Cathedral Saint-Just-and-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne

The cathedral of Narbonne is the most prestigious monument of the city. It is a construction of Gothic architecture whose origin goes back to IVe century. Its characteristic lies in the fact that it is unfinished.

History

Origins

The cathedral of Narbonne is located in the middle of current city, however with the Middle Ages it was in edge of the ramparts. This site is resulting from a long “sedimentation” of places of worship. Roughly on the same site followed one another a basilica constantinienne, raised shortly after the edict of 313 authorizing the Christian worship. Destroyed by a fire in 441, it took 37 days to demolish what fire had saved. Then a Latin basilica built in 4 years by the Rustique bishop, that the prefect of Gaules, Marcellus, encouraged in his company. The basilica was finished on November 29th 445. Originally dedicated to Genoa saint of Arles, it was devoted in 782 to the young Spanish martyrs Just and Pasteur. Vestiges: two Roman columns of the forum employed again for the nave (visible in the cloister); the lintel with dedication; a white marble shelter (visible with the concise museum).

A Carolingian cathedral préromane rebuilt in 890 by the Théodard archbishop, died on May 1st, 893. There remains about it the bell-tower, into large part restored, visible of the cloister. In spite of the assistance brought by three popes, this church fell in ruin.

The construction of the Gothic cathedral was a political act analyzed in 1268 by the pope Clément VI, former archbishop of Narbonne. It will be, says it, a work made following the example splendid cathedrals of the kingdom of France. The first stone of the current church was posed by the Maurin archbishop on April 13rd 1272, in the bases of the current Sacré-coeur vault. The construction of the cathedral Saint-Just and Saint-Pasteur was projected as of 1264 but began only in 1272, and the chorus was completed in 1332.

Project superintendents

This building, established on the same master line as the cathedrals of Clermont and Limoges, seems to have had the same architect, Jean Deschamps. From its contract of recruiting of 1286, it comes out that the contractor signatory had had as a preliminary to request the agreement of Misters the prevosts, namely the persons in charge of construction. This assumption does not convince all the historians. Some consider that this trace and well too late to allot to Jean Deschamps the design plans selected for a long time, and of a building site already quite advanced. There are thus two possibilities:

Is Jean Deschamps worked already on the project of the cathedral, but with another function;
Is Jean of the Fields, city here, is not the same person as that which built the cathedral of Clermont-Ferrand.

Most of collateral was high of 1295 with 1309, by Dominique de Fauran. His/her son Jacques de Fauran (1309-1336) establishes the first stage of the turns and finished the construction of the bedside. Idles, work were continued by Raymond Aicard (1336 - 1349) who posed the foundations of the transept and began two side gates at the ends of this transept. Pierre Daniel of Carcassonne and Louis Richecler (1349 to 1354), worked with the transept and the upper floors of the turns. Later, those were restored, partially destroyed by a fire in 1405. The northern tower was repaired by the archbishop François de Conzié and the Chapter.

The church with Narbonne

Narbonne had a bishop at the beginning of IIIe century, time of the arrival of the first of them: Saint-Paul. At the request of Charlemagne, the Pope Leon III raised in 810 the episcopal see of Narbonne under Archbishop's palace. Two archbishops, Guy Foulquoy in XIIIe century and Jules, Cardinal of Médicis to XIVe century, became popes under the names of Clement IV and Clement VII. The Archbishop's palace of Narbonne remained until the legal settlement of 1801. In the new organization of the dioceses, the city was attached to the diocese of Carcassonne, but the Archiépiscopal title was carried by the archbishop of Montpellier in its capacity as Subway (and before 2002 in Toulouse).

For which reasons the cathedral is it unfinished?

The cathedral was to have the shape of a Latin cross. It is easy to notice that only the chorus (the head of the cross) is finished and that the transept (arms of the cross) is hardly started, as well as the nave (feet of the cross). The reasons of this incompletion are:

lack of resources, but this reason is not most important.
hostility of the Consuls. This second reason was determining as we will see it at the time of the lawsuit.
disasters accumulated by the city during XIVe century, like the plague (1348 with 1355), demoralizing the city and accumulating the ruins and mournings, or the ride of prince de Galles.

These events had resulted in revaluing the interest of the fortifications. The cities hastened to repair their hurdy-gurdies walls, or to raise news of them. With this occasion more than one conflict burst between the various claims of the bishops, lords, and consuls, who shared the jurisdiction and the authority. However, new constructions were going to butt against enclosing the wall of the city and it was impossible to raise the same transept without opening a breach in the old rampart prewisigothic of Ve century. But the consuls who claimed to be the owners of the rampart also endeavoured to take advantage of their rights. It resulted a legal conflict from it

The lawsuit enters the chapter and the consuls

In 1925, the Sigal abbot publishes a detailed study of the confrontation between the consuls of the town of Narbonne and the chapter about the completion of the construction of the cathedral of Narbonne. The consuls of Narbonne, who in 1344 were already in open war with the archbishop in connection with the demolition of the tower of Capitole, opposed very undertaken Chapter when he wanted in 1345, touch with the walls of the city. Decided, in spite of this opposition, to continue the completion of the cathedral, the canons called some with the authority of the king. Then, in 1345, this fight started which, crossed long truces, of pleading in pleading, was to be prolonged eight years and to abruptly cease in 1354. The epilog indeed took place only in 1361. Peace was done then between the consulate and the chapter. This one obtained to lean with the always intact fortifications the cloister which it was going to build. But the price of peace it was the unfinished cathedral.

Efforts to finish Saint-Just

As we have just seen it, construction stops gradually in the middle of XIVe century. However, during the centuries which followed three attempts were made to finish the building:

In 1514, the archbishop Guillaume Briçonnet, made cut down the old walls which passed between constructions named currently (since 1708) Court Eutrope Saint and the building which was recently still the vault of Penitent Blue after having been that of the templiers out the walls. When the enclosure was widened, the site became the property of the archbishops of Narbonne. But Monseigneur Briçonnet died on December 14th, 1514.
In 1708, the archbishop, Goux of Berchère, took again the projects of the chapter and made raise in a Gothic modified by traditional esthetics, the external vaults which one calls building of Saint-Eutrope. With died of the archbishop, on June 2nd 1719, work was suspended. Its successor, the archbishop Rene de Beauvau devoted to it some sums starting from 1722, then it were again abandoned.
Lastly, in 1840, Purple-the-Duke, undertook to crown the work of the XVIIIe century, by a strengthened porch, but from the dissensions with the Fabric committee moved away it from Narbonne at the end of a few months, and work of the cathedral is remained since outstanding.

Description of the cathedral

Architectural elements

The construction of the cathedral is one of the most ambitious projects of the kingdom of France of XIIIe century. Saint-Just has a chorus with imposing dimensions: 40 meters broad, 60 meter length, for a 15,20 m broad central vessel. The vaults rise with 41 meters height; only those of Beauvais (48m) and Amiens (42m) have a higher height. Outside even originality in the establishment of the vast terraces on the apse, the strengthened gallery which connects the top of the abutments, the smoothnesses of propping up on two floors and double flight. Finally the beauty of the apparatus, of which bases are regulated height, the perfection of the vaults, the solid balances these articulated masses, make cathedral of Narbonne one of the most erudite works of the beginnings of XIVe century.

The cloister

Built 1349 with 1417, on the site of the Carolingian cathedral whose bell-tower still remains, the cloister leant with the enclosure of Ve century and connected to the palate archiépiscopal, accepted a beginning of fortifications. Its four galleries, very homogeneous, are framed by large arcades which were to receive a rubble filling and mullions. They are crowned, partly, of a quadribolée balustrade. Its buttresses are decorated of curious waste-gas mains and are charged with a blazing pinnacle.

External bonds

Card on the site of the Ministry for the culture
Card on the site Structurae.de
Card on the site religious architecture in occident

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