In our last time together,
we looked at the great central entrance to Notre Dame in Paris,
the Portal of the Last Judgment,
along with some of the stained glass of the great west,
north and south rose windows.
Today, we shall again exit the cathedral and walk around it.
We shall examine the sculptures along
the southern and northern entrances and sides of the nave.
In the southern transept,
which is known as St. Stephen's Portal,
we find a record of Notre Dame's original dedication to St. Stephen.
Stephen, who was the first martyr of Christianity,
was originally one of the deacons appointed by
the apostles to distribute charitable aid to widows.
The trumeau shows him dressed in deacon's robes and carrying a book.
Stephen was known for his skill in debating and is seen in the lower lintel of
the tympanum over the south entrance of Notre Dame disputing in the synagogues.
Here, in the left two tableau of the lower lintel the south entrance to Notre Dame,
we see Stephen who is seated holding out
his finger as if he were engaged in heated debate.
The others who were both standing and sitting, seemed confused.
The two seated men are looking at Stephen while those
standing look either into the distance or at each other.
The bearded man second from the left is holding
both his beard and his head as if he were genuinely confounded.
On the right hand, we see Stephen standing with three of
his opponents seated below him as if on the ground.
The man on the far right is taking notes.
Having vanquished his opponents in the synagogue,
Stephen is taken by force to the Jewish court of the Sanhedrin where he is
tried for blasphemy against Moses and God for saying as we read in Acts 6:12,
that "Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy the temple and shall
change the traditions which Moses delivered unto us."
Then Stephen, looking up steadfastly to heaven,
saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God and said,
"Behold I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God."
At which point a mob ran violently upon him.
Stephen was stoned to death in
34 or 35 AD by a crowd led by no other than Saul of Tarsus,
the future St. Paul.
In the right portion of the upper lintel,
we see Stephen's body being placed in a sarcophagus while
overhead Christ flanked by two angels
and separated from the earthly realm by clouds watches on.
Interestingly, the entrance devoted to
St. Stephen who is known for his powers of debate both faces
the nascent University of Paris and contains a series of
plaques known as Dados devoted to student life.
Some of these, as in the instance in the upper left,
clearly referenced the scenes of debate in the lower lintel of the south entrance.
Notice the student on the upper panel on the far left who drives home a point with
his fellow debaters while the others as in the case of
Stephen debating in the synagogue, look on.
Moving to the right,
we detect what appears to be the master or magister, the teacher,
deciding between the two debating parties and pronouncing a judgment or sententia,
as if it were a judicial sentence,
upon the issue at hand.
Howard BlochSterling Professor of French
