The New Zeaaland Tablet THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1914. AN IRREPARABLE LOSS

New Zealand Tablet, 24 September 1914, Page 33

The New Zeaaland Tablet THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1914. AN IRREPARABLE LOSS

f HE Germans can hardly, perhaps, be accused U of wanton vandalism in the matter of the i destruction of Reims Cathedral for they w* allege, ‘ The French compelled us to reply to their fire;’ but the act is none the leas deplorable, and the French Minister , was % ' u 110 w * se guilty of exaggeration when ho w* declared that it had ‘ robbed humanity of an incomparable portion of its artistic inheritance.’ The Cathedral, which was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, was one of the finest existing specimens ol Gothic architecture. The original edifice having been destroyed by a fire in 1211, Bishop Alberic de Humbert undertook to build the late Cathedral in its place, and the structure took one hundred years—from 1211 to 1311— to complete. The interior was 466 feet long by 99 in breadth, with' a transept of 160 feet; and the height was 144 feet. Its grandest features were the west facade, which was almost unrivalled, with its magnificent doorway, crowned with the famous gallery containing forty-two statues of kings of France, and the so-called Angel Tower, rising 59 feet .above the lofty roof. The stained glass was remarkable for its beauty ; the organ was one of the finest in France; and the tapestries were of rare magnificence. In the treasury of the Cathedral' was preserved the chalice of St. Remigius, from which the kings of France used to communicate under the species of wine at the end of the coronation ceremonies, and which, according to tradition, was cut from the gold of the celebrated vase of Soissons broken —in the fifth century-by one of Clovis’s soldiers. On February 1, 1886, the Cathedral of Reims was affiliated to the illustrious Lateran Basilica, thereby participating in the privilege of all the indulgences and spiritual favors attached to the Cathedral of Rome. In 1891 the canons of . St. Peter at Rome presented to the chapter at Reims a portion of the relics of St. Petronilla; and the translation of these sacred bones to Reims took place on Whit Sunday, 1892. * ■ ! The Cathedral was as rich in historical associations as it was in monuments of sacred art. From 1179, when Philip Augustus was solemnly crowned there, Reims became the place for the coronation of the kings of France. The only sovereigns, in the long series, down to 1825, who were not crowned at Reims were Henry IV., Napoleon 1., and Louis XVIII. On the tomb' of St. Remigius, as built by "Archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt, there were niched figures representing the twelve peers who carried, the symbols of the coronation on .the right, the six spiritual peers— Archbishop of Reims,

who anointed the king the Bishop-Duke of Laon, who held the sacred ampulla; the Bishop-Duke of Langres, with,the sceptre; the Bishop-Count of Beauvais, with the emblazoned surcoat ; the Bishop-Count of Chalons, with the royal ring; the Bishop-Count of Noyon, with the. baldric— and on the left the six temporal peers—-the Duke of Burgundy, holding the crown ; the Dukes of Guyene and Normandy, and the Counts of Champagne, Flanders, and Toulouse. The ceremonies of the coronation at Reims presented two characteristic features, the use of the sacred ampulla and the touching for scrofula (king’s evil). According to the legend the holy ampulla was brought by a dove to St. Remigius when he was in the act of crowning Clovis. This ampulla was a small crystal vial, two-thirds full of balm : its superb ornamentation was added later. It was kept at the Church of Saint-Remi, % in a reliquary which also contained a golden needle and a silver paten. When needed for a coronation, the Abbot of Saint-Remi brought it to the Cathedral. The golden needle was used to mix the balm, taken from the ampulla, with chrism on the silver paten. Several of the Popes visited Reims. In the early days of the Carlovingian dynasty it was the scene of two famous interviews : between Stephen 111. and Pepin the Short, and between Leo 111. and Charlemagne. In 816 Louis the Debonnaire was crowned by Stephen V. in the Cathedral of Reims, and the Pope conferred the title of Augusta on Queen Ermengarde. Pope Leo IX. came to Reims in September, 1049, when he consecrated the Church of St. Remigius. Popes Callistus 11., Innocent IT., and Eugene 111., each opened councils at Reims in the years 1119, 1131, and 1148 respectively, -KReims and its Cathedral are especially memorable, and dear to Catholics, for their association with the Blessed Joan of Arc. The coronation of Charles VII. at Reims (July 17, 1429) was directly brought about by the heroic Maid. The story is well known to every Catholic. When the heavenly Voices began to call on ' her, loudly and more loudly, to rise and deliver her country, Joan made arrangements to go to the Dauphin and make known to him her mission. When Charles first heard of her approach, he burst into a fit of loud laughter at the idea of France being delivered by a young girl, when men in armour could not save it. But the simple and natural manner of Joan won a way for her irresistibly. ‘ Gentle Dauphin,’ said she, I am Joan the Maid. I come with a commission from the King of Heaven to drive your enemies out of Orleans, and to conduct you to Reims, where you shall receive the crown of France, which is your right.’ From this straightforward declaration she never departed. When, eventually, her mission was accomplished, and the coronation of Charles took place at Reims, Joan stood by the altar with her white banner in her hand, and, when the golden circlet was placed on the head of ■ Charles, knelt down weeping at his feet, and said * Gentle King, now is accomplished the will of God, Who would have you come hither to Reims to receive your consecration, and show that you are the true King, to whom the Kingdom of France rightly belongs.’ Joan’s father was present at the ceremony, and had his lodgings at Reims in the ‘ Hotel de I’Ane Rave,’ and the archives of the —unless they, too, have been destroyed preserve the accounts of expenses incurred for his entertainment. Joan wrote from Reims (July 17) a letter to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, inviting him to make peace: and in August, 1429, and March, 1430, she wrote from Bray-sur-Seine and from Sully three letters to her ‘ very dear and good friends and loyal Frenchmen, dwelling in the city of Reims,’ exhorting them not to lose heart under the renewed menaces of the Duke of Burgundy and the English. ! With such a history and such associations \ Reims and its Cathedral were naturally very dear to the hearts of patriotic Frenchmen, and their ruthless destruction is a blow which will make them keener than ever to cleanse their soil of the pitiless and barbarous invader y t,,.;