parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Louviers Louviers () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen. Population History Prehistory In th ...

Eure Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934.Gothic church architecture in northern France. The north façade, and, especially the south façade and porch, are some of the best examples of late

Flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...

Gothic architecture in France.

Chronological overview of Notre-Dame de Louviers

The plan of the church today is the result of several major construction campaigns that began at the end of the twelfth century and concluded in the early sixteenth. The building features elements from both the

High Gothic High Gothic was a period of Gothic architecture in the 13th century, from about 1200 to 1280, which saw the construction of a series of refined and richly decorated cathedrals of exceptional height and size. It appeared most prominently in France ...

and Late Gothic (or

Flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...

) periods. #c. 1190-1240s: chevet, nave, and west façade are constructed #1346: English invaders burn the lantern tower/spire #1385: Spire over the crossing built #1414: Challenge Tower construction begins #1493-96: North facade under construction (architect: Jehan Gillot) #1496-1506: South facade under construction #1506-1510: South porch under construction #1705: Spire destroyed in a severe thunderstorm #Restoration work in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the cementing of the triforium windows and restoration of both interior and exterior sculptures (L. Delahaye and V. Pyanet) #2003-2013: massive structural repairs and repainting of the nave

Interior features

Chevet

The

chevet In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. In Byzan ...

, or eastern end of the church containing the altar, has been reworked several times since the thirteenth century. It is difficult to know its original form. Documentary sources do not provide a reliable foundation date so scholars have relied on style.

13th-century nave

Over the course of the early thirteenth century construction probably progressed westward after the completion of the eastern chevet. The

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

, or central vessel of the church, is seven bays in length and was originally flanked by one aisle on each side. The elevation of the nave consists of three stories: nave arcade,

triforium A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...

, and

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

. The nave columns appear distantly related to

Notre-Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris ( ; meaning "Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris"), often referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a Medieval architecture, medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the River Seine), in the 4th arrondissemen ...

but closer prototypes can be found in the hemicycle of

Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral () is a Catholic church architecture, church in Rouen, Normandy, France. It is the Episcopal see, see of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy. It is famous for its three towers, each in a different style. The cathedral, b ...

. A triple bundle of shafts rest on corbels designed to resemble human heads. The shafts pass a very unusual trilobed triforium (the middle level) which was originally open to the space between the aisle vaults and aisle roof. The nave vaults spring about two-thirds up the

clerestory A clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey; from Old French ''cler estor'') is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye-level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, a ''clerestory' ...

(the row of windows that continue along the nave) but were probably lower before the upper parts of the church were modified during the expansion in the 15th and 16th centuries. The nave was restored between 2006 and 2013 based on traces of medieval paint.

15th- and 16th-century expansions

The church of Notre-Dame de Louviers underwent a dramatic expansion project during the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

. An entirely new

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

was added to the north between 1493 and 1496. According to historical documents, the architect was Jehan Gillot. Mr. Gillot worked in the Late Gothic period, and his design for the expansion project shows this. The prismatic bases of the piers in this part of the church are much higher, the linear vault moldings disappear into piers and walls, vault responds intersect one another, and the window tracery is

Flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...

in nature—it resembles the flickering patterns of a flame. Documentary sources imply that Gillot continued work on the new south nave aisle between 1496 and 1506 but this has yet to be proven. However, many of the same architectural forms were employed on the south side with the notable omission of the intersecting vault responds. The expansion of the nave necessitated the reworking of the upper parts of the church, which received a glazed

triforium A triforium is an interior Gallery (theatre), gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, o ...

(later filled with cement) and a modified system of

flying buttresses The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of a ramping arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall out ...

. The amount of usable interior space increased dramatically as a result of these extensive expansion projects, which were funded in large part by Louviers' cloth guilds and elite patrons, including Guillaume II le Roux, Duke of Bourgtheroulde.

Stained glass

A great deal of the late medieval

stained glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

has been lost over time; however, several excellent examples remain intact. The window of the ''Apparition of Christ to Mary Magdalene'' is located in the south nave aisle. From left to right, it depicts St. George, Mary Magdalene, Christ, and St. Adrian. Guillaume Le Forestier, governor of Louviers in 1515, donated the window; Muraire restored part of it in 1903. Just to the right is a rectangular stained glass panel depicting the ''Procession of the Guilds''. It is equally significant because it depicts the guilds that made donations to fund the church expansion. Hoisting their blazons, weavers, stretchers, wool workers, and tanners accompany a bishop during a religious procession through the town of

Louviers Louviers () is a Communes of France, commune in the Eure Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in north-western France. Louviers is from Paris and from Rouen. Population History Prehistory In th ...

. The glass was visual proof of their patronage and piety.

Nave column sculptures

Relatively large sculptures of the 12 Apostles adorn the nave of Notre-Dame de Louviers. These sculptures rest on foliate

corbels In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a bearing weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applie ...

just above the capitals of the nave columns. The entire arrangement recalls the design of the upper chapel of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, which would suggest the nave of Notre-Dame de Louviers was still under construction during the late 1240s—the period when

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

's celebrated chapel was completed in the capital. The sculptures themselves, however, are probably from the early 16th century, and can be linked to the artistic patronage of

Georges d'Amboise Georges d'Amboise (1460 – May 25, 1510) was a French Roman Catholic cardinal and minister of state. He belonged to the house of Amboise, a noble family possessed of considerable influence: of his nine brothers, four were bishops. His fath ...

at château de Gaillon. The figures—almost Manneristic in style—have undergone varying degrees of restoration, complicating technical studies.

Lantern tower

The

lantern tower In architecture, the lantern tower is a tall construction above the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church, with openings through which light from outside can shine down to the crossing (so it also called a crossing lante ...

above the transept crossing has undergone several changes since its original construction in the thirteenth century. Today it features many

Flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...

motifs and structures dating to the early sixteenth century. A tall, slender

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spire ...

that blew away in a storm in 1705 originally capped the tower. File:Nef Notre-Dame Louviers.JPG, Nave with restoration painting complete File:Procession of the drapers, Church of Notre-Dame de Louviers.JPG, Stained glass in the south nave aisle depicting the procession of the drapers in the early sixteenth century File:Stained glass windows of Église Notre-Dame de Louviers.jpg, Stained glass depicting St. George, Mary Magdalene, Christ, and St. Adrian (left to right)

Exterior features

West façade

This thirteenth-century

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

corresponds to the three original bays of the nave. The tympanum with four rose motifs was part of a regional vocabulary. The trumeau was replaced in 1607. The principal entrance of the church shifted to the south following the completion of the south portal in the early 1500s, effectively reorienting the entire edifice from east–west to north–south in order to embrace the expanding town and to ensure the church remained the major focal point during processions.

Challenge Tower

The years from 1410 to 1466 were a particularly troubled and violent time for Louviers. The only construction that occurred in the early fifteenth century was the addition of the "Challenge Tower" to the church of Notre-Dame de Louviers. Named after a military captain, construction began in 1414. The tower design was influenced by defensive architecture. It features massive walls and enormous sloping buttresses to thwart attackers. The Lovériens told the English it was to be a bell tower, which it later became and remains so today. Its massive construction dominates the west façade of the church.

North façade

Jehan Gillot began work on the expansion of the north aisle and

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

in 1493. Because it faces a narrow street and is less ostentatious than its southern counterpart, the north facade has not received as much attention from restorers. It features four and a half bays, one of which contains a portal leading to the interior. The bays are separated by

buttresses A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act a ...

capped with

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s that shoot upward at least an additional story. The width of each bay is devoted to stained glass windows. The design of the Flamboyant

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

is generally uniform throughout, with only a few small deviations between bays. Only the entry portal features a

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

, which pierces the

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

above. The openwork gable is steeply pitched and complements the tracery in the windows below. The original tier of buttresses and their Late Gothic pinnacles can be seen behind the 1493 expansion. Overall, this expansion is harmonious, refined, and simple—adjectives that do not necessarily describe the modifications made to the exterior of the southern half of the church.

South façade and porch

These two parts of the church represent the zenith of the Late Gothic craft of masonry and are one of the most "justifiably famous" examples of the late Flamboyant style in northern France (c. 1480–1525). Its magisterial visual presence offered visual proof of Louviers's stability, power, and wealth. Stylistically, the projecting porch and

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

created a visual link between Louviers and

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, home to very similar Late Gothic monuments and the seat of the powerful

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

. A veritable lacework of intricately carved stone, the completion of the façade and south porch in 1510 effectively reoriented the entire church. Subsequently, the south porch and portal became the main point of entry and, ultimately, the focal point of the entire town. Indeed, upon entering Louviers from the south, one witnesses the effect of the alignment of the porch and portal with the "Grand-Rue." Sinuous

Flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...

window

tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support th ...

, tall

ogee An ogee ( ) is an object, element, or curve—often seen in architecture and building trades—that has a serpentine- or extended S-shape (Sigmoid curve, sigmoid). Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combination of two semicircle, semicircula ...

gables, an openwork

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

, spiky

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was main ...

s, and countless

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

nestled in richly-carved nodding niches give the façade an unmatched quality of richness, visual complexity, and dynamism that was never replicated. Within decades of its completion, the great era of medieval Gothic construction in France drew to a close. File:Eglise Louviers01.jpg, West façade File:Portail occidental.jpg, West portal and tympanum File:Tour beffroi.jpg, "Challenge" Tower File:Eglise Notre-Dame - Façade nord - transept - Louviers - Médiathèque de l'architecture et du patrimoine - APMH00015916.jpg, North façade File:Notre-Dame de Louviers, south porch.jpg, Notre-Dame de Louviers, south porch File:Louviers, Notre-Dame (3).jpg, South porch, detail

Citations

References

*Bork, Robert. ''Late Gothic Architecture: Its Evolution, Extinction, and Reception.'' Turnhout: Brepols, 2018. *Bottineau-Fuchs, Yves. ''Haute-Normandie Gothique: Architecture Religieuse''. Paris: Picard, 2001. *Chaplain, Jean-Michel. ''La chambre des tisseurs: Louviers, cité drapière, 1680-1840''. Seyssel: Champ Vallon, 1984. *Dibon, Paul. ''Essai historique sur Louviers''. Rouen: Périaux, 1836. *Hérold, Michel. ''Louviers: église paroissale Notre-Dame: les verrières''. Rouen: Connaissance du patrimoine de Haute-Normandie, 1995. *Hérold, Michel; Florian Meunier; Hugo Miserey, eds. ''Louviers: Église Notre-Dame''. Louviers: HB Impressions, 2011. *Kavaler, Ethan Matt. ''Renaissance Gothic: Architecture and the Arts in Northern Europe, 1470-1540''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. *Le Mercier, Edmond. ''Monographie de l'église Notre-Dame de Louviers''. Évreux: Impr. de Ch. Hérissey et fils, 1906. *Murray, Stephen; Andrew Tallon; and Rory O'Neill. "Mapping Gothic France." http://mappinggothic.org/building/1145 (accessed March 11, 2015). *Régnier, L. "L'église Notre-Dame de Louviers," ''La Semaine religieuse'', March 1903, 3-13 *Sanfaçon, Roland. ''L'architecture Flamboyante en France''. Quebec: Les Presses de l'Université Laval, 1971. *Sweeney, Kyle G. "Notre-Dame de Louviers: Architecture and Urban Identity in Late Medieval Normandy." PhD diss., Rice University, 2017. *Sweeney, Kyle G. "Picturing the Long Life of Notre-Dame de Louviers." In ''The Long Lives of Medieval Art and Architecture'', edited by Jennifer M. Feltman and Sarah Thompson, 97–113. London: Routledge, 2019. *Verdier, François. "L'église Paroissiale Notre-Dame de Louviers," in ''Congrès Archéologique de France, 1980, Évrecin, Lieuvin, Pays d'ouche''. Paris: SFA, 1984. pp. 9–28. *Zerner, Henri. ''Renaissance Art in France: The Invention of Classicism''. Paris: Flammarion, 2003. {{DEFAULTSORT:Notre-Dame de Louviers Gothic architecture in France Churches in Eure Flamboyant Gothic Churches completed in 1510