Notre-Dame de Paris — Page 1

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cover

couverture

NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS

Also known as:

Également connu sous le titre :

_THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME_

_LE BOSSU DE NOTRE-DAME_

By Victor Hugo

Par Victor Hugo

Translated by Isabel F. Hapgood

Traduit par Isabel F. Hapgood

PREFACE.

PRÉFACE.

A few years ago, while visiting or, rather, rummaging about Notre-Dame, the author of this book found, in an obscure nook of one of the towers, the following word, engraved by hand upon the wall:—

Il y a quelques années, en visitant, ou plutôt en fouinant dans Notre-Dame, l'auteur de ce livre trouva, dans un recoin obscur de l'une des tours, le mot suivant, gravé à la main sur le mur :

ἈΝÁΓΚΗ.

These Greek capitals, black with age, and quite deeply graven in the stone, with I know not what signs peculiar to Gothic caligraphy imprinted upon their forms and upon their attitudes, as though with the purpose of revealing that it had been a hand of the Middle Ages which had inscribed them there, and especially the fatal and melancholy meaning contained in them, struck the author deeply.

Ces majuscules grecques, noircies par le temps, et assez profondément gravées dans la pierre, avec je ne sais quels signes propres à la calligraphie gothique imprimés sur leurs formes et sur leurs attitudes, comme pour révéler que c'était une main du Moyen Âge qui les y avait inscrites, et surtout le sens fatal et mélancolique qu'elles contenaient, frappèrent profondément l'auteur.

He questioned himself; he sought to divine who could have been that soul in torment which had not been willing to quit this world without leaving this stigma of crime or unhappiness upon the brow of the ancient church.

Il s'interrogea ; il chercha à deviner quelle avait pu être cette âme en tourment qui n'avait pas voulu quitter ce monde sans laisser ce stigmate de crime ou de malheur sur le front de la vieille église.

Afterwards, the wall was whitewashed or scraped down, I know not which, and the inscription disappeared.

Par la suite, le mur fut blanchi à la chaux ou gratté, je ne sais lequel des deux, et l'inscription disparut.

For it is thus that people have been in the habit of proceeding with the marvellous churches of the Middle Ages for the last two hundred years.

Car c'est ainsi que l'on a coutume de traiter les merveilleuses églises du Moyen Âge depuis deux cents ans.

Mutilations come to them from every quarter, from within as well as from without.

Les mutilations leur viennent de toutes parts, du dedans comme du dehors.

The priest whitewashes them, the archdeacon scrapes them down; then the populace arrives and demolishes them.

Le prêtre les blanchit à la chaux, l'archidiacre les gratte ; puis le peuple arrive et les démolit.

Vocabulary

couverture: koo-vehr-toor — Cover or covering of a book or object.
NOTRE-DAME: noh-truh dahm — Famous Gothic cathedral located in Paris, France.
DE: duh — Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'.
PARIS: pah-ree — Capital city of France.
Également: ay-gal-mohn — Also or likewise; used to add information.
connu: koh-noo — Known or recognized by others.
sous: soo — Preposition meaning 'under' or 'beneath'.
titre: tee-truh — Title of a book, film, or work.
BOSSU: boh-soo — Hunchback; person with a curved or hunched back.
NOTRE: noh-truh — Possessive adjective meaning 'our'.
DAME: dahm — Lady or woman; also used as a title.
Par: pahr — Preposition meaning 'by' indicating authorship.
Traduit: trah-dwee — Translated from one language into another.
par: pahr — Preposition meaning 'by', indicating the agent.
PRÉFACE: pray-fahs — Preface or introductory section of a book.
y: ee — Adverbial pronoun meaning 'there' or 'it'.
a: ah — Third-person singular form of 'avoir', meaning 'has'.
quelques: kel-kuh — Adjective meaning 'a few' or 'some'.
années: ah-nay — Years; plural of 'année' meaning year.
en: ohn — Preposition meaning 'in', 'on', or 'by'.
visitant: vee-zee-tohn — Visiting; present participle of 'visiter'.
ou: oo — Conjunction meaning 'or', offering an alternative.
plutôt: ploo-toh — Rather or instead; used to introduce a preference.
fouinant: fwee-nohn — Snooping or rummaging around curiously.
dans: dohn — Preposition meaning 'in' or 'inside'.
Notre: noh-truh — Possessive adjective meaning 'our'.
Dame: dahm — Lady; used in proper names for churches.
auteur: oh-tuhr — Author or creator of a literary work.
de: duh — Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'by'.
ce: suh — Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that'.
livre: lee-vruh — Book; a bound written or printed work.
trouva: troo-vah — Found; past tense of 'trouver', to find.
recoin: ruh-kwahn — A nook or hidden corner of a place.
obscur: ob-skoor — Dark or obscure; hidden from light or notice.
tours: toor — Towers; tall structures of a building or castle.
mot: moh — Word; a unit of language with meaning.
suivant: swee-vohn — Following or next; coming after something else.
gravé: grah-vay — Engraved or carved into a surface.
à: ah — Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'by'.
main: mahn — Hand; the part of the body used to grasp.
sur: soor — Preposition meaning 'on' or 'upon'.
mur: moor — Wall; a vertical structure dividing or enclosing space.
Ces: say — Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those'.
majuscules: mah-zhoos-kool — Capital letters; uppercase letters in writing.
grecques: grek — Greek; relating to Greece or its language.
noircies: nwahr-see — Blackened or darkened, as if stained by time.
temps: tohn — Time or weather; a fundamental concept in French.
assez: ah-say — Quite or enough; indicating a sufficient degree.
profondément: proh-fohn-day-mohn — Deeply or profoundly; to a great degree.
gravées: grah-vay — Engraved or carved; feminine plural past participle.
pierre: pyehr — Stone or rock; a hard natural mineral substance.
avec: ah-vek — Preposition meaning 'with', indicating accompaniment.
ne: nuh — Negative particle used with 'pas' to negate verbs.
sais: say — Know; first-person singular of 'savoir'.
quels: kel — Which or what; masculine plural interrogative adjective.
signes: seen-yuh — Signs or marks; visible symbols or indicators.
propres: proh-pruh — Own or proper; belonging specifically to something.
calligraphie: kah-lee-grah-fee — Calligraphy; the art of decorative handwriting.
gothique: goh-teek — Gothic; relating to a medieval architectural or artistic style.
imprimés: ahm-pree-may — Printed; marked or stamped with characters or images.
leurs: luhr — Their; possessive adjective for plural possession.
formes: form — Forms or shapes; the visible outlines of things.
attitudes: ah-tee-tood — Attitudes or postures; manner of positioning or thinking.
comme: kuhm — Like or as; used for comparison or similarity.
pour: poor — For or in order to; indicating purpose.
révéler: ray-vay-lay — To reveal or disclose something hidden or unknown.
que: kuh — Conjunction meaning 'that'; also used in comparisons.
était: ay-tay — Was; imperfect tense of 'être', to be.
Moyen: mwah-yahn — Middle; used in 'Moyen Âge' meaning Middle Ages.
Âge: ahzh — Age or era; a period of historical time.
qui: kee — Relative pronoun meaning 'who', 'which', or 'that'.
avait: ah-vay — Had; third-person singular imperfect of 'avoir'.
inscrites: ahns-kreet — Inscribed or written; carved or marked on a surface.
surtout: soor-too — Especially or above all; used to emphasize importance.
sens: sohn — Meaning or sense; the significance of something.
fatal: fah-tahl — Fatal or fateful; leading to ruin or determined by fate.
mélancolique: may-lohn-koh-leek — Melancholic or sad; marked by deep sadness.
elles: el — Third-person plural feminine pronoun meaning 'they'.
contenaient: kohn-tuh-nay — Contained; imperfect tense of 'contenir', to contain.
frappèrent: frah-pehr — Struck or hit; past tense of 'frapper'.
interrogea: ahn-teh-roh-zhah — Questioned or wondered; past tense of 's'interroger'.
chercha: shehr-shah — Looked for or sought; past tense of 'chercher'.
deviner: duh-vee-nay — To guess or figure out something unknown.
quelle: kel — Which or what; feminine interrogative adjective.
pu: poo — Been able; past participle of 'pouvoir', to be able.
être: eh-truh — To be; the most fundamental verb in French.
cette: set — Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' for feminine nouns.
âme: ahm — Soul; the spiritual essence of a person.
tourment: toor-mohn — Torment or anguish; intense suffering or distress.
pas: pah — Not; used with 'ne' to negate a verb.
voulu: voo-loo — Wanted; past participle of 'vouloir', to want.
quitter: kee-tay — To leave or quit; to depart from a place.
monde: mohnd — World or people; the earth and its inhabitants.
sans: sohn — Without; preposition indicating the absence of something.
laisser: lay-say — To leave or let; to allow something to remain.
stigmate: steeg-maht — Stigma or mark; a sign of disgrace or shame.
crime: kreem — Crime; an act that violates the law.
malheur: mah-luhr — Misfortune or unhappiness; bad luck or tragedy.
front: frohn — Forehead; the front part of the face above eyes.
vieille: vyay — Old; feminine adjective describing aged things or people.
église: ay-gleez — Church; a building for Christian worship.
suite: sweet — Continuation or sequence; what follows after something.
fut: foo — Was; simple past tense of 'être', to be.
blanchi: blohn-shee — Whitened or whitewashed; covered with white paint.
chaux: shoh — Lime; a white substance used in whitewashing walls.
gratté: grah-tay — Scraped or scratched off a surface.
lequel: luh-kel — Which or that; masculine relative or interrogative pronoun.
deux: duh — Two; the cardinal number following one.
inscription: ahns-kreep-syohn — Inscription; words written or carved onto a surface.
disparut: dees-pah-roo — Disappeared; past tense of 'disparaître', to disappear.
Car: kahr — Because or for; conjunction giving a reason.
ainsi: ahn-see — Thus or in this way; indicating manner or result.
on: ohn — Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one', 'we', or 'people'.
coutume: koo-toom — Custom or habit; a traditional practice or usage.
traiter: treh-tay — To treat or handle something in a particular way.
merveilleuses: mehr-vay-yuhz — Marvelous or wonderful; inspiring amazement and admiration.
églises: ay-gleez — Churches; plural of 'église', buildings for worship.
depuis: duh-pwee — Since or for; indicating a starting point in time.
cents: sohn — Hundreds; plural of 'cent', one hundred.
ans: ohn — Years; plural of 'an', used for counting years.
mutilations: moo-tee-lah-syohn — Mutilations; acts of damaging or disfiguring something.
leur: luhr — Their; possessive adjective for singular possession.
viennent: vyehn — Come; third-person plural present of 'venir'.
toutes: toot — All; feminine plural form of 'tout', meaning all.
parts: pahr — Parts or directions; sides or places.
dedans: duh-dohn — Inside or within; from the interior.
dehors: duh-or — Outside or exterior; from the outer part.
prêtre: preh-truh — Priest; a religious minister or clergyman.
blanchit: blohn-shee — Whitens or whitewashes; third-person singular of 'blanchir'.
archidiacre: ahr-shee-dyah-kruh — Archdeacon; a senior church official below a bishop.
gratte: graht — Scrapes; third-person singular present of 'gratter'.
puis: pwee — Then or next; indicating sequence of events.
peuple: puh-pluh — People or nation; the common populace of a place.
arrive: ah-reev — Arrives or comes; third-person singular of 'arriver'.
démolit: day-moh-lee — Demolishes or tears down; destroys a structure completely.

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