Once, in the nave of Reims Cathedral, at the foot of soaring pillars, between Gothic arches and majestic polychrome stained glass windows, was a labyrinth. This intricate drawing, composed of eleven geometric coils, lay beneath the feet of the pilgrims who had just passed through the entrance, seeking redemption in the house of God. For medieval man the journey constituted a privileged path of inner quest, especially when directed to the holy places of Christianity. However, not everyone could embark on this pilgrimage, and often the only way to undertake it was symbolically. The labyrinth was the perfect metaphor for Christians’ material and spiritual journeys towards Heavenly Jerusalem. The humble and penitent faithful of the Middle Ages walked it on their knees, sharing in the sufferings of Christ.
At Reims the pavement track was composed of bluish stone tiles from the Ardennes and was unicursal. As at Chartres, the labyrinth could only be walked in one direction, with no opportunity to change course. This suggested that the only way to achieve salvation was to follow Christ, “the way, the truth and the life”1. The geometric form of the design, consisting of a composition of octagons, also referred to eternal salvation. The figure’s eight sides thus represented the seven days it took God to create the cosmos, plus an additional day indicating eternity, infinity, and resurrection.
Reims Cathedral, the site of the coronations of French kings
The 10th-century historian Flodoard relates that the first cathedral in Reims arose after 400, when Saint Nicasius transferred the episcopal see to the city2. The building occupied the site of the Gallo-Roman baths built by the emperor Constantine in the ancient Durocortorum. The church was dedicated to Notre-Dame. According to sources, the invading barbarians beheaded Saint Nicasius right at its entrance. On Christmas Day 496, as Gregory of Tours reports in the Historia Francorum3, or more likely 5064, in Reims Bishop Saint Remigius baptized Clovis, the first king of the Franks to convert to Nicene Christianity. An early medieval legend tells us that a dove descended from heaven and gave the saint a sacred ampulla containing the baptismal chrism5.
We can trace the origins of this tradition in a Life of Saint Remigius by Archbishop Hincmar, written around 8606. The cleric had certainly put in writing a tale passed down orally for generations. A holy ampulla, preserved in the Basilica of Saint Remigius, did indeed exist. With its thaumaturgic oil Ludwig the Pious had himself crowned in 816. This precious relic was considered a sign of divine investiture for the monarchs of the Kingdom of France. Consequently, it became customary for kings to be crowned at the Cathedral of Reims. Over the centuries, as many as thirty-two sovereigns were proclaimed here, including Henry I (1027), Louis IX the Saint (1226), and Charles X (1825), to name but a few. During the Hundred Years’ War, Joan of Arc led Charles VII there after capturing Orleans so that he could receive the crown in 1429.
The Carolingian Cathedral
The prestigious role of Reims Cathedral, as the site of coronations and the destiny of the Kingdom of France, prompted Archbishop Ebbo to build a larger church to better accommodate the solemn ceremonies. Construction of the Carolingian cathedral began in 818 and ended during the bishopric of Hincmar. In October 862, the prelate officiated at the consecration rite of the new church, attended by Emperor Charles the Bald. Over the following centuries, the building was expanded on two occasions. The first took place at the behest of Archbishop Adalbero in 976, and the second occurred in the mid-12th century7.
Albéric de Humbert’s reconstruction
On 6 May 1210, the Carolingian cathedral of Reims burned down due to negligence, as recorded by the French chronicler Alberic of Trois-Fontaines8. The tragic event affected the citizens so profoundly that Archbishop Albéric de Humbert opted for immediate reconstruction9. Exactly one year later, on 6 May 1211, the prelate laid the foundation stone at the new building site10. Thanks to donations from the faithful and the wealthy chapter of canons, who owned part of the Reims textile workshops, the necessary funds were found. After just 30 years, not without periods of work stoppages, on 7 September 1241 intravit capitulum Remense chorum suum, the chapter took possession of the now completed cathedral choir11. However, construction of some of the structures ended around 1275. Work on the towers and the decorations on the façade lasted until beyond the mid-15th century.
The magnificent Gothic cathedral of Reims
The graceful Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral rises at the end of a tree-lined avenue, dominating the scene with its monumental presence. The façade features two square towers without spires, planned in the original design but never built. The elevation is marked by three horizontal orders and reveals an intricate interplay of spaces and sculptural masses. On the upper level, an elegant loggia contains figures of the kings. Among the fifty-six statues in the gallery, Clovis, the ruler of the Franks, is depicted receiving baptism, accompanied by his wife Clotilde. The middle band centrally accommodates the large rose window, flanked by smaller windows depicting saints and the Virgin. The lower level opens onto three large portals.
The portals
The entrances present a rare peculiarity in that the lunettes consist of stained glass windows. This allowed more light to illuminate the naves. Sculptural groups are therefore only arranged on the archivolts and the cusps that soar to the spires. The splays have large figures of angels, saints, and biblical characters. The northern portal houses the theme of the Crucifixion, the central portal is adorned with the Coronation of the Virgin, while the right tympanum features the risen Christ showing his wounds at the moment of the Last Judgment.
The interior
The Notre-Dame Cathedral of Reims is built on a Latin cross plan with three naves. The transept projects only slightly, and the choir has an ambulatory with five radial chapels. The interior has a pronounced verticalism, created by slender bundled pillars and airy pointed arches. Above are the triforium and the large windows of the clerestory, adorned with magnificent polychrome stained glass, in a distinctive pattern of two single lancets surmounted by a rose window. The ribs of the ogival vaults fall gracefully over the nave’s pillars. They resemble a forest of trees and branches.
On the counter façade, the rose window of the central portal is framed by reliefs depicting prophets and scenes from the New Testament. At the architrave are stories of the relics of John the Baptist. The side portals also reflect internally the figurative themes of the exteriors. To the south the reliefs depict the Last Judgment, to the north the Passion of Christ.
The labyrinth and the builders of the Gothic cathedral of Reims
Inside the cathedral, between the third and fourth bays of the nave, was the labyrinth. This solemn and grandiose floor design no longer exists today. The Canon Jacquemart ordered its destruction in 1778–79, reportedly because children were always disturbing liturgical services by walking along it. Fortunately, someone made a few paper copies of it, providing the only evidence that allows us to reconstruct its appearance. Jacques Cellier created the earliest reproduction of the labyrinth (c. 1550–c. 1620)12. The canon Pierre Cocquault annotated the captions in a manuscript held at the Bibliothèque Municipale of Reims13.
What made the labyrinth of Reims so peculiar that it aroused the curiosity of scholars in those centuries? At the centre of four octagons, arranged around a larger central octagon, were the illustrious builders of the imposing Gothic cathedral, holding their tools of the trade.
The four French magistri
The labyrinth revealed the identity of the builders of this magnificent cathedral, four wise French magistri, the parts they constructed and the years during which they worked. Thus, Jean d’Orbais began the choir and apse (1211-1231). The first master builder of Reims appeared making a geometric drawing. So, the scholars assumed that he was the cathedral’s designer. According to the labyrinth, Jean-le-Loup worked on the northern portals for sixteen years (1231–1247). Gaucher de Reims carved the archivolts and portals on the main elevation, as well as the vaults of the aisles, over eight years (1247–1255). Finally, over a period of thirty-five years, Bernard de Soissons raised the vaults of the nave and designed the rose window on the western façade (1255–1290)14. He is probably the person who drew the labyrinth. It was inaugurated at the coronation of Philip the Fair in 128615.
In the centre of the trace, inside the large octagon, there was another person who is now difficult to identify. This was perhaps the Archbishop Albéric de Humbert, who decided to rebuild the cathedral after the fire of 1210. There were two other figures on either side of the labyrinth entrance, but Jacques Cellier could not reproduce them because they were already illegible at the time16. Today, all that remains for us is to contemplate the cathedral of Reims and retrace the path of that ancient labyrinth in our minds. Although the trace no longer exists, it survives in the hearts of those who embark on an inner quest and kneel before God with pure hearts.
Samuele Corrente Naso
Notes
- Gospel of John 14:6. ↩︎
- Historia Remensis Ecclesiae, c. 948. ↩︎
- Gregorio di Tours, Historia Francorum, II, 29-30, 574-593. ↩︎
- F. Cardini, M. Montesano, Storia medievale, Le Monnier Università, Firenze, 2006. The year is debated among scholars. See G. Bührer-Thierry, C. Mériaux, 481-888, La France avant la France, Belin-Humensis, 2019. ↩︎
- For a study of the sources: B. Dumézil, Le baptême de Clovis: 24 décembre 505?, in Les journées qui ont fait la France, Gallimard, Paris, 2019. ↩︎
- B. Krusch, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores rerum Merovingicarum, III, 1886. ↩︎
- P. Demouy, Notre-Dame de Reims: Sanctuaire de la monarchie sacrée, 1995. ↩︎
- Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France, ed. L. Delisle, XVIII, 777. ↩︎
- P. Varin, Archives administratives de la ville de Reims, Comite des travaux historiques et scientifiques, in Collection de documents inedits pour servir a l’histoire de France, serie 1: histoire politique, I, Paris, 1839-1848. ↩︎
- Annales Sancti Nicasii, ed. G. Waitz, Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptorum, XIII, Hanover, 1881. ↩︎
- Ibidem. ↩︎
- Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des manuscrits, Français 9152, Paris, 1583 – 1587. ↩︎
- R. Branner, The Labyrinth of Reims, in The Journal of the Society of Architectural Art Historians 21, no. 1, 1962. ↩︎
- L. Demaison, Les architectes de la cathedrale de Reims, in Bulletin archeologique, Comite des travaux historiques et scientifiques, 1894. ↩︎
- D. Naert, Le labyrinthe de la cathédrale de Reims: La signature des batisseurs, SIDES, 1998. ↩︎
- Ibidem. ↩︎
