![]() ![]() ![]() Sully was able to celebrate the first Mass in the cathedral but would die in 1196, nearly 150 years before the main structures of the cathedral would be finished in the 1300s. In 1182, under the reign of the new king, Philip II, the high altar was consecrated. ![]() Work on the sanctuary and nave began first. The cathedral became a lifelong project for Sully. Building a Churchīuilding Notre Dame took nearly two centuries from start to finish. The first stone was laid in June 1163, in a lavish ceremony attended by Pope Alexander III. Its construction required demolishing various houses in the cramped medieval neighborhood and two existing churches on the Île de la Cité that had, in their own day, been built over an ancient pagan temple. With the generous financial backing provided by the crown, Sully contracted an architect (whose identity is unknown) to design the new church in 1160. This stage of the high Middle Ages was marked by an economic boom in Europe, especially in France. Sully decided to create a rival structure in the heart of Paris itself: a cathedral that would be the wonder of Christendom and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. He admired the work of the pioneering architects, who were building in the new Gothic style of soaring ceilings and abundant light. One witness of the construction of the Basilica of Saint-Denis was the 12th-century Bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully. In a spot north of the city, alleged to be where he stopped running, a basilica was built in the 12th century to honor him. According to tradition, Denis was beheaded on the hill of Montmartre (“martyrs’ mount”) in the mid- to late-third century A.D., after which he ran six or so miles while carrying his severed head. A saintly cult had been developing around its local martyr, St. Trade was key to the city’s burgeoning fortunes, but Paris was gaining a reputation as a spiritual center as well. ![]()
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