Building cathedrals in the Middle Ages was a back-breaking, drawnout afair - spanning decades in many cases
It was Ascension Day 1573. Crowds filled Beauvais Cathedral in northern France, ready to celebrate holy mass. But as the solemn procession snaked towards the high altar, heavy thuds could be heard resonating throughout the stone edifice. Before the eyes of horror-struck worshippers, the colossal 500-foot crossing tower came crashing down, a veil of debris and dust slowly enveloping the church. Only a few years in existence and the tallest of its kind, this was not the first time this ambitious addition had been the cause of the cathedral’s collapse.
Beauvais Cathedral continues to be plagued by structural problems. High above the continuous stream of 21st-century churchgoers and tourists, modern braces are the only element keeping it from crumbling. Tese may be an unsettling reminder of a medieval disaster, but they are also evidence of a lesson learned: caution over creativity.