One of Paris’s symbols, the Notre Dame cathedral went in flames as the evening covered the French capital in mid-April of 2019.
The city’s authorities reacted with difficulty in front of the disaster. Hundreds of people were evacuated firstly from the monument, then from the Ile de la Cite and looked at the building collapse.
The world was petrified at such a cultural loss and mourned the destruction of an inestimable heritage. For many, while we do know and speak about this disaster, it can be difficult to understand why the fire is of such impact.
Close your eyes and imagine the Paris of the 12th century. Back then, the history of the place was that a pagan temple existed on that ground, which had been replaced by a Romanesque church. Later, the constructions of the Notre Dame cathedral began. As any construction in the Middle Ages, it was a long and hard process. From drafting the sketches to establishing the materials and plan for construction, the endeavor was a colossal one, which represented the pinnacle of the time’s artistry, technology and faith. The goal of the cathedral was to praise divinity and to showcase its grandeur as compared to the life of men.
Imagine a small craftsman shepherd. An artist, who, while caring for his animals in the surroundings of Paris, had developed the skill to finely cut wood and to give it shape and meaning. Maybe he was recruited to work on the cathedral, sometime in the decades that followed the start of the construction. For such a man, this endeavor was not so much an honor, but a great pressure, he would be part of a team that needed to make things that would be worthy of the divine and that would have the ability to connect humans with the heavens for years to come. Who knows what he thought? Did he even think of the future? But, our artist put in all his efforts to sculpt and to paint, to practice and to carve until his creations were suited for such an amazing place. The monument was so grand that it humbled people even in the 21st century – for the medieval soul it was probably an overwhelming experience just to see the church from afar, rising in the middle of the city – a proof of the might and awesome power of the divine.
Would our shepherd have dreamt that what he contributed to would survive many winters, many wars, many times of famine and concern? Could he have thought that his work, which was made with the simplest of tools, in a time when living was modest and hard, would come to survive over so many years that it would become a symbol of the city? The work done by simple men and women of old would see the rise of mechanics, the appearance of electricity and would inspire countless artists, visitors and pilgrims? Would they have thought that the cathedral would be seen by millions, by more people than France and the whole of Europe housed at the time it was built? Would they have thought it would be the muse of so many people, of the struggling bohemian artists on the Montmartre, of the passer-by’s and the foreigners who would come to witness it? Their minds could have probably not even conceived the idea that their work would be there in a time when men invent flying metallic structures, when international communication is at anyone’s fingertips and when the internet would appear? Would they have thought their work which they created with their bare hands would resonate with millions and that 12 million people would go through it each year? Would they have thought that their work would connect not just Christians, but people of all backgrounds through centuries?
And, ultimately, would they have thought that on a spring evening, it would be destroyed by flames? That the things they touched and cared for, after having gone through wars and many moments of destruction would be consumed by flames in the sight of the whole planet? What emotions would the people who carved the stones and the statues of the Notre Dame feel when confronted with the thought that their work would last for over nine hundred years and that at the moment of its fall it would cause people from places they did not even know existed to cry and weep? Would they be proud? Would they be honored that they were part of something so grand? Would they be overwhelmed at the thought that the labor of their hands has enriched the lives of so many? Would they be sad?
Change is part of the world. The grand wonders will eventually change. The embedded spirit will continue.
We have to say in this moment: “adieu, notre amour”. Who knows what will happen in the morning?