Notre Dame,
Paris
Nave
Choir begun 1163, nave 1178-1190,
altered
c. 1225, partially
restored 19th century.
Lester's note The nave is the largest unit of a Gothic cathedral, the main area for the gathering of the congregation and for processions. Beyond
the nave is the crossing, followed by the choir or chevet, the eastern limb of the church where the service is celebrated. Despite
alterations from the thirteenth century, Notre Dame's nave retains many early Gothic characteristics. Particularly notable is the
sexpartite rib vault in which each roughly square bay corresponds to two bays of the elevation. Also typical are the massive and
plain cylindrical columns of the nave arcades.
Lester, Tulane