Broadcast live by the media world, the fire of April 15, 2019 arouses global emotion which attests to the universal glory of Notre-Dame de Paris, celebrated since the 12th century through texts, images and music. The audacity of its architecture makes Notre-Dame the archetype of the Christian sanctuary and the symbol of Parisian elegance in medieval illuminations. Until the Renaissance, it was one of the great European intellectual centers through its doctoral school where Abelard taught, from which the University of Paris emerged and where Western music was invented. Victor Hugo enriches his legend with a literary and fantastic dimension which in turn inspires the artistic modernities of the 19th and 20th centuries .
Built at the same time as the Capetian dynasty asserted itself, Notre-Dame is a place of power shared between the king and the bishop, rivals in temporal power but united against the imperial ambitions of the popes. The first Estates General that Philippe le Bel gathered in 1302 at Notre-Dame to proclaim the independence of the Church of France from Rome made it the founding place of Gallicanism. Through its sacred dimension, it is also the place of legitimization of the monarchy, which celebrates dynastic events, funerals of kings and heroes, military victories and peace treaties. Then it finds its place in the liturgy of republican power.
The cathedral classified by UNESCO is the one left by the restoration of Viollet-le-Duc: the debate on its spire which disappeared during the fire shows that we must re-evaluate this great figure of modernity.
