The Notre- Dame Cathedral in Paris, Annotated Bibliography Example

Caulkins, Robert. Monuments of Medieval Art. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1985. Print.

Caulkins reviews how Maurice de Sully was elected as the bishop of the Parisian archdiocese. His tenure as bishop of Paris endured from 1160 to 1196. Bishop de sully required a cathedral that was consdcrated to the Virgin Mary. The name of the Cathedral is derived from the consecration to the Virgin Mary. In addition, Bishop de sully planned the cathedral to be a baptistery, an ecumenical church and a canon church. The initial building stone had been established in 1163 during the papal tenure of Pope Alexander.

Caulkins demonstrates that the novel edification was incorporated into the architectural movement that had been designated as Gothic.  The initial anonymous builder started with a two sided aisle design that was absent of a salient transept. The designfor the cathedral was a four floor construction that included tribunes. There were plans for large sexpartite architectural arches which were formed upon horizontal lines. There were robust and faint pillars that were applied in alternating form between the first and the second aisles.

Salley, Roger. Early Medieval architecture. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Salley explores how the Notre- Dame cathedral is one of the most ancient in Paris. As it has been seen with many of the Romanesque gothic cathedral forms, Notre- Dame is founded on the form of a cross.  The nave is composed of ten spans. The choir area is composed of five spans. The axis is subtly deviated toward the left in relation to the nave’s axis. There is an apse that has a semicircular form and is separated in five sections.  There is a flanking of the nave by dual aisles that are amplified by dual ambulatories.  The architecture of the Notre- Dame cathedral is Gothic.

Salley explains that the design is founded upon flying fortresses and buttresses. The concept of the buttresses was introduced in the early part of the cathedral´s development in order to provide support for the vaulted aisles. The cathedral at Notre- Dame at Paris was one of the first buildings to use the state of the art technology of flying buttresses. The initial design did not include the flying buttresses in the area of the nave and the choir. After the construction had been initiated in 1175, the need for the flying buttresses emerged as the weight of the vaulted walls and arches were excessive for the originally planned foundations.

Murray, Stephen. ¨Notre- Dame and The anticipation of gothic.¨ The Art Bulletin 80. 2(1998): 229- 253.

Murray details how the flying buttresses, the ribbed vault and the ogival arch   caused a revolution within the construction perspective of the medieval Gothic builders. The application of the ogival arch has a dual function. The first is that the ogival arch decreases the lateral thrust. The decrease of the lateral thrust facilitates the production of lighter and more intrepid construction. In addition, the ogival arch enabled plasticity due to the delegating of a quality of verticality to the construction.

Murray reviews that the ogival arch was one of the conventional elements of gothic style. The ribbed vault is connected by a collection of aches which have an intersecting quality. The ogival arches are used to interconnect the capital, façade, pillars and struts in Notre- Dame. The primary facade has an optimal body equilibrium between the vertical and horizontal lines.

Murray reminds the audience that Notre- Dame is translated into English as “Our lady”. The cathedral is the most frequently visited monument in Europe. The Notre- Dame Cathedral is approximately eight hundred and fifty years of age. The cathedral is positioned on the Island in the middle of the River seine called Ile la Cité. The edification of the cathedral initiated in 1163 with the initial builder’s stone being laid by Maurice de Sully. The project of constructing the cathedral of Notre- Dame had been encouraged by Louis VII. The cathedral´s edification was concluded in 1345. The building of the cathedral of Notre- Dame required two hundred years.

Wyatt Sir, Matthew Digby and John Burley Waring. Four Courts in the Crystal Palace. London, UK: Crystal Palace Library, 1854.

Sir Wyatt and John Burley Waring delineate the characteristics of the art at the cathedral of Notre- Dame of Paris. One the initial arches there are a collection of medallions. Painted on one of the medallions is St. Stephen. As one passes through the central arches, the pattern of the arches is continued in the Notre- Dame Cathedral. The initial statues that are observed from the left side are two figure s which are in sitting positions. This is derived from the oratory that pertained to Louis XI that was constructed in 1245 by the builder Pierre de Montereau.

Sir Wyatt and John Burley Waring observe that on the top side of the arch, there is an elaborate adornment of the Virgin Mary and Child. The gable is topped with a nimbus cruciform that originated in the Chartres cathedral. On the right aspect of the door that is close to the ground, there are two exquisitely detailed figures that also originate from the Chartres cathedral. These figures are placed in the background of a bas relief that is derived from the choir area of the cathedral of Notre- Dame. The corbels which are in the superior part of the canopies originate from the oratory that pertained to Louis XI.

Williamson, Paul. Gothic Sculpture. 1140- 1300.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1995. Print.

Willamson provides historical analysis on the Portail Sainte Anne that is positioned at the most southerly of the three doorways on the western façade of the cathedral of Notre- Dame. This is a composite of three sculptural depictions which originate from one of the twelfth century portals aggregates that had been added during the thirteenth century. The sculpture derives its name from the story of Anna and Joachim. The portal had been erected during the initial quarter of the thirteenth century. This is when the primary elements had been enhanced by the lintel that is located beneath.

Williamson reflects that it had long been acknowledged that the Portail of Sainte Anne should include the residuals of a minimum two of the doorways which had been planned for the facades constructed earlier. There is the tympanum that manifests the virgin and child positioned between two adoring angels. In addition, there is a scribe and bishop on the left and a monarch on the right which are presently demonstrated on the thirteenth century doorway. The original intention of these tympanum would be demonstrating the Christ in his majestic arrival. Historians have stated these should be found in the Judgement portal of the Notre- Dame cathedral.