[MUSIC] Welcome back to the Age of Cathedrals. In our last time together, we began to explore the First Gothic Church, built around the year 1140 in Ile-de-France, just north of Paris. By one of the most remarkable men of the high middle ages. Abbot Suger was the man responsible for rebuilding Saint Denis, a much older church which had fallen into ruins and was too small. And which became the first and the very archetype of a Gothic cathedral. But Suger also built Saint Denis as a spiritual community, an economic entity. And as the political navel of state making in 12th century France. Some consider him, which is surely an exaggeration, one of the great architects of all time. On the frieze of the Albert Memorial in London, which was built in 1875. Suger stands between William of Sens, the master mason responsible for the rebuilding of Canterbury Cathedral in the Gothic style, about 30 years after Saint Denis. And Anthemius of Tralles, Architect of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Notice in this image, Suger, whose head is tonsured like a monk, is pictured with his hand upon his chin. Indicating that he is a man of thought, as well as a builder. What exactly did he build, what did he think, what did he do? Suger was responsible for constructing the abbey church of Saint Denis. And for having written a unique account of how he did it, known as, On What Was Done Under His Administration. In his account of the building of the first Gothic cathedral, Suger describes a scene of nobles, so enthusiastic and dedicated to the project, that they take the rings off their fingers and toss valuables and jewels into the mortar. So, too, as he inscribed in the cathedral, first of all, in the writing of the dedicatory plaque of the West Facade, which reads as follows. In honor of the church, which nurtured and exalted him, Suger worked, rendering back to you your due, Saint Denis, martyr. He prays that your prayers will obtain for him a place in Paradise. In the year of the Word eleven hundred and forty the consecration took place. Suger signs his name in the written inscription on the front of the cathedral. Visually, however, he figures in the sculpture of the west facade, on the tympanum, the space above the door of the central portal. Where he sits at the feet of Christ in the scene of the Last Judgement. Since he situates himself by the right foot of Christ, the side of the saved, it is as if Suger were ensuring salvation for himself through his good works. There were no architects as such in the middle ages. The closest thing to an architect was the master mason. A magister cementarius, or cement master, who might supervise the choice of suitable stone from a quarry. Its rough cutting and transportation to the building site. Its carving, and laying, and courses, and other patterns as the building went up. The master mason might make drawings upon the floor of the mason's lodge or hut. A shed-like structure erected on the building site in preparation for the next phase of construction, though few such drawings have survived. The master mason was someone who knew a lot about stone. And there is a lot to know in terms of weight, grain, and color. Especially when one sees some of the delicate designs of great Gothic rose windows and arches. Suger was neither an architect nor a master mason. But something of the order of the producer of the first Gothic Cathedral. Much as one might find a movie producer, today, who gathers the the resources for making a film. But who hires a director to supervise the actual work. The director might then hire actors, cameramen, costumers, and makeup artists. Abbot Suger did not design the enlarged church at Saint Denis. He assembled an international team of workers to build the first Gothic cathedral. Bronze founders, jewelers, and enamel workers from the valleys of the Rhine and the Meuse. Masons and stone carvers from Normandy, Burgundy, and southwestern France. Mosaicists from Italy, and in the Abbot's own words, many masters of stained glass from different regions. He was involved, personally, in locating suitable building materials, and made sure that they arrived on site for others to put in place. He was guided by what he terms, the concordance in harmony of the ancient and the new work. And he was so anxious to find worthy marble columns, that he went so far as to contemplate bringing by ship, columns that he had seen in the Palace of Diocletian in Rome. They would have travel through the Mediterranean, the English Channel and up the Seine. But miraculously, the almighty led the cathedral builders to the excellent, nearby quarry of Pontoise, some 16 and a half miles away. Getting the heavy stones to Saint Denis took a collective effort, as Suger tells us in his memoir of cathedral building. Whenever the columns were hauled from the bottom of the slope with knotted ropes, both our own people and the pious neighbors, nobles and common folk alike would tie their arms, chests, and shoulders to the ropes. And acting as draft animals, drew the columns up. And on the declivity, in the middle of the town, the diverse craftsmen laid aside the tools of their trade and came out to meet them, offering their own strength against the difficulty of the road, doing homage as much as they could to God and the Holy Martyrs. This phenomenon of community effort and bringing building materials to the construction site came to be known as the Crusade of the Cathedrals. And as we see here, as well as in the building of Chartres, more than one miracle occurred along the way. In thinking about the construction of the roof work for his new Cathedral, the wooden structure known as the faras above the high vaults but below the actual roof. Suger learned that adequate beams could be found no closer than the distant district of Auxerre. God, however, again provided. Timber was, against all advice, found in the nearer forest of Ivelines. By the ninth hour, or sooner, we had, Suger tells us, through the thickets, the depths of the forests and the dense, thorn tangles, marked down twelve timbers to the astonishment of all, especially those on the spot. And when they had been carried to the sacred basilica, we had them placed, with exultation, upon the ceiling of the new structure.
