The fire that heavily damaged Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris generated headlines around the world. Here are 10 news stories that are worth a read, plus some podcasts and videos.
The fire began at about 18:43 local time on Monday (15 April). Pictures show flames shooting up around the spire, shortly after the doors were shut to visitors for the day. – from BBC News
Many great churches and cathedrals have suffered catastrophic fires over their long histories and medieval chronicles are full of stories of devastation and ruin as a result – but they also tell of how the buildings were reconstructed and made better than ever. – from The Conversation
What Notre-Dame might come to symbolize now, though, is resilience. Like so many of the incomparable cathedrals, mosques, and towers around the world, it’s found itself vulnerable, a strange quality for something hewn out of stone. – from The Atlantic
Andrew Tallon, a pioneering architectural historian and father of four, died on November 16, 2018, from brain cancer. He was 49. He had dedicated his life to the study of medieval architecture, its mysteries and resonances, blending in his interest in technology to create novel ways of studying centuries-old buildings. – from The Atlantic
The cathedral is just one of many famous historical sites around the world that have been damaged by fire and required repair and restoration work to be returned to their former glory. – from Time
While that design could be reproduced today, why should it? This line of thought quickly spirals into endless possibilities for a Disney-like creative reconstruction of the past. Should the 19th-century techniques that were employed to build it also be reproduced? If an earlier spire is to be re-created, why not make a spire truer to the first spire at Notre Dame? Which of its nearly nine centuries should be privileged? What should be done about the fact that much of the original building was lost in the French Revolution? Should its pre-revolutionary state be reconstituted, as well? Should we also remove the electric lights in the building? – from The Washington Post
Little about this marvel of French Gothic architecture ever stood still, ever came perfectly and completely into being. What is most remarkable about it, one can argue, is the way in which it is the product of centuries of human effort and enterprise mingled with periods of neglect and even outright destruction… – from Town and Country
Should the hundreds of millions donated to restore Notre-Dame cathedral be spent on France’s poor, as many are saying? France’s culture minister pleaded Thursday for an end to the controversy. – from The Local
The fire that heavily damaged Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris generated headlines around the world. Here are 10 news stories that are worth a read, plus some podcasts and videos.
Notre-Dame: The story of the fire in graphics and images
The fire began at about 18:43 local time on Monday (15 April). Pictures show flames shooting up around the spire, shortly after the doors were shut to visitors for the day. – from BBC News
Notre Dame: a history of medieval cathedrals and fire, by Jenny Alexander
Many great churches and cathedrals have suffered catastrophic fires over their long histories and medieval chronicles are full of stories of devastation and ruin as a result – but they also tell of how the buildings were reconstructed and made better than ever. – from The Conversation
Notre-Dame Isn’t Lost: The history of sacred structures is defined by ruin and repair, by Sophie Gilbert
What Notre-Dame might come to symbolize now, though, is resilience. Like so many of the incomparable cathedrals, mosques, and towers around the world, it’s found itself vulnerable, a strange quality for something hewn out of stone. – from The Atlantic
The Images That Could Help Rebuild Notre-Dame Cathedral, by Alex Madrigal
Andrew Tallon, a pioneering architectural historian and father of four, died on November 16, 2018, from brain cancer. He was 49. He had dedicated his life to the study of medieval architecture, its mysteries and resonances, blending in his interest in technology to create novel ways of studying centuries-old buildings. – from The Atlantic
Notre Dame Isn’t the First Historic Building to Be Rebuilt After Burning Down. Here Are 6 Others, by Madeline Roache
The cathedral is just one of many famous historical sites around the world that have been damaged by fire and required repair and restoration work to be returned to their former glory. – from Time
How to restore Notre Dame — without falsifying history, by Meredith Cohen
While that design could be reproduced today, why should it? This line of thought quickly spirals into endless possibilities for a Disney-like creative reconstruction of the past. Should the 19th-century techniques that were employed to build it also be reproduced? If an earlier spire is to be re-created, why not make a spire truer to the first spire at Notre Dame? Which of its nearly nine centuries should be privileged? What should be done about the fact that much of the original building was lost in the French Revolution? Should its pre-revolutionary state be reconstituted, as well? Should we also remove the electric lights in the building? – from The Washington Post
Why the Notre Dame fire is a loss of collective memory, by Emily Moon
An interview with Shelley Hornstein, a professor of architectural history and theory at York University in Toronto – from Pacific Standard
Notre Dame Cathedral Will Never Be the Same—and That’s Ok, by Klara Glowczewska
Little about this marvel of French Gothic architecture ever stood still, ever came perfectly and completely into being. What is most remarkable about it, one can argue, is the way in which it is the product of centuries of human effort and enterprise mingled with periods of neglect and even outright destruction… – from Town and Country
A ‘pointless’ row or should the Notre-Dame donations be spent on France’s poor?
Should the hundreds of millions donated to restore Notre-Dame cathedral be spent on France’s poor, as many are saying? France’s culture minister pleaded Thursday for an end to the controversy. – from The Local
Surveying the Damage to Notre-Dame, and to Ourselves, by Rachel L. Harris and Lisa Tarchak
Curating the responses from readers at the New York Times
Podcasts
How Notre-Dame Cathedral survived centuries of war and change – from Frontburner a CBC daily podcast
Concerning Stained Glass and Notre Dame – from Medieval Death Trip
Our own podcast also recorded a special episode to talk about the fire
Videos
Inside Notre-Dame Cathedral after the fire
In 360: Notre-Dame cathedral before the fire
Notre Dame fire: drone footage shows damage to cathedral
The History of Notre Dame – What’s At Stake
Top Image: Photo by Marind / Wikimedia Commons
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