528 Notre-Dame of Paris, Cathedral of
Notre-Dame of Paris, Cathedral of This was the
CATHEDRAL for the city of PARIS. Situated on the pic-
turesque Île de la Cité, it was and remained among the
most famous, almost a prototype for, GOTHICcathedrals
in the world. It was begun on a site previously occupied
by a pagan temple and then two earlier churches. During
the bishopric of Maurice de Sully in the early 12th cen-
tury, construction began. Its foundation was blessed by
Pope ALEXANDERIII in 1163. Completed in about 1230, it
was best known for its flying buttresses, mathematically
derived west façade, the statue of Our Lady of Paris, and
its STAINED GLASS, especially in its ROSE WINDOWS.
Further reading:Yves Bottineau, Notre-Dame de Paris
and the Sainte-Chapelle,trans. Lovett F. Edwards (Lon-
don: Allen, 1967); Alain Erlande-Brandenburg, Notre-
Dame de Paris,trans. John Goodman (New York: Harry
N. Abrams, 1998); Allan Temko, Notre-Dame of Paris
(London: Secker and Warburg, 1956).
Novels of Justinian See CORPUS IURIS CIVILIS.
Novgorod(Novyi Gorod, New Town) Novgorod was a
town on the banks of the upper Volkhov River near Lake
Ilmen and the capital of a medieval Rus ́state that once ran
from the Gulf of FINLANDto the Ural Mountains. Founded
by Scandinavian merchants in the ninth century, it linked
the Scandinavian north with the Muslim south for TRADE.
It was first mentioned in chronicles in 862, when King
RURIKmade it the center of his new kingdom of Rus ́.
When his successor, Oleg (d. ca. 912), captured KIEVin
882, the center of the kingdom gravitated to the south.
The city accepted Kievan princes and became more Slavic
in population, language, and institutional life. Its eco-
nomic prosperity and social development continued and
nurtured an active urban population.
In 1136 the system of appointment of a prince by the
“eldest” prince of Kiev was rejected as the method of
selecting its rulers. A local uprising installed a municipal
almost republican government, whose officials were
elected by an assembly of the landed aristocracy. The city
grew richer and extended its control over much of the
surrounding country side. It became a prominent mem-
ber of the HANSEATICLEAGUE, trading in FURS, amber,
wax, honey, and slaves. The Rurikid princes tried to
retake control of the town but were limited to mere par-
ticipation in the assembly. Alexander NEVSKY, its prince,
defeated the Swedes and the TEUTONIC KNIGHTS and
started his career in Novgorod before becoming prince of
Suzdal and Vladimir in 1252. Helped by its geographical
situation in the north, Novgorod kept much of its inde-
pendence from the MONGOLSin return for payments of
tribute. In 1416 the local aristocracy or BOYARSseized
control of the governing council. This event in combina-
tion with the rise of MOSCOWcontributed to the town’s
decline in the 15th century. IVANIII defeated its army in
battle in 1471 and won recognition of Muscovite
sovereignty over it in 1478.
See alsoFURS AND FUR TRADE.
Further reading:Robert Michell and Nevill Forbes,
trans., The Chronicle of Novgorod, 1016–1471(London:
Offices of the Society, 1914); Henrik Birnbaum, Lord Nov-
gorod the Great: Essays in the History and Culture of a
Medieval City-State (Columbus, Ohio: Slavica, 1981);
Mark A. Brisbane, ed., The Archaeology of Novgorod, Rus-
sia: Recent Results from the Town and Its Hinterland(Lin-
coln, Nebr.: Society for Medieval Archaeology, 1992); M.
W. Thompson, Novgorod the Great: Excavations at the
Medieval City Directed by A. V. Artsikhovsky and B. A.
Kolchin(New York: Praeger, 1967).novice and novitiate A novice in the Middle Ages
was a person undergoing a period of probation in a reli-
gious house before pronouncing his or her permanent
vows. At the end of the novitiate, a postulant could
choose to return to the lay world or make his or her
profession before the community. The religious institu-
tion was free to accept or reject the postulant. The Rule
of Saint BENEDICTin chapter 58 defined this process and
the status of the novice.
Before the late 11th century monastic sources rarely
mentioned novices. Until then the novitiate, even when
practiced, was probably of very short duration. TheThe Gothic western façade of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in
Paris, from about 1250 (Courtesy Edward English)