The cathedral is the bishop’s church at the heart of a diocese. Its early history is unclear, but a bishop named Denys is said to have evangelised Lutetia (the future Paris). Archaeological traces confirm a cathedral on the Île de la Cité by the 4th century.
The bishop oversees Christian worship, administers sacraments, and supervises religious life. From the 9th century onwards, the cathedral was also served by canons—clergymen dedicated to liturgical and pastoral duties. By the 12th century, there were 51 of them, most appointed by the bishop, with two selected by the chapter itself. As these positions were influential, both popes and kings lobbied to have their preferred candidates chosen.
In 829, the Council of Paris granted the canons their own assets (the mensa), from which they drew an income known as a prebend. They were “secular” canons and did not live communally. Instead, they occupied houses north of the cathedral, in a special precinct, while the bishop resided in a palace to the south (until it was destroyed in 1831). From the 12th century, the canons were no longer under the authority of the bishop of Paris but directly under papal authority. This sometimes created tensions.
A dean, elected by the canons but installed by the bishop, led the chapter. Seven canons held special roles: the precentor (aided by the sub-precentor), three archdeacons, the chancellor, and the penitentiary. The canons gathered daily for the Liturgy of the Hours, led musically by the precentor. He also ran the choir which included 16/18 adult singers and 8/12 choirboys. He supervised the choir school where choirboys - often sons of minor nobles, city artisans, or orphans- learned Matin, music and liturgical chant. When their voices broke, they either continued their education at university or became singers themselves.
The archdeacons helped the bishop appoint parish priests and tested candidates for the priesthood, as there were no seminaries. They inspected local churches and charitable institutions. The chancellor wrote official documents, kept the seal and library, and oversaw the cathedral’s school for theology and law. As chancellor of the University of Paris, he also granted teaching licences. The penitentiary could replace the bishop on certain feast days and preached to the people.
Numerous chaplains — possibly around one hundred — celebrated Masses in the 32 chapels built in the 13th and 14th centuries along the cathedral’s aisles and around its Gothic choir. Several confraternities came for special devotions, while trade guilds also held services. Eleven armed sergeants maintained order and security by opening and closing the doors. A treasurer, called the chevecier, looked after offerings, the treasury, and liturgical objects.
Once the Gothic cathedral was completed under Bishop Maurice de Sully, it ceased to function as a parish church for local residents, who instead received sacraments in their own parishes. They still visited Notre-Dame to pray to the Virgin Mary and to saints whose relics were kept there. The choir, enclosed by a screen, was reserved for clergy and certain guests, such as the royal family.
Although Paris grew into the kingdom’s capital with about 250,000 inhabitants by the early 14th century, its bishop was still a suffragan to the Archbishop of Sens. King Charles V tried in 1377 to raise the Bishop of Paris to archbishop, but this only succeeded in 1622.
E. Canfield-Dafilou, N. Buch, B. Caseau, “The voices of children in Notre-Dame de Paris during the Late Middle Ages and the Modern Period” Journal of Cultural Heritage, 56, July–August 2022. (url).
R. Gane, Le chapitre de Notre-Dame de Paris au XIVe siècle, Saint-Etienne, 1999. (url).
Notre-Dame. Une cathédrale dans la ville. Des origines à nos jours, ed. B. Bove, Cl. Gauvard, Paris, 2022. (url).
D. Sandron, Notre-Dame de Paris. Histoire et archéologie d’une cathédrale (XIIe–XIVe siècle), Paris, 2021. (url).