Old Continental Towns

by Walter M. Gallichan

A yearning for home and the old tranquil life was in the heart of Joan; she wished to leave the tented field, and to return to her sheep-folds and pastures. But, at the battle of Compiegne, she fell into the hands of the treacherous Bastard of Vendôme, and about a year later Joan la Pucelle was burned to death.

The focus of interest in Rheims is the cathedral. Notre Dame was built on the situation of a Roman basilica. Parts of the present building were first constructed in 1231, but the façade is of the fourteenth century. This magnificent front has a gorgeous portal, with pointed arches of great grace, rising to a large and handsome rose window. There are two towers over two hundred and fifty feet high, very finely decorated. A number of statues adorn this façade, on the portals and in the arch of the rose window. The figure of the Virgin is over the principal doorway, bending to receive the crown from the hands of Christ.

“The three great doorways,” writes Mr Henry James, in “Portraits of Places,” “are in themselves a museum of imagery, disposed in each case in five close tiers, the statues in each of the tiers packed perpendicularly against their comrades. The effect of these great hollowed and chiselled recesses is extremely striking; they are a proper vestibule to the dusky richness of the interior. The cathedral of Rheims, more fortunate than many of its companions, appears not to have suffered from the iconoclasts of the Revolution; I noticed no absent heads nor broken noses.”

The rose windows of the transepts are exceedingly lovely, and attention should be paid to the design of the buttresses, and the very remarkable gargoyles. One of the towers contains an enormous bell. In the exterior of the south transept are several good statues.

An immense nave stretches for nearly five hundred feet. This part of the edifice was repeatedly extended to make space for the great crowds that attended the imposing coronation ceremonies. Around the choir are several chapels. In numerous niches and corners are statues of interest. “The long sweep of the nave, from the threshold to the point where the coloured light-shafts of the choir lose themselves in the grey distance, is a triumph of perpendicular perspective,” writes Mr Henry James.

Perhaps the greatest treasures preserved in Notre Dame are the tapestries. There are pieces representing the life of the Virgin, while several depict scenes in the life of Christ. The Canticles form the subject of other examples. Two pieces of Gobelins, after designs by Raphael, represent the life of St Paul. These tapestries are exceptionally fine specimens of this art.

During the coronation celebrations, the sovereigns occupied the archbishop’s palace, which is close to the cathedral. The building was begun about 1499. In the museum of the palace is the famous cenotaph of Jovinius, adorned with sculpture. A large hall contains portraits of kings.

Among the churches of importance in Rheims are St Jacques, St André, and St Thomas. The Church of St Rémi, named after the great bishop, dates from the eleventh century. During the Revolution this church was terribly damaged; many of the splendid relics and statues were destroyed, and but a few images were spared.

The tomb of St Rémi is modern, except the images that decorate it. There are some rich tapestries in the church. The doorway of the south transept is handsome, and there are beautiful windows of an early date. The cloister of the abbey is now enclosed by a hotel. In the seventeenth century the present Town Hall was erected. It contains a gallery of paintings and a museum.

The chief Roman monument in the town is the great arch of triumph, the Porte de Mars. This structure was probably erected by Agrippa on the occasion of the opening of the highways leading to the city. Near to the arch stood a temple of Mars. The Gate of Mars is over a hundred feet long, and over forty feet high. There are several figures under the archways. Parts of a Roman pavement are near the triumphal arch. These are the only memorials of Roman times, but it may be noted that the gates of the city still retain their original names.