- Plans
- The Architects of Notre-Dame
- Exterior Architecture
- Interior Architecture
- The Western Facade
- The North Facade and the Cloister Portal
- The Red Door
- The Saint Stephen Portal
- The Portal of the Virgin
- The Saint Anne Portal
- The Last Judgment Portal
- The Bells
- The Stained Glass Windows
- The Roof Structure
- The Spire
A Portal Dedicated to Mary
Notre-Dame Cathedral is dedicated to Mary, and this portal is particularly devoted to her. The Virgin and Child, placed in the center on the trumeau between the two doors, tramples the serpent, symbolizing Satan. The four seasons are represented on the left and the four stages of life on the right, reminding the faithful of the cycle of life upon entering. Beneath the trumeau, a bas-relief depicts the story of Adam and Eve in three sequences: Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (or earthly paradise), Adam’s temptation and the original sin (with the devil represented as Lilith, a seductive woman with a long serpent’s tail), and the expulsion of the first humans from the Garden of Eden.
Mary, Queen of Heaven
The tympanum is located above the two doors. On the lower lintel, three prophets appear on the left and three kings of Israel on the right, holding scrolls inscribed with biblical texts. The heavenly Jerusalem is placed under a canopy. A chest symbolizes the Ark of the Covenant, embodying God’s promise to His people. Mary is considered the new Ark of the Covenant. The upper lintel depicts the death of Mary surrounded by Jesus and the twelve apostles, with Paul under a fig tree and John under an olive tree. Two angels lift her shroud to carry her to heaven. At the top of the tympanum of the Portal of the Virgin, Mary is in paradise, seated and crowned by an angel. Jesus blesses her and gives her the scepter. Crowned Queen of Heaven, she sits beside her son. Around her, in the four arches of the portal, angels, patriarchs, kings, and prophets form a heavenly court.
Protective Saints
On either side of the two doors, nine statues stand. On the left are Emperor Constantine, an angel, Saint Denis, and another angel. On the right are Saint John the Baptist, Saint Stephen, Saint Genevieve, and Pope Saint Sylvester. Saint Denis, Saint Genevieve, and Saint Marcel are the patron saints of Paris. Their presence at the cathedral entrance reminds the faithful of their protective watch over those entering the cathedral. These statues, destroyed in 1793 following the French Revolution, were recreated in the 19th century under the direction of Viollet-le-Duc. The jambs of the two doors depict the twelve months of the year. On the left, the zodiac signs symbolize the cycle. On the right, the labors of the months represent the earthly cycle. The windows of the western rose window echo these themes.
