Notre-Dame d’Amiens – Exploring the Exterior Details

Notre-Dame d’Amiens is a magnificent cathedral. It is the largest cathedral in France and although definitely 13^th century Gothic in style, a place of worship has rested on this site since the fifth century. When you consider the timeline of wars that took place in France since the present-day Cathédrale Notre-Dame d’Amiens was built in 1270, it is rather miraculous that so much of the lovely stonework sculptures remain on the exterior. (There is another whole page dedicated to the interior of Amiens Cathedral.)

This is the view from the plaza in front of the Cathedral. The morning was sunny and cold and I was glad to finally see the sun light up the Cathedral after several days of gloomy clouds and rain.

Let’s Talk About Size

Here are a few facts from the Cathedral brochure to attest to the size of this lovely lady! Many think that Notre-Dame de Paris is huge but just look at the comparisons. “D’un volume intérieur de deux cent mille mètres cubes, elle contiendrait en entier la cathédrale de Paris.” (With an interior volume of two hundred thousand cubic metres, it would contain the entire cathedral of Paris) [note: historical details are from Cathedral pamphlet and the France heritage site]

	Amiens	Paris
Length of Cathedral	438 feet	418 feet
Length of Transept	230 feet	148 feet
Height of Vaults	139 feet	108 feet

The fire at Notre Dame de Paris on 15 April 2019 was a horror to watch but we know, like a phoenix, she will be great again. Meanwhile, there are so many beautiful cathedrals to experience here in France and Notre-Dame d’Amiens is one of those.

Notre-Dame of Amiens Exterior Views & Parc de l’Evêché

Above are  views as I walked around the south side of the Cathedral to the Bishop’s Palace Park at the rear of the Cathedral. It’s easy to see why the locals enjoy this park. I certainly did! The views of the Cathedral were amazing and it was a peaceful place to have my picnic dinner.

In the parking area to the rear of the Cathedral stands the statue of Pierre l’Hermite,  not far from the entrance to the Parc de l’Evêché (Bishop’s Palace Park).

Starting at the Top

It’s hard to know where to begin with so many photos so I’m starting at the top of the cathedral with a few general photos and building. More detail and iconography will be added as I go along.

This row of saints extends the width of the cathedral, with the rose window being in the center.

Here is the 43 foot wide rose window viewed from inside the cathedral.

The rose window below is above the south transept.

Directly below the row of saints and just above the three entrance portals, an angel sounds her/his trumpet.

 

Front Portals of Notre-Dame of Amiens

There are three 13^th century portals at the front of the Cathedral. On the far left is the portal of Saint-Firmin. He is also immortalized inside on the magnificent choir screen. The center portal is the portal of the Beau Dieu (Wonderful God) and the portal on the far right is the portal of the Mère Dieu (the Mother of God).

Beau Dieu Portal

This 13th century central portal tympanum represents the Last Judgment and the resurrection of the dead. At the uppermost level is Christ on His throne, while the lower row is the resurrection of the dead (to the left is Paradise and to the right is Hell). In the center of this row of sculptures is the Archangel Gabriel weighing the souls.

 

 

Observe on the far right end of the bottom row in the above photo (and the top row in the photo below), the souls that have been damned are directed to the gates of hell, symbolized by the open jaws of the sea monster Leviathan. To the left end of the row are  saved souls entering paradise, led by Saint Peter (but close inspection shows the carving to be of Saint-Francis of Assisi as he is dressed as a Franciscan and is barefoot). The symbolism found here is amazing as is the detail of the carvings!

Mére Dieu Portal

This portal is an interesting blend of two views of the Virgin: as the Mother of God and also a symbol of the Church. Historically speaking, these views have remained separate but here in Notre-Dame d’Amiens they are for the first time together in the tympanum of  this door.

Just like the Bien Dieu portal, there are three levels in this tympanum.

Tympanum Exploration

I find the middle level very interesting. The two scenes look very similar.  However, it is the details that separate them. On the left is the burial of Mary – note how she is being lowered into the tomb with the Apostles surrounding her. Whereas the scene on the right is at the Assumption of Mary into heaven. The angels surround her.

The bottom level has 6 prophets of the Old Testament separated by the Arc of the Covenant. Mary sits at the right hand of Christ in the very top level. According to Marcia Rickard’s journal article The Iconography of the Virgin Portal at Amiens , placing Mary enthroned above the Arc of the Covenant portrays her as the purest of vessels for the new law of Christ.

Trumeau

This statue (trumeau) in the center divide of the two doors has Mary wearing a crown and carrying the baby Jesus as she tramples a serpent. She tramples a serpent to  represent victory over slanderers and heretics. (Rickard)

Mary represents the Mother of God in the column statues and the Virgin Church in the tympanum and the arch surrounding the door.

Polychrome on the Cathedral

Upon a closer look (and I think it’s most evident in this photo of the Virgin and Child trumeau above) it’s obvious that at one time the facade of Notre-Dame d’Amiens had polychrome painting on the exterior. Historians have researched this in detail and now during summer evenings the sound and light spectacle shows what the cathedral would’ve looked like when the colors were new and vivid. The Cathedral site lists the hours for each of the summer months.

St-Firmin Portal

St-Firmin, a Spanish missionary,  founded the church here in Amiens in the 3rd century. This must be the reason that he merits his own door. Everything about this door is dedicated to him and his life.

 

The middle section of the tympanum represents the people of Amiens, rejoicing over the discovery of the tomb of Saint-Firmin.

This tympanum relates the history of St-Firmin and the details come from this article: Life of a Cathedral.  To understand the story, we “read” from the bottom to top of the typmpanum:

• The lowest level contains 6 former bishops of Amiens. Between them sets a box containing the  relics of St-Firmin.
• In the center Bishop Sauve receives guidance to the location of St-Firmin’s tomb by a ray of light (located immediately above the reliquary box with the bishops, it looks like a rope)
• At the very top, the people of Amiens rejoice as the box with the relics is carried back to Amiens.

St-Firmin Portal Door Jambs

Looking at the statuary on the doors jambs of this portal, we have two beheaded saints on the left jamb (Saint Auche and Saint Acheul) flanked by angels while on the right jamb we have bishops and saints.

Wow, I love all the detail in these three doors.

Quatrefoils on the Door Jambs

The series of quatrefoils that are to the left and right of each of the door jambs also tell their own stories. At a time period when few people could read, everything about these cathedrals was designed to teach through visualization.

Here are four of the 12 zodiac cycles. The upper quatrefoils represent the zodiac while the each lower quatrefoil corresponds to the labor that occurs during that time period of the zodiac.

Another set of quatrefoils pairs vices and virtues:

South Portal, Portail St-Honoré, of Notre-Dame d’Amiens

This entrance, in my opinion, is just as grand as the three entrances on the front of the cathedral. Saint-Honoré was a 6th century bishop here and his relics are contained within the Cathedral.

The statue of the Virgin on the trumeau is called  la Vierge dorée,  or the golden Virgin. The twelve figures above the Virgin are the Apostles.

Levels above the Apostles address the life and miracles of St-Honoré, specifically one in which a blind woman was healed after touching the cloth. At the top-most point of the tympanum is the crucification which appears to have the cloth draped behind it but several references indicated that it is actually leaning on the cloth.

The vaults around the tympanum consist of  angels, Old Testament figures, prophets and Apostles.

Gargoyles, Chimera and Grotesques of Notre-Dame d’Amiens

I’ve long had a fascination with gargoyles and chimera (also called grotesques) on medieval buildings.  Amiens has a plethora of these creatures . Gargoyles were designed as water spouts to carry rain water away so they extend out from the building.  They have open mouths. If  you are lucky enough to be above them you can see the trough that creates their back. The word gargoyle comes from the French word gargouille which means throat.

In some instances, I noted pairs of gargoyles being “guarded” by a chimera.

Chimera, also called grotesques, are ornamental and some believe they were placed on cathedrals to ward off evil spirits. In several locations on the cathedral, I noted a chimera hovering above a pair of gargoyles. Here are two others that are a bit more close-up than the 15 images above.

In Conclusion

There are just a few more statues that I photographed that I want to share.

First, to the left and right of the large portals stand statues of saints, bishops, angels, etc. Each of these is supported by figure which in many cases appears to be a human being.

Look closely at the base of each of these statues below. They, too, are supported by someone/something.

And finally, this is an interesting group of sculptures. I’m sure they tell a story but I’ve not found any information to explain what it is.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this not-so-brief look at Notre-Dame d’Amiens Cathedral!