Any cathedral worth its salt will have a distinctive feature that sets it apart from all the other ones. In Saint Paul’s Cathedral it was undoubtedly the golden dome, in Westminster Cathedral it was the dark domes like pits and the golden lady chapel, and in Westminster Abbey it was the fan vault ceiling in the lady chapel. Then what of the Notre Dame cathedral? I would have to say it was the combination of stained glass windows and pointed arches.
All along the walls and in the smaller alcoves, the Notre Dame was decorated with beautiful stained glass windows. The wonderful thing about this is that when you turn around and look behind you, there will be something beautiful to see; another stained glass window or a row of beautiful arches. The stained glass windows seemed to balance out the pointed tips of the arches by adding a soft rounded element. The repeating pattern seems to be a flower at the top with panels underneath. The pointed arches sort of reminded me of the Arabian Nights and Persian architecture. The cave of wonders must have looked something like the interior of the Notre Dame, with glass fruit that were probably as colorful as the stained glass windows. I think it’s time for a re-read!
Your turn ♥ What is the most memorable cathedral you’ve seen? Have you read the Arabian Nights?
