Narbonne Cathedral

Cathedral of Saints Justus and Pastor of Narbonne Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne(in French)
Narbonne Cathedral, seen from the Gilles Aycelin donjon
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic Church
Province	Diocese of Carcassonne-Narbonne
Rite	Roman
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Cathedral
Location
Location	Narbonne, Aude, France
Interactive map of Cathedral of Saints Justus and Pastor of Narbonne Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne(in French)
Coordinates	43°11′5″N3°0′14″E / 43.18472°N 3.00389°E / 43.18472; 3.00389
Architecture
Type	Church
Style	Gothic
Groundbreaking	13th century

Narbonne Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne) is a Roman Catholic church located in the town of Narbonne, France. The cathedral is dedicated to Saints Justus and Pastor. ^[1] In 1840 the French government declared it a monument historique. ^[2]

It was the seat of the Archbishop of Narbonne until the Archbishopric was merged into the Diocese of Carcassonne under the Concordat of 1801. (The title, however, passed to the Archbishop of Toulouse.) The church was declared a minor basilica in 1886. It has been co-cathedral of the Diocese of Carcassonne and Narbonne since 2006. ^[1]

The building, begun in 1272, is noted for being unfinished. ^[3]

History

Plan by Viollet-le-Duc, showing in black the actual structure and in grey his suggestion of some of the areas not built

Interior

The cathedral is in the middle of the present city of Narbonne, but in the Middle Ages when it was under construction, the city wall was very close by. The decision to build so close to the wall was based on a long prior history of the site as a place of worship. In 313, just after the Edict of Milan, a small Constantinian church was erected on approximately the same spot as the present cathedral. ^[4]

Ruined by a fire in 441, it took 37 days to demolish those parts of the basilica that had escaped destruction. ^[4] Then a Latin basilica was constructed by Bishop Rusticus, ^[4] who was encouraged in his work by the Gaulish prefect, Marcellus.^{[ citation needed ]} The basilica was finished on 29 November,^{[ citation needed ]} 445. ^[4] Originally dedicated to Saint Genesius of Arles, it was re-dedicated in 782 to the young Spanish martyrs Saint Justus and Pastor. Little remains of this building: two Roman columns from the former forum, used in the nave, can now be seen in the present cloister; the lintel and an aedicule of white marble can now be seen in the Lapidary Museum of Narbonne.^{[ citation needed ]}

The 5th-century building deteriorated to a ruin, and a Carolingian cathedral to replace it was erected in 890 by Archbishop Theodard (d. 893). The 9th-century steeple, largely restored, is visible from the cloister. ^[4] Yet despite the help given to it by three popes, this church also fell into ruin.^{[ citation needed ]}

The idea to build a Gothic cathedral was a political decision made in 1268^{[ citation needed ]} by Pope Clement IV, the former archbishop of Narbonne. ^[4] He decided that it would be a monument made in the magnificent style of the Kingdom of France. The construction of the new cathedral was supposed to begin in 1264, but did not actually start until 1272. The first stone of the current cathedral was laid by Archbishop Maruin on 13 April 1272, in the foundation of the current Chapel of the Sacred Heart.^{[ citation needed ]} Construction began in 1272 in Gothic style under the direction of Jean Deschamps, and it opened in 1286. It was gradually expanded until 1354, but its size was then limited by the location of the city walls and the rest of the building was never completed, the nave and transept being notably absent. ^[4]

References

1. GCatholic.org: Basilicas in France
2. Base Mérimée : Narbonne Cathedral , Ministère français de la Culture. (in French)
3. Trynoski, Dani (1 June 2017). "The Weird, the Wonderful, and the Macabre in the Cathedral of Narbonne". Medievalists.net. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
4. E. Kay Harris (1995). William W. Kibler (ed.). Medieval France: An Encyclopedia. Psychology Press. p. 1245. ISBN   978-0-8240-4444-2.