Script: Digital Story
Elizabeth Blowers
MSTI 131 Fall ‘11
Laverne: Bonjour a tous! Nous nous appellons Victor, Hugo et Laverne. Nous sommes vos
guides pour la tournee
de la cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris! Bienvenue nos amis!
Victor: Aujourd’hui on va vous apprendre qu’est-ce que Notre Dame? Ou se trouve-t-elle?
Pourquoi est-ce qu’elle avait ete construit? Dans quel style d’architecture etait-elle faite ?
Finalement, pourquoi est-ce qu’on apprends tout ceci.
Hugo: Woah, woah woah! Attendez Victor et Hugo! C’est possible que nos amis ne parlent
pas autant de français. Pouvons-nous faire le tour en anglais ET en français pour qu’ils
puissent comprendre?
Laverne: Okay, we can do that Hugo. Is this better? Can you all understand now?
Étudiants: Oui! That is much better! Merci!
Laverne: Parfait! On y va!
Victor: En anglais, Laverne!
Étudiants : (laugh)
Laverne: Let’s start the tour everyone!
Laverne: This is Notre-Dame. Does anyone know what “Notre Dame” translates to in
English?
Fille: “Notre Dame” means our lady!
Laverne: Exactement! Notre-Dame est « une cathedrale » or in English, a cathedral or
church. Can someone tell me where we are so that we know where the cathedral is? Nous
sommes a quelle ville dans quel pays?
Garçon: Nous sommes a Paris de France!
Fille: C’est nous sommes a Paris EN France.
Laverne: Tres bien! Notre-Dame is in Paris, France.
Victor: To be more specific, we are in l’Ile de France which is the most populated region of
France.
Hugo: Oh, tu parles de l’Ile de la Cite?
Victor: Non, Hugo, fais attention, toi! On parle de l’Ile de FRANCE. Mais, car tu l’as
mentione, est-ce que personne sait qu’est-ce que l’Ile de la Cite ?
Hugo: Moi! Moi! Moi!
Étudiants : (laugh)
Victor: Ouiiiii Hugo…?
Hugo: l’Ile de la Cite est ou on se trouve!
Laverne: Hugo, soit plus specific.
Hugo: D’ac. l’Ile de la Cite, in English the “island or isle of the city”, is one of the only
remaining islands in Paris on the Seine river. That is why when we are at Notre-Dame we
are surrounded by water. Look around!
Étudiants: Oh la la!
Fille: Comme c’est beau ici!
Laverne: Oui, c’est tres beau ici. On l’adore! l’Ile de la Cite is one of the most historical
regions of Paris. Pour continuer, Victor, est-ce que tu veux expliquer aux etudiants pourquoi
Notre-Dame avait ete construit?
Victor: Bien sur! I would love to tell the students why Notre Dame was built!
th
th
Victor: The 6 and 7 centuries in Western European history are characterized by a great
increase in population. This increased the needs of the city. This is important to the
cathedral because France, at this time, was a very religious country. Can anyone tell me, in
French, what religion was the most famous?
Garçon: « Christianity » ou le Christianisme.
Victor: Oui! C’est ça, le Christianisme. Because of the growing population, the masses were
growing as well. The word for « mass » in French is « une messe ». Can we all say it
together?
All: Une messe
Victor: Est-ce que tu veux continuer, Laverne?
Laverne: Oui, je veux bien. So students, as we said, the population in France was growing
and so was church attendance. The cathedral they had been using for many years was no
longer big enough to accommodate the people of Paris. But there is another reason a new
cathedral was built. The parisian church became the most famous of all those in France and
therefore had to be the best in the country. Therefore, Maurice de Sully, the bishop at the
time, ordered the previous cathedral to be demolished as it would be replaced by a bigger
and more worthy one. Est-ce que tout le monde me suive?
Étudiants: Oui.
Laverne: Tres bien mes touristes! Donc, en mille-cent-soixante, year 1160, Sully a ordone la
destruction du vielle cathedrale et la construction d’une nouvelle. Hugo, would you like to
tell the students about the architecture of Notre-Dame?
Hugo: (kissing noises)
Étudiants: (laughing)
Laverne: HUGO! Fais attention! Tu fais quoi la?! On donne une tournee!
Hugo: Oh! J’ai oublie! Comme ce mouton est beau! Desole tout le monde! Donc, qu’est-ce que
c’est le question?
Étudiants: You are going to tell us about the architecture of Notre-Dame.
Hugo: Parfait! Alors, la cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris est une cathedrale gothique. Ca
veut dire, a gothic cathedral. Gothic is the type of architecture that was common at this
time. We can see many similarities between Notre-Dame de Paris and other cathedrals built
in the same style at this period.
Hugo: These are other cathedrals in France built during the medieval times like NotreDame de Paris. But let’s focus on OUR cathedral and why she is so special. Victor, veux-tu
continuer?
Victor: One thing Notre-Dame de Paris is known for is “ses gargouilles”. Est-ce que
quelqu’un sait qu’est-ce q’un gargouille?
Fille: Vous etes des gargouilles!
Victor: Exactement! “Une gargouille” is a gargoyle. WE are some of the gargoyles NotreDame is famous for! We like to think we are the most important because we tell the story of
the cathedral, but the other gargoyles have a function as well. Laverne…
Laverne: The gargoyles situated along the sides of the roof of Notre-Dame drain the water
off of the roof. They are like a fancy form of the gutters we have on our homes. But these
stone creatures are crafted to do this in a specific way. Looking at the next picture can
anyone think of what I mean by this?
(pause 10 seconds)
Laverne: Les gargouilles jettent l’eau loin des murs. Comme ça la cathedrale reste en bonne
forme.
Garçon: So they drain the water away from the walls so the walls don’t get wet?
Laverne: Precisiely. The gargoyles are said to protect the cathedral and Paris as well, as
they overlook the city. The gargoyles are often designed to look scary, though clearly not all
of us are. Take Hugo for example.
Hugo: Hein?
Étudiants: (laugh)
Laverne: Voyons, il n’est pas effrayant.
Victor: Celle-ci est un peu plus effrayant.
Hugo: AHH! (pause) Sorry everyone, these scared me!
Laverne: Clairement, nous sommes les meilleurs gargouilles!
Hugo: Mais, bien sur!
Victor: Maintenant, on va parler un petit peu des rosaces de Notre-Dame. Une rosace, in
English, is a rose window. In terms of cathedral the rose window a colorful stained glass
window that serves as a focal point of the cathedral. They tend to be very large and visible.
Victor: The rose windows in Notre-Dame are said to be some of the most remarkable in all
of France. Even from the outside, as seen in this picture, the rose windows are pure
artwork.
Victor: Ici est la rosace du sud. Celle-ci est la plus grande.
Victor: Et ici est la rosace du nord.
Victor: Donc, on arrive a la question “quelle est la signification de la cathedrale Notre-Dame
de Paris pour nous? Avez-vous des idees?
Fille: Peut-etre il y avait des grands evenements qui avait eu lieu ici…
Victor: Autres idees?
Garçon: Est-ce qu’on va avoir un examen?!
Étudiants: (gasps)
Victor: Calmez-vous mes touristes. Vous n’auriez pas un examen. You will NOT have a test
on this.
Victor: We are learning about Notre-Dame de Paris because it is interesting, beautiful and
historical.
Étudiants: Super!
Fille: What happened here?
Victor: Great question mademoiselle! Hugo, would you like to share with the students some
important events that happened here?
Hugo: Where do I start! There are so many!
Hugo: Well there was that time the the pope came from Italy to bless the crown for
Napoleon, and he stole the crown and put it on his own head! Talk about impoli!
Hugo: There was the Requiem, or funeral, for Charles de Gaulle. What do you two
remember, Victor et Laverne?
Laverne: There have been so many beautiful, moving masses on a normal Sunday.
Victor: I love when they play the organ. It is such a crucial part of the mass. Does anyone
know how to say organ in French?
Étudiants: Un organe!
Victor: Exactement! Hugo, anything else?
Hugo: Bien sur! I think the most important thing that has ever happened here is the
hundreds of individual prayers that are said here everyday. People are welcomed to light a
candle and say a prayer and the candles are never blown out. It is a symbol of everlasting
hope for our visitors and us.
Quasi: Eh salut mes amis! Qu’est-ce que vous faites?
Hugo: Ehhh salut mec! On donne une tournee, et toi?
Quasi: Oh, desole, je savais pas! Salut tout le monde! Je m’appelle Quasimodo. Vous pouvez
m’appeller Quasi.
Étudiants: Bonjour Monsieur Quasi!
Quasi: Bonjourrrr! J’habite ici et j’ai besoin de toutes les gargouilles dans un
moment…puis-je les voler?
Victor: Is that okay students?
Fille: Yes that’s okay. We have to leave for lunch right now.
Victor: Okay. Rapidement on va resumer qu’est-ce qu’on a appris. Est-ce que quelqu’un
veux commencer? Vous pouvez le faire en anglais.
Garçon: I learned that les gargouilles, the gargoyles, are meant to drain the rain water off
the roof and away from the building. Some of them are scary looking though! Also,
Napoleon was crowned here by the pope, or rather, himself!
Fille: I learned that les rosaces, the rose windows, are huge stained glass windows that
serve as focal points of the cathedral, or in French, la cathédrale. They are so pretty! Also, I
learned that people light candles here and say prayers every day.
Garçon: I learned that Hugo has a crush on a goat!
Étudiants: (laugh)
Garçon: But really guys, I learned that Notre-Dame de Paris means “Our Lady of Paris”.
What a nice name for such a beautiful cathedral!
Fille: I learned about l’Île de la Cité and l’Île de France. I learned about l’architecture
gothique, in English gothic architecture, too! Super cool!
Laverne: Magnifique! We are so happy you have learned so much but yet so sad to see you
go. You must visit us again soon! Bring your friends next time and YOU can give THEM a
tour of la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris!
Victor: Et racontez-vous, nous vous protegeons.