Notre-Dame de Paris — Page 13
had himself sculptured on his knees before the Virgin, and whither he caused to be brought, without heeding the two gaps thus made in the row of royal statues, the statues of Charlemagne and of Saint Louis, two saints whom he supposed to be great in favor in heaven, as kings of France.
s'était fait sculpter à genoux devant la Vierge, et où il avait fait apporter, sans tenir compte des deux vides ainsi faits dans la rangée des statues royales, les statues de Charlemagne et de saint Louis, deux saints qu'il supposait être en grande faveur dans le ciel, en tant que rois de France.
This chapel, quite new, having been built only six years, was entirely in that charming taste of delicate architecture, of marvellous sculpture, of fine and deep chasing, which marks with us the end of the Gothic era, and which is perpetuated to about the middle of the sixteenth century in the fairylike fancies of the Renaissance.
Cette chapelle, toute neuve, n'ayant été construite que depuis six ans, était entièrement dans ce goût charmant d'architecture délicate, de sculpture merveilleuse, de ciselure fine et profonde, qui marque chez nous la fin de l'ère gothique, et qui se perpétue jusqu'environ le milieu du seizième siècle dans les fantaisies féeriques de la Renaissance.
The little open-work rose window, pierced above the portal, was, in particular, a masterpiece of lightness and grace; one would have pronounced it a star of lace.
La petite rosace ajourée, percée au-dessus du portail, était, en particulier, un chef-d'œuvre de légèreté et de grâce ; on l'eût prise pour une étoile de dentelle.
In the middle of the hall, opposite the great door, a platform of gold brocade, placed against the wall, a special entrance to which had been effected through a window in the corridor of the gold chamber, had been erected for the Flemish emissaries and the other great personages invited to the presentation of the mystery play.
Au milieu de la salle, en face de la grande porte, une estrade de brocart d'or, adossée au mur, à laquelle on avait ménagé une entrée spéciale par une fenêtre du corridor de la chambre dorée, avait été dressée pour les envoyés flamands et les autres grands personnages conviés à la présentation du mystère.
It was upon the marble table that the mystery was to be enacted, as usual.
C'était sur la table de marbre que le mystère devait être joué, comme à l'ordinaire.
Vocabulary
- était
- ay-teh — Was; third person singular imperfect of 'être'
- fait
- feh — Done, made; past participle of 'faire'
- sculpter
- skülp-tay — To sculpt, to carve figures from material
- genoux
- zhuh-noo — Knees; plural of 'genou'
- devant
- duh-vahn — In front of, before; spatial preposition
- Vierge
- vyerzh — Virgin; refers to the Virgin Mary
- apporter
- ah-por-tay — To bring, to carry something to a place
- sans
- sahn — Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- tenir
- tuh-neer — To hold, to keep; common irregular verb
- compte
- kohnt — Account, consideration; tenir compte means to take into account
- vides
- veed — Empty spaces, gaps; plural adjective or noun
- ainsi
- an-see — Thus, so, in this way; adverb of manner
- faits
- feh — Made, created; plural past participle of 'faire'
- rangée
- rahn-zhay — Row, line; an ordered sequence of objects
- statues
- stah-tü — Statues; three-dimensional sculpted representations
- royales
- rwah-yal — Royal; feminine plural adjective relating to kings
- Charlemagne
- shar-luh-mahn-yuh — Charlemagne; famous medieval Frankish king and emperor
- saint
- san — Saint; holy person recognized by the Church
- Louis
- lwee — Louis; name of several French kings, e.g. Saint Louis
- saints
- san — Saints; plural of holy persons venerated in Christianity
- supposait
- sü-poh-zeh — Supposed, assumed; imperfect tense of 'supposer'
- grande
- grahnd — Great, large; feminine adjective indicating size or importance
- faveur
- fah-vur — Favor, grace; positive regard or approval from someone
- ciel
- syel — Sky, heaven; the heavens or divine realm
- tant
- tahn — So much, as long as; adverb of quantity or degree
- rois
- rwah — Kings; plural of 'roi', male monarchs
- chapelle
- shah-pel — Chapel; small church or place of worship
- toute
- toot — All, entirely; feminine singular of 'tout'
- neuve
- nuhv — New, brand new; feminine adjective for something newly built
- ayant
- ay-yahn — Having; present participle of 'avoir'
- construite
- kon-strüeet — Built, constructed; feminine past participle of 'construire'
- depuis
- duh-pwee — Since, for; preposition indicating duration or starting point
- entièrement
- ahn-tyer-mahn — Entirely, completely; adverb indicating totality
- goût
- goo — Taste, style; aesthetic preference or flavor
- charmant
- shar-mahn — Charming, delightful; adjective expressing pleasant appeal
- architecture
- ar-shee-tek-tür — Architecture; art and science of designing buildings
- délicate
- day-lee-kat — Delicate, refined; feminine adjective for fineness or subtlety
- sculpture
- skülp-tür — Sculpture; art of carving or modeling three-dimensional forms
- merveilleuse
- mer-vay-yuhz — Marvelous, wonderful; feminine adjective of admiration
- ciselure
- seez-lür — Chiseling, engraving; fine detailed carving work
- fine
- feen — Fine, delicate; feminine adjective for thinness or quality
- profonde
- pro-fond — Deep, profound; feminine adjective of depth
- marque
- mark — Marks, characterizes; third person singular of 'marquer'
- chez
- shay — At the home of, among; preposition of location
- fin
- fan — End; conclusion or termination of a period
- ère
- air — Era, age; a distinct historical period of time
- gothique
- go-teek — Gothic; medieval architectural and artistic style
- perpétue
- per-pay-tü — Perpetuates, continues; third person singular of 'perpétuer'
- jusqu'
- zhüsk' — Until, up to; preposition of limit contracted before vowel
- environ
- ahn-vee-ron — About, approximately; adverb of approximation
- milieu
- meel-yuh — Middle, midpoint; center of a period or space
- seizième
- say-zyem — Sixteenth; ordinal number for the 16th
- siècle
- syekl — Century; a period of one hundred years
- fantaisies
- fahn-teh-zee — Fantasies, fancies; imaginative or whimsical creations
- féeriques
- fay-ay-reek — Fairy-tale-like, magical; adjective evoking enchantment
- Renaissance
- ruh-neh-sahns — Renaissance; European cultural revival from 14th–17th century
- rosace
- roh-zas — Rose window; circular decorative window in Gothic architecture
- ajourée
- ah-zhoo-ray — Openwork, pierced; adjective for decorative perforated design
- percée
- per-say — Pierced, cut through; feminine past participle of 'percer'
- dessus
- duh-sü — Above, on top; adverb or preposition of position
- portail
- por-tye — Portal, main doorway; large ornate entrance to a building
- particulier
- par-tee-kü-lyay — Particular, specific; adjective meaning special or distinctive
- chef-
- shef- — Chief, master; first part of compound 'chef-d'œuvre'
- œuvre
- uhvr — Work, masterpiece; an artistic or literary creation
- légèreté
- lay-zhair-tay — Lightness, delicacy; quality of being light or graceful
- grâce
- grahs — Grace, elegance; pleasing quality of movement or form
- eût
- ü — Would have; third person singular past subjunctive of 'avoir'
- prise
- preez — Taken, mistaken; feminine past participle of 'prendre'
- étoile
- ay-twal — Star; a luminous celestial body visible at night
- dentelle
- dahn-tel — Lace; delicate decorative fabric of fine threads
- salle
- sal — Hall, room; a large enclosed space or chamber
- face
- fas — Face, opposite side; en face means facing, opposite
- porte
- port — Door, gate; an entrance or opening in a wall
- estrade
- es-trad — Platform, dais; raised floor area for speakers or performers
- brocart
- bro-kar — Brocade; rich fabric woven with raised patterns
- or
- or — Gold; precious yellow metal, or the color gold
- adossée
- ah-doh-say — Backed against; leaning with its back to a wall
- mur
- mür — Wall; a vertical structure enclosing a space
- laquelle
- lah-kel — Which; feminine singular relative or interrogative pronoun
- ménagé
- may-nah-zhay — Arranged, provided; past participle of 'ménager'
- entrée
- ahn-tray — Entrance, entry; a way in or access point
- spéciale
- spay-syal — Special; feminine adjective meaning particular or reserved
- fenêtre
- fuh-neh-truh — Window; an opening in a wall admitting light
- corridor
- ko-ree-dor — Corridor, hallway; a long passageway in a building
- chambre
- shahm-bruh — Room, bedroom; a private enclosed space in a building
- dorée
- doh-ray — Gilded, golden; feminine adjective meaning covered in gold
- dressée
- dreh-say — Set up, prepared; feminine past participle of 'dresser'
- envoyés
- ahn-vwah-yay — Envoys, sent representatives; plural noun or past participle
- flamands
- flah-mahn — Flemish; plural adjective referring to people from Flanders
- grands
- grahn — Great, important; masculine plural adjective of importance
- personnages
- per-so-nazh — Personages, figures; important or notable individuals
- conviés
- kon-vyay — Invited, summoned; masculine plural past participle of 'convier'
- présentation
- pray-zahn-tah-syon — Presentation, performance; act of presenting something formally
- mystère
- mees-tair — Mystery; medieval religious play or an unexplained phenomenon
- table
- tabl — Table; a flat-surfaced piece of furniture
- marbre
- mar-bruh — Marble; hard stone used in sculpture and architecture
- devait
- duh-veh — Was supposed to, had to; imperfect of 'devoir'
- joué
- zhoo-ay — Played, performed; past participle of 'jouer'
- ordinaire
- or-dee-nair — Ordinary, usual; adjective meaning normal or customary
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