THE CATHEDRAL

THE CATHEDRAL IN NOVEMBER 1918.

In April 1919, visitors entered through the door in the Place du Cloître (see pp. [29] & [33]).

The Cathedral of Soissons (H.M.) may be considered as a miniature of that of Amiens. For the purity of its lines and simplicity of arrangement, it is probably the finest of the secondary Cathedrals in France.

THE CATHEDRAL BEFORE THE WAR.
The unfinished main front had only one tower.

It was very quickly built, of hard Soissons stone, and is peculiar in that building began at the south arm of the transept,—primitive Gothic in style,—during the last third of the 12th century. Next were built, in pointed Gothic, the choir (completed in 1212) then the nave. The main body of the cathedral was completed in the middle of the 13th century, with the exception of the high parts of the main front (on which a single tower was built in the 14th century) and of the façade of the north arm of the transept (also 14th century).

The cathedral of Soissons, like that of Arras, has greatly suffered in its vital parts. The nave, which partly fell in during 1915–1916, was, with the aisles, entirely destroyed by the end of 1918. The tower, which, though severely damaged by enemy shell-fire, was still standing, collapsed at the same time. The transept and choir alone escaped with slight damage.

Principal Façade of the Cathedral.

The West front contains three doorways, finished about 1230, but disfigured in the 18th century by roughcast, which destroyed their 13th century decoration, since replaced by pseudo-Gothic ornament.

THE TOWER IN JUNE 1915.
The collapse of the mullion laid bare the framework of the belfry.

Above the large rose-window, set in a tierce-point arch, rises a graceful gallery composed of double arches surmounted by gables, which is carried all round the single tower, about 241 feet in height.

The tower comprised on each front two long bays separated by a mullion. Its later date was noticeable chiefly in the statues of apostles, saints and bishops, sheltered beneath finely carved canopies, which ornamented the corner abutments.

Throughout the war, the German gunners made a constant target of the cathedral tower.

In June 1915, large calibre shells caused the collapse of the great mullion separating the two bays on the west front, which fell to the ground, a large breach in the upper part of the tower laying bare the framework of the belfry (photo above). The same collapse caused the fall of almost all the gables of the lower gallery, the left bay of which had previously been struck by several shells.

THE TOWER IN MARCH 1919.

Until 1918, no further damage of importance was done to the façade, but in August of that year, some days after the French had retaken Soissons, three sides of the tower (north, south and east) and the interior framework of the belfry were entirely destroyed by the numerous German shells.

In September 1918, all that remained of the tower were the two buttresses at the north-west and south-west corners. By a miracle they remain poised, but loosened stones keep constantly crashing to the ground (photo above).

All the arches of the gallery above the large rose-window were also destroyed in August 1918.

Interior of the Cathedral.

The cathedral, over 300 feet in length, comprises:

A Nave with seven bays and double side-aisles, with chapels of a later date added to the last four bays.

A Transept, the south arm of which ends in a semi-circle, and the north arm in a straight wall.

A Choir with four bays and a semi-circular Apse surrounded by an ambulatory, off which open eight rectangular chapels, and, at the apse, five radial polygonal chapels.

PLAN OF THE CATHEDRAL.

The Nave before the Bombardments.

Completed about 1230, the Nave—now entirely destroyed—was regarded before the war as one of the best examples of the harmonious simplicity of early 13th century Gothic architecture.

The central vault was about 103 feet in height.

The bays were divided by columns flanked on the side facing the grand nave by a small engaged shaft. On their fine capitals, decorated with four rows of crockets or foliage, rested the large arches of the ground floor, and the groups of five small columns which supported the springing of the pointed arches of the vault.

The large arcades were surmounted by a shallow triforium and high double windows with dividing mullions.

The wide, lofty aisles with windows gave additional light to the body of the church. Their vaulting was pointed and terminated at the last bays in chapels built for the most part in the 18th century.

In the second bay of the north aisle, a gallery (B on plan), the remains of the old cathedral cloister, gave access to a large chapel (Chapelle des Œuvres) with two naves of three bays. It was the old chapter-house, built in the 13th century, by prolonging the west front but completely remodelled in the 19th century.

THE NAVE BEFORE THE BOMBARDMENTS.

COLLAPSE OF THE PILLAR, FEBRUARY 1915.

SOUTHERN AISLE AND TRIFORIUM, NOVEMBER 1918.

The destruction of the Nave and fall of the Pillar.

Early in February 1915, a projectile, entering by a hole made by a previous shell in the wall of the south aisle, struck the second column (A on plan, p. [18]) on the left of the main nave, which was broken in two about 13 feet from the ground (photos pp. [20–21]). The upper part, with the capital and courses supporting the springing of the vault, gave way, dragging down in its fall a portion of the vault and of the wall at the back of the triforium.

The ruins accumulated rapidly. By the end of March, the roof of the grand nave and of the north aisle, which the broken pillar had sustained, collapsed. The whole of the triforium, the large window, the flying buttress outside, the framework, and the roofing of the bay of the aisle also gave way. An enormous breach was made in the cathedral, and the floor of the nave was covered with a shapeless mass of broken stones, which increased during the following months.

THE GREAT NAVE AND NORTHERN AISLE, NOVEMBER 1918.
Behind the two standing pillars is seen the base of the pillar which collapsed in Feb. 1915.
The fall is shown on p. [20].

THE FALLEN VAULTING LEFT BARE THE DAMAGED FRAMEWORK OF THE ROOF.

BREACH IN THE NAVE, NOVEMBER 1918.

The fall of the Vaulting.

The vaults of the remaining bays, already weakened, could not withstand the renewed bombardments. One after another they crashed to the ground, with the exception of those of the first and seventh bays. Everywhere else, pieces of broken or disjointed framework, supporting a completely ruined roof, are exposed to view (photo above).

Several of the large windows on the north side have also fallen in and all the stained-glass has been smashed.

The Final Ruin.

THE NAVE, AUGUST 1918.

The bombardments of 1918 destroyed the nave beyond hope of repair.

Several large pillars collapsed and a considerable portion of the upper part of the side walls, large arches and triforium fell in to the right and left.

Three bays near the west front, with their large arches and the aisles were completely destroyed. All this masonry fell inside the nave, forming across its entire breadth a heap of debris more than 19 feet high and about 33 feet long.

Fragments of vaulting, bases of pillars, stones from the roof, were mixed in shapeless chaos with a quantity of architectural and sculptured motives, notably the beautiful capitals and the key-stones of the vault, mostly broken. And on this heap of ruins the roof-timbers of the framework, deprived of all support, fell by degrees in their turn.

The old harmonious construction of the nave is now to be seen only in the bays nearest the transept.

The Chapelle des Œuvres was struck several times. The most serious damage was caused during the first bombardments of 1914 by a shell which exploded on the roof of the gallery (B on plan p. [18], photo below) which leads to the chapel. Penetrating the roof and the framework, it caused the vault to fall in, broke the arches, and shattered the stained-glass of the chapel windows.

GALLERY GIVING ACCESS TO THE CHAPELLE DES ŒUVRES, NOV. 1918.

SOUTH ARM OF TRANSEPT.
See the exterior, p. [29.]

South Arm of the Transept.

The bombardments have spared the south arm of the transept, a marvel of grace and simplicity, built about 1175, by Bishop Nivelon of Chérisy. It is the oldest and also the least elevated portion of the cathedral.

The arm of the transept ends in a semi-circle (a peculiarity which it shares with those of the old Cathedral of Noyon and numerous Rhenish churches) and is surrounded by an ambulatory.

In style it differs distinctly from that of the rest of the building, and presents the distinguishing features of primitive Gothic.

The triforium—which elsewhere consists only of a narrow gallery—is here double. It comprises a story of high, wide, arched tribunes, grouped three and three, surmounted by a narrow passage with graceful colonnettes.

The main vault is supported by six pointed ribs which intersect in a central key-stone ornamented with six angels.

The south arm of the transept is lighted by three series of windows. Small semi-circular bays are cut in the wall of the ambulatory. The galleries are lighted—except on the right, which is ornamented with rose-windows—by tierce-point windows in groups of three. There is a final row of high tierce-point windows, also in groups of three, above the triforium.

Some of the capitals are masterpieces of ornamental sculpture. Their decoration consists either of the foliage characteristic of Romanesque capitals (acanthus leaves) or of projecting crockets,—one of the earliest examples of this distinctive ornament of Gothic capitals.

On the east side of the south arm of the transept there is a two-storied polygonal chapel (C on plan, p. [18]) of the same period. The key-stone of the vault of the lower chapel represents two angels carrying the Agnus Dei on a cloth. The upper chapel, in which the Treasure was formerly kept, communicates with the galleries.

The Choir and Apse.

The choir, where, on the completion of the south arm of the transept, Bishop Nivelon of Chérisy continued the building of the Cathedral (1200–1212), is one of the earliest examples of Pointed Gothic—so-called on account of the sharp outline of the arches. A notable characteristic of this is the transformation of the wide galleries of the triforium into a narrow gallery, which gives greater importance to the wide arches of the ground floor and to the high windows of the upper story.

Its general plan is similar to that of the nave, built immediately afterwards: lofty wide arches, narrow triforium, high windows (but without mullions, forming a single bay), and pointed vaults of rectangular plan.

The Choir is flanked by side-aisles, off which open, on each side four rectangular chapels with groined vaults.

The second chapel of the aisle has an inscription recording the date on which the Canons took possession of the Choir:

Anno milleno biscenteno duodeno hunc intrare chorum
Cepit grex canonicorum tercio idus maii.

(In the year 1212, on the third Ides of May, the Canons first took
possession of the Choir).

THE CHOIR.
On the left and at the back sand-bags protected the art treasures.

The south side-aisle communicates with the chapel attached to the south arm of the transept by a 15th century vaulted corridor (D on plan p. [18]) in which there is a fine 16th century statue of the Virgin and Infant seated.

The two side-aisles continue round the semi-circular apse, forming an ambulatory surrounded by five shallow radial chapels. The central chapel is consecrated, as usual, to the Virgin. The pointed vaults of the chapels unite with those of the ambulatory, eight pointed ribs meeting in the same key-stone.

The choir, scarcely touched by enemy fire up to December 1916, suffered more serious damage then and in January 1917.

Shells pierced the vault in two places and also penetrated several parts of the triforium wall, breaking the arches. In the apse, portions of the vault were injured and parts of the 13th century stained-glass, which it was not possible to remove from the high windows, were damaged.

The vital parts of the choir escaped serious damage, and it was possible during the second half of 1917, to carry out temporary repairs after the retreat of the Germans. At the same time, in order to make the choir—as well as the transept, which had also escaped serious injury—once more available for public worship, a partition was built shutting off the nave (photo p. [24]).

This protective partition shielded part of the building very effectively in 1918, when the Choir and Transept escaped serious damage.

Most of the fine 13th century stained-glass windows were removed in 1915 to a place of safety.

They were originally taken from the church of Saint-Yved-de-Braines and inserted during the 19th century in the high windows of the apse and those of the Lady Chapel.

Thanks to the protective measures taken, the interior decoration of the choir escaped injury. It dates from the 18th century and comprises a high altar of marble, surrounded by a wrought-iron railing, and flanked by two marble statues of the Virgin and the Angel Gabriel, depicting the Annunciation. Two consoles of carved and gilded wood with marble tops, complete this group. The stalls only are 17th century.

The North Arm of the Transept.

The north arm of the transept, flanked by aisles, shows the same arrangement as the nave, but ends in a straight wall (late 13th century) which was ornamented in the 14th century. A clerestory gallery joining the triforium of the side walls, and carried on small, light columns, is built against this wall. Above are pierced a row of bays and a fine rose-window containing old stained-glass.

During the war, a fine picture by Rubens (1635), painted for the Franciscan Fathers in return for their having nursed him through an illness contracted at Soissons, was removed from the north arm of the transept to a place of safety. This picture, which represents the Adoration of the Shepherds, has a fine frame of carved and gilded wood of the Regency period.

The bombardments did little damage to the north arm of the transept and to the intersection of the transepts. The worst injury was the falling in of one of the vaults of the north arm, and the breaking of the arch-band uniting two of the large pillars of the transept.

The art treasures.

In addition to the works of art preserved in the choir and transept, the Cathedral possesses a fragment of a 16th century tapestry, all that remains of a large piece devoted to the legend of Saint-Gervais and Saint-Protais, which, before the War, hung in the north aisle of the nave.

WOODWORK IN THE SOUTHERN AISLE.

Before the War, at the entrance to the nave on each side of the main portal, were memorial statues of two abbesses of the ancient abbey of Notre-Dame, represented kneeling, with folded hands, in the costume of the period: Henriette de Lorraine d’Elbeuf, abbess from 1660 to 1669, and Gabrielle-Marie de la Rochefoucauld (1683–1693).

Photographs of these two statues are given below.

In the sacristy are preserved fragments of flamboyant style woodwork, a 17th century chalice of finely chased gilt silver, a magnificent Crucifix by Girardon and a fine reliquary in gilt copper (1560), representing the plan of Soissons with its battlemented walls and churches of the period. (See p. [3]).

HENRIETTE DE LORRAINE D’ELBEUF

GABRIELLE-MARIE DE LA ROCHEFOUCAULD
Funeral Statues to two Abbesses of the old Abbey of Notre-Dame.

SOUTHERN ARM OF TRANSEPT.
See the Interior, p. [25].

Side façades of the Cathedral.

The exterior of Soissons Cathedral is remarkable for the great simplicity of its lines and its well-balanced construction.

The high vaults are supported by two super-imposed 13th century flying-buttresses, which are supported on one side by powerful abutments and on the other by small engaged columns, the capitals of which are decorated with crockets. (See photos, pp. [20], [22], [24]).

Against the straight wall which ends the north arm of the transept are 14th century radiating arcades (p. [30]). This wall is pierced by a large rose-window set in tierce-point arch. It ends in a gable with 14th century ornament, and is flanked by two bell-turrets, one of which was destroyed. (Photos, pp. [30] & [31]).

To the east of the north arm of the transept, obstructing the first window of the choir aisle, is a 14th century portal with a sharply pointed gable, supported by two buttresses (photo opposite). The higher finish and greater adornment of 14th century decorative art is clearly to be seen here: sharply pointed gables ornamented with trefoil over the portal and buttresses, and intricately carved bouquets of foliage on the capitals, replacing the hooked crockets of the preceding century.

DOORWAY OF THE NORTHERN ARM OF TRANSEPT.

NORTH FRONT.
Choir and North Arm of Transept, Nov. 1918. See description, p. [29].

The Exterior of the Cathedral (Nov. 1918).

The bombardments seriously damaged the side façades of the cathedral. All the stone-work, bays, flying-buttresses and abutments, and all the roofing and framework collapsed as far as the first bays of the nave. The building is, so to speak, cut into two unequal parts throughout its entire width, by an immense gap. (Photo p. [31], Panorama p. [14]).

THE FIRST SHELLS TO HIT THE MAIN ROOF.

The rounded arm of the transept and the south end of the choir suffered comparatively little. On the other hand, the bombardments seriously injured the chevet and the north front of the choir. The upper part of one of the high windows in the apse was struck. A buttress of the Lady Chapel was badly broken, while two unexploded shells are embedded in the damaged stone-work of a neighbouring buttress. On the north front of the choir most of the abutments were damaged and the flying-buttresses which support it, more or less injured.

NORTH FRONT.
North Arm of Transept, Nave and Chapelle des Œuvres, Nov. 1918.

The roofing was ruined and the framework broken. The north arm of the transept, especially the gable, was also somewhat damaged. One of the turrets surrounding it was broken off (Photo above).

However, the north front of the nave suffered most (photo above). In addition to the opening made at the west end, the stone-work and roofing were injured throughout their entire length. Only the last two windows next the transept retained their mullions, the others being more or less completely destroyed. Of the flying-buttresses and abutment-piers, very little remains standing.

THE CHAPELLE DES ŒUVRES.
Seen from the corner of the Rues de la Buerie and Jaulzy, Nov. 1918.