Notre-Dame Arises: Five Years after the Cathedral Burned

In an article for the American Historical Association's Perspectives on History newsmagazine, Anne Elisabeth Lester, Visitor in the School of Historical Studies, recounts the devastating fire that engulfed Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in April 2019, and the subsequent efforts to rebuild it.

Drawing on her perspective as a historian of medieval religion and society and her specialization in medieval France, Lester explores the cathedral's significance as both a religious symbol and a cultural icon of international importance, emphasizing the profound impact of its partial loss on people worldwide. She argues that the fire not only damaged the physical structure of Notre-Dame but also erased centuries of craftsmanship and knowledge, making it impossible to truly replicate the original cathedral due to changes in skills, resources, and materials available today.

Lester goes on to describe how the Notre-Dame fire has sparked extensive research on cultural heritage, monumentality, and public reactions, advancing digital modeling and data science techniques. She outlines studies that analyzed social media responses to the blaze, revealing global unity in mourning and resolve, while emphasizing the enduring significance of cultural heritage sites. 

She also highlights how the reconstruction process of the cathedral has itself become a valuable source of knowledge, shedding light on medieval building techniques through modern methods. 

Read the article in full on the AHA Perspectives website.