Laon, Notre-Dame
LAON

Building Data for Laon, Notre-Dame

  •  
  • Type: Cathedral
  • Affiliation:
  •  
  • Region: Picardie
  • Department: Aisne
  • Coords: 49.564, 3.6250
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  • Surveyed: 1969, 1972-74, 1977, 1980-83, 2011, 2015, 2017

Map

Virtual Tour

Studies These draft studies have been written as if all carvings were by an individual whereas they can equally be analysed as template modes employed by a number of carvers. The more personal approach was necessitated by the complexity of the data. The drafts will be reconsidered after I have added the rib vault material to the database.
X

These draft studies have been written as if all carvings were by an individual whereas they can equally be analysed as template modes employed by a number of carvers. The more personal approach was necessitated by the complexity of the data. The drafts will be reconsidered after I have added the rib vault material to the database.

Timeline and building units for Laon, Notre-Dame A 'building unit' is an arbitrary unit of work based on bulk billing techniques used by quantity surveyors. The unit is small enough to provide realistic figures in the small churches without becoming too huge in the large. Six units would pay for one small vaulted bay in an aisle about 3 metres square, or a small first-floor gallery. Such a bay would consist of an external wall with a small window, half of two columns about 3 meters tall, the floor and footings under them and the vault and roof overhead.
X

A 'building unit' is an arbitrary unit of work based on bulk billing techniques used by quantity surveyors. The unit is small enough to provide realistic figures in the small churches without becoming too huge in the large. Six units would pay for one small vaulted bay in an aisle about 3 metres square, or a small first-floor gallery. Such a bay would consist of an external wall with a small window, half of two columns about 3 meters tall, the floor and footings under them and the vault and roof overhead.

info

gray gray 880
1150		 1360
1160		 1850
1170		 2880
1180		 1200
1190		 600
1200		 200
1210		 200
1220		 200
1230		 gray
1050 1150s 1160s 1170s 1180s 1190s 1200s 1210s 1220s 1230s 1250

Phases for Laon, Notre-Dame The building sequence is based on my on-site analysis of the construction history, using the techniques developed on the cathedral of Chartres called toichology, and described in a number of publications. The analysis of some of the smaller churches are more approximate than I would like, and need further analysis. <p>I have used 'phase' rather than 'campaign' to to identify a contiguous zone with similar elements. A campaign would be defined by recognisable breaks and construction joints in the fabric: there may be a number of phases within a campaign. One benefit is that separate programs by subcontractors, such as carvers, may be isolated, which is particularly useful in complex sections, such as portals. <p>Every phase has been assigned to a decade, so there may be more than one phase in a decade. <p>While this is certainly imperfect, it will allow us to explore all the data, including costs, across time. This is an on-going process, so as the data continues to be analyzed, the chronology and costing analysis will be further refined, and the synopsis updated. <p>Clicking on any of the decade graphics will display all buildings that had work being done during that decade.
X

The building sequence is based on my on-site analysis of the construction history, using the techniques developed on the cathedral of Chartres called toichology, and described in a number of publications. The analysis of some of the smaller churches are more approximate than I would like, and need further analysis.

I have used 'phase' rather than 'campaign' to to identify a contiguous zone with similar elements. A campaign would be defined by recognisable breaks and construction joints in the fabric: there may be a number of phases within a campaign. One benefit is that separate programs by subcontractors, such as carvers, may be isolated, which is particularly useful in complex sections, such as portals.

Every phase has been assigned to a decade, so there may be more than one phase in a decade.

While this is certainly imperfect, it will allow us to explore all the data, including costs, across time. This is an on-going process, so as the data continues to be analyzed, the chronology and costing analysis will be further refined, and the synopsis updated.

Clicking on any of the decade graphics will display all buildings that had work being done during that decade.

Short version of history

1150

Phase 1 - 1150 [1152] - choir (b) - 220 Units


Probable layout for choir and footings, with round hemicycycle.
1150

Phase 2 - 1150 [1155] - choir dado - 220 Units


Choir dado
1150

Phase 3 - 1150 [1157] - choir piers (a) - 220 Units


Choir pier caps and eastern side of transepts, which includes those with curved faces that used to be in the hemicycle and were reused during the extensions twenty years later.
1150

Phase 4 - 1150 [1158] - choir walls (a) - 220 Units


Choir wall caps with aisle vaults; many of these capitals have been replaced, but comparison with similar capitals here and elsewhere strongly indicates that they were reasonably faithful copies.
1160

Phase 5 - 1160 [1161] - choir (g) - 220 Units


Choir gallery built with a tilt from the south to the north; one of the finest and best-preserved groups of capitals in the north.
1160

Phase 6 - 1160 [1162] - choir (gw) - 220 Units


Choir gallery window caps and vault
1160

Phase 7 - 1160 [1163] - choir (t) - 140 Units


Choir and eastern transept triforium with arched lateral supports under the side roof; probable temporary roof at the level of the sills. .
1160

Phase 8 - 1160 [1164] - choir (c) - 220 Units


Choir clerestory capitals and window sills; here there is a pause in the works until the decision is made to demolish the circular ambulatory and extend the choir to the east, entailing demolition of the whole of the hemicycle before the extension could be built: much material and sculpture was reused.; same time as south footings and 3 bays to west.
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1160

Phase 9 - 1160 [1166] - choir (cw) - 220 Units


Capitals to a few clerestory windows showing the topmost part of this stage of the work on the choir; I dont think the windows were completed until the extension to the choir had reached the same height on phase 30.
1160

Phase 10 - 1160 [1167] - s entry - 220 Units


North footings and 3 bays to west and chapel dado; the four designs for the piers in nave bays W2-4 could have been in a series of campaigns at this time.
1160

Phase 11 - 1160 [1169] - south e (d) - 120 Units


South chapel to capitals and vaults while north encasing walls raised to floor level
1170

Phase 12 - 1170 [1173] - nave 1-3 (d) - 120 Units


Nave 1-3 dado and bases and adjacent wall of south
1170

Phase 13 - 1170 [1175] - north e (d) - 120 Units


North dado
1170

Phase 14 - 1170 [1176] - nave 1-3(a) - 120 Units


First three bays of nave with confused pier plans that suggests a number of masters and a complex program in these bases
1170

Phase 15 - 1170 [1176] - south (a) - 120 Units


South doors and 2 bays on west side, with large 8-part rose in west wall
1170

Phase 16 - 1170 [1177] - south (av) - 240 Units


South aisle vault in three campaigns, north door openings.
1170

Phase 17 - 1170 [1176] - east (b) - 240 Units


East and west footings, east bays and W3-10 remain the most advanced
1170

Phase 18 - 1170 [1178] - north portal - 240 Units


North entry portal capitals.
1170

Phase 19 - 1170 [1178] - north (a) - 240 Units


North aisle vault in three campaigns from changes to profiles
1170

Phase 20 - 1170 [1178] - south (g) - 180 Units


South west gallery vaults; north gallery wall caps; wall of flat eastern end with internal buttresses.
1170

Phase 21 - 1170 [1179] - south (t) - 180 Units


South triforium
1170

Phase 22 - 1170 [1179] - nave 4-11(a) - 50 Units


East bays nave gallery and west of south gallery
1180

Phase 23 - 1180 [1180] - north (g) - 180 Units


North and two bays to west gallery caps on south side, and four bays on the north
1180

Phase 24 - 1180 - east, west (b) - 180 Units


East and west pier bases
1180

Phase 25 - 1180 [1180] - east, west (d) - 120 Units


East and west dado with Bronze corbels over passage through eastern buttresses
1180

Phase 26 - 1180 - south (cs) - 200 Units


South clerestory sills now level with earlier choir; north gallery vaults.
1180

Phase 27 - 1180 [1182] - east, west (av) - 200 Units


East and west aisle wall caps and aisle vault, drum piers in nave aisles bays 4-11, and to Salle Chapitre to south
1180

Phase 28 - 1180 - north (t) - 400 Units


South rose begun; north triforium.
1180

Phase 29 - 1180 [1180] - south (c) - 200 Units


South clerestory windows with external walkway in the Braine manner; north clerestory sills now level with earlier choir on this side.
1180

Phase 30 - 1180 - choir (cw) - 200 Units


Clerestory windows in choir continued in pace with the outer transepts, with simple flyers that were later replaced to match those in the nave.
1180

Phase 31 - 1180 [1180] - east, west (g) - 200 Units


North rose begun; east and west gallery caps.
1180

Phase 32 - 1180 [1180] - porch (b) - 200 Units


West porches, dado in west bays and porch bases with same arrangement and similar dimensions to the transept portals at Chartres, which were by Bronze.
1180

Phase 33 - 1180 - north (c,c+,w) - 200 Units


South roof cornice; north clerestory windows; east and west gallery vaults to pier W9
1180

Phase 34 - 1180 [1182] - nave (t,c) - 200 Units


East and nave 1-9 triforium arcade and clerestory capitals.
1180

Phase 35 - 1180 [1185] - porch (a) - 200 Units


West portal sculpture, capitals, westmost aisle bays and vaults
1180

Phase 36 - 1180 - west-w(g) - 200 Units


North roof cornice and roof; east and west triforium to W8, gables over west porch and gallery over west portal.
1190

Phase 37 - 1190 - east, west (cs) - 200 Units


East and west clerestory sills, now level with roof over earlier choir.
1190

Phase 38 - 1190 - east, west roses - 300 Units


North high vaults; east and west rose windows begun to same design with interior walkway and corbels by Scarlet.
1190

Phase 39 - 1190 - east, west (cw) - 300 Units


East and west window caps
1190

Phase 40 - 1190 - east, west 9rc) - 200 Units


East and west cornice
1190

Phase 41 - 1190 - east, west roof - 200 Units


East and west roof
1200

Phase 42 - 1200 - east, west (v) - 200 Units


East and west vaults
1200

Phase 43 - 1200 - s tower I - 200 Units


South tower 1, north is a few years later
1200

Phase 44 - 1200 - s tower II - 200 Units


South tower II, north is a few years later
1210

Phase 45 - 1210 - w towers I - 200 Units


West front external arcade and towers level 1; south tower III, north is a few years later
1220

Phase 46 - 1220 - w towers II - 170 Units


West front tower II
1220

Phase 47 - 1220 [1226] - n portal - 30 Units


Insert portal into north tower
1230

Phase 48 - 1230 - w towers III - 200 Units


West front towers III
Later

Phase 49 - Later


Rebuild southern rose and commence rebuilding in the north.