Part 1 of 5 · freeIntroduction
Construction of Notre-Dame de Paris began in 1163. It is one of the first churches built in the Gothic style. Bishop Maurice de Sully started the project, and King Louis VII financed it. Both their portraits appear on a tympanum, the sculpted surface above the south-west entrance.
The cathedral stands on the Île de la Cité, a natural island in the Seine and the political and religious heart of Paris and France through the centuries. The bishop's seat, it faced the royal palace. The bulk of the building was finished by the end of the 13th century, the exterior by the mid-14th. Then came neglect. Centuries later, it would be saved by a young writer in love with Gothic architecture, and by his novel.
The rest is in the Sophia app.The remaining parts, the open-book quiz and the full glossary. Free to start; Premium unlocks everything.
- 2The Revolution beheads the kings
- 3Victor Hugo takes up his pen
- 4Viollet-le-Duc rebuilds the cathedral
- 5The 2019 fire and Hugo's echo
Open-book quiz8 questions whose answers are in the text.
Glossary7 terms explained in a tap.
30 languagesThe same course, from French to Japanese.
