One of those details I would have completely missed if I hadn't stopped to look closely at Notre-Dame's façade.

The central figure is Saint Denis, the first bishop and patron saint of Paris. According to legend, after being beheaded in the 3rd century, Denis picked up his severed head and walked several kilometres while continuing to preach before finally collapsing.

That explains the rather surreal sculpture. He is deliberately depicted carrying his own head. Figures like this are known as cephalophores.

I've photographed Notre-Dame a few times, but it's details and stories like this that make the cathedral far more interesting to me than the familiar wide shots.