CHARTRES CATHEDRAL

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CHARTRES CATHEDRAL
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Ship of souls on a sea of grain
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History of Chartres Cathedral

• It is believed that a church has existed where
  the current church is since the fourth century
• Due to fires, the church has been rebuilt several
  times
• The current church was built between 1194 to 1260
• Only the crypt, the base of the towers, and the
  west facade survived the fires

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Dimensions

• Length 130 m (1 ½ football fields)
• Width of nave 16.4 m
• Height of vaults 37 m
• Romanesque tower (south) 107.5 m
• Jehan of Beauce tower (north) 114 m

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Two Spires Reach Toward Heaven

• south tower was built in the 12th century
• north tower was added in the 16th century
• Cruciform

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Etched in Stone

• Numerical symbolism is embedded in the
  design of the church?
• four directions, four winds, four seasons, four
  rivers of paradise

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Gothic Style

• Pointed arch
• ribbed vaulting
• flying buttresses
• enlarged sanctuary
• cruciform layout

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Stained glass windows

greenimmortality/life dark blueVirgin
Mary light bluepeace red charity/blood of
Christ/Christs passion orangespeaking in tongue
or in the words of Jesus purpleroyalty?Jesus
from line of David/Jesse Tree white
purity/innocence/ holy spirit yellow/gold
power/glory/halo/gates of heaven
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Rose Windows
The windows of Chartres are divided into three
categories 1) The lower windows recount life
stories or stories taken from the Bible 2) The
upper windows include figures of saints
illustrated in monu-mental manner 3) The three
large rose windows proclaim the glory of Christ
and the Virgin.

• Rose windows are the apex of stained glass
  development. The stained glass windows contained
  sacred medieval imagery.

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• Column statues depict 19 of the 22 original Old
  Testament figures.
• Christ is carved in the middle of the three royal
  portals

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Labyrinths are metaphors for the pilgrims
spiritual journey.

• Walking a labyrinth is a form of prayer and
  meditation that comes from a Christian tradition
  of the 12th and 13th centuries.

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Mary's Veil

• A piece of fabric believed to have been worn by
  the Virgin Mary as she gave birth to Jesus.
• Because of this relic, Chartres became a major
  pilgrimage center.

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The Crypt

• The crypt of Chartres Cathedral is the largest in
  France.
• Dating from the 11th century
• Initially the well was located at the exterior of
  the first church, the well later was built inside
  of the crypt
• The well is called the Saints-Forts
• The bodies of the first Chartrian martyrs were
  thrown into the well

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Early-Late Gothic
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Chartres Cathedral
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