The medieval Collegiate Church of Our Lady of Mantes, (), is a large and historically important Catholic church constructed between c.1155 and 1350 in the small town of Mantes-la-Jolie, about west of Paris. Although not a cathedral it was built on a cathedral-like scale. Its grandeur, its quirky design and its strong associations with the Capetian dynasty make the church particularly interesting to architectural historians.
Historical background
Context
Throughout the Middle Ages, Mantes' strategically important position on a navigable river on the boundary between the powerful Duchy of Normandy (based in Rouen) and the lands of the Capetian Kings (based in Paris) was a double edged sword, contributing to its commercial wealth but also placing it in the front line of many conflicts. King William of England attacked Mantes in 1087 and razed the old Carolingian town to the ground (in the process sustaining a mortal injury that killed him soon after), prompting a rebuilding programme that lasted through the subsequent two centuries. The town was granted 'commune' status by King Louis VI in 1110, the first town within the royal domains to receive this lucrative privilege (in medieval France, being granted commune status meant a town was effectively a self-governing free-trade zone). Within the commune the de facto civil authority rested with a powerful lay confraternity dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, while religious authority rested with the College of Canons. A Collegium dedicated to the Virgin had been founded at Mantes some time before 978, in which year the Countess of Blois bequeathed it several local villages and a considerable amount of farmland in her will. The College retained strong associations with the Counts of Blois and also with the royal family - the two abbots who governed between 1134 and 1159 were both brothers of King Louis VII.
Chronology of building
Construction of the present building began some time between 1155 and 1170, funded by income from the Commune and by the generous support of the Crown. Building work started with the raising and reinforcing of the ground along the north of the site, where the land slopes steeply down to the river. The design was on a grand scale but with a relatively simple plan, initially featuring neither transepts nor radiating chapels (though the latter were added later). The nave was completed up to the gallery vault level by around 1190. The high vaults were in place by around 1200 (c.1225 for the eastern bays) with the roof completed by 1240. The western facade was completed up to the base of the towers some time before 1225. The western towers are mainly 13th century work, except for the upper parts of the north tower, which was only completed in the late 15th century. Both towers had become dangerously unstable by the mid 19th century and were substantially rebuilt to a simpler design by the local architect Alphonse Durand (a student of Viollet le Duc's). Its proximity to a strategic river crossing meant that the church was at the centre of heavy aerial bombardment following the allied invasion of France in 1944. In spite of this the church survived WWII relatively unscathed, even though most of the surrounding town was flattened.
Design and appearance
The Collegiate Church of Notre Dame dominates views of Mantes, particularly when approaching from the north or east, where it sits on a bluff above a bend in the River Seine. From the exterior, its most distinctive features are the large round windows (oculi) at gallery level (see below), the cage-like flying buttresses and the general pock-marked appearance, caused by the unusually prominent putlog holes (left over from where the original builders attached their wooden scaffolding).