GUILLAUME BAPTISTE / AFP
The workers of Notre-Dame de Paris engrave their name, a date, a symbol, on the stones or wood, as a legacy of the artisans of tomorrow. (Illustrative photo)
STORY – If Notre-Dame de Paris were to burn again, the trace of the work of the builders of 2024 would not go up in smoke. Whether they are carpenters, stonemasons, carpenters, hundreds ofworkers work daily on the restoration of the religious building which will reopen its doors on Sunday December 8, five years later the terrible fire of April 15, 2019. On this exceptional site, many have affixed a symbol, a short message or a signature, on a stone or a piece of wood, as a legacy of their know-how intended for the artisans of tomorrow.
François Icher, a historian specializing in companionship and cathedral construction sites for 40 years, has studied these marks of workers which constitute a tradition since Antiquity. In an interview with HuffPostthe author of Recovering Notre-Dame – Journey to the land of builders (Presses De La Renaissance, 2020) navigates between the Middle Ages and the 21st century to decipher these symbols engraved on the walls, the framework and the spire of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.
- What do these brands look like?
François Icher: There are no rules. In the past, the Companions (branch of the French labor movement, editor’s note) generally wrote their name, a date, a symbol, an emblematic tool, a geometric shape… Today, some still sign, write a short message, or even slip a medal between two beams. But these discreet marks have in no case anything to do with graffiti, which is prohibited on historic monuments.
- What is the origin of this tradition?
It is a practice that occurs very early in human history. There are already some marks in Antiquity, on the pyramids of Egypt and later, towards the end of the 1st century, on the arenas of Nîmes.
In the Middle Ages, the first marks indicated the origin of the quarry from which the extracted stone came. There were also the marks of a worker. The worker being paid by the task, he put his mark on each stone he shaped in order to be paid. There were also equipment marks, indicating how to assemble one stone to another.
The trace simply reflects the passage of an ordinary man on an extraordinary construction site. François Icher, historian
Finally, there are more symbolic brands, those called “ passing through “. A worker wants to report his arrival at a monument because it is remarkable to him. For example, on the Pont du Gard (built in the 1st century, editor’s note), there are more than 300 marks of this type from the Compagnons, who wanted to pay homage to the genius of the builders of this aqueduct. You also have passage marks when a worker works on a prestigious site. It is from this symbolism that the restorers of Notre-Dame of the 21st century are inspired.
- What message is conveyed through these traces?
By engraving his name, the worker becomes part of a link in a centuries-long chain of builders. Transmission is the brand’s primary vocation. During a future restoration project, the workers of tomorrow will thus find with emotion the trace of a predecessor.
Behind the brand there is also a feeling of pride, which, however, is quickly erased by modesty. The trace simply reflects the passage of an ordinary man on an extraordinary construction site.
- Is this a mandatory tradition?
No, this is not a mechanical custom. Some workers do not dare to engrave in the stone of a historic monument, often out of modesty.
- Are the engravings only reserved for Companions?
It is a tradition associated with them, but there are exceptions. President Emmanuel Macron notably symbolically completed the engraving of the general’s name Jean-Louis Georgelinwho supervised the reconstruction of the cathedral until his death in the summer of 2023, on the new spire of Notre-Dame. The general did not, however, shape the stone.
- Can the general public have access to these symbols?
You need to have a keen eye, because the workers choose very discreet places. However, it is not impossible to see them. Before the fire of the cathedral, when you visited the framework of Notre-Dame, at the start of the central hallmark of the spire, there was a plaque on which was inscribed the name of a journeyman carpenter who paid homage to Eugène Viollet- le-Duc (French architect and designer of the old spire in the 19th century, editor’s note). This signature was discreet and visible to few people because three-quarters of tourists do not go to the forest (another name to designate the frame, editor’s note).
- Have the workers working at Notre-Dame themselves discovered marks of the past?
Yes, absolutely. A rope access technician, for example, found in a hiding place the engraved name of a craftsman, Jean de Thoulouze, dating from the 17th century.
- What is the interest of these brands for scientists?
The Historical Monuments Research Laboratory (LRMH) carries out surveys, called stampings, to create a photo album of traces, which thanks to or because of the fire, have become visible. Despite the research work, it is however not easy to interpret them, because the singularity of a brand is that it is plural. For the historian that I am, these marks also have a function of memory of the cathedral. They represent the dialogue between the builders of the Middle Ages and those of Notre-Dame in 2024.
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