medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture In Allan Temko's (dated) _Notre-Dame of Paris:The Biography of a Cathedral_, I find: "The Parisians elected to save three churches, all the Normans permitted them, in exchange for an immense sum of gold and silver....Their choice was interesting: the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne, which they evidently valued more highly than the Basilica of N-D [omissions and shorthand mine],and the abbey churches of Saint-Denis and Saint-Germain-d-P....as they looked at the scorched walls of S-E...they may have reconsidered their parochialism....they examined the remains of Mary's church, standing directly behind Stephen's, and...decided to erect a new cathedral in her honor. The Virgin, after three centuries in Paris, had triumphed in the midst of disaster." According to Temko, there was a Marian basilica apart from the cathedral which was permitted to be destroyed in favor of Stephen, Denis and Germanus. Moreover the cathedral dedication was changed from Stephen, by most accounts the first martyr and first saint, to Mary. Has Temko been superseded by more recent scholarship or is all this so lost in the mists of time, we just don't know? MG _________________________________________________________________ FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar – get it now! http://toolbar.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200415ave/direct/01/ ********************************************************************** To join the list, send the message: join medieval-religion YOUR NAME to: [log in to unmask] To send a message to the list, address it to: [log in to unmask] To leave the list, send the message: leave medieval-religion to: [log in to unmask] In order to report problems or to contact the list's owners, write to: [log in to unmask] For further information, visit our web site: http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/medieval-religion.html