Amiens Cathedral is located in Amiens France, and is the largest Gothic structure in France. The site Amiens where the Cathedral is located, first had several sanctuaries on it. However they were all destroyed by fire during the Norman invasion in 1019, and then again in 1107. A Romanesque church was then built in there place in 1152. In 1206 the skull of John the Baptist was brought to the church. The skull attracted many people to the church. Most of whom were the blind, mute, deaf, and suffering from epilepsy (St. Johns Disease). The church was having trouble supporting and housing all of these people. However, in 1218 the church was destroyed by a lightening strike. The Bishop at the time, Evrard de Fouilloy, decided to take the opportunity to build a bigger cathedral.
The construction of Amiens Cathedral began in 1220. The plans for the Cathedral were so big that they had to expand the walls of the town, and a few smaller buildings were destroyed to make room. The Cathedral is 145 meters long and 70 meters wide. In the beginning of the construction process, progress was very fast paced. The project was receiving many donations.At the time the town of Amiens was in goof economic wealth.They had good trades going in and out of the town. In 1222 the Architect and Bishop Fouilloy both died, however the construction of the Cathedral continued. In 1240 the construction began to slow down, because they were running low on funds. the progress was slow, and they went through a couple of bishops. In 1249 the bishop at the time ,Bishop Arnoult, was buried in the ambulatory of the Cathedral. The construction of Amiens Cathedral lasted from 1220-1288. The Cathedral was built in a very short time, and has a unique construction style. There was further construction to the cathedral throughout history, adding a few small thing here and there. However the main Cathedral was built from 1220-1288.
The Amiens Cathedral was built in a Gothic style. The front of the Cathedral has 3 doors, with arches over them. There is one big arch in the middle with two small arches,one on each side. However, the arches have a greater significance than just style. The left arch represents the saints, the right arch represents the virgin Mary, and the middle arch represents Christ. The Cathedral has several pointed arches and statues all over the building. There is also a row of statues on the building called the kings gallery. Another important part of the architecture is the qua trefoils. the qua trefoils show life choices such as courage and cowardice. On the inside of the Cathedral the architecture is just as important. When you walk in you can see huge biblical murals on the walls. And all over the Cathedral there are stained glass windows called clerestories. An important part of the building is the labyrinth. The labyrinth has three names carved on it. the three names of the architects, Robert de Luzarches, Thomas de Cormont, and Renaud de Cormont, which shows their importance.
The Amiens Cathedral is a beautiful example of a Gothic Cathedral. The way it was designed and the history behind it is amazing. Every detail put into designing this had a purpose. This Cathedral shows how people thought ,worked,and what their values and beliefs were during this time.
Works Cited
Pierre, French Moments, https://frenchmoments.eu/amiens-cathedral/
Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Amiens Cathedral," in Smarthistory, May 4, 2017, accessed October 29, 2019, https://smarthistory.org/amiens/
Your blog post is really similar to mine, great minds think alike. I like the way you described the dimensions of the cathedral. I think people forget what massive structures these are. I also liked seeing how this cathedral is Gothic.
ReplyDeleteCrazy to think they had the skull of John the Baptist! That's an incredibly interesting artifact in itself. Amines Cathedral is very beautiful. I'm a fan of the really high ceilings, as if they are stretching to Heaven!
ReplyDeleteConsidering that Notre Dame is in France, I had not thought about a bigger cathedral. This one is enormous. It would be incredibly intimidating to step inside. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about this too, the Notre Dame is undoubtedly the most well known cathedral in France, if not the world. I never would have expected that there would be many more just as large and beautiful.
DeleteThis was a really good entry. Lots of information and details that helped connect to class, such as I forgot about the kings gallery. Also the idea that they were able to rebuild the main cathedral part in just 66 years is very impressive.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed learning the history of the construction of the cathedral, and it was very interesting that lots of money was given towards it at first but not by the end. I also liked your explanation of the meaning of the doors and found that very fascinating!
ReplyDeleteBefore even reading I took a glance at the picture and was surprised by the sheer size of that building. After reading I was surprised to learn that the construction only took around 70 years, which is obviously a long time, but some other medieval structures take four or five generations to build.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Bishop Evrard de Fouilloy saw the lightning strike as a sign from God to create a bigger, better cathedral, to better worship him?
ReplyDeleteBrittany, I enjoyed reading your blog post over the Amiens Cathedral. I like how in-depth you went on pretty much everything having to do with the cathedral. From the construction to the style of this cathedral, you provided a lot of useful information that I did not know before your post. I also found it really interesting that the skull of John the Baptist was brought to the church. I also find that sort of creepy. This was a great post!
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! I enjoyed the attention to detail as well as the images you selected for this blog. It's interesting that the land where Amiens Cathedral now stands went through several structures: the sanctuaries destroyed by fire and the church struck by lightening. It demonstrates a progression of the city despite various calamities, as well as determination and having the future in mind.
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