Saint Lambert's Cathedral, Liège

St. Lambert's Cathedral(or in full, theCathedral of Our Lady and St. Lambert;French:Cathédrale Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Lambert) was theRoman Catholic cathedralofLiège,modern-day Belgium, until 1794, when its destruction began. This enormousGothiccathedral, dedicated to SaintLambert of Maastricht,occupied the site of the presentPlace Saint-Lambertin the centre of Liège.

Engraving of St. Lambert's Cathedral byRemacle Le Loup(1735)

St. Lambert's Cathedral and Palace, 18th century

History

Saint Lambert,bishop of Maastricht,was assassinated in Liège about 705, and was initially buried inMaastricht.The site of his martyrdom became a place of pilgrimage, and his successor,Saint Hubert,returned the body and reburied it there. Shortly afterwards, the bishop's seat was transferred from Maastricht to Liège, and Lambert's shrine became a cathedral.

Several structures succeeded each other on the site. The first was a martyr's shrine ormausoleum(martyrium), commissioned by Saint Hubert. Unusually, it was oriented to the west, which may account for the existence of a west choir in later cathedral buildings. Two cathedrals followed. The first, built towards the end of the 8th century, was inCarolingianstyle.

In 978, BishopNotgerinstalled achapterof sixtycanons.He then built a new church from around the year 1000, inOttonianstyle, with a specialcryptfor therelicsof the martyred saint. The architecture was that of theHoly Roman Empire.The new cathedral had a massivewestwork,twochoirsat opposite ends, twotransepts,each with a tower over the crossing, adding to the monumentality of the structure, and acloisterat the east end. It is noticeable from the groundplan that the entrances were in the north and south sides of the building, and not along the east–west axis.^[1]Frederic of Lorraine, laterPope Stephen IX,was canon and archdeacon of this church^[2]before being raised to the cardinalate by Pope Victor II.^[3]

Many alterations were made to it during the decades 1140–1180.

The disgraced and excommunicatedEmperor Henry IV,who died on 7 August 1106, was buried here by the Prince-BishopOtbert,after the entrails and heart had been removed. The German bishops protested and declared that the cathedral would be considered contaminated as long as the body stayed there.Emperor Henry Vtherefore had his father's remains disinterred and moved toSpeyer Cathedral,on 15 August 1106.^[4]

During the night of 28–29 April 1185, a violent fire broke out in one of the houses next to the cloisters, to which it immediately spread, and from there to the rest of the cathedral, which was destroyed. Reconstruction began the next day, in theGothicstyle, extensively using the previous foundations. Part of the cathedral had been restored by 1189, when theArchbishop of Colognevisited to reconsecrate the church. In 1197, the relics of Saint Lambert, which had been in safe storage since the fire, were reinstalled in the new building.

The reconstruction was far from complete, for lack of funds. Processions criss-crossed the diocese in an effort to raise the necessary money. In the middle of the 13th century,Pope Innocent IVgranted indulgences to anyone who helped with the rebuilding of the cathedral.

From 1391, work started on a tower 135 metres high, west of the south arm of the eastern transept, whosebell towerwas as high as the hill of thecitadel,and for the rest of its existence was a landmark for all who approached the city. Its completion in 1433 marked the end of the major works.

St. Lambert's Cathedral was 96 metres long (or 173 metres including the cloisters). With the side chapels it was 37 metres wide. It was some 30 metres high to the top of the ceiling vault. In style, if not in size, it was comparable to the cathedral ofNotre-Dame de Paris.The sandstone towers that characterised the west front were closely related to those of theCathedral of St. Michael and St. GudulainBrussels,and of theGrote KerkinBreda,in the Netherlands, as well as of theBasilica of Our LadyinTongeren.

TheArchéoforum[1]of Liège, beneath thePlace Saint-Lambert,makes it possible to see the ruins of the cathedral, besides the traces of other occupations of the site from the prehistoric period up to the 18th century.

Church of Our Lady with the Font

The Church of Our Lady with the Font (French:Église Notre-Dame-des-Fonts) was a small church adjacent to the cathedral.^[5]The church held a notablebaptismal font.^[5]Charlotte Stuart, Duchess of Albany,illegitimate daughter ofCharles Edward Stuart,was baptised there on 29 October 1753.^[6]

Destruction

Bonaparte, First Consul(Ingres,1804). In the background St. Lambert's Cathedral is distinctly visible, although at this period it was already in the process of demolition by theLiège revolutionaries.

In 1794, under theFrench regime,after theLiège Revolution,the demolition of the cathedral, agreed the previous year, was put in hand. The Liège revolutionaries considered it a symbol of the power of theprince-bishop.Demolition began with the removal of the lead from the roof for use in the manufacture of arms and munitions, under the supervision of aCommission destructive de la cathédrale.Consideration of the destruction of the great tower began in 1795. In 1803, the western towers were demolished. The site was entirely levelled in 1827, except for a section of masonry from the ancient passage between the cathedral and the bishop's palace, which was still standing in 1929.

Once the revolutionary mood had passed, another church had to be chosen to replace the destroyed cathedral. The Collegiate Church of St. Paul was selected as being, of those suitable, the nearest to the centre of the city, and this became the presentLiège Cathedral(or St. Paul's Cathedral, Liège). After it had been sensitively modernised, the numerous treasures that had been saved from the old cathedral – works of gold, ivory, manuscripts, sculptures and reliquaries – which can be seen displayed in the cloisters, were transferred to it. The site is maintained today by theInstitut du Patrimoine,the institute in charge ofcultural heritageprotection inWallonia.^[7]Some of the furnishings have furthermore been preserved in the village church ofTerwagne.^[8]

Notes

^This may possibly be the consequence of a superstition that evil would come from the west, and that an entrance on that side might allow it to enter the house of God. Many religious buildings in the Meuse region have this feature.
^Patrick Healy,The Chronicle of Hugh of Flavigny: Reform and the Investiture Contest in the Late Eleventh Century,(Ashgate Publishing, 2006), 50.
^Charles Radding and Francis Newton,Theology, Rhetoric, and Politics in the Eucharistic Controversy, 1078–1079,(Columbia University Press, 2003), 89.
^D. Droixhe, "Une histoire des Lumières au pays de Liège", les Editions de l'Université de Liège, 2007, p. 15
^^a ^bBeckwith, John (1964).Early Medieval Art: Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque.Thames and Hudson. p. 178.ISBN 0-500-20019-X.
^Pininski, Peter (2010).Bonnie Prince Charlie. A Life.Amberley. p. 70.ISBN 978-1-84868-194-1.
^Cathedral remains Archived3 October 2011 at theWayback Machineat the website of the Institut du Patrimoine
^Menne, Gilbert, ed. (2014).Le grand guide de Wallonie et de Bruxelles.Brussels: Racine. pp. 281–282.ISBN 978-94-014-1418-0.

External links

Archéoforum de Liège(in French)
Trésor de la cathédrale de Liège(in French)

50°38′44″N5°34′27″E/ 50.6455°N 5.57404°E/50.6455; 5.57404

[1] This may possibly be the consequence of a superstition that evil would come from the west, and that an entrance on that side might allow it to enter the house of God. Many religious buildings in the Meuse region have this feature.

[2] Patrick Healy,The Chronicle of Hugh of Flavigny: Reform and the Investiture Contest in the Late Eleventh Century,(Ashgate Publishing, 2006), 50.

[3] Charles Radding and Francis Newton,Theology, Rhetoric, and Politics in the Eucharistic Controversy, 1078–1079,(Columbia University Press, 2003), 89.

[4] D. Droixhe, "Une histoire des Lumières au pays de Liège", les Editions de l'Université de Liège, 2007, p. 15

[Beckwith-5] Beckwith, John (1964).Early Medieval Art: Carolingian, Ottonian, Romanesque.Thames and Hudson. p. 178.ISBN 0-500-20019-X.

[Pininski-6] Pininski, Peter (2010).Bonnie Prince Charlie. A Life.Amberley. p. 70.ISBN 978-1-84868-194-1.

[7] Cathedral remains Archived3 October 2011 at theWayback Machineat the website of the Institut du Patrimoine

[grguide-8] Menne, Gilbert, ed. (2014).Le grand guide de Wallonie et de Bruxelles.Brussels: Racine. pp. 281–282.ISBN 978-94-014-1418-0.

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