Concept cathedral and “squaring the circle”: Interpreting the Gothic cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris as a standing hymn

Abstract

Semiotics is used in the sphere of visual arts as a tool that helps reading the message included in a certain work. Gothic architecture, as an outcome of the rich cultural context of medieval tradition, where metaphysics, numbers and geometry were indispensable tools to symbolically manifest cosmological and theological concepts, is suggested as a good example for testing this approach in the field of architecture.

In this paper, a semiotic reading for one of the most distinguished works of this era; i.e., the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, is introduced as a model for this methodology. Among many message included in the building, such as the functional or the technical messages, this is a trial to introduce a reading, i.e., an interpretation, of what could be called “a hidden spiritual message”. The paper comes to a conclusion that the Gothic cathedral, as represented in Notre Dame de Paris, might be perceived as an externalization of a standing hymn that was meant to send continuous appeals of protection to Heaven.

Key words： Semiotics; Architectural language; Symbolism; Gothic architecture; Notre Dame de Paris