Part 4

=The Second Storey=

The second storey comprises a series of niches, surmounted by sharply pointed gables and adorned with gigantic statues, known as the _Kings' Gallery_.

The central group, consisting of seven figures, commemorates the _Baptism of Clovis_. Clovis, standing in the baptismal font; between Saint Remi, receiving the Sacred Ampulla, and Clotilda.

The balcony in front of the _Baptism of Clovis_ was formerly called the _Gloria Gallery_, as it was the custom for the choir-boys to sing the _Gloria_ there on Palm Sunday.

=The Upper Portion of the Towers=

The upper storey of the towers, built on an octagonal plan, is flanked with four open-work turrets, one of which contains stairs leading to the platforms.

The northern tower, badly damaged by the fire of 1914, lost several of the fine colonnettes of its corner turrets in 1918.

In the same year, the pierced staircase of the southern tower was almost entirely destroyed.

At the time of the last restorations, the foundations of the spires provided for in the original plans, but which have never been built, were laid.

In the belfry of the northern tower are two magnificent deep-toned bells. One of them is modern and was cast at Le Mans, and blessed in 1849 by Cardinal Gousset. The other, one of the finest bells known, and presented to the church in 1570 by Cardinal Charles de Lorraine, is the work of the Rheims metal-founder, Pierre Deschamps.

The scaffolding fire of 1914 reached the belfry, bringing down the bells, which were broken in the fall.

=The Lateral Facades and Chevet=

The lateral facades of the Cathedral are of rare beauty. Nowhere have abutments and flying buttresses been so harmoniously employed as here. They are not merely supports, but form part of the decorative scheme of the nave, and ensure the harmony of the whole. Buttresses, finished off with pinnacles, serve as points of support for two superimposed flying-buttresses. The octagonal pinnacles are flanked with four small triangular pyramids and supported in front by two slender detached columns. Between the latter, under canopies, angels with outstretched wings carry the instruments of the Passion and various other emblems (_see photo, p. 49_).

_Skirt the Cathedral on the left, passing in front of the North Facade (see photo below), to reach the Northern Transept._

=The Northern Facade and Transept=

The transept is pierced with broad bays, whose completion, as in all the windows of the Cathedral, consists of two twin arches surmounted by a six-leaved rose. The niches in the buttresses are ornamented with statues believed by some to represent Kings of France. At any rate, that of the buttress on the western front of the north-west tower greatly resembles the figure of St. Louis carved on the doorway of the church of St. Vincent at Carcassonne.

The carvings of the lower windows were either destroyed or damaged on September 19, 1914, at the same time as the stained-glass. The two towers which flank the crossings were left unfinished.

Before the fire of 1481, there was a lantern over the intersection of the transept.

=The Central Door of the Northern Transept=

The sculptural decoration, while rich, is more sober than that of the doorway of the western facade. It is commemorative of the glory of the Archbishops of Rheims.

The statue of the Pontiff with a tiara, backing up to the dividing-pillar, is supposed to be that of St. Sixtus, first Bishop of Rheims. In the splaying, on the left, is St. Nicaise holding his head in his hands, between St. Eutropia, an angel and a figure improbably said to be Clovis.

The pediment was pierced by a shell and scarred with splinters. It is divided into five tiers, and represent the life of St. Remi and St. Nicaise.

Beginning at the bottom, the figures represent: _on the first tier_, the beheading of St. Nicaise by the Vandals and the Baptism of Clovis by St. Remi; _on the second_, St. Remi, as a child, restores sight to Montanus and, as a man, exorcises the demons who had set fire to Rheims; _on the third_, the story of Job; _on the fourth_, the restoring to life of a young Toulouse girl, and the miracle of the cask filled with wine by St. Remi; _on the fifth_, Christ between two angels.

=The Left-Hand Door of the Northern Transept=

This door, which has long been walled up, is called _The Doorway of the Last Judgment_, on account of the carving on the tympanum.

In the upper part, Christ is supported on one side by the Holy Virgin, and on the other by John the Baptist. Below (_two rows_) the dead rise from their graves (_photo above_). Lower down, on one side are _The Virtues_, represented by seated women; on the other, _The Vices_, mutilated in 1780 on account of their realism. On the lowest tier, _to the left_, angels carry souls to Abraham's bosom: _on the right_, Satan leads a chain of damned souls to Hell (_photo below_), amongst whom are a king, a bishop, and a monk.

In the arching are three rows of angels carrying books or blowing trumpets, and the wise and foolish virgins.

Backing up to the dividing pillar is an exceedingly fine 13th century statue, which recalls the "_Beautiful God_" of Amiens Cathedral (_see the Michelin Guide: Amiens Before and During the War_); Jesus blessing with His right hand, holds the globe of the world in His left (_see photo p. 45_).

This statue was decapitated by a shell which struck the doorway in 1918, also taking off the head of the first statue on the left-hand portion of the doorway.

On the plinth of the dividing pillar is a bas-relief, remarkable for its delicate carving.

According to local tradition, this plinth was erected at the expense of a dishonest master-draper, convicted of selling by false measure.

_On the left_, the merchant is seen in his shop. In front of the counter, customers of both sexes look at the outspread stuffs, while clerks write in books.

_On the right_, the merchant kneels before a statue of the Virgin in penance.

Near-by, burgesses talk together and seem to judge the delinquent's conduct severely.

The six statues against the walls represent the apostles: _on the right_, St. John, St. James and St. Paul; _on the left_, St. Andrew, St. Peter and St. Bartholomew.

The rose is carved in a voussoir; the uprights are decorated with statues of Adam and Eve in long tunics, and the arch with twenty-two groups of small figures depicting, _from left to right_, the story of Adam and Eve, the various tasks to which they and their descendants were condemned, and the story of Cain and Abel.

Above the rose an open-work gallery contains seven statues of the prophets. The statues are 13th century, but the gallery was restored in 1846.

The balustrading and triangular gable flanked with pinnacles, which dominate the gallery, date from the beginning of the 16th century, but have been repaired in recent times. On the gable is a colossal =Annunciation=; the Archangel and Mary are under Flamboyant canopies.

=The Right-Hand Door of the Northern Transept (Norman Door)=

This little door formerly connected, by means of a vaulted passage, the Cathedral with the Cloister (no longer existing) of the Chapter.

Its tympanum is a relic of the Cathedral built by Archbishop Samson. It depicts, in beautiful Romanesque relief, a majestic Virgin. The archivolt which frames it, doubtless belonged to a 12th century tomb. At the top of the arch, angels carry away a soul, while on the uprights, clerks officiate at a funeral service.

=The Chevet=

(_See photograph of Cathedral, taken from aeroplane, p. 30._)

The Chevet, begun by Jean D'Orbais and finished by Jean Le Loup, was inaugurated by the Chapter about 1241. It is one of the finest 13th century chevets in existence.

It is stayed by two rows of buttresses supporting double flying-buttresses. Like those of the nave, the buttresses are surmounted with pinnacles, beneath which niches shelter statues of flying angels.

All around the apse, between the windows of the radial chapels and on the main buttresses, are statues of angels, some of them of great beauty.

The 13th century clerestory gallery, which surrounds the upper portion of the apsidal chapels, was restored by Viollet-le-Duc. It was partially destroyed by the bombardments. On April 19, 1917, three large calibre shells, which burst on the chevet, destroyed forty to fifty feet of it. At the same time, the buttress jutting on the centre of the destroyed gallery lost its pinnacle, and behind, an arch of the flying-buttress. The buttresses between the above-mentioned one and the corner of the South Transept Tower lost either a colonnette or their pinnacle with angel statue.

The slender spire which, before the War, rose above the chevet, was known as the =Angel Spire=, on account of a bronze angel which surmounted it, and which was removed in 1860 as unsafe. This spire, the work of Colard le Moine, was built in 1485, after the fire of 1481. Its pierced base with balustrading was supported by eight leaden caryatids, some of which, in the popular costume of the Louis XI. period, became deformed in consequence of the rotting of their oaken core.

The fire of September 19, 1914, caused by the German shells, entirely destroyed the spire and its caryatids.

The bombardments in the spring of the following year further damaged the gallery, also causing fresh mutilations to the flying buttresses and the pinnacles of the apse.

A plain stone gallery with blind arcading, which formerly ran round the chevet on a level with the springing of the roof, was replaced by Viollet-le-Duc, with pierced battlemented arcading. Part of the original gallery which surrounded the entire building, level with the roof, still exists on the northern side.

On October 12, 1914, a shell destroyed about twenty five feet of the gallery round the chevet, which later was further damaged by another shell.

=The Lateral Facade and South Transept=

This facade and transept (_which should be seen from the courtyard of the Archbishop's Palace_) are identical, as a whole, with the northern facade and transept (_see pp. 28 and 42_).

The gallery at the springing of the roof of the nave was entirely rebuilt in 1878 by Architect Millet, in a style foreign to that of the Cathedral.

Among the statues of the transept buttresses that at the corner of the south-western tower, bestriding a lion, is thought by some to represent =Pepin-the-Short=, and another near him, =Charlemagne=.

The facade of the transept has no doorway. Above the lower storey, the architectural arrangement is the same as that of the northern transept. At the base of the rose-window, on each side, are two very fine statues.

_On the left_, =The Christian Religion=, symbolised by a crowned woman with chalice and standard. This statue was destroyed by a German shell in 1918, after being damaged in April 1917.

_On the right_, =The Synagogue=, with eyes bandaged and a crown on one side, was not seriously damaged.

In consequence of the fire of 1481, the gable of South Transept was rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th century by three master-masons, one of whom, Guichart Antoine, co-operated later with the building of =Notre Dame de l'Epine=. (_See the Michelin Guide: The Revigny Pass._) It was restored about 1888 in the original style. The subject sculptured on the pediment represents the =Assumption of the Virgin=.

The =Sagittarius= which surmounted the gable was destroyed in 1914. It was a modern faithful copy of the old lead-covered wooden Sagittarius, which was carved, gilded and painted about 1503 by the Rheims sculptor, Jean Bourcamus. According to tradition, this Sagittarius, which appeared to be shooting its arrow at the bronze stag of the archi-episcopal palace, symbolised the rivalry between the Archbishop and the Chapter of the Cathedral.

=THE INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL=

=The Inner Western Facade=

(_See description of the Exterior on pp. 34 to 41._)

This is a masterpiece. Its sculptural decoration is unique, and as rich as that of the outer facade.

In the tympanum of the central door a sixteen-leaved rose-window, the stained-glass of which was made shortly before the Revolution, is faced with three small trefoil rose-windows.

At the top of the dividing pillar St. Nicaise, headless, is between two angels and two armed men personifying the barbarians who killed him.

The entire door, as far as the triforium, is framed by seven rows of superimposed niches separated by panels of sculptured foliage. The basements are covered with figured drapery, as on the outside. In each niche, under a trefoil arcade, is a statue. The subjects represented are, _from bottom to top_: _on the right_: =The Life of John the Baptist=; _on the left_: =The Fulfilment of the Prophecy= and =The Childhood of Christ=.

The first row on the right is known as "=The Knight's Communion="; a priest offers the Host to a knight wearing 13th century armour, and turns his back on another knight clothed in a leathern Carolingian tunic with iron scales, and armed with a small round buckler.

Above the door, a gallery with nine openings lights the triforium.

On the highest storey, the great rose-window occupies the whole breadth of the nave. It is the masterpiece of Bernard de Soissons (_see p. 40_).

In the form of a gigantic flower with twelve petals, each of the latter is sub-divided by quatrefoils and trefoil archings. Its harmonious gracefulness and seeming lightness, in spite of the great thickness of its border (about 7 ft.), and mullions (about 2 ft. 6 in.), are very striking.

The stained-glass, which, with the stonework, formed a harmonious whole, was restored in modern times. The subject represented was: =The Virgin surrounded by angels, kings and patriarchs=.

The fire of 1914 destroyed the stained-glass.

The side-doors have only a quatrefoil rose-window (_see pp. 25 and 34_), and their framework of niches consists only of four rows of two niches each. However, two lines of niches, in which are statues in demi-relief, form the contour of the arches which frame their top.

The subjects of the sculptures are allied, in the case of each door, to those of the outer decoration, _i.e._ "=The Life of St. Stephen=."

The wooden doors and their tambours were destroyed by the fire of September 19, 1914, which also disfigured or destroyed the statues framing them (_see photos above_).

=The Great Nave=

The fire of September 19, 1914, destroyed the framework of the Nave and its 15th century lead roof. In the following years a number of shells pierced the vaulting, without, however, damaging its vital parts. It will be possible to restore it.

It seems to be clearly established that although the first four bays were built later than the others, the nave as a whole, like that of the Cathedral of Amiens, was completely finished before 1300 A.D. Vaulted throughout on diagonal ribs, the nave, which is perfectly regular, has three stories: the lowest, formed of great arches, rests on massive pillars; the triforium, formed of two, four, five, or six arcades, extends round the entire building; the high twin-bay windows are surmounted with a six-leaved rose-window.

The pillars, which have been likened to a row of antique columns, are composed of a great cylindrical shaft, reinforced by four smaller engaged columns, standing on an octagonal base. The pillars which follow the first bay of the nave and carry one of the corners of the towers, as also the four pillars of the transept square, are more massive.

The capitals of the pillars and of the columns (_photo opposite_) are most beautifully decorated. The dominating subject of their decoration is natural foliage (vine, oak, thistle, ivy, ranunculus, fig-tree). Occasionally, human or animal figures or monsters, and scenes from nature, _i.e._ the dainty =Vintage scene= on the capital of the sixth pillar on the right of the nave, are interspersed. The ornamentation of the capitals of six pillars of the first bays is more elaborate and more recent in style. These capitals are not, like those of the other pillars, divided on the four flanking columns into two equal courses by an astragal, neither do they include, like some of the others, crockets, acanthus leaves and other conventional ornaments of an older and less realistic style.

The 13th and 14th century stained-glass of the high windows represents, on two superimposed lines, figures of kings of France and archbishops of Rheims. Some of the glass was broken, but the finest was saved.

In the third and fourth bays there was formerly a square =Labyrinth=, flanked at the corners by polygonal compartments. In the interior, a line of white tiles bordered with black stones ran from one side, and after complicated windings reached a central compartment. At the corners of the compartments were figures of the four first architects of the Cathedral: Jean d'Orbais, Jean le Loup, Gaucher of Rheims and Bernard of Soissons. The central figure is probably that of Archbishop Aubri de Humbert, who laid the first stone of the edifice. This Labyrinth, the drawings of which revealed the names of the builders of the Cathedral, was destroyed in 1778 by the Chapter, to prevent the children playing there.

Between the Labyrinth and the Choir are about twenty 14th century tombstones.

The =great pulpit= set up against the fifth left-hand pillar was made, in the time of Louis XV., by a Rheims artist (Blondel). It comes from the old church of St. Pierre-le-Vieil.

In the sixth bay, just before the entrance to the choir, the spot where St. Nicaise was beheaded, on the threshold of his church, was formerly indicated by a small circular chapel known as _La Rouelle de St. Nicaise_. The tiny building was replaced by a memorial inscription on the flagstone, supposed to have been stained with the blood of the martyr.

=The Aisles of the Naves=

The windows of the Aisles are similar to the lofty windows of the nave. The walls were formerly hung with valuable tapestries, which were taken down and evacuated by the _Historical Monuments Department_ at the outbreak of the War. The two oldest, dating back to about 1440, and known as the tapestries of the _fort roi Clovis_, were presented by Cardinal Charles de Lorraine, and depict the history of Clovis. Those of the Renaissance, given in 1530 by Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt, who caused himself to be portrayed kneeling in the picture of the Birth of Christ, depict the _Life of the Virgin_. The most modern, presented in 1640 by Archbishop Henri de Lorraine and worked by the Fleming, Daniel Pepersack, represent Jesus at the _Marriage at Cana in Galilee_ and _Jesus among the Doctors_.

At the foot of the walls, three stone steps serve as seats.

=The Interior of the Northern Transept=

(_See plan, p. 33, and the Exterior, p. 42._)

The inner facade is partially hidden by the great organ, built about 1487 and transformed several times since then. Of the original organ the loft only remains, the Gothic balustrading of which is pierced with Flamboyant arcading.

The facade originally consisted of three lofty bays with lancet-shaped windows surmounted by a gallery lighted by three rose-windows of six lobes each and one of twelve lobes. The subsequent addition of a doorway about the _middle_ of the 13th century caused the partial suppression of the bays, of which the transformed summits alone remain.

Almost all the high windows of the transept contained 13th century _grisaille_ glass, which was damaged or broken by the bombardments, as was also the 13th century stained-glass of the great rose-window (repaired in 1869), which represented _The Story of the Creation_ and _The Fall of Adam_.

The reverse side of the Central Door is bare, except the dividing pillar, the statue of which is hidden by the 18th century wooden tambour.

The small western side-door, which formerly communicated with the cloister of the Chapter, is entirely covered with 18th century woodwork. The adjoining bay, closed in by a beautiful 13th century wrought-iron railing, is the old chartulary or muniment room of the Chapter. Near the railing, in the corner of the transept, is a clock with automatons, which come out when the hours strike. Its woodwork is 14th and 15th century and its works 17th and 18th century.

To the right of the door of the organ stair, a =tombstone= to =Hugues Libergier= was set up against the wall. He was the architect who, in 1231, commenced the abbatial church of St. Nicaise. The tombstone has been in the Cathedral since 1800. The altar in the Lady-Chapel, surmounted with a statue by Francois Ladatte (1742), replaced a Gothic altar-screen destroyed in 1739.

The picture _The Washing of the Disciples' Feet_ is by Jerome Muziano.

On the western walls of the transept is a fine tapestry, the pendant of which is in the south transept. These two great tapestries, made at the Gobelins, after cartoons by Raphael, represent the life of St. Paul. They were removed in 1914, at the same time as those in the aisles.

=The Choir=

(_See the Chevet, p. 46._)

The ambulatory with its radiating chapels is of incomparable beauty. Excepting the larger central chapel, known as the _Chapel of the Holy Sacrament_, which is nine-sided, each chapel has seven sides rising from a circular floor.

In each chapel, three windows similar to those of the nave, light the three hindmost walls. Blind windows imitate the true ones on the side walls.

At the base of the windows a narrow gallery, passing through the pillars, continues all along the side-aisles of the transept and nave--a peculiarity in Champagne architecture.

The 13th century stained-glass of the high windows was destroyed by the bombardment of September 19, 1914.

In April, 1917, part of the vaulting fell in on the High Altar (_photo above_).

The costly marble High Altar was erected in 1747 by Canon Godinot, who spent considerable sums in making alterations to the Cathedral, not all of which were happy. Its six chandeliers date from the consecration of Charles X.

The High Altar of the rear choir dates from 1764 and came from the Church of St. Nicaise. On either side of this altar are two 14th century tumulary stones. Behind is the tomb of Cardinal de Lorraine.