|
Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of The Siege of Paris. This article has been identified as being out of date. Please update the article to reflect recent releases and then remove this template once done. |
Notre-Dame, or the Notre-Dame Cathedral (French: Notre-Dame de Paris), is a famous Gothic-style cathedral located on the Île de la Cité in Paris, France. The structure was heavily desecrated and burgled during the tumultuous French Revolution.
History[]
Classical period[]
During the Peloponnesian War, the Spartan Kassandra saw a vision of an eagle flying toward Notre-Dame cathedral after she touched the pyramid made from collected fragments at the center of the Sanctuary of Kosmos beneath the Sanctuary of Delphi. However, the mercenary had no clue as to where the place of worship was or when this would take place.[1]
Construction[]
Built on the site of the former Saint-Étienne,[2] Notre-Dame's construction began in 1163 and lasted for more than a century before it was completed in 1250. It would then undergo numerous changes over the next century. The cathedral was one of the first buildings in Europe to use flying buttresses, which allowed for much higher and thinner walls around the choir and the nave. They also provided the support necessary for the inclusion of the Notre-Dame's rose windows.[3]
French Revolution[]
In 1791, the French Templar Charles Gabriel Sivert arranged a meeting with his associate Duchesneau, which was to take place in Notre-Dame while Mass was being held. To accomplish this, his men stole the cathedral's master keys from one of the priests and positioned themselves throughout the building. However, the Assassin Arno Dorian managed to reclaim the keys and gain access to Notre-Dame, where he assassinated Sivert as the latter waited in a confessional booth.[4]
Arno would later discover a secret laboratory beneath the cathedral which had been used by the noted alchemist Nicolas Flamel.[5] During the Revolution, many of Notre-Dame's relics were stolen by the Templars, who used the nearby Hôtel-Dieu's sewer system to smuggle them away from the cathedral. In response, the Parisian Brotherhood sent agents to recover the artifacts and return them to Notre-Dame.[6]
By 1793, the dechristianization of France was in full effect, with the Notre-Dame being rededicated to the Cult of Reason and later the Cult of the Supreme Being.[3] The newly appointed National Guard were formally established during a benediction at the cathedral.[7] Many of Notre-Dame's greatest treasures were subsequently looted and the statues of the biblical Kings of Judah were decapitated, having been mistaken for statues of the Kings of France; the cathedral's great bells managed to survive unscathed, however. Afterwards, Notre-Dame ended up being used as a storage facility for the troops, with the damage sustained during the revolution not being repaired until 1845.[3]
Modern times[]
The spire of Notre-Dame unexpectedly and suddenly caught fire on 15 April 2019, shocking the world.[8] The Assassin Gavin Banks had an Animus stored in the church, which was consequently destroyed in the blaze.[9]
Behind the scenes[]
The Notre-Dame was single-handedly recreated for Assassin's Creed: Unity by Senior Level Artist Caroline Miousse, who had never visited the building before[10] and therefore spent more than two years digitally constructing the iconic monument. While most of the cathedral is faithful to the original, creative liberties had to be taken with most of the art that adorns it, which is protected under copyright law.[11] The cathedral's model is anachronistic, based on the church after the 1844–1864 renovations rather than the dilapidated state it was in during the French Revolution. The major difference is the more ornate spire which was about 60' taller than original spire that was removed sometime between 1786 and 1792.
On 15 April 2019, at 6:30 p.m. local time, an electrical short circuit in Notre-Dame's attic sparked a fire which rapidly spread.[12] According to French authorities, the cathedral barely escaped complete destruction, having been only 15 to 30 minutes away from structural damage so severe it likely would have caused the building's collapse.[13] In order to help, Ubisoft pledged €500,000 towards Notre-Dame's reconstruction,[14] made the PC version of Assassin's Creed: Unity free to download between 17–25 April, and encouraged donations to help restore the church.[15] This event was later referenced in Assassin's Creed: Gold where it is attributed to the consequences of an altercation between groups of modern day Assassins and the Templars.
Contrary to coverage from outlets like IGN,[16] New Musical Express,[17] and Stuff.tv[18] claiming that Unity's highly detailed renders of Notre-Dame could help rebuild the cathedral, views that were echoed on ResetEra's gaming forums[19] and even GPS sites,[20] in truth, Ubisoft had promised no such thing. When reached for comment by The Guardian, a spokesperson said the company "[was] not currently involved in the reconstruction of Notre Dame" but would gladly provide their files to assist where possible if requested, before continuing on to ask media and fans alike to remember that the Notre-Dame in Unity was "for the game [and] was not a scientific reconstruction but rather an artistic vision".[14]
Gallery[]
Appearances[]
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Unity
- Project Widow (painting only)
- Assassin's Creed: Gold (mentioned only)
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (vision only)
- Echoes of History – Unity
References[]
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – A Fresh Start
- ↑
Notre-Dame de Paris on Wikipedia
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Assassin's Creed: Unity – Database: Notre-Dame de Paris
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Confession
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Flamel's Secret: The Elixir of Life
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Unity – Tithing Templars
- ↑ Project Widow – "Our Lady"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Atlas – Europe: Paris
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Gold – [citation needed]
- ↑ ASSASSIN'S CREED UNITY Developer Interview: Building Notre Dame (and Paris) on the Rev3Games YouTube channel
- ↑ Lewis, Anne (7 November 2014). Assassin's Creed Unity – Notre Dame Wasn't Built in a Day. Ubisoft. Archived from the original on 13 November 2014. Retrieved on 19 April 2019.
- ↑ Notre-Dame de Paris fire
- ↑ Willsher, Kim (16 April 2019). Notre Dame was '15 to 30 minutes' away from complete destruction. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved on 19 April 2019.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 MacDonald, Keza (17 April 2019). Assassin's Creed creators pledge €500,000 to Notre Dame. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved on 19 April 2019.
- ↑ Ubisoft (@Ubisoft) on Twitter "In solidarity with everyone moved by Monday's events we're donating to the restoration of Notre-Dame & giving you the chance to play @AssassinsCreed Unity on Uplay for free. Details below: Supporting Notre-Dame de Paris" (screenshot) (article archived via the Wayback Machine)
- ↑ How Assassin's Creed Could Help Rebuild Notre Dame - IGN Now on the IGN YouTube channel
- ↑ Reilly, Nick (17 April 2019). Assassin’s Creed could be used to help rebuild Notre Dame cathedral. NME. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved on 2 December 2021.
- ↑ Brohier, Michelle (16 April 2019). How Assassin’s Creed Could Save Notre Dame. Stuff.tv. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved on 2 December 2021.
- ↑ "Ignis" (16 April 2019). How Assassin's Creed Unity could save Notre Dame. ResetEra. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved on 2 December 2021.
- ↑ Cozzens, Tracy (15 April 2019). 3D mapping of Notre Dame will help restoration. GPS World. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019. Retrieved on 2 December 2021.
