• 5th century. : construction of a first cathedral under the aegis of St Eleutherius, Bishop of Tournai.

• 9th-11th Centuries: : reconstruction of the building, burnt on two occasions (881 and 1066) and restored.

• 1092 : foundation of the Saint Martin's Abbey of Tournai and end of the “great plague”, commemorated by the Great Procession, which parades each year on the second Sunday of September. 12th Century: beginning of the construction of the current cathedral, progressing from West to East, from the nave to the choir.

• 12e s. : Beginning of the construction of the actual cathedral, following a schedule from west to east, from the choir to the nave

• 1142-1150 : construction of the frames.

• 1146 : separation of the See of Tournai from that of Noyon.

• 1171 : Dedication of the cathedral to Our Lady.

• Début 13e s. : Beginning of the 13th Century: beginning of the vaulting of the transept under the impulse of the Bishop Etienne, followed by the completion of the Lantern Tower and the four steeples.

• 1243-1255 : Walter de Marvis undertakes the rebuilding of the choir, which from now on will contain a mixture of Romance and Gothic styles.

• 1255 :Dedication of the Gothic choir.