Notre Dame Cathedral, Part 3: Rose Windows

Today I’m continuing my series on the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris as it was before the recent fire. Thankfully the French Senate recently approved plans for an exact restoration, rejecting proposals to drastically modernize its appearance. It turns out that the majority of the experts and the public agree that it’s a historical artifact and should be restored to its former glory, with which I heartily concur.

West Rose
Photo by Zairon - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

In this installment, I want to focus on the three exquisite medieval rose windows that are the real standouts of the cathedral’s features. The fire left these intact, though they suffered some damage. According to the cathedral’s rector, one of the windows is unstable and will have to be dismantled for repair. That may already have taken place as restoration is already underway.

The West Rose

The first rose window to be installed is the one over the west portals. It’s also the smallest at a little over 32 feet in diameter. It was created in about 1225, with the colored glass pieces placed in a thick circular stone frame. Because of damage it had to be recreated in the 1800s, and none of the original glass remains. (Along the bottom of the window in the image to the left you can see parts of the cathedral’s magnificent pipe organ.)

North Rose
By Zairon - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

The Transept Roses

The North Rose

The two transept windows are larger and contain more glass than the rose on the western façade. This was possible due to the new system of flying buttresses that enabled the builders to make the nave walls not only thinner, but also stronger. The north rose was installed around 1250 and 18 small vertical windows were added below it.

The South Rose

King Louis IX of France, known as Saint Louis, gave the south rose to the Cathedral. Its size and beauty sets it apart. Created around 1260, it’s 12.9 meters in diameter; while the surrounding claire-voie brings it to a total of 19 meters. Some of the original medallions were moved into circles farther out during restorations in later centuries. Let’s take a closer look at this masterpiece.

Ninety-four medallions are arranged in four circles around the central rose depicting scenes from the life of Christ. The twelve medallions of the inner circle portray the twelve apostles, while the next two circles depict martyrs and virgins. The outer fourth circle includes twenty angels, as well as saints such as Saint Denis, Margaret the Virgin with a dragon, and Saint Eustace that are important to Paris. The third and fourth circles also contain depictions of Old Testament subjects, while the third circle includes medallions showing scenes from the Matthew’s Gospel that are the oldest glass in the window, dating from the last quarter of the 12th century.

South Rose
Public Domain

In 1543 the south rose suffered damage when the cathedral’s masonry walls settled. It wasn’t restored until between 1725 and 1727 and was again badly damaged during the second French Revolution in 1830 when rioters burned the archbishop’s residence, which was next to the cathedral. Many of its panes were destroyed. In 1861 Eugène Viollet-le-Duc entirely rebuilt the window, rotating it to give it a clear vertical and horizontal axis and replacing the lost glass to match so that today it contains both medieval and 19th century glass. Below are sixteen windows with painted images of biblical prophets. Not part of the original window, they were painted by Alfred Gérenthe under Viollet-le-Duc’s direction during the restoration and are based on a similar window at Chartres Cathedral.

The rose windows are indeed extraordinary! Some of you may have had the good fortune to visit Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and see them in person. But even if you haven’t, there are many beautiful cathedrals and churches endowed with lovely stained glass windows in this country. Please share any you’ve visited that particularly stood out to you and tell us what features you most enjoyed!

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J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers and a lifelong student of history. She is a professional editor, a publisher, and the author of award-winning historical fiction whose books have been endorsed by bestselling authors such as Lori Benton, Laura Frantz, Jocelyn Green, Michelle Moran, and MaryLu Tyndal. Her American Patriot Series is the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. She is also the author of One Holy Night, which won the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year and co-authored the award-winning Northkill Amish Series with Bob Hostetler. Her latest release is Refiner’s Fire, Book 6 of the American Patriot Series.

Baker City, Oregon...Where History Comes to Life

By Miralee Ferrell

Baker City, Oregon, at its Inception

During the early 1800s, the time my Love Blossoms in Oregonseries is set, Baker City, Oregon, grew from 300 people (in the 1870s) to well over a thousand in the early 1880s. By 1890 it crested 2600, with miners and hangers-on pouring in and hoping to make their fortune, to its present-day population of nearly 10,000.  Situated on the Powder River, Baker City was established as a result of the Eastern Oregon gold rush, beginning in 1864, and as a distribution trade center by Colonel Ruckles.  The advent of the railroad in 1884 helped the expansion of the town greatly, with only 

The interior of the Geiser Grand Hotel

stagecoach transportation available five-days-a week up until that time.

Something that took my husband and me by surprise when we visited was an old Chinese cemetery. Before visiting the town, I didn’t realize it had contained a sizable Chinese population that was brought in to work the mines, and included a one-to-two block-long section of town built specifically for the workers and their families.

One of the things I loved about Baker City was the diversity. You’ll find the beautiful, ornate Geiser Grand Hotel containing stained glass ceilings and ornate wood work, and then a few miles from town the valley contains expansive, rugged cattle ranches and barbed wire fences. The historic district drew my interest the most as it includes a wealth of businesses and old homes open for tour, and the local museum boasts a video of the area depicting many of the founding fathers and their homes. 

The Geiser Grand Hotel was built in 1889 at the height of the gold rush. It’s a magnificent building and the most elegant hotel in the Northwest. It’s still in use today, after going through an extensive restoration in the 1990s by a new owner, (it fell into total disrepair 

Grand Geiser Hotel at the turn of the century

and was slated to be demolished) who saw the historic value and poured a huge amount of money into saving the building. Boasting a corner turret or cupola with a clock tower, crystal chandeliers, and three stories above the original dining area that seated 200 is the largest stained glass ceiling in the Northwest. One of the fascinating aspects of this hotel is that, at the time of its creation, it had a working elevator, (one of three west of the Mississippi River) and electric lights. It cost a whopping $65,000-70,000 to build, a huge price at the time. Guestrooms feature 10 foot windows, many of which look out toward the Blue Mountains.

I discovered an interesting aspect about the hotel, not noted online, but known to many of the locals. At one time in its heyday, women of ill repute were brought in to entertain the wealthy miners and businessmen. Most of the bedrooms were on the second and third floor, and an open, circular hallway was visible from the ground floor. The circular railing curves around with rooms opening off of the hall. When the ladies of the town discovered some of their husbands were visiting the Grand for not-so-respectable reasons, they would sit in the dining area. There, they could keep a hawk eye on the hallways and doors, as the dining area is open all the way up to the stained glass ceiling three floors above. Finally, in desperation as his business was ebbing, the owner built an external stairway at the back of the building and snuck his customers up that way, thus avoiding the watchful eyes of the women. 

Portion of the historic district in the early 1900s

Another gorgeous historic building is the Baker City Hall, built in 1903, it stands as one of the most beautiful historic buildings in the Baker Valley and boasts its original copper-clad roof. We also loved the old fire station and the newspaper office that’s still open today. The first public school was a two-story frame building, later replaced in 1889 by a three-story brick building, due to the fact that fire ravaged the town more than once, burning many of the businesses to the ground. The most disastrous fire burned every structure on the east side of the 1700 block of Main in 1887. Before the year was out, every building had been replaced by one built of brick. Most still stand today, except for the ones on the south end torn down to make room for a gas station. 


All in all, Baker City was charming, and most of the 

Historic Home in Downtown Baker City

historic places open to tourists were a wonderful source of material as well as an inspiration. We found the people to be friendly and helpful, and stories about the area abound at every turn—truly a writer’s delight.

Miralee Ferrell is a multi-published, award-winning author of 20 books. She lives in the Pacific NW with her husband of 42 years, where they enjoy working in their yard and series, Love Blossoms in Oregon, was set in Baker City, Oregon, during the 1880s. Her fifth book, Rebel Horse Rescue in the Horses and Friends series, a set of horse novels for middle-grade kids, released three days ago. 

Forget Me Not---Book 2 in the Love Blossoms in Oregon Series

Can a Lost Love be Redeemed?
Baker City, Oregon, 1881

Seven years ago, Julia McKenzie rejected the man she loved, wanting to experience more of life. Now, at the age of twenty-four, she regrets that decision. What will Seth think of her, when they encounter one another hundreds of miles from home? Will the man she cared for understand the direction her life has taken and love her in spite of her choices?

Pastor Seth Russell has never completely forgotten the girl he once courted. When she shows up in his new home of Baker City, all those feelings return. But why is she sneaking around town late at night? Even more important, will she reject him and break his heart again, or can God heal the breach between them?

Forget Me Not is part of the historical romance, Love Blossoms in Oregon series, published by David C Cook. This book can stand alone, but is better enjoyed when reading the series and getting acquainted with the full cast of characters from the Love Blossoms in Oregon series.

This is historical romance that offers hope and healing to the deepest wounds in a woman’s past.