from the chronicle, which sets out the facts of history. In the novel, the actual "canvas" should serve only as a general basis for the plot, in which fictional characters can act and events woven by the author's fantasy develop. The truth of the historical novel is not in the accuracy of the facts, but in fidelity to the spirit of the time. Hugo is convinced that one cannot find as much meaning in the pedantic retelling of historical chronicles as it lurks in the behavior of a nameless crowd or "Argotines" (in his novel it is a kind of corporation of vagabonds, beggars, thieves and swindlers), in the feelings of the street dancer Esmeralda, or the ringer Quasimodo , or in a learned monk, in whose alchemical experiments the king also takes an interest.

The only immutable requirement for the author's fiction is to meet the spirit of the era: the characters, the psychology of the characters, their relationships, actions, the general course of events, the details of everyday life and everyday life - all aspects of the depicted historical reality should be presented as they really could be. In order to have an idea of ​​a bygone era, one must find information not only about official realities, but also about the customs and way of everyday life of ordinary people, one must study all this and then recreate it in a novel. Traditions, legends, and similar folklore sources that exist among the people can help the writer, and the writer can and should make up for the missing details in them with the power of his imagination, that is, resort to fiction, always remembering that he must correlate the fruits of his imagination with the spirit of the age.

Romantics considered imagination the highest creative ability, and fiction - an indispensable attribute of a literary work. Fiction, by means of which it is possible to recreate the real historical spirit of the times, according to their aesthetics, may be even more truthful than the fact itself.

Artistic truth is higher than the truth of fact. Following these principles of the historical novel of the era of romanticism, Hugo not only combines real events with fictional ones, and genuine historical characters with unknown ones, but clearly prefers the latter. All the main characters of the novel - Claude Frollo, Quasimodo, Esmeralda, Phoebus - are fictional by him. Only Pierre Gringoire is an exception: he has a real historical prototype - he lived in Paris in the 15th - early 16th centuries. poet and playwright. The novel also features King Louis XI and the Cardinal of Bourbon (the latter appears only sporadically). The plot of the novel is not based on any major historical event, and only detailed descriptions of Notre Dame Cathedral and medieval Paris can be attributed to real facts.

Unlike the heroes of literature of the 17th and 18th centuries, Hugo's heroes combine contradictory qualities. Making extensive use of the romantic technique of contrasting images, sometimes deliberately exaggerating, turning to the grotesque, the writer creates complex ambiguous characters. He is attracted by gigantic passions, heroic deeds. He extols the strength of his character as a hero, rebellious, rebellious spirit, ability to deal with circumstances. In the characters, conflicts, plot, landscape of Notre Dame Cathedral, the romantic principle of reflecting life triumphed - exceptional characters in extraordinary circumstances. The world of unbridled passions, romantic characters, surprises and accidents, the image of a brave person who does not shy away from any dangers, this is what Hugo sings in these works.

Hugo claims that there is a constant struggle between good and evil in the world. In the novel, even more clearly than in Hugo's poetry, the search for new moral values ​​was outlined, which the writer finds, as a rule, not in the camp of the rich and those in power, but in the camp of the destitute and despised poor. All the best feelings - kindness, sincerity, selfless devotion - are given to the foundling Quasimodo and the gypsy Esmeralda, who are the true heroes of the novel, while the antipodes, standing at the helm of secular or spiritual power, like King Louis XI or the same archdeacon Frollo, are different cruelty, fanaticism, indifference to the suffering of people.

The main principle of his romantic poetics - the depiction of life in its contrasts - Hugo tried to substantiate even before the "Foreword" in his article on W. Scott's novel "Quentin Dorward". “Isn't there,” he wrote, “life a bizarre drama in which good and evil, beautiful and ugly, high and low are mixed—the law that operates in all creation?”

The principle of contrasting oppositions in Hugo's poetics was based on his metaphysical ideas about the life of modern society, in which the determining factor in development is allegedly the struggle of opposite moral principles - good and evil - existing from eternity.

Hugo devotes a significant place in the "Preface" to the definition of the aesthetic concept of the grotesque, considering it a distinctive element of medieval and modern romantic poetry. What does he mean by this term? “The grotesque, as opposed to the sublime, as a means of contrast, is, in our opinion, the richest source that nature opens up to art.”

Hugo contrasted the grotesque images of his works with the conditionally beautiful images of epigone classicism, believing that without the introduction of both sublime and base phenomena, both beautiful and ugly, it is impossible to convey the fullness and truth of life in literature. With all the metaphysical understanding of the category “grotesque” Hugo's substantiation of this element of art was, nevertheless, a step forward on the path of bringing art closer to the truth of life.

There is a “character” in the novel that unites all the characters around him and winds almost all the main plot lines of the novel into one ball. The name of this character is placed in the title of Hugo's work - Notre Dame Cathedral.

In the third book of the novel, completely dedicated to the cathedral, the author literally sings a hymn to this wonderful creation of human genius. For Hugo, the cathedral is “like a huge stone symphony, a colossal creation of man and people ... a wonderful result of the combination of all the forces of the era, where every stone splashes the fantasy of the worker, taking hundreds of forms, disciplined by the genius of the artist ... This creation of human hands is powerful and abundant, like creation God, from whom it seems to have borrowed a dual character: diversity and eternity ... "

The cathedral became the main scene of action, the fate of Archdeacon Claude is connected with it and Frollo, Quasimodo, Esmeralda. The stone statues of the cathedral become witnesses of human suffering, nobility and betrayal, just retribution. Telling the history of the cathedral, allowing us to imagine how they looked in the distant 15th century, the author achieves a special effect. The reality of stone structures, which can be observed in Paris to this day, confirms in the eyes of the reader the reality of the characters, their destinies, the reality of human tragedies.

The fates of all the main characters of the novel are inextricably linked with the Cathedral both by the external event outline and by the threads of internal thoughts and motives. This is especially true of the inhabitants of the temple: the archdeacon Claude Frollo and the ringer Quasimodo. In the fifth chapter of the fourth book we read: “... A strange fate befell the Cathedral of Our Lady in those days - the fate of being loved so reverently, but in completely different ways by two such dissimilar creatures as Claude and Quasimodo. One of them - like a half-man, wild, obedient only to instinct, loved the cathedral for its beauty, for harmony, for the harmony that this magnificent whole radiated. Another, endowed with an ardent imagination enriched with knowledge, loved in it its inner meaning, the meaning hidden in it, loved the legend associated with it, its symbolism lurking behind the sculptural decorations of the facade - in a word, loved the mystery that has remained for the human mind from time immemorial Cathedral of Notre Dame".

For Archdeacon Claude Frollo, the Cathedral is a place of dwelling, service and semi-scientific, semi-mystical research, a receptacle for all his passions, vices, repentance, throwing, and, in the end, death. The clergyman Claude Frollo, an ascetic and alchemist personifies a cold rationalistic mind, triumphant over all good human feelings, joys, affections. This mind, which takes precedence over the heart, inaccessible to pity and compassion, is an evil force for Hugo. The base passions that flared up in Frollo's cold soul not only lead to the death of himself, but are the cause of the death of all the people who meant something in his life: the younger brother of the archdeacon Jean dies at the hands of Quasimodo, the pure and beautiful Esmeralda dies on the gallows, issued by Claude to the authorities, the pupil of the priest Quasimodo voluntarily puts himself to death, first tamed by him, and then, in fact, betrayed. The cathedral, being, as it were, an integral part of the life of Claude Frollo, here also acts as a full-fledged participant in the action of the novel: from its galleries, the archdeacon watches Esmeralda dancing in the square; in the cell of the cathedral, equipped by him for practicing alchemy, he spends hours and days in studies and scientific research, here he begs Esmeralda to take pity and bestow love on him. The cathedral, in the end, becomes the place of his terrible death, described by Hugo with amazing power and psychological authenticity.

In that scene, the Cathedral also seems to be an almost animated being: only two lines are devoted to how Quasimodo pushes his mentor from the balustrade, the next two pages describe Claude Frollo’s “confrontation” with the Cathedral: “The bell ringer retreated a few steps behind the archdeacon and suddenly, in in a fit of rage, rushing at him, pushed him into the abyss, over which Claude leaned ... The priest fell down ... The drainpipe, over which he stood, delayed his fall. In desperation, he clung to her with both hands... An abyss yawned beneath him... In this terrible situation, the archdeacon did not utter a word, did not utter a single groan. He only writhed, making superhuman efforts to climb up the gutter to the balustrade. But his hands glided over the granite, his feet, scratching the blackened wall, searched in vain for support... The archdeacon was exhausted. Sweat rolled down his bald forehead, blood oozed from under his nails onto the stones, his knees were bruised. He heard how, with every effort he made, his cassock, caught in the gutter, cracked and tore. To complete the misfortune, the chute ended in a lead pipe, bending along the weight of his body ... The soil gradually left from under him, his fingers slid along the chute, his hands weakened, his body became heavier ... He looked at the impassive statues of the tower, hanging like him over the abyss, but without fear for oneself, without regret for him. Everything around was made of stone: right in front of him were the open jaws of monsters, below him - in the depths of the square - the pavement, above his head - Quasimodo weeping.

A man with a cold soul and a stone heart in the last minutes of his life found himself alone with a cold stone - and did not wait for pity, compassion, or mercy from him, because he himself did not give anyone any compassion, pity, or mercy.

The connection with the Cathedral of Quasimodo - this ugly hunchback with the soul of an embittered child - is even more mysterious and incomprehensible. Here is what Hugo writes about this: “Over time, strong bonds tied the bell ringer with the cathedral. Forever estranged from the world by the double misfortune that weighed on him - a dark origin and physical deformity, closed from childhood in this double irresistible circle, the poor fellow was accustomed to not noticing anything that lay on the other side of the sacred walls that sheltered him under his canopy. While he grew and developed, the Cathedral of Our Lady served for him either as an egg, or a nest, or a home, or a homeland, or, finally, a universe.

There was undoubtedly some mysterious, predetermined harmony between this being and the building. When, still quite a baby, Quasimodo, with painful efforts, skipped through the gloomy vaults, he, with his human head and bestial body, seemed to be a reptile, naturally arising among the damp and gloomy slabs...

So, developing under the shadow of the cathedral, living and sleeping in it, almost never leaving it and constantly experiencing its mysterious influence, Quasimodo eventually became like him; he seemed to have grown into the building, turned into one of its constituent parts ... It can almost be said without exaggeration that he took the form of a cathedral, just as snails take the form of a shell. It was his dwelling, his lair, his shell. Between him and the ancient temple there was a deep instinctive affection, a physical affinity...”

Reading the novel, we see that for Quasimodo the cathedral was everything - a refuge, a home, a friend, it protected him from the cold, from human malice and cruelty, he satisfied the need of a freak outcast by people in communication: “Only with extreme reluctance did he turn his gaze to of people. The cathedral was quite enough for him, populated with marble statues of kings, saints, bishops, who at least did not laugh in his face and looked at him with a calm and benevolent look. The statues of monsters and demons also did not hate him - he was too similar to them ... The saints were his friends and guarded him; the monsters were also his friends and guarded him. He poured out his soul before them for a long time. Squatting in front of some statue, he talked to her for hours. If at this time someone entered the temple, Quasimodo ran away, like a lover caught serenade.

Only a new, stronger, hitherto unfamiliar feeling could shake this inextricable, incredible connection between a person and a building. This happened when a miracle entered the life of the outcast, embodied in an innocent and beautiful image. The name of the miracle is Esmeralda. Hugo endows this heroine with all the best features inherent in the representatives of the people: beauty, tenderness, kindness, mercy, innocence and naivety, incorruptibility and fidelity. Alas, in a cruel time, among cruel people, all these qualities were rather shortcomings than virtues: kindness, naivety and innocence do not help to survive in a world of malice and self-interest. Esmeralda died, slandered by Claude, who loved her, betrayed by her beloved, Phoebus, not saved by Quasimodo, who worshiped and idolized her.

Quasimodo, who managed, as it were, to turn the Cathedral into the “murderer” of the archdeacon, earlier with the help of the same cathedral - his integral “part” - tries to save the gypsy, stealing her from the place of execution and using the cell of the Cathedral as a refuge, i.e., a place where where criminals pursued by law and power were inaccessible to their persecutors, behind the sacred walls of the asylum, the condemned were inviolable. However, the evil will of the people turned out to be stronger, and the stones of the Cathedral of Our Lady did not save the life of Esmeralda.

"Il est venu le temps des cathedrales"... song from the popular musical Notre-Dame de Paris brought fame not only to the performers, but also aroused the interest of the whole world in the novel by Victor Hugo, and in the most grandiose cathedral in France, Notre Dame Cathedral.

The cathedral, sung by Victor Hugo in his novel of the same name, is considered the main spiritual center of Paris, and many call it "heart" cities. Rising above Paris, the cathedral attracts not only with its splendor, but also with numerous secrets. Legends are made up about the secrets of Notre Dame Cathedral. But about everything gradually.

History of the cathedral

In the 4th century, the Church of St. Sebastian was located on the site of the current Notre Dame, and not far from it was the Church of the Mother of God. However, in the XII century. Both of these buildings fell into a deplorable state, and the Parisian bishop Maurice de Sully decided to build a new cathedral in their place, which, according to his plan, was to surpass all the cathedrals in the world in grandeur.

Sculpture by Maurice de Sully on the church in Sully-sur-Loire.

And already in 1163, after the blessing of Pope Alexander III, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the future cathedral. It is worth noting that there were opponents of the construction of Notre Dame, Bishop Bernard, made all kinds of protests, saying that the construction of this building would cost the city treasury too much, while famine reigned in the city. But Pope Alexander III did not listen to anyone and, according to legend, he himself laid the first stone in the construction of the temple.

Vicente Carducho. El papa Alejandro III consagra a Antelmo de Chignin como obispo de Belley (1626-1632)

The construction of Notre Dame Cathedral lasted almost two centuries. More than a dozen famous architects worked on its appearance, but the greatest contribution to the creation of so many-sided cathedral was made by Jean de Chelle and Pierre de Montreuil.

Statue of Jean de Chell in the park of his hometown of Chell, dep. Seine and Marne

Pierre de Montreuil

The construction was completed in 1345, for 170 years the Romanesque style gave way to the primacy of the Gothic, which could not but be reflected in the appearance of Notre Dame de Paris, the walls of the cathedral were decorated with a peculiar play of contours and shadows, and it had no analogues in the whole world.

The cathedral became the center of all significant events in the country. On August 18, 1572, the wedding of Margarita of Valois with Henry of Navarre took place in the cathedral. But since Heinrich was a Huguenot, he was not allowed into the cathedral, and therefore he was outside the doors of the building throughout the ceremony, and the bride tried to remember the whole ceremony, so that later she could pass it on to her husband. 6 days after this strange marriage, the Huguenots were slaughtered by the Catholics during the "St. Bartholomew's Night". A few decades later, Henry of Navarre uttered, which later became a catchphrase, "Paris is worth a mass" and converted to Catholicism, and became king of France.

Arrival of Napoleon Bonaparte at Notre Dame Cathedral for his coronation as emperor.

Charles Percier (1764-1838), Pierre Francois Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853)

Coronation of Napoleon I at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Charles Percier (1764-1838), Pierre François Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853)

Coronation of Napoleon Jacques-Louis David

But the cathedral was not always held in high esteem. In the 17th century Under the reign of Louis XIV, the tombs and stained-glass windows of the cathedral were destroyed. During the French Revolution, the Convention planned to wipe out the great Notre Dame from the earth, the revolutionary government set conditions for the Parisians, to collect "a certain amount" to help the revolution, and then the cathedral would be saved.

The money was collected, but it was the Jacobins who did not keep their promise to the end. Cathedral bells were melted down into cannons, tombs and tombstones were cast into bullets and cartels. By order of Robespierre, the heads of the statues of the Jewish kings were demolished. The cathedral was equipped with a wine warehouse. And only after the Thermidorian coup, the cathedral was again transferred to the church. But he was in a very deplorable state.

In 1831, thanks to the publication of the novel by Victor Hugo, the cathedral again became the center of attention of the authorities. And in 1832 a commission for the restoration of the building was established.

Decoration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame

The length of the cathedral is 130 meters, the height of the towers is 69 meters, and the capacity is about 9,000 people.

The facades of Notre Dame Cathedral are richly decorated with sculptures. They are among the finest sculptures of the Middle Ages. The sculptures tell us the story from the Fall to the Last Judgment.

Apse

Roofs and spire

Portals

Galeries de Roy

Timpanov

apostles

Denis of Paris

Saint Stephen

Ecclesia and synagogue

Adam

The decoration of the cathedral is dominated by gray, the color of the stone from which the walls are built. There are very few windows in the cathedral and, like in any Gothic temple, there are no wall paintings. The stained-glass windows serve as the only source of light, but the light penetrating through the numerous stained-glass windows fills the temple with various shades. This play of light gives the cathedral a special enchanting beauty and a certain mystery.

Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ

The cathedral houses one of the greatest relics of Christianity - the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ. He made his way from Jerusalem to Constantinople. Until 1063 it was kept in Jerusalem, in 1063 it was moved to Constantinople. Then the Crusader soldiers captured Byzantium.

"Ecce Homo", Correggio

Byzantium was in a plundered state, local princes needed money, and Bedouin II began to sell relics. So the crown of thorns was redeemed by Louis IX.

Saint Louis IX (El Greco, Louvre)

In 1239 the Crown of Thorns was brought to Paris. By order of Louis, he was placed in a specially built chapel, where he stayed until the French Revolution. During the revolution, the chapel was destroyed, but the crown was saved, and in 1809 it was placed in Notre Dame Cathedral, where it remains to this day.

Crown of Thorns at Notre Dame de Paris

Crown of Thorns Reliquary at Notre Dame de Paris

Along with the Crown of Thorns, the cathedral also houses a nail from the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Another nail can be seen in the cathedral city of Carpentras. Two more nails are in Italy.

Since ancient times, nails have been a dispute among historians, how many were there three or four? But the answer to this question has not been found to date.

Devilish temptation

Notre Dame is full of legends. One of these legends is associated with the gate in front of the entrance to the cathedral. They are so magnificent that it is hard to believe that a man could have created them. Legend has it that their author was a blacksmith named Biscornet, who, commissioned by a canon of Notre Dame, agreed to forge a gate worthy of the greatness of the cathedral. Biskorn was afraid not to justify the trust of the canon, and he decided to turn to the devil for help, promising to give his soul for the excellent work.

Portal of the Mother of God Portal of the Last Judgment Portal of St. Anne

The gates for the cathedral were a real masterpiece, openwork weaves combined with figured locks. But the trouble is, even the blacksmith could not open the locks on the gates, they did not succumb to anyone, only after sprinkling with holy water they succumbed. Biskorn could not explain what was happening, he was speechless, and a few days later he died of an unknown illness. And he took one of the secrets of Notre Dame Cathedral with him to the grave.

Gargoyles and chimeras of Notre Dame de Paris

Anyone who has ever seen the cathedral could not help but pay attention to the many figures on the cathedral. But why do they “decorate” the building of the temple? Are they just a decorative element, or are they endowed with some kind of mystical ability?

Chimeras have long been considered the silent guardians of the cathedral. It was believed that at night the chimeras come to life and bypass their possessions, carefully guarding the peace of the building. In fact, according to the intention of the creators of the cathedral, chimeras personify the human character and variety of moods: from melancholy to anger, from smiles to tears. Chimeras are so "humanized" that they began to seem like living beings. And there is a legend that if you look at them in the twilight for a very long time, they “come to life”. And if you take a picture next to the chimera, then in the photo the person seems to be a stone statue.

Chimeras

But these are just legends. By the way, chimeras did not always “decorate” the cathedral; they appeared on Notre Dame only during the restoration, i.e. in the Middle Ages they were not in the temple. To date, you can admire the grotesque figures by visiting the Gallery of Chimeras. You can get to the gallery by going through the 387 steps of the north tower, which still offers a beautiful view of Paris. One of Notre Dame's most famous chimeras is the Strix.

Gargoyles

From French, gargouille is translated as a gutter or drainpipe. Thus, the monsters are nothing more than drainpipes that divert rainwater from the roof and walls of the cathedral.

Gargoyles

Notre Dame Cathedral is so diverse and many-sided that it attracts a huge number of tourists every year. Every Sunday you can attend a Catholic mass, and hear the largest organ in France, hear the unusual sound of a six-ton ​​bell (it was this bell that Quasimodo had a special love for.

The largest work of Victor Hugo, relating to this period of his activity, is the Notre Dame Cathedral.

It is often written that the people in this novel by Hugo are a tambourine, not even a people, but declassed elements of medieval society, a force that is only destructive. In asserting this, they usually forget about the most important feature of the characterization of the people in the "Notre Dame Cathedral" - that it is bred as a formidable force, possessing at the same time a great sense of justice, humanity, nobility, which neither Phoebus de Chateaupert nor the priest Frollo, and even more so with Louis XI, who furiously throws his shooters, knights, gendarmes to suppress the rising "Court of Miracles". It cannot be said that the era of Louis XI - the creator of the unified French monarchy - is reflected in this novel with sufficient completeness. But that Hugo has correctly shown many of the inhuman means by which the unified French monarchy was accomplished is beyond doubt.

The period from the mid 20's to the mid 30's. can be considered the first - a significant period of Hugo's creative development, during which deeply original works of art have already been created, which rightfully attracted the attention of all of Europe to Hugo.

Especially difficult in the development of Hugo's work were the next years - from the mid-30s. before the revolution of 1848. This period is sometimes considered to be the period of Hugo's crisis, which is proved by reference to the absence of significant new works that would be equal in strength to the previous ones or would indicate some kind of shift in the writer, a transition to new topics. Indeed, many weak works were written during these years, among which the drama Burggraf, deservedly sharply evaluated by Belinsky in a special review dedicated to the production of this drama in one of the St. Petersburg theaters, is especially indicative. Numerous samples of Hugo's poetic work during these years are also of no particular interest and are far from those high achievements of Hugo the poet, which are yet to come.

But one of the facts indicating that the development of the writer did not stop, that in him a critical attitude to the rule of the bourgeoisie is slowly but surely strengthening, not to its monarchical form, but to its essence, there was a growing protest against oppression and exploitation, against the power of the Chistogan , - one of these facts is the work on the first version of the novel "Les Misérables".

This first version differs significantly from the novel "Les Misérables", written in the 60s. and enjoying such well-deserved success with the reader. But even in it there is a criticism of the bourgeois system, a sharp opposition between the position of the propertied classes and the oppressed, exploited masses of the people, a direct reflection of the contradictions between labor and capital, towards the clarification of which Hugo moved. Since it is natural to consider the writer's work not as a kind of heap of materials, but as a process in which certain trends develop, we have the right to consider that the work on the first version of Les Misérables is the most valuable moment of this second period of Hugo's development, preparing the art of Hugo the novelist. -s.

It is important to resolve the issue of the beginning of the third stage in the artist's work. Should we date it to 1851, the year of Hugo's exile, the year of the beginning of his struggle against the Second Empire, or, having studied his activities during the years of the republic, fix the transition to this stage already in the context of the events of 1848?

Although Hugo was inclined to idealize the Second Republic, but long before the December events, he entered into a struggle with bourgeois reaction, which carried out. a systematic attack on the general democratic freedoms won in 1848. Herzen, in his Past and Thoughts, was the first to notice the beginning of the growth of his democratic sentiments, falling precisely on the years of the Second Republic, when Hugo was studying the position of the masses of France more deeply and, with increasing passion, was striving to resist the pressure of reaction - this time the reaction of the bourgeois,. grown after the massacre of the workers into an impudent and aggressive political force. Hugo's transition to the position of active democratic activity, aimed at protecting the interests of the broad masses of France, including the interests of the working class, at least within the framework of a bourgeois republic, is planned precisely in these years.

During these years, Hugo's struggle for peace also began: in 1849 he protested against the war, convincing the peoples of Europe of the possibility of a successful outcome of the struggle against militarism. Hugo arrived at the events of December with some experience in the political struggle against bourgeois reaction, with some hardening which he had received in the events of 1850; it is especially important to emphasize the fact that 1849-1850. in the life of Hugo were the period when his direct, wide communication with the masses of the people began.

Only this can explain Hugo's courageous behavior during the days of the coup and after it: the writer had already embarked on the path of active opposition to Bonapartism and went further and further, undoubtedly feeling behind him the support and love of those masses of the people of France who appreciated but the dignity of his attitude towards the coup On December 2, “Hugo stood up to his full height under the bullets,” Herzen wrote about this. Therefore, the beginning of the third stage of Hugo's creative development is appropriately attributed to 1849 - 1850, and not to the years that followed the December coup.

In his speeches in 1849 - 1850. on the eve of the coup against the bourgeois reaction, Hugo was already reflecting the democratic protest against the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, which was growing in the broad masses of the people of France and, above all, in the ranks of the working class.