Rise of the Gargoyle

This gargoyle commemorates La Gargouille, the dragon of Rouen, killed by St. Romanus, Counselor to King Clotaire II, in 631 AD. Unlike most legends, this story is based on fact. Historically this legend can be considered the seminal tale about dragons, previous to the Dragon of Rouen there had been few if any stories regarding Saints slaying dragons. After this widely reported incident, stories began to abound throughout Europe. La Gargouille was known as a “water dragon” expelling either fire or vitriol living in a cave near the Seine. His name came from the sound in his throat as he sucked in to expel the fire creating a gurgling sound. He first appeared after a heavy flood of the Rouen and began attacking people and cattle. The flood of 630 AD is supported by hard historical evidence.

The villagers began sending a condemned criminal regularly to the dragon to placate it. St. Romanus with the help of one of the criminals killed the dragon; differing stories exist as to their method. After its death the body was burned, however the neck and head were resistant to the fire. The remains were displayed on the Rouen cathedral outer wall as a symbolic triumph of good over evil. Numerous writers of the period saw the grisly remains and documented their existence. The story is even commemorated in the stain glass of the Cathedral in Prague. Of note, Europe had been coming out of a 30,000 year ice age the temperature from 400 – 800 AD was much warmer than the climate today or even the previous 100,000 years. It is highly likely a living fossil similar to a plesiosaur possibly had been displaced by both the climatic change and massive flooding of 600 AD. There is historical precedent for rediscovery of dinosaurs in modern times: the Coelacanth, Latimeria chalumnae, was thought extinct 65 millionyears ago until rediscovered in 1938. The Varanus komodoensis was thought extinct for over a million years till rediscovered in 1910. The species now existing in modern times can weigh up to 400 pounds, and many substantiated scientifically documented attacks in which they consume humans exist. The species and has a highly toxic corrosive saliva and recently venom producing glands have been discovered. Numerous reptiles are also known to project venom. Unlike most legends of dragons, La Gargouille has incredible specificity, and the tradition of freeing a convict on holy day of Rouen to commemorate the slaying lasted almost 1,000 years till the French Revolution.

The gargoyle sculpture is a rare photograph of the flying buttress on the northeast apse of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Île de la Cité, Paris. The stone carving is an important functional part of the innovative engineering design and is one of the earliest gargoyles of Notre-Dame. The dragon formed an integral component of the technical and architectural innovation of the flying buttress later associated with high Gothic architecture. It was a creative solution to direct water flow away from the foundation and soaring walls, thereby eliminating dangerous hydraulic expansion problems on the delicate but critical buttress support. Notre-Dame was the first construction to ever use the flying buttress that architecturally broke with the previous five thousand years of monumental construction.

Notre-Dame, on the Île de la Cité, is built on the ancient Temple of Jupiter circa 60 BC that had been constructed on the remains of a Gaul temple destroyed by Julius Caesar in 52 BC. Notre-Dame Cathedral as we know it today was founded in 1163 AD by Bishop Maurice de Sully on the foundation of Saint Etienne basilica dedicated by Childebert I, the King of the Franks, 528 AD, built overlaying the Roman temple. The layers of foundations can now been seen in the under crypts of the Cathedral.

Copyright 2017 Leann Collins. All Rights Reserved.