There are 13 church bells in the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris; 10 main bells are mounted in the two main bell towers and 3 smaller bells in the sanctuary. Notre-Dame used to have other bells in the spire, but these were destroyed in a fire in 2019.
For most of the cathedral's history, the bells have been primarily used as a striking clock, to call to prayer for the Angelus, and to announce and participate in Divine Offices and special services. They have also sometimes been used as a or to commemorate historic events. As such they have become a familiar part of life in Paris, where they are known as "the cathedral's voice."
The largest, oldest, and most well-known of Notre-Dame's bells is the bourdon Emmanuel, which was cast in 1686. Emmanuel is considered by campanologists as one of Europe's finest bells and was designated a national historic landmark in 1944 when it rang during the liberation of Paris.
Early bells The earliest named bells of Notre-Dame, mentioned in 13th and 14th century records, include Marie (the bourdon), Gilbert, Guillaume, Pasquier, Chambellan, Louis, Nicholas, and Luc, all initially housed in the north tower. Historian Dany Sandron speculated that Gilbert may have been given by bishop Gilbert, the bishop of Paris from 1116 to 1123. If so, the earliest bells may have predated the cathedral itself. Bishop Eudes de Sully made the first record of bell ringing at Notre-Dame in 1198 during the construction of the cathedral. The earliest verified bell is Guillaume, donated by bishop Guillaume d'Auvergne in 1230, five years before the completion of the north tower. A total of eight bells were mounted there by 1311.
The spire, completed in about 1250, originally held a seven-bell carillon, which included la Pugnaise, a bell used to signal the bell ringer in the main towers, and the chapter bell la Clopette, used to announce gatherings of the cathedral chapter. During the Middle Ages, the carillon accompanied Notre-Dame's main bells, as did the bells of several surrounding buildings, such as the and to the east, the episcopal palace to the south, and the Hôtel-Dieu and to the west.
In 1400, Jean de Montaigu, an advisor to the king, donated a new larger bourdon which he named Jacqueline after his wife Jacqueline de la Grange. It was not initially hung in the church, possibly because of its great weight and the poor condition of the north belfry at the time. Between 1403 and 1407, a new belfry was built in the south tower, which had remained empty since its construction in 1250. Jacqueline was hung in the new belfry, and in 1414, some of the north tower bells were temporarily hung there as well while repairs were made to the north belfry. Between 1378 and 1480, the two bourdons Marie and Jacqueline were recast a combined 10 times. By 1430, Marie was the larger bell and was permanently moved to the south tower, mounted beside Jacqueline.
In 1453, Thibault de Vitry, counselor of the Parlement of Paris, donated Thibault and in 1472, Canon Jean Hue donated Gabriel, named after the archangel. The later replaced Gilbert as the largest bell in the north tower. Gilbert was melted down and the metal added to Marie when it was again recast later that year. Jean also first appeared in the 15th century.
In 1551, the carillon was either recast or replaced. From this point, the names of four of the carillon bells were recorded as Catherine, Magdelaine, Barbe (named after Saint Barbara), and Anne. With the addition of an unnamed fifth bell, La Pugnaise, and La Clopette, the spire held seven bells in 1612, but by 1763 this was reduced to six.
When Jacqueline broke in 1680, the chapter decided to recast the bell with about twice its original mass. It was also decided to rename the bell Emmanuel (first spelled "Emanuel") in honour of a chaplain by that name who financed the project. It was also felt that the new name held more religious significance. Cordelier friar Jean Thibault recast the bell that year, but this bell was deemed unsuccessful and was never mounted in the church.
In 1681, four master-founders collaborated to recast the bell—Nicolas Chapelle, Jean Gillot, François Moreau, and Florentin le Guay. The work was carried out on the Terrain, an open space of land on the eastern end of the Île de la Cité, near where and the Deportation Memorial are located today. The bell was cast on 31 October and removed from its mould and rung for the first time on 20 November. It was brought into the cathedral through the north portal where the trumeau had to be removed so the bell could fit through. The bell's baptism was held on 29 April 1682,Gazette de France 1682 as cited by . officiated by archbishop François de Harlay de Champvallon. The chapter invited the king and queen, Louis XIV and Maria Theresa, to serve as the bell's godparents. It was mounted in the south tower next to Marie on 14 July.
Shortly later, the chapter later asked the founders to remake the bell, believing it to be improperly tuned. When the founders refused, the chapter sued them in 1684. An initial trial, held at the Grand Châtelet, found them not liable, but this was later overturned by the Parlement of Paris. This third version of the bell was named Emmanuel-Louise-Thérèse to include the names of its godparents. This was in particular meant to memorialize Maria Theresa who had died in 1683. The queen's name was also added to the inscription. Emmanuel was completed in 1686 (evidently behind schedule, as the inscription reads "made in 1685"). This is the bell which has survived to the present day, and is renowned for both its history and musical quality. Emmanuel was the largest bell in France until 1891 when La Savoyarde was cast for the Sacré-Cœur.
Most of the north tower bells were recast in the 18th century. Claude is first mentioned in 1711, although it likely originated earlier. In 1766, three dedicated clock bells were installed in one of the north transept's turrets. François was added to the north tower in 1769.
During the French Revolution, about 80% of church bells throughout the country were melted down, or almost 100,000 bells. Despite the widespread iconoclasm of the era which affected many of Notre-Dame's statues, the melting of bells was more a pragmatic decision based on the need for cheap raw materials at the time. The National Constituent Assembly had confiscated all church property in 1789 and began to melt down Parisian church bells in 1790. Between May 1791 and August 1792, Marie, Gabriel, Guillaume, Pasquier, Thibault, Jean, Claude, Nicholas, and Françoise were removed, broken apart, and melted down. The metal would be used for coins and cannons. The only bells to survive were the three clock bells and Emmanuel. The latter was rung for the Festival of Reason in 1793 before being taken down and put into storage in 1794.
It was also during the Revolution that the original spire was taken down along with its carillon, although this was not related to the events of the Revolution.
List of bells (1769) Location No.Ringing order, used to identify which bells ring in a particular sonnerie or ringing pattern, generally numbered from lowest to highest strike tone. Name Year cast MassSources using pre-Revolutionary primary sources give mass in pounds (French: livres). These are converted here as livre actuelle, also called livre de Paris or livre de poids de marc (about 0.4895 kg). Compare pound measurements in with kg measurements in . Diameter Tone Year removed South tower 1 Emmanuel 1686 about 13,000 kgSources give various figures for the mass of Emmanuel— 26,000 lb, 30,000 lb, 32,000 lb, 36,000 lb, websites of Notre-Dame and 13 metric tonnes (13,000 kg), and 18,000 kg. These discrepancies likely arose from various definitions of the pound (French: livre), as well as added confusion from the bell being cast several times with different masses. Gueffier is the earliest source and his 36,000 lb are commonly cited in others, including . Dubu may have arrived at 18,000 kg by converting Gueffier's 36,000 lb as livre usuelle or metric pounds (0.5 kg). Gilbert's 32,000 lb may come from the 32,000 lb Gueffier gives for the 1681 casting. Singer likely used Gueffier as well, but cites the 32,000 and 36,000 lb as 22,000 and 26,000 lb, respectively, either mistranscribing them or believing them to be too high. Singer consistently uses livre actuelle, also called livre de Paris or livre de poids de marc (about 0.4895 kg) for conversions to kg. This was the pound used most commonly in Paris in the 17th century. Converting Singer's 26,000 lb with this unit yields 12,727 kg which is relatively close to the approximated 13,000 kg given by official sources. Converting Gueffier's 36,000 lb as livre esterlin (about 0.3671 kg) also comes relatively close—13,216 kg. Billon's 30,000 lb may come from the bell's own inscription ("15,000 pounds...now doubled") which is likely an approximation. 2.61 m F2 1794 2 Marie 1472 11,258 kg 2.4 m G2 1792 North tower 3 Gabriel 1641 4,332 kg 1.89 m A2 1791–92 4 Guillaume 1769 3,524 kg 1.71 m B2 5 Pasquier 1765 2,643 kg 1.55 m C3 6 Thibault 1764 2,048 kg 1.41 m D3 7 Jean 1769 1,530 kg 1.26 m E3 8 Claude 1714 979 kg 1.13 m F3 9 Nicolas 744 kg 95 cm G3 10 François 1769 587 kg 99.7 cm A3 Spire 11 Catherine 1551 254 kg B3 1792 12 Magdelaine 195 kg C4 13 Barbe 146 kg D4 14 Anne 91 kg E4 15 Pugnèse by 1283 25 kg C5 16 La Clopette North transept 17 clock bells 1766 1,905 kg ~C3 1856 18 566 kg G3 19 412 kg A3
Inscriptions of Emmanuel The upper inscriptions were written in Latin; the lower inscriptions were written in French with some Middle French spellings.
1681 inscription:
Translation:
1686 inscription (extant):
Translation:
19th century bells
After Napoleon Bonaparte returned the use of the cathedral to the Catholic church with the Concordat of 1801, Emmanuel was remounted in the south tower. In 1812, the three clock bells were moved from the north transept to the north tower.
In 1850 during the restoration of the cathedral, Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc temporarily removed the bells to replace the wooden belfries.
In 1856, Napoleon III donated four new bells to celebrate his son Louis-Napoléon's baptism. The Guillaume and Besson foundry in Angers cast the bells, partially using metal from Russian bells (or cannons) captured during the Crimean War. Archbishop Sibour officiated the benediction ceremony, held in the Place du Parvis Notre-Dame on 4 June. The bells' godparents included Sibour's cousin and auxiliary , three members of the fabric counsel, and four women related to past archbishops of Paris. The names Angelique-Francoise, Antoinette-Charlotte, Hyacinthe-Jeanne, and Denise David were derived from the names of the godfathers and archbishop relatives of the godmothers. The bells were hung in the north tower, replacing the 18th century clock bells, and were rung for the first time on 14 June, the day of the prince's baptism.
During the Crimean War, the French captured a Russian fog bell in Sevastopol and returned it to Paris as a war trophy. The French called it the Bell of Sevastopol and hung in the south tower next to Emmanuel in 1857. France returned the bell to the Russian Empire in 1913 when the two countries enjoyed closer diplomatic relations. The Russians mounted the bell by the sea in the ancient ruins of Chersonesos where it has since been known as the Bell of Chersonesos.
In 1864, three new clock bells were mounted in the upper level of the new spire. The smallest of these served as the chapter bell. In 1867, three more bells were installed directly over the crossing just behind the vaulted ceiling in the forest. These were only audible inside the cathedral.