The Portal of the Last Judgment

The three doorways at the heart of the west façade, and its highlight, carry a whole Bible carved in dramatic detail. In the center is the Portal of the Last Judgment, on the left the Portal of the Virgin, and on the right the Portal of Saint Anne. Let's start in the middle and read the story in stone.

At the center of the semicircular space above the door, Christ sits enthroned in majesty. Look closely, though, and something is odd. This is the king who judges, yet he shows the nail wounds in his hands. By presenting not only the fearsome judge but also the savior who sacrificed himself for humanity, the carving sends a message of hope: even in judgment, the possibility of salvation remains. On either side of Christ, angels hold the instruments of the Passion, the cross, the spear and the nails, and behind them the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist kneel in earnest prayer for humankind.

Move your eyes down to the long horizontal stone just below, the lintel. In its upper register is the famous weighing of souls. The archangel Michael holds the scales and separates good souls from bad, while a little devil clings desperately, trying to drag one side of the scale down toward himself. Once the weighing is done, the chosen go to heaven on Christ's right, and the damned are chained and led off to a terrible hell on his left. Below that, an angel blows a trumpet on the Day of Judgment, and the dead rise from their graves in a vivid scene of resurrection. Popes, kings, knights and women are all there: before judgment, no rank or status is an exception.

What you see today is not how it all originally looked. In 1792, during the French Revolution, revolutionaries who despised the cathedral destroyed most of the twelve apostles on this portal. The apostles standing beside the door now were recreated in the 19th century by the architect Viollet-le-Duc. On the left of the door, the six apostles are, from the left: Bartholomew, Simon, James the Less (son of Alphaeus), Andrew, John and Peter. On the right, from the left: Paul, James the Greater (son of Zebedee), Thomas, Philip, Jude Thaddaeus and Matthew. In the 18th century, the central pillar, which now bears a figure of Jesus, was even removed altogether so that royal processions could pass through more easily.