Greatest Gothic, #42: Laon Cathedral

A Unified Masterpiece of Early French Gothic

(6 min read) Laon Cathedral — number 42 in my countdown of the Fifty Greatest Works of Gothic — is the definitive example of Early French Gothic.

(For more about this series, see the introduction and the countdown.)

1. At the west end of the nave, looking east.

Common Name: Laon Cathedral

Official Name: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon (Our Lady of Laon Cathedral)

Location: Laon, France

Primary Dates of Gothic Construction: c1155-c1235

Why It’s Great

Laon Cathedral stands as the quintessential example of Early French Gothic, a unified masterpiece of proportion, clarity, and structural harmony. Unlike many Gothic cathedrals that evolved over centuries with extensive later modifications, Laon retains the coherence of its original design, making it one of the purest surviving examples of the style.

2. Looking up at the central west portal’s tympanum and archivolts.

Why It Matters: History and Context

Laon Cathedral was begun around 1155 — just a decade after St-Denis’ choir initiated the Gothic movement — and essentially complete by 1235. This early start and short construction timeframe make Laon the ideal place to understand the early stages of Gothic evolution and the best expression of what is now called Early French Gothic (and this despite the slightly earlier or more influential Sens and Noyon Cathedrals).

3. Laon Cathedral from the southwest.

The hilltop town of Laon, which had been established as the seat of a diocese in the 5th century, grew steadily through the 10th and 12th centuries. By the midpoint of the 12th century, just as the age of frenzied cathedral building began, it was decided to construct a cathedral in the new style to replace the church finished just forty years earlier.

Construction progressed steadily from east to west, as was common then, and by the mid 1230s it was substantially complete — multiple dedications took place from 1236 to 1257.

4. The high altar and east windows.

In the late 13th and early 14th centuries, a few small chapels were added, and the south transept had to be remodeled in the 14th century as well. These later additions were relatively minor, however, and after the 14th century, there was no significant work on the cathedral; nor did it suffer during the Protestant Revolutions or French Revolutions. There was significant restoration during the 19th century, but this work stayed faithful (by contemporary standards) to the original designs and intents.

The result of this straightforward history is a building which truly showcases early French Gothic building. While I agree that later Gothic styles better express the urge to create “Heavenly Jerusalem on Earth” and generally like later Gothic styles personally, I also happen to have a real fondness for Laon. It’s got a particularly “classic” feel due to the fact that it is just an early departure from the mature Romanesque of northern France and is so unified in its design.

You’ll see what I mean when we begin our virtual photo tour.

5. The ceiling of the nave.

Photo Tour

Laon Cathedral is located in the middle of little historic town at the top of a hill some 300 ft (100m) above the Picardy plain. While it’s not completely hemmed in by other buildings, it is hard to step back and fully appreciate the cathedral except from outside the town. Figures 3 & 6-9 provide an overall sense of the building. There were originally seven towers planned for the building — two on the west, two at each transept, and one at the crossing, a design which Viollet-le-Duc would late call the Gothic ideal — but only five were built (the two missing ones are at each of the transepts) and none have spires.

6. The south transept from the exterior.

7. The cathedral from the northeast.

8. The north transept.

The west facade (figures 9-12) does have the two planned towers, and is an early example of what would become the classic French Gothic front, at least in a broad sense. One unique feature here is the set of sixteen oxen that sit in the towers, apparently keeping watch on the town below. Their origin and meaning are unknown, though they perhaps commemorate the animals that hauled the materials here to construct the cathedral.

9. The west facade.

10. Sixteen oxen watch the town from up in the west towers.

The portals here are set in deeply recessed porches between the buttressing that hold up the towers, and the sculptural art they contain are very representative. I recently created three slideshows with some two dozen total photos showing each of them in detail on my Instagram account — you can find links to them at the bottom of this post.

11. Carved figures in the buttress between two portals.

12. The central west portal.

Entering the church through the west portal, we enter a beautifully proportioned and well-lit nave (figures 13-17), with classic styling that still has a Romanesque vibe to it.

13. The nave, from the southwest side.

17. The Romanesque-esque styling here can be appreciated by looking straight at three bays in the nave.

Figures 18-19 show the crossing and transepts. The north rose window is particularly interesting in showing the personifications of the liberal arts in its chunky, fractal-like design instead of a religious subject. As with the portals, I posted a more detailed look at it on Instagram, and a link is below.

18. Standing in the north side aisle, with the north ambulatory in the background.

19. The crossing and south transept; the 14th century window here is one of the few “sour notes” which takes away from Laon’s unity.

20. The crossing and north transept.

21. The north rose window.

22. The “Holy Face” chapel off the north transept.

23. The south ambulatory.

Unusually for a Gothic cathedral, the east end of Laon (figures 24-27) is not a semi-circular apse, but a flat wall with a rose window and three lancets below. The glass here dates from the early 13th century (with some 19th century restorations); the rose is an “apocalypse window” with Christ in the center, surrounded by the Apostles and with the Elders of the Apocalypse in the outermost ring. The lancets show scenes from Jesus’ life, as well as scenes form the lives of saints Stephen and Theophilius.

24. The high altar, with lancets and rose window behind.

25. The east rose window.

26. The central lancet below the east rose.

27. East light striking the thick walls between the lancet windows.

In Detail

For more detailed photography and information about the features below, follow the links to my Instagram posts:

Left Portal

Central Portal

Right Portal

North Rose Window

East Rose Window

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Visiting Advice & Conclusion

My Visit Date: 1 February 2023

Laon Cathedral is under visited from what I can tell, and I doubt crowds are something you need to work around in terms of timing your visit. The town is cute and perhaps worth a full day, but I only stopped long enough to visit the cathedral while driving from Reims to Amiens.

And while it may not have the height of Amiens or the flamboyance of Reims, Laon is one of the most unified and instructive examples of Early Gothic architecture. Its clarity of form, restraint, and rare state of preservation make it an essential stop for anyone interested in the origins of the Gothic style.