436 Laon
the mid-13th century, Languedoc was grudgingly but well
integrated into the Crown of France, its prosperity
unabated. However, the HUNDREDYEARS’WAR, the Black
Death, and further episodes of PLAGUE, along with the
fiscal exactions of JOHN, DUKE OFBERRY, ended this pros-
perity in the 14th and 15th centuries.
See also ANTICLERICALISM; CATHARS;DOMINIC DE
GUZMÁN, SAINT; TROUBADOURS;WILLIAM IX, DUKE OF
AQUITAINE.
Further reading:Sheila Bonde, Fortress-Churches of
Languedoc: Architecture, Religion, and Conflict in the High
Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1994); James Buchanan Given, State and Society in
Medieval Europe: Gwynedd and Languedoc under Outside
Rule(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1990); James
Buchanan Given, Inquisition and Medieval Society: Power,
Discipline, and Resistance in Languedoc(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cor-
nell University Press, 1997); Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie,
The Peasants of Languedoc,trans. John Day (Urbana: Uni-
versity of Illinois Press, 1974).
Laon Laon was originally a Roman military camp that
became a Christian community between the third and
fifth centuries. By the death of CHARLESMARTELin 741,
it was in the hands of the CAROLINGIANfamily. It was
fortified by walls sometime between 853 and 880
and was an important seat of royal power in the 10th
century. A communal movement led an uprising against
the bishop in 1112; but it was put down. In 1128 King
Louis VI (r. 1108–37) recognized its autonomous
communal status, which it enjoyed for the rest of the
Middle Ages.
CATHEDRAL AND SCHOOLThe cathedral school of Laon was among the most promi-
nent in France in the ninth century. By the 11th century,
it was at the forefront of an intellectual revival and the
study and exegesis of the BIBLE, under the rule of ANSELM
OFLAON.
The CATHEDRAL was partially burned in 1112 and
entirely rebuilt under Bishop Gautier of Mortagne (r. 1155–
74). The town took part, at the instance of Gautier, in the
early development of the GOTHICstyle. Built at about the
same time as Notre-Dame at PARIS, the new cathedral had
a different architectural plan. It used simple side aisles, a
projecting transept, and a lantern tower at the transept
crossing. The cathedral used early forms of flying but-
tresses, strongly projecting supports, high elevation of
its towers, the breadth and complicity of its sculptural
program, and the strong use of light. The cathedral was
also noteworthy for its STAINED GLASS, especially the ROSE
WINDOWin the north arm of the transept, which depicted
universal knowledge or the SEVEN LIBERAL ARTS, thus
reflecting the scholarly activity and fame of the town’s
teachers and schools.
Further reading:W. W. Clark, Laon Cathedral(Lon-
don: H. Millar, 1983); John J. Contreni, The Cathedral
School of Laon from 850 to 930: Its Manuscripts and Mas-
ters(Munich: Arbeo-Gesellschaft, 1978).Last Judgment Held by Saint Paul as an article of
FAITH, the idea of a Last Judgment became an essential
point of Christian doctrine. At the end of time there
would be a second coming of Christ. All human beings,
both the living and the dead, whose bodies would be
raised, would be judged. The just would be placed at
Christ’s right hand and led to the kingdom of HEAVEN.
The wicked would be rejected, sent to his left, and con-
signed to eternal fire. This was a supreme manifestation
of divine JUSTICE, and a correction of the disorders of
human history. It became a prominent and versatile
theme in art, particularly in cathedral sculptures, during
the GOTHICperiod. Clergy availed themselves of these
illustrations to show sinners what awaited them, espe-
cially the possible punishments for SIN.
In the Middle Ages, theologians usually said that
Christ would judge humans on the Day of Judgment,
having received this power from the Father. The apos-
tles and saints would play the roles of evaluators, while
angels would lead the people to their fate. Details dif-
fered, but human beings, dead and living, had to appear
before Christ. Some maintained the impossibility of
knowing the place and time of judgment, which would
be announced by signs. Some supposed that it would
happen in March or even on Easter Day in a particular
place, the valley of Jehoshaphat or opposite the Mount
of Olives. Some expected it to be instantaneous, others
assumed it would take time. It would be apart from the
individual judgment that each person faced at death,
but it was considered a fundamental point in human
history. Its importance was progressively reinforced
throughout the Middle Ages. Among the best early or
ROMANESQUEimages were those at Torcello near VENICE,
done in MOSAIC, and those in the tympana of Conques
and Autun.
For Islam, the day of reckoning, Yawn ad-din,also
existed and included a vividly described battle in the
Quran. The righteous would go to heaven and the evil
going to torment in hell or jahannam.It included a resur-
rection of bodies and souls.
See alsoAPOCALYPSE AND APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE;
ESCHATOLOGY.
Further reading:Richard K. Emmerson and David
F. Hult, trans., Antichrist and Judgment Day: The Middle
French Jour du jugement(Asheville, N.C.: Pegasus Press,
1998); David Bevington et al., Homo, Memento Finis: The
Iconography of Just Judgment in Medieval Art and Drama
(Kalamazoo: Medieval Institute Publications, Western
Michigan University, 1985); Ananya Jahanara Kabir,
Paradise, Death, and Doomsday in Anglo-Saxon Literature