A Builder’s Dream

Time for another entry in Friday Fictioneers challenge, courtesy of Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. If you want to give it a try, check the info on her blog. 100 words more or less, inspired by a photo, here we go….

dijon

 Copyright –   Sandra Crook

May the 17th, 1325.

It is done. After so many years, it is hard to believe the last stone is in its place. I grew up and grew old building my church. Someday the whiteness of the walls will turn into different shades of gray and the roof tiles will lose their boldness.

But I hope the pointed arches and the ribbed vaults will survive and serve as mementos when my time is long forgotten.

I hope someone will stand here thousand years from now and think: They were capable of greatness, after all.

That would be enough.

Pierre de Chelles

 

A little bit of investigation and a big stretch of my imagination brought me this story. When I figured out it is the photo of Cathédrale Saint-Bénigne de Dijon, it took me to the 13th and 14th century France. I found the notes that Pierre de Chelles may have been a son or nephew of Jean de Chelles, master mason and sculptor who was one of the architects at the Cathedral of Nôtre Dame de Paris. There are no records of actual builders of Cathédrale Saint-Bénigne de Dijon, but I stretched it and stretched it and connected it to my story.

48 thoughts on “A Builder’s Dream”

  15. kalpana solsi says:

    And people will stand ,state and admire the architecture and exclaim the greatness of the creators/builders of the impressive building.

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  16. gahlearner says:

    And that’s exactly what happens, we stare and marvel at the faith and dedication of these builders who worked such wonders that last through the times. Wonderful story.

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  18. Dale says:

    Love your stretch! Old buildings do that, don’t they? Get our imagination going on the whos and whats that went into its construction. Loved this.

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  21. It’s difficult for us to fathom the centuries of building that went into the cathedrals of Europe, isn’t it? Here, a four-bedroom house will go up in a fortnight, causing me no small concern over the structural soundness of the dwelling. Besides that, I think it does cheapen our appreciation.

    All my best,
    MG

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  22. Fascinating take on the prompt and I love how you have the architect writing about it. But is it Cathédrale Saint-Bénigne de Dijon? My googling skills had led me to believe that it is Hotel de Vogue of Dijon, a mansion of the seventeenth century, built in the French Renaissance (http://tinyurl.com/p9erqsw). Either way it does not matter as your story captured the spirit of the builder so well.

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