CHAPTER IX. NÔTRE-DAME
ARRONDISSEMENT IV. (HÔTEL-DE-VILLE)
RUE LUTÈCE, the French form of the Roman word Lutetia,
recording the ancient name of the city, is a modern street on ancient
historic ground. There, on the river island, the first settlers pitched
their camp, reared their rude dwellings, laid the foundation of the
city of mud to become in future days the city of light, the brilliant
Ville Lumière. When the conquering Romans took possession of the
primitive city and built there its first palace, the island of the
Seine became l'île du Palais.
Of the buildings erected there through succeeding centuries, few
traces now remain. But Roman walls in perfect condition were discovered
beneath the surface of the island so recently as 1906. Close to the
site of Rue Lutèce ran, until the middle of last century, the
ancient Rue des Fèves, where was the famous Taverne de la Pomme
de Pin, a favourite meeting-place from the time of Molière of
great men of letters. Crossing Rue de la Cité, formed in 1834
along the line of the old Rue St-Eloi which stretched where Degobert's
great statesman had founded the abbey St-Martial, we come to the Parvis
Notre-Dame. The Parvis, so wide and open to-day, was until very recent
times—well into the second half of the nineteenth
century—crowded with buildings; old shops, old streets, erections
connected with the old Hôtel-Dieu, covered in great part the space before the Cathedral, now an open square. The statue of Charlemagne we see there is modern, set up in 1882.
The Cathedral, beloved and venerated by Parisians from all time—" Sacra sancta ecclesia civitatis Parisiensis —stands
upon the site of two ancient churches which in early ages together
formed the Episcopal church of the capital of France. One bore the name
of the martyr, St. Stephen, the other was dedicated to Ste-Marie.
 These churches stood on the site of a pre-Christian place of
worship, a temple of Mars or Jupiter: Roman remains of great extent
were found beneath the pavements when clearing away the ancient
buildings on the Parvis. Fire wrought havoc on both churches, entirely
destroyed one, and towards the year 1162 Sully set about the erection
of a church worthy of the capital of his country. Its first stone was
laid by the Guelph refugee, Pope Alexander III, in 1163. The chancel,
the nave and the façade were finished without undue delay, and
in 1223 the whole of the beautiful Gothic building was finished;
alterations were made during the years that followed until about 1300.
From that time onward Notre-Dame was made a store-house of things
beautiful. The finest pictures of each succeeding age lined its walls
'—at length so thickly that there was room for no more. Much
beautiful old work, including a fine rood screen, was carted away under
Louis XIV, when space was wanted for the immense statue of the Virgin
set up then in fulfilment of the vow of Louis XIII, destroyed later.
The figures on the great doors, we see to-day, are modern: the original
statuettes were hacked to pieces at the outbreak of the Revolution by
the mob who mistook the Kings of Israel for the Kings of France!
The flèche, too, is of latter-day construction, built
by Viollet le Duc, to replace the ancient turret bell-tower.
Destruction and desecration of every kind fell upon the Cathedral in
Revolution days. Priceless glass was smashed, magnificent work of every
sort ruthlessly torn down, trampled in the dust. On the
Parvis—the space before the Cathedral doors where in long-gone
ages the mystery plays were acted—a great bonfire was made of all
the Mass books and Bibles, etc., found within the sacred edifice:
priceless illuminated missals, etc., perished then. Marvellous
woodwork, glorious stained-glass windows, fine statuary happily still
remain.
From the time of its erection, the grand Cathedral was closely
connected with the greatest historical events of France, just as the
church built by Childebert and the older church of St-Étienne
had been before. St. Louis was buried there in 1271. The first
States-General was held there in 1302. There Henry VI of England was
crowned King of France in 1431, and Marie-Stuart crowned Queen Consort
in 1560. Henri IV heard his first Mass there in 1694. Within the sacred
walls the Revolutionists set up the worship of reason, held
sacrilegious fêtes. Napoleon I was crowned there and was there
married to Marie Louise of Austria. Napoleon Ill's wedding took place
there. These are some only singled out from a long list of historical
associations. National Te Deums, Requiems, Services of Reparation all
take place at this Sancta Ecclesia Parisionis.
The Hôtel-Dieu on the north side of the Parvis is the modern
hospital raised on the site of the ancient Paris House of God, the
hospital for the Paris poor built in the thirteenth century, always in
close connection with the Cathedral and having its annexe across the little bridge St-Charles, a sort of covered gallery. Those blackened walls stood till 1909.
Rue du Cloître Notre-Dame belonged in past ages to the
Cathedral Chapter, a cloistered thoroughfare. Its fifty-one houses have
almost entirely disappeared. Three still stand: Nos. 18, 16, 14. Pierre
Lescot, the notable sixteenth-century architect, to whom a canonry was
given, died there in 1578. Rue Chanoinesse is still inhabited by the
Cathedral canons. Its houses are all ancient. At No. 10 lived Fulbert,
the uncle of the beautiful Héloïse, who braved his anger
for the sake of Abelard, who lived and taught hard by. Racine is said
to have lived at No. 16. The old Tour de Dagobert, which did not,
however, date back quite to that monarch's time, stood, at No. 18 till
1908. Its wonderful staircase, formed of a single oak-tree, is at the
Musée Cluny. Lacordaire is said to have lodged at No. 17. A
curious old courtyard at No. 20. At No. 24, vestiges of the old chapel
St-Aignan (twelfth century). At 26, a passage with old pillars and
paved with old tombstones. Leading out of it runs the little Rue des
Chantres where the choristers lived and worked to perfect their voices
and their knowledge of music. Rue Massillon is entirely made of old
houses with most interesting features—a marvellous carved oak
staircase at No. 6, fine doors, curious courtyards. Another beautiful
staircase at No. 4. In Rue des Ursins, connected with Rue Chanoinesse,
we find many ancient houses. At No. 19 we see vestiges of the old
chapel where Mass was said secretly during the Revolution by priests
who went there disguised as workmen.
Rue de la Colombe, where we find an inscription referring to the
discovery there of Roman remains, dates from the early years of the
thirteenth century.
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