Visit the Setting for the Classic Book Hunchback of Notre Dame
Excerpt from the book On a Tall Budget and Short Attention Span from the Teresa the Traveler Series.
First thing the next morning I took a walk around the neighborhood looking for a budget hotel room and was a bit surprised by the lack of vacancies. Paris hotels fill up fast but I was fortunate enough to find a reasonable room near the train station for around $50 Canadian. I moved my luggage into my new Paris abode before heading out to visit the cathedral of Notre Dame.
Started around 1160 by Bishop Maurice de Sully, the Church of Notre Dame took nearly 200 years to build and was not completed until 1345. Since then, the cathedral has been the backdrop of many significant events in France’s history.
In 1431 it was where Henry VI of England, who was only a child at the time, was crowned King of France and, in 1450, it was where the Parisians lured and killed the Wolves of Paris – a pack of man-eating wolves that managed to breach the city walls and wreak havoc killing forty people.
Started around 1160 by Bishop Maurice de Sully, the Church of Notre Dame took nearly 200 years to build and was not completed until 1345. Since then, the cathedral has been the backdrop of many significant events in France’s history.
In 1431 it was where Henry VI of England, who was only a child at the time, was crowned King of France and, in 1450, it was where the Parisians lured and killed the Wolves of Paris – a pack of man-eating wolves that managed to breach the city walls and wreak havoc killing forty people.
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In 1804, Notre Dame was the site of Napoleon and Josephine’s coronation ceremony officiated by Pope Pius VII while in 1920 Joan of Arc, the French heroine who led the French to several important victories in the Hundred Years War, was canonized in the church. That is after she was captured by the English at the age of 19 and burned at the stake.
Made internationally famous by the novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, which Victor Hugo wrote in an effort to preserve and restore the Cathedral, the dilapidated building underwent restorations in 1845 as a result of the heart wrenching story. Set in 1482 during Paris’s Festival of Fools, Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer of the church, was crowned the “Pope of Fools”. His stepfather Claude Frollo, the head of the Notre dame Cathedral, became obsessed with Esmeralda, a young gypsy girl. But the church did not allow him to pursue a relationship with her so he ordered Quasimodo to capture the girl and smuggle her into the cathedral. Quasimodo was caught and whipped for the attempted kidnapping then ordered to suffer humiliation by the people of Paris while being tied down for hours in the heat. Esmeralda took pity on the hunchback and offered him a cup of water thus capturing the loyal heart of Quasimodo. Later in the story, Esmeralda is accused of murdering Pheobus, who was actually killed by Frollo in a fit of jealousy, and is condemned to burn at the stake. Quasimodo brought Esmeralda to the cathedral where she was protected under the law of sanctuary. But Frollo tricked the gypsies into storming the church by leading them to believe Esmeralda was in danger. Quasimodo mistakenly thinks the gypsies are there to harm Esmeralda and he drives them off. Meanwhile, the king, upon seeing the chaos caused by the young gypsy girl, vetoes the law of sanctuary and commands his troops to kill her. Frollo betrays Esmeralda by handing her over to the troops then watches her hang. When Quasimodo discovered what happened he went into a state of shock and grief. He threw himself out the window then made his way to her grave to die beside her. Now who could let this historic building get destroyed after reading a tragic tale like that? Certainly not the French people; Victor Hugo’s plan worked and the French decided to restore the cathedral to its former glory and maintain it as a heritage site. I began my visit in the Archaeological Crypt beneath the church – a museum housing ruins discovered during the excavations of 1965. |
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The Paris region was inhabited as early as the Paleolithic Age and during the Second Iron Age when the Celtic people settled there. The Parisiia, a Celtic Iron Age people who lived on the Seine River from the middle of the third century BC until the Roman Era, settled in the area and minted coins – an indication that they were a prosperous people. Caesar held an assembly in their town in 53 BC and a year later they revolted and were crushed by Caesar’s lieutenant.
The new town established by the Romans was invaded by the Germans at the end of the third century so the Romans built a fortress on one of the islands in the Seine. Remnants of the fortress walls still exist and are on display in the crypt along with other artifacts found during the excavations. Upon entering the church I was absolutely delighted to discover it was everything I dreamed the gothic church would be right down to the eerie organ music, dark lighting and candles. It felt like I had stepped into Victor Hugo’s famous novel. I was half expected to see Quasimodo hobbling up the back staircase on his way to the bell tower. On a table in front of the main alter was a book of prayers. In it I wrote the names of my friends and family wishing them health and happiness and making them a permanent part of Notre Dame. When I walked back outside I noticed a line-up forming by a side door where people were waiting to climb the steps to the roof. This seemed like a good idea so I joined them. I was not prepared for the sheer number of steps one must climb in order to reach the top. Each cement step had a dip in the middle where millions of people had walked before me. All I could think was, “How the heck did Quasimodo make it up and down these steps everyday to ring that bell – he was a hunchback?” When I finally reached the top I was rewarded with an amazing view of Paris. It was a clear blue day and I could see the riverboats bringing tourists up and down the Seine, the Sacred Heart Cathedral gleaming on the summit of Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower dominating the Paris skyline. I received an unexpected reward when I stumbled upon the bell room. My God! This was the largest bell I had seen in my life. Not that I have seen many large bells in my life – but still. It looked like it would take a whole team of Quasimodo’s to achieve the daunting task of making it ring. I walked into a different room and noticed the intricate web of ropes and pulleys that made the job easier than I had imagined. Satisfied with my investigative skills in uncovering the mystery of how to ring the bell, I grudgingly made my way down the unending spiral staircase and back onto the street.
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