Of all the Gothic cathedrals I visited, Notre Dame in Amiens was one of the most moving. I enjoyed it even more than Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral.
Here are some facts about Notre Dame Cathedral in Amiens:
1. The town of Amiens had a long history before the cathedral was built. It presides in Picardy, about 70 miles north of Paris, on the Somme River. It had bishops since the fourth century.
But Amiens suffered several disasters before the current cathedral was built. The Normans destroyed its cathedral around 900 CE, and another was torched in a fire that devastated the whole town in 1137. A new cathedral replaced it, but it too went up in flames, in 1218.
2. The present cathedral was begun in 1220. That was a great time to construct a Gothic building. Chartres Cathedral was begun in 1194, and its builders developed new standards in Gothic architecture, which were spreading through northern France. The builders of Amiens Notre Dame could implement Chartres’ design from scratch and refine it.
3. Amiens Cathedral was begun from the west facade. Most Gothic cathedrals were begun from the east–there was a church (Saint Firmin) in the east, and it could be used for services as the cathedral was built. The west facade has the greatest virtues of Gothic cathedrals from the early 13th century–
Its parts are logically related to each other, and its vertical and horizontal lines balance each other. God’s ordered universe is set in stone. Paris Notre Dame Cathedral’s west facade is like this too, but Amiens’ seems less massive and imposing. Amiens Cathedral is actually bigger than Paris Notre Dame (it’s longer, and it has a higher nave), but it seems more spiritual and gentle.
4. The crusade of 1248-54, and a fire in 1258 delayed the construction. But like the 1218 fire, what seemed calamitous became a blessing.
Innovations in Gothic architecture were evolving into the flamboyant style, which made forms more fluid and flame-like. The rose window in Amiens’ west facade (pictured above) is in this style–it replaced an older window around 1500. The west facade’s two towers were begun in 1366.
But the flamboyant designs are less prominent than the cathedral’s distinct lines. The new forms don’t lessen the cathedral’s logical clarity. They make it even lighter and more spiritual.
So, many fans of Amiens Notre Dame Cathedral think it’s the apex of High Gothic style. I had no argument when I sat across from it in the little square in the afternoon and watched the west facade reflect the sun. A few local elderly men and women shared the benches and placidly discussed the day’s affairs–the cathedral’s serene order seemed to radiate through the town. After Amiens’ early disasters, the cathedral has given it peace.
Here are few facts about Amiens Notre Dame Cathedral’s interior:
1. Its nave soars to 137 feet. Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral’s nave seemed lofty when it was new by rising to just over 108 feet. Light from Amiens’ upper windows makes the nave brighter than Paris Cathedral’s. Laon Cathedral’s nave is also bright enough to seem full of divine illumination, but Amiens Cathedral’s nave is almost twice as high–the light seems like a field coming directly from the heavens.
2. The sections of Amiens Cathedral’s interior form a system of parts that are logically related. The lower columns are about as high as the two upper sections combined–the blind windows in the middle (the triforium) and the upper windows (the clerestory). Each pair of clerestory windows matches a triforium’s bay.
And each pair of triforium bays matches a lower arch.
And each system of one lower arch, two triforium bays, and four clerestory windows rises to a cross-vault in the ceiling.
All these segments proceed in a line from the entrance at the west facade to the altar. Westerners have often thought in terms of linear arrangements of distinct objects since ancient Greece. But this line advances into spirit in Amiens Cathedral.
3. Each section of two sets of clerestory windows rises into a single rose window (shown above).
So each section in Amiens Cathedral’s interior is a vertical line of three levels of arches, and they end in a circular design which seems to unify them from the heavenly elevation that they aspire for. The cathedral’s vertical lines also become spirit.
4. They also turn material into spirit in another way. If you look at the above shot closely, you can see that the four lancet windows are set back from their bases. The two triforium bays are also set back a bit. So the lines become thinner as it rises and the nave thus becomes roomier. The heavenly realms predominate over the ground that my sneakers were treading on.
5. The pillars in Amiens Notre Dame Cathedral aren’t the plain cylinders that Paris Notre Dame’s early pillars are. They take a clover form with four smaller pillars, and they have elegant capitals which are in vine patterns.
6. The aisles in Amiens Cathedral (above) are as high as many cathedrals’ naves. They seem to rise to become pure spirit.
7. Amiens Cathedral is 145 meters long–longer than Paris Notre Dame. Amiens’ elegant aisles seem to extend horizontally into spirit too.
Other cathedrals in the High Gothic style have interrelated parts as well–see Chartres Cathedral. These components form a coherent system which reflects the divine order that 13th century folks believed that God created. But in Amiens Cathedral, these parts transcend their own materials. When you examine the building closely, the whole system transforms from logic into spirit. The logical relationships are there, but as you admire them they dissolve into spiritual unity.