From the 12th century, even before the end of the construction of the cathedral, mention is made of the ringing of the bells preceding the services. This ringing grew over the centuries, each bell being recast one or more times per century. In 1681, the Jacqueline bell, installed in 1400, was melted down to create a new, much more monumental one: the Emmanuel bell. The new bell was blessed and installed in the south tower in 1683. However, this first casting did not meet the initial requirements, and the staff had to be cast again in 1686. The second Emmanuel staff, made by Florentin II Le Guay, was a success, receiving the sponsorship of King Louis XIV and Queen Marie-Thérèse. The bell tower will reach twenty bells in 1769, distributed between the towers and the spire. The Revolution did not spare the bells of Notre-Dame, broken and melted down in 1791 and 1792. Only the bell Emmanuel was spared and replaced in its tower in 1802. With a diameter of 2.62 meters, weighing thirteen tons, it was the largest bell in France until 1891. It remains, even today, one of the most beautiful sound vessels in Europe.
In 2013, to overcome the defects and the lack of harmony of the four bells of the north tower installed in 1856, eight new bells were inaugurated and placed in the belfry in order to rediscover the soundscape of the 18th century. Until the fire of 2019, these bells punctuated the daily and extraordinary times of Parisian life.
