Chapter II: Part 2

On September 19, 1914, incendiary shells set fire to various portions of the building. The roof was burnt, but the vaulting escaped injury. The tambours of the side doors and the statues on the latter were destroyed by the flames. The 18th century stalls, consecration carpet of Charles X. and archi-episcopal throne were likewise burnt. The great rose-window of the western facade, together with several other stained-glass windows, were destroyed, as were also the "Angel" steeple and its caryatids above the chevet. The northern tower was seriously injured by the burning of the scaffolding around it (_see photo, p. 9_). The statues were eaten into by the flames and subsequently crumbled away, some of them being irrecoverably lost.

In 1915 and 1916 the Cathedral was struck a hundred times, but it was during the bombardments of April 15, 19 and 24, 1917, that it suffered most. For seven consecutive hours, at the rate of twelve per hour, the Germans fired 12-in., 14-in. and 15-in. shells on the edifice, causing terrible havoc, especially to the south-western side.

During the terrible bombardments of April, 1918, the Cathedral did not suffer--for once the Germans seemed to have decided to spare it; but, unfortunately, the truce did not last. In the following months the bombardment began again, and the ravages increased, especially in the two towers and the vaulting. However, both vaulting and towers, in spite of their injuries, have not been irreparably damaged in their vital parts, and are capable of restoration.

That the damage is not more serious is due to the protective measures taken by the Cathedral architect and by the Department of Historical Monuments. As early as 1915, the doorways of the western facade were protected with beams and sand-bags (_see photo, p. 25_), while the Treasure was removed and placed in safety, together with the paintings and tapestries.

In 1916 and following years masonry protections were placed around some of the more valuable statues. The fallen fragments of carvings and sculpture were carefully collected, with a view to future restoration. In this way the debris of the head of the beautiful statue of the "Visitation" Group, known as the "Smile of Rheims," on the left-hand side of the central doorway of the western facade, were saved.

At the beginning of 1918, it was found possible to save the remains of the stained-glass of the windows, and other glass-work still intact--amongst which was some of the finest in the nave. The salvage was difficult, for scaffolding would have furnished the Germans with an excuse for further bombardments. Recourse was had to a small body of Paris firemen and two glaziers who, in foggy weather, and before daybreak, climbed up to the iron framework of the windows and accomplished their work at great heights with remarkable courage and skill.

REIMS
SCALE.

-------------------------
0 500 1,000 M.

PORTE DE MARS A. D-3-4
MUSICIANS' HOUSE B. D-4
BARRACKS C.
**CATHEDRAL D. D-4-5
ARCHI-EPISCOPAL PALACE E. D-5
CHURCH OF ST. MAURICE F. E-5-6
POLICE STATION G. D-2
HOTEL DE VILLE H. D-4
LAW COURTS J. D-4
*HOTEL DIEU K. E-6
*CHURCH OF ST. REMY L. E-6
MUSEUM M. D-5
OCTROIS (Tolls) O.
SUB-PREFECTURE P. E-4-5
THEATRE T. D-4-5

POPULATION 115,178 H
ALTITUDE 83 M

PLACES.

1.--Pl. Luton
2.--Pl. de la Republique
3.--Pl. du Boulingrin
4.--Pl. Betheny.
5.--Square Colbert
6.--Pl. St. Andre
7.--Pl. des Marches
8.--Pl. Colin.
9.--Pl. Royale
10.--Esplanade Ceres
11.--Place du Parvis
12.--Pl. Belle Tour
13.--Pl. de l'Hopital Civil
14.--Pl. St. Remy
15.--Pl. St. Nicaise
16.--Rond point St. Nicaise
17.--Pl. Dieu Lumiere

HOTELS.

Hotel Continental a C-4
Hotel du Nord b C-4
Temporary Annexe Grand Hotel c D-5
Post Office Telegraph Telephone f E-4

Roads and streets to be
avoided by motor cars.

CATHEDRAL OF RHEIMS
Plan of Cathedral
and
Archi-episcopal Palace

1. Staircase of the Towers.
2. Site of the Labyrinth (p. 53).
3. Main Pulpit (p. 53).
4. Site of "La Rouelle de Saint-Nicaise"
(Flag-stone with memorial inscription) (p. 53).
5. Pillar supporting the "Vintage Scene" (p. 52).
6. Altar of the Rear Choir (p. 57).
7. 14th century Tombstones (p. 53).
8. Tomb of Cardinal de Lorraine.
9. The Treasure (p. 58).
10. Clock with Automatons (p. 55).
11. Tombstone of Hughes Libergier (p. 55).
12. Norman Door (p. 45).
13. Great Organ (p. 55).
14. Lady Chapel (p. 55).
15. Chapel of the Holy Sacrament (p. 56).
16. Rosary Chapel (p. 57).
17. Roman Mosaic (p. 57).

=West Facade=

(_See full views on pp. 28 and 29_).

Better than any other, this part of the building reveals the desire for unity and harmony which guided the various builders of the Cathedral. The doorway, probably designed by Jean d'Orbais, was very likely not begun till about 1250, by Gaucher, of Rheims. Bernard of Soissons built the great rose-window and the facade as far as the Gallery of the Kings. The architects of the 14th century built the lateral parts forming the first storey of the towers, the Kings' Gallery and the gable. The upper storey of the towers was only finished in the 15th century. Except for slight modifications in detail, the original plan was respected. This facade, with its full open-work towers and immense rose-window, demonstrates that the architects knew how to obtain the maximum of resistance with wonderfully light construction.

The =Western Doorway= (_photo below_) comprises three doors flanked by two full arcades, and surmounted by gables adorned with statues.

Between the gables are pinnacles on small columns (the left-hand ones have been destroyed). At the foot of the pinnacles are statues of seated musicians, which recall those on the house in the Rue de Tambour (_see p. 80_), but which have been partly destroyed.

The splaying of the doors is adorned with great statues backed up against columns and separated by smaller columns, the capitals of which are connected to a foliate frieze of elegant design. The bases are ornamented with carved drapery. The tympana of the doors contain window-lights, while five rows of statues, separated by lines of flowers and foliage, fill up the archings, which suffered severely in the bombardment of September 19, 1914. About a dozen subjects were destroyed or spoilt. During the subsequent bombardments, shell splinters did further damage.

Generally the sculptural decoration on the ground-floor dates from the middle of the 13th century.

In September, 1914, several of the great statues of the lateral splayings were completely destroyed and the others more or less seriously damaged. However, subsequent damage was slight, thanks to the protective measures taken in 1915.

=Central Door=

The lavish decoration of the central door suffered mutilations during the last three centuries. The inscription carved on the lintel dates from 1802 and replaced carving descriptive of the life of the Virgin, destroyed during the Revolution. The sculpture on the arches, especially that of the three upper lines, was partly restored in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The beautiful statues in the splayings of the door represent: _to the right_ (_photo, p. 36_), the =Annunciation= and =Visitation= (the latter group is striking by reason of its inspiration from the antique); _to the left, the_ =Purification= (_photo, p. 36_).

The Virgin of the Annunciation group was damaged by shell splinters on September 4, 1914.

In the gable, a pretty group representing the =Coronation of the Holy Virgin= was injured by the fires of 1914.

Of the two fine statues on the top of the buttresses framing the Central door, only the right-hand one (=Solomon=) exists to-day; the other, representing the =Queen of Sheba=, was destroyed by a shell in September, 1914, except the head, which was saved.

=The Right-Hand Door=

_See photograph on p. 25._

On the lintel, =Saint Paul=, blind, is being led to Ananias, who restores his sight and baptizes him.

On the jambs are pretty little figures which have been variously interpreted. The majority represent vices and virtues, _e.g. on the inner portion_: =Courage=, in knightly raiment; =Cowardice= fleeing before a hare; =Charity= holding out a purse; =Avarice= with a cash-box; _on the outer portion_: =Pride= blasted and overthrown with his horse; =Sloth=, represented as a man seated with his head resting on his elbows, in a stall; =Wisdom= seated, holding a book and a lighted lamp. On the same jambs other figures are supposed to symbolise the seasons: =Autumn= sitting on a vine-trellis; =Winter= standing before a fire place; =Spring= in the midst of flowers; =Summer= with bared chest.

The six statues in the splaying on the right (_photo above_) represent: the aged =Simeon= holding Christ in his arms; =John the Baptist=, =Isaiah=, =Moses= with the brazen serpent and the tables of the Law; =Abraham= about to sacrifice Isaac; =Samuel= carrying a lamb (which has been broken). They differ by their more archaic style from the other sculptures of the lower facade, and closely resemble those of the central door of the north transept of the Cathedral of Chartres. Like the latter, they date without doubt from the beginning of the 13th century. Possibly they belonged to an earlier doorway, or were prepared in advance for a purpose not realised, being finally utilised in the place where they now stand.

The =Last Judgment=, in the gable, was severely damaged by shell splinters.

=The Left-Hand Door=

This door, on account of the scaffolding which surrounded it, was seriously damaged by the fires of September, 1914 (_see p. 17_).

On the lintel is =Saint Paul=, thrown from his horse at the gates of Damascus. On the outside of the jambs, fourteen seated figures meditating, are supposed by some to be embodiments of the arts and sciences, but represent more probably prophets or teachers. Along the splayings are eleven statues, which have not definitely been identified.

In the left-hand splaying is =Saint Nicaise= between two angels. The right-hand angel, generally known as the "=Smile of Rheims=," was decapitated on September 19, 1914. Fortunately, the fragments of the head of this fine statue were saved.

The sculptures in the archings depict scenes from the Passion, while the group which adorns the gable represents =The Crucifixion=.

These archings and gable were greatly damaged by the fires of September 19, 1914, and the bombardments.

=The First Storey=

In the centre is the great rose-window, best seen from the interior of the nave. The stained-glass is broken. On either side, against the arching which surmounts it, were two large statues. One of them, _David as a youth in shepherd's garb_ (also known as the _Pilgrim_), was destroyed by the bombardments. The other very fine statue is variously said to be _Saul_, _Solomon_ and _St. James_.

The arching which begins above these statues was adorned with small groups of figures representing scenes from the life of Solomon. Most of them were destroyed at the same time as the Pilgrim statue.

Above the arching, a gigantic statue (twice restored) represents _David challenging Goliath_. The bombardments of 1914 destroyed a similar statue on the left representing _David slaying Goliath with a stone from his sling_.

The first storey of the towers flanking the rose-window is broken by lofty twin bays crowned with gables. The niches and pinnacles of the buttresses are identical with those of the nave, but the style of their decoration denotes a more recent period (early 14th century).

The northern tower was badly damaged by the bombardment of September 19, 1914, which fired the scaffolding around it (_see photo, p. 9_). Two of the pinnacled niches surmounting the buttresses were decapitated, while the flames completely disfigured the statues, including that of Christ.

A large calibre shell burst in the southern tower on April 19, 1917, causing very serious damage.

=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.

The small pulpit of the rear choir, the medallions of which depict the life of St. Theresa, dates from 1678. It is a gift of the widow of M. Pommery (_photo below_).

Twenty-two archbishops of Rheims were buried under the choir pavement. Their tombstones were removed in 1747. The present flag-stones came from the old church of St. Nicaise.

The archbishop's throne, by Viollet-le-Duc, was destroyed by the fire of 1914, together with the 18th century stalls.

The railings (1826-1832) replaced, not very happily, an ancient stone rood-loft destroyed in 1761.

=The Interior of the Southern Transept=

(_See plan, p. 33, and the Exterior, p. 47_)

A gap was made in the vaulting by the bombardment of April 19, 1917.

The arrangement of the inner facade is similar to that of the northern transept, except that the three high bays with lancet windows, which are partially hidden in the northern transept, are here entirely visible.

The stained-glass of the rose-window, destroyed by a hurricane in 1580, was replaced in 1581 by the Rheims artist Nicolas Derode. It represents the Eternal Father surrounded by the twelve apostles.

In the Rosary Chapel is a Renaissance altar-screen (1541), attributed to the Rheims sculptor Pierre Jacques. The general scheme represents _The dead body of Christ on the knees of the Virgin_, and above, _Christ coming forth from the sepulchre_. It was a gift of Canon Paul Grandraoul, who is shown on his knees before Mary Magdalene.

The Roman mosaic work in the centre of the chapel was discovered in the courtyard of the archbishop's palace in 1849. Among the most remarkable scenes are: _Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene_, attributed to Titian; _Christ with the angels_, by Thaddeo Zuccaro; _The Nativity_, attributed to Tintoret; _Manna in the Desert_, attributed to Nicolas Poussin.

=The Cathedral Treasure=

This is kept in a sacristy built by Viollet-le-Duc, which is reached through a plain door in the southern facade of the transept.

The treasure, which is very rich in precious reliquaries, chalices, and other pieces of goldsmith's work, was saved from the fire of September 19, 1914, by the Cure of the Cathedral and one of his abbes. After being temporarily placed in the house of the Cardinal, it was evacuated in 1915, at the order of the Historical Monuments Department.

Among the best known of these art treasures are the Chalice of St. Remi and St. Ursula's Skiff.

The =Chalice of St. Remi=, with its gold filagree work, six rows of chasing, and precious stones set in a _collier_, is a remarkable work of art. It was in this chalice that, by special privilege, the kings of France communicated in wine at the conclusion of their consecration. Tradition has it that the gold of which it is made was that of the Soissons Vase, whereas in reality it is 12th century. Confiscated in 1793 and deposited in the _Bibliotheque Nationale_, it was restored to the Cathedral by Napoleon III.

=St. Ursula's Skiff= is a reliquary given by Henri III. It represents a ship carved out of cornelian, floating on a sea of enamel. The ship, whose mast bears the royal crown, is adorned with the escutcheons of France and Poland, and contains eleven small figures. That of St. Ursula is said to be the portrait of the Queen of France.

Amongst the other remarkable works of art in the Treasure are the following: the _reliquaries_ of Archbishop Samson, St. Sixtus (12th century), St. Peter and St. Paul (14th century), and the Holy Sepulchre (16th century); a _monstrance_ of gilt copper (13th century); a _liturgical comb_ of ivory, said to have belonged to St. Bernard (12th century); a rock-crystal _cross_, which formerly belonged to Cardinal de Lorraine; _orfrays_ embroidered with silver thread (13th century); the _credence_ and _oil vessels_ of Abbot de la Salle; a _fragment_ of a carved wood crozier (incorrectly said to be the crozier of St. Gibrien), two other fragments of which are in the Town Museum (12th century); the _vases_, _utensils_, and _sacred ornaments_ which were used at the consecration of Charles X.; the _reliquary_ of the Sacred Ampulla, designed by Lafitte for the consecration of Charles X. The original Sacred Ampulla was broken in 1793. The present one, which has only served for the consecration of Charles X., is a replica said to have been made with the few drops of balsam of the Clovis Ampulla, which pious hands saved from the broken fragments of the sacred vessel.

=FIRST ITINERARY FOR VISITING RHEIMS=

=Starting-point: Place du Parvis Notre-Dame=

1. The Archbishop's Palace (p. 63).
2. The Theatre (p. 68)
3. The House of Levesque de Pouilly (p. 68).
4. The Stores: Galeries Remoises (p. 73).
5. The Maison Fossier (p. 75).
6. The House of J. B. de la Salle (p. 75).
7. The House of the Enfant d'Or (p. 75).
8. The Statue of Louis XV. (p. 79).
9. The Musicians' House (p. 80).
10. The House of De Muire (p. 83).
11. The House of Le Vergeur (p. 85).
12. A 16th Century House (p. 86).
13. The General Post Office and Chamber of Commerce (p. 87).
14. The Cloister of the Franciscan Friars (p. 90).
15. The House of Thiret de Prain (p. 89).
16. The House of de la Pourcelette (p. 92).

=Place du Parvis=

The Place du Parvis (_photo below_) is in front of the main facade of the Cathedral. The shells made enormous craters there.

In the centre of the square stands an =equestrian statue of Joan-of-Arc=, by Paul Dubois, of which there is a replica in the Place St. Augustin in Paris. It was removed in May, 1918, by the Historical Monuments Department (_photo above_).

Looking towards the Cathedral, the tourist will see on the right the ruins of the _Hotel du Lion d'Or_ and of the _Hotel de la Maison Rouge_.

The latter was completely destroyed. Above the door was the inscription: "In the year 1429, at the consecration of Charles VII., in this hostelry--then called the 'Striped Ass'--the father and mother of Jeanne d'Arcq were lodged at the expense of the Municipality." In reality only the father of Joan-of-Arc lodged there.

It was at the Hotel du Lion d'Or (_photo opposite_) and at the Grand Hotel (No. 4 in the Rue Libergier, which opens out in front of the statue of Joan-of-Arc) that the Field-Marshal French stayed in August, 1914, and later General von Zuchow, commanding the Saxon troops which entered Rheims on September 4, 1914.

On the right of the Cathedral are the ruins of the Archbishop's Palace (_see plan, p. 33_). A general view of them is seen in the photograph on p. 48.

=The Archbishop's Palace=

Of the three buildings which surrounded every Cathedral in the Middle Ages--the bishop's palace, the cloister of the canons, and the house set apart for the sick and poor (Hotel-Dieu)--only the archbishop's palace existed at Rheims in 1914. It extended all along the south lateral facade of the Cathedral, on the site of the ancient abode of St. Nicaise, which had replaced a Roman palace. Of the ancient building erected by the successors of St. Nicaise down to the 13th century, there remained only the graceful two-storied chapel, doubtless contemporary with the chevet of the Cathedral. The round entrance tower, known as Eon's tower (from the name of the heretic who was imprisoned there in the 12th century), and the great bronze stag placed in the middle of the courtyard by Archbishop Samson in the 11th century, still existed in the 17th century, but about that time the one was demolished and the other melted down. This stag, into which on feast-days wine was poured, which flowed out again by the mouth, was a beautiful specimen of the art of the old metal-founders of Rheims.

The archbishop's palace and most of its rich collections were burnt in the fire of September 19, 1914. Of the palace proper there remains only the great chimney-piece of the Salle du Tau, on which the Latin motto, "Good faith preserved makes rich," is inscribed (_see p. 64_), the very opposite of the German "scrap of paper" theory.

=The Archeveche=: The buildings which lined the courtyard were of different periods. The wing abutting on the entrance-gate was 19th century, while the correct but heavy and dull southern facade was rebuilt in the 17th century by Archbishop Maurice Le Tellier, from the plans of Robert de Cotte.

=The Salle du Tau (or Kings' Hall)=

(_See plan, p. 33._)

At the bottom of the courtyard there used to be a large late 15th and early 16th century hall, access to which was gained by a horse-shoe stair with late 17th century wrought-iron hand-rail.

A small porch-like structure at the top of the stair was an unfortunate addition of 1825.

The hall was known as the =Salle du Tau=, in memory of the ancient palace which was shaped like the Greek letter _Tau_, or the Kings' Hall, on account of the portraits of the Kings consecrated at Rheims, received in 1825.

Built by the Cardinal Archbishop Guillaume Briconnet between 1497 and 1507, it comprised two stories.

The upper hall, in which the royal banquet was served at the consecrations, became the Stock Exchange at the beginning of the 19th century. It was disfigured by poor paintings and false Gothic ornamentation at the time of the consecration of Charles X.

The walls were hung with four admirable tapestries by Pepersack and several others given by Robert de Lenoncourt.

The vast chimney-piece with the Briconnet and Church of Rheims Arms is all that the fire of 1914 spared of the ancient decoration. It is visible in the photographs on page 64, at the bottom of the hall.

The lower hall, with its Gothic arching, was as large as the upper one. The capitals of the prismatic pillars and the key-stones of the arches were adorned with escutcheons, fleur-de-lys, flowers and crockets.

=The Archi-episcopal Chapel=

(_See plan, p. 33._)

This was without doubt the work of Jean d'Orbais, the first architect of the Cathedral. It resembled the latter in many respects.

With its seven-sided apse, four-bay nave and lancet-shaped windows without rubber-work, it was remarkably slender and graceful.

Its finest ornament was the 13th century bas-relief, _The Adoration of the Magi_, in the tympanum of the entrance door.

The white marble inner portico of the door dated from the Restoration. The other, formed of in-laid wood panels, was adorned with five 16th or early 17th century painted figures.

The lower chapel, partly subterranean, was fitted up as a lapidary museum in 1865 and 1896.

=The Royal Apartments=

From the Kings' Hall, access was obtained to five royal saloons with windows looking on the gardens and adorned with portraits of archbishops.

It was in the archbishop's palace that the Kings stayed at the time of their consecration or when passing through Rheims. Henry IV. lived there during his two sojourns at Rheims. He washed the feet of the poor on Holy Thursday in the great hall and listened to the sermon of Father Cotton. Louis XIII. and Richelieu stayed there in 1641, Louis XIV. in 1680, Peter the Great in 1717, Louis XV. in 1722 and 1744, the Queen in 1765, Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette in 1774, and Charles X. in 1825. From year VI. (Revolution Calendar) to 1824 it was occupied by the tribunals. The archbishops formerly held many Councils and Synods there, but lived there only rarely. In the Middle Ages they preferred living in their fortified castle of Porte Mars (_see p._ 6). In the 17th and 18th centuries they lived mostly outside Rheims.

_After visiting the ruins of the Archbishop's Palace return to the Place du Parvis. Take the Rue Libergier, opposite the Cathedral, turning into the first street on the right (Rue Chanzy). The Museum is soon reached (see Itinerary, p. 61)._

=The Museum=, formerly =The Grand Seminaire=

This fine 18th century building was erected by Nicolas Bonhomme in 1743-1752. The carved entrance-door and terraced central pavilion, bordered with a fine balustrade (damaged by shell splinters), are the remains of the ancient Abbey of St. Denis, the church of which was destroyed at the time of the Revolution. The right wing was rebuilt in the 19th century, by order of Cardinal Thomas Gousset. The ground-floor of the left wing is old, but the other floors are modern. These buildings were comparatively little damaged by the bombardments.

Successively occupied since 1790 by the District Council, a free secondary school, and by the Russians in 1814-1815, the buildings were handed over to the Grand Seminaire in 1822. Since the separation of the Church and State in 1905, they have been fitted up as a Museum.

The Museum was struck at the beginning of the bombardment on September 4, 1914, several pictures in the Modern Gallery being destroyed. Later, it was again hit by shells, but the greater part of the collections had already been removed to a place of safety.

_Continue along the Rue Chanzy, which skirts the_ =Theatre= (1873), of which only the walls remain. _Take the Rue de Vesle (first street on the left. See Itinerary, p. 61)._

Among the ruins of this street, in the yard of No. 18 on the left, is a building of which only the ground-floor and front with large windows and spacious dormers remain.

It was there that Napoleon I. slept after his return to Rheims. His room had been preserved exactly as it was in 1814 (_see p. 8_).

At No. 27 are vestiges of the old =Hotel Levesque de Pouilly=. Inside the court there was a 16th century house, the residence of a family which furnished Rheims with some remarkable administrators, chief among whom was _Levesque de Pouilly_, "lieutenant of the inhabitants." Among the celebrated guests received by him were Voltaire and Madame du Chatelet (1749). In a letter to him, Lord Bolingbroke wrote: "_I know but three men who are worthy of governing the nation: You, Pope and myself._"

_On the right, between Nos. 44 and 46, is the Rue St. Jacques._

_Follow the Rue de Vesle to the end, where the_ =Paris Gate= _stands, about 1 km. from the entrance to the Rue St. Jacques._

This Gate replaced the Vesle Gate which formerly abutted on the river. In consequence of the growth of the city it was built in the _faubourg_ about 1845. Its beautiful wrought-iron work (_photo opposite_), by the local master-locksmiths Lecoq and Revel, was erected by the City in 1774, at the time of the consecration of Louis XVI.

_From the Paris Gate, return by the Rue de Vesle to the Rue St. Jacques, on the right of which stands the_ Church of St. Jacques.

The =Church of St. Jacques=, whose fine tower contributed to the charm of the general appearance of the city, was destroyed by the bombardments of 1918. Begun in the 12th century, it was finished in the 16th. Before the war, it was the only parish church in Rheims which had been preserved intact.

_The Rue St. Jacques leads to the long_ Place Drouet d'Erlon, which was much damaged by the bombardments of 1918 (_photo opposite_).

Formerly known as _Place de la Couture_, this square, like the old streets with picturesque names: _Rue des Telliers_, _Rue du Clou-dans-le-Fer_, _Rue de la Belle Image_, _Rue de la Grosse-Ecritoire_, _Rue du Cadran St. Pierre_, formed part of the _Quartier des Loges_, built in the 12th century by Cardinal Guillaume-aux-blanches-mains for the wood and iron workers. The house-fronts above the first storey rested mostly on wooden pillars, leaving recesses or covered galleries on the ground floor.

In the centre of the square stood a statue of Marshal Drouet d'Erlon, afterwards removed to the crossing of the Boulevards Gerbert and Victor Hugo, and replaced by a =monumental fountain=, the gift of M. Sube.

_Follow the Place Drouet d'Erlon to the Boulevard de la Republique, which skirts_ =The Promenades=.

The Promenades, greatly damaged by the war, have sometimes been wrongly attributed to Le Notre. Their designer was a Rheims gardener, Jean le Roux. Commenced in 1731, they were finished and extended in 1787. They were formerly reached by the Gates of Mars and Vesles, but preferably by the Promenade Gate specially opened in the ramparts in 1740 and inaugurated by Louis XV. in 1744, on his return from Flanders. The Promenades were first called _Cours Le Pelletier_ (the name of the _Intendant of Champagne_, who approved the plans), then _Cours Royal_, after the passage of Louis XV. They were encroached upon by the railway station, built in 1860.

In the centre of the Promenades, opposite the station, in the _Square Colbert_, laid out by the landscape gardener Vare in 1860, is a statue of Colbert.

_Take the Rue Thiers, which begins at the Square Colbert and leads to the_ =Hotel-de-Ville=.

=The Hotel-de-Ville=

This building, which was destroyed by shell-fire on May 13, 1917, was similar in many respects to the old Hotel-de-Ville in Paris, burnt in 1871.

Commenced in 1627, from plans by the Rheims architect, Jean Bonhomme, it was completed in stages, at long intervals. Only the central _pavilion_ and the left-hand portion were 17th century.

The building was a beautiful specimen of the architecture of the Louis XIII. period. Seventy-eight columns, Doric on the ground-floor and Corinthian on the first storey, framed the windows of the facade, whose bases on the first floor carried trophies in bas-relief and a graceful frieze. The niches in the central portico were empty, but the pediment on twisted columns enclosed an equestrian statue of Louis XIII.

In the interior, in the great vestibule, a staircase with a remarkable wrought-iron balustrade led to the City Library, which was destroyed by the fire of 1917 (_photo, p. 73_).

On the right, the room where the Municipal Council meetings were held, contained rich panelling alternated with paintings by Lamatte, commemorating episodes in the history of Rheims. On the left, the mayor's office contained magnificent Louis XVI. woodwork.

On the other side of the courtyard, in the centre of which is a statue of "La Vigne," by St. Marceaux, was the great marriage-hall, containing a Gallo-Roman mosaic, framed with rosettes and an interlaced border, representing a gladiatorial fight.

A number of the pictures and works of art in the Hotel-de-Ville were saved by the firemen and soldiers. The mosaic in the marriage-hall was protected by sand-bags and is intact.

_In the Place de l'Hotel-de-Ville, between the Rue Thiers and the Banque de France, are two small streets: the Rue Salin and the Rue de Pouilly._

At No. 5 of the Rue Salin, the old 17th century _Hotel Coquebert_, which was destroyed by the shells, used to be the headquarters of the _Society of Friends of Old Rheims_. Several of the illustrations in this Guide are taken from the collections of this Society.

In the Rue de Pouilly, close to the Hotel-de-Ville, are the =ruins= of the _Galeries Remoises_ stores. These shops were partly housed in a Gothic building, of which only a few chimney-stacks remain (_see chimney in photo below_).

_Opposite the Hotel-de-Ville take the Rue Colbert to the Place des Marches._

=The Place des Marches=

Built on the site of the ancient _forum_, the Market Square, before the war, still contained several remarkable 15th century wooden houses. Unfortunately, they were destroyed by the terrible bombardment of May 8-15, 1918, together with the Square.

_After turning to the right, on leaving the Rue Colbert, and quite close to the Square, at No. 4 in the Rue de l'Arbalete_, is the house, dating from the middle of the 16th century, where =J. B. de la Salle= was born.

Although this house suffered from the bombardments of 1918, its front is practically intact. It is the finest Renaissance front in Rheims, after that of =Le Vergeur's House= (_see p. 85_).