Across the square from Chateaux Ducal in Caen, is the city’s equally venerable 13th century cathedral. It has been painstakingly restored over the past 6 years, and was also substantially reconstructed in the 1940s after Caen was reduced to rubble in WW2.
The complexity and artistry of the masonry is awe inspiring. Hundreds of subtly unique gargoyles lunge out from the cathedral walls in every direction. Spires and turrets soar, defiant of gravity, crusted with sculptural flourishes and geometrically perfect. Inside the cathedral the ceiling is equally ornate. Sculpted stone stalactites drip from the vaulted domes and give me an oppressive sense of smallness and vulnerability. Rows of austerely simple and uncomfortable looking wooden chairs are in stark contrast to the exuberant carved reliefs on the timber altar furniture.
This structure defines class through embelishment, drawing a severe line between the world of the clergy and the common people.Alcoves around the walls of the cathedral are dedicated to favoured saints. Some shrines contain gilt display cabinets with hand labeled saintly skeletal relics, which are reminiscent of a macabre butterfly collection.
The Cathedral is equipped with a massive pipe organ, and I imagine the impact on a medieval worshipper of a choir, and organ belting out songs of worship in this massively impressive echo chamber. Propaganda instrument par excellence.
(Saint Slaughter, patron Saint of medieval surgeons?)
(The cathedral seen from the battlements of the castle.)
(There are hundreds of gargoyles like this all over the cathedral.)
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