Previous Cathedrals On The Site
The current cathedral is built on the site of an earlier edifice commenced under the episcopacy of Gerfrid (774 - 800). That Carolingian cathedral was consecrated on 6 September 800 in the presence of the emperor himself
The Carolingian building was replaced under Bishop Élinand (1052–1095). The present new building was inaugurated with the second coronation of the future King Philip I. This cathedral was torched during the Easter Insurrection on 25 April 1112. During the revolt Laon's unpopular Bishop Waldric (in French Gaudry) was killed, despite taking the precaution of hiding in a barrel in the cellar of the episcopal palace. The cathedral was not destroyed, however, and after a repair programme lasting two years it was rededicated in 1114 under Bishop Barthélemy de Jur.
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