Notre-Dame Cathedral: venerated works of art and relics threatened by the fire

By Liam Stack and Heather Murphy

The fire that destroyed Monday two-thirds of the roof of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris did more than damage a beloved historic monument: it also endangered the vast collection of relics and artefacts. Christian art works preserved inside and outside the building.

One of the most treasured treasures of the cathedral – a relic of the crown of thorns allegedly worn by Jesus Christ during his crucifixion – was saved from the flames, according to the rector of the cathedral, Bishop Patrick Chauvet.

But the situation of many of his other treasures – sculptures, paintings, stained glbad, liturgical art and relics – remains uncertain, Chauvet said. He added that the main threats to works of art were fires, damage from smoke and the falling of materials like molten lead.

Bernard Fonquernie, who worked in the administration of the cathedral from 1978 to 2001, said the water used to fight the fire could also damage the stone and wood that would have survived the 39; fire.

Here are some of the treasures that matter most to scholars and the faithful.

The crown of thorns

Among the most treasured relics of Our Lady, there is a relic of the crown of thorns that Jesus would have worn during the crucifixion. Stephen Murray, emeritus professor of Gothic architecture and medieval art at Columbia University, said that the crown of Our Lady allegedly contains fragments of the original artifact.

The cathedral also contains a piece of wood that would be a piece of cross and a nail that would have been used for crucifixion.

"Most of these great cathedrals become points of destination via the treasure, which allows them to worship or see," said Nora Heimann, professor of art history at the Catholic University of America .

Chauvet said Monday that the crown of thorns was in good hands. He added that the St. Louis tunic, a religious relic, and a collection of chalices kept in the cathedral treasury had also been preserved.

It is unclear what happened to the piece of wood and the nail that some believe to have used for crucifixion.

Rosettes

The cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, to whom the church takes its name, which means "Our Lady of Paris," said Heimann.

The cathedral contains three rosettes whose flower-shaped stained glbad windows each tell a religious story, including scenes from the Old and New Testaments, stories of the lives of the twelve apostles and the resurrection of Christ.

"When you face the cathedral, a large window is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, the rosette, and it is in the center, enthroned," said Heimann.

The situation of the three windows was unclear on Monday, but the prognosis seemed worrying. Benoist de Sinety, a bishop of the archdiocese of Paris, said the hot weather had damaged the windows, melting the lead that held their windows in place.

Relics of the patron saints of Paris

The spire of the cathedral, which collapsed Monday, contained the relics of Saint Denis and Saint Genevieve, the patron saints of Paris. Laurent Ferri, curator of the rare book collections and manuscripts of Cornell University, said that an archbishop had installed them there in 1935 to protect the building.

According to legend, Saint-Denis, a Christian martyr of the third century, was beheaded and died later wearing his head. St. Genevieve is often credited with saving Paris by using the power of group prayer to divert Attila, king of the Huns, from the city in 451.

Gregory Bryda, an badistant professor of Western medieval art and architecture in Barnard, said the relics included bones, teeth or hair of the two saints.

The gallery of kings

The cathedral houses an important collection of statues, including the towering stone figures of the Old Testament kings that stand above the entrance. This is what we call the gallery of kings.

The status of these statues was not clear Monday night. But they have already gone through difficult times.

During the French Revolution, forces hostile to the monarchy confused the statues of the kings of France and not of ancient Judea. Driven by the zeal of the revolutionaries, they dragged the statues on the place of the cathedral and decapitated them with a guillotine in 1793

Twenty-one of these heads, carved in the thirteenth century, were discovered in 1977 inside a wall in another part of Paris, according to a report published at the time by the New York Times.

The cathedral itself

But a sacred space is more than the sum of its parts. Heimann said: "The church itself is its own treasure because it's a place steeped in history."

The lands were once the site of an ancient Roman temple that became a church after the Roman Empire embraced Christianity. The construction of the cathedral began in 1163 and was completed in 1345.

"It's a place that tells us alone the history of Paris and France itself and its evolution," said Heimann. "I do not think that there is one thing inside that is more valuable than the whole thing, and I say that as an art historian who weep for this lost art. "

In addition to paintings, architecture and statues, scholars also indicated that the cathedral's musical instruments were endangered works of art. This includes the church bells – the largest of which date back to 1681 – were struck at important moments in French history, notably the French Revolution and the two world wars.

Murray said that one of the greatest treasures of the cathedral was a pipe organ known as the Great Organ.

"It was a magnificent instrument," he said. "I doubt he survived."

We did not know what happened to the bells or the organ on Monday. But Sinety said the fire had severely damaged the organ, too.