Notre-Dame de Paris · Chapter
The Grand Hall explained
On January 6, 1482, the people of Paris celebrate the double festival of the Epiphany and the Feast of Fools.
What happens
On January 6, 1482, the people of Paris celebrate the double festival of the Epiphany and the Feast of Fools. The crowd gathers at the Palais de Justice to see a mystery play and the election of the Pope of Fools, with the Flemish ambassadors in attendance. The grand hall is packed, and students mock the university dignitaries as they pass. The chapter also reflects on the historical destruction of the old palace and describes the hall's marble table and chapel.
Themes in this chapter
The Power of the Crowd
The massive, unruly crowd fills the grand hall and Place, their noise and mockery dominating the scene and challenging authority.
Architecture and Preservation
The narrator laments the loss of the original Gothic palace and its marvels, contrasting them with later restorations.
Social Injustice and Class
Students and commoners openly ridicule university and church dignitaries, highlighting class tensions and the irreverence of the lower orders.
Characters to notice
- Jehan Frollo du Moulin
A student clinging to a pillar, he leads the mockery of the rector and other university officials.
- Master Andry Musnier
The sworn bookseller of the university, he mutters about the end of the world amid the chaos.
- Sire Gilles Lecornu
The furrier of the king's robes, he converses with Andry Musnier about the disturbances.
- Joannes Frollo de Molendino
A student perched in the foliage of a capital, he sighs at the spectacle of the dignitaries.
- Robin Poussepain
A student who is addressed by Jehan Frollo and participates in the jeering.
- Master Thibaut Fernicle
The rector of the university, he is mocked by the students as he passes through the Place.
- Claude Choart
A doctor and canon of Sainte-Geneviève, he is among the dignitaries taunted by the crowd.
- Master Jacques Coppenole
Mentioned as one of the Flemish ambassadors whose arrival prompted the gathering.
Key passages
“Three hundred and forty-eight years, six months, and nineteen days ago today, the Parisians awoke to the sound of all the bells in the triple circuit of the city, the university, and the town ringing a full peal.”
On January 6, 1482, the people of Paris were awakened by the ringing of every bell across the city, university, and town.
Sets the precise date and atmosphere for the chapter's events.
“What put the 'whole population of Paris in commotion,' as Jehan de Troyes expresses it, on the sixth of January, was the double solemnity, united from time immemorial, of the Epiphany and the Feast of Fools.”
The entire city was stirred by the combined celebration of the Epiphany and the Feast of Fools.
Explains the reason for the public excitement and festivities.
“It was no easy matter on that day, to force one's way into that grand hall, although it was then reputed to be the largest covered enclosure in the world.”
The grand hall was so crowded that it was extremely difficult to enter, even though it was considered the largest indoor space in the world.
Emphasizes the immense size of the crowd and the hall.
