Chartres Cathedral

At least five cathedrals have stood on this site, each replacing an earlier building damaged by war or fire. The first church dated from no later than the 4th century and was located at the base of a Gallo-Roman wall; this was put to the torch in 743 on the orders of the Duke of Aquitaine. The second church on the site was set on fire by Danish pirates in 858. This was then reconstructed and enlarged by Bishop Gislebert, but was itself destroyed by fire in 1020. A vestige of this church, now known as Saint Lubin Chapel, remains, underneath the apse of the present cathedral.[3] It took its name from Lubinus, the mid-6th-century Bishop of Chartres. It is lower than the rest of the crypt and may have been the shrine of a local saint, prior to the church's re-dedication to the Virgin Mary.[4]

In 962 the church was damaged by another fire and was reconstructed yet again. A more serious fire broke out on 7 September 1020, after which Bishop Fulbert (bishop from 1006 to 1028) decided to build a new cathedral. He appealed to the royal houses of Europe, and received generous donations for the rebuilding, including a gift from Cnut the Great, King of Norway, Denmark and much of England. The new cathedral was constructed atop and around the remains of the 9th-century church. It consisted of an ambulatory around the earlier chapel, surrounded by three large chapels with Romanesque barrel vault and groin vault ceilings, which still exist. On top of this structure he built the upper church, 108 metres long and 34 metres wide.[5] The rebuilding proceeded in phases over the next century, culminating in 1145 in a display of public enthusiasm dubbed the "Cult of the Carts" – one of several such incidents recorded during the period. It was claimed that during this religious outburst, a crowd of more than a thousand penitents dragged carts filled with building supplies and provisions including stones, wood, grain, etc. to the site.[6]

In 1134, another fire in the town damaged the facade and the bell tower of the cathedral.[5] Construction was begun immediately on a new tower, the north tower, which was finished in about 1150. It was just two stories high and had a lead roof. The south tower, begun in 1144, was much more ambitious; it had a spire atop the tower, and, when finished in about 1160, it reached a height of 105 metres or 345 feet, one of the highest in Europe. The two towers were joined on the first level by a chapel devoted to Saint Michael. Traces of the vaults and the shafts which supported them are still visible in the western two bays.[7] The stained glass in the three lancet windows over the portals dates from some time between 1145 and 1155, while the south spire, some 103 metres high, was also completed by 1155 or later. The Royal Portal on the west facade, between the towers, the primary entrance to the cathedral, was probably finished between 1145 and 1245.[5]

On the night of 10 July 1194, another major fire devastated the cathedral. Only the crypt, the towers, and the new facade survived. The cathedral was already known throughout Europe as a pilgrimage destination, due to the reputed relics of the Virgin Mary that it contained. A legate of the Pope happened to be in Chartres at the time of the fire, and spread the word. Funds were collected from royal and noble patrons across Europe, as well as small donations from ordinary people. Reconstruction began almost immediately. Some portions of the building had survived, including the two towers and the royal portal on the west end, and these were incorporated into the new cathedral.[5]

The nave, aisles, and lower levels of the transepts of the new cathedral were probably completed first, then the choir and chapels of the apse; then the upper parts of the transept. By 1220 the roof was in place. The major portions of the new cathedral, with its stained glass and sculpture, were largely finished within just twenty-five years, extraordinarily rapid for the time. The cathedral was formally re-consecrated in October 1260, in the presence of King Louis IX of France, whose coat of arms was painted over the entrance to the apse.[8]

The Coronation of Henri IV of France in the Cathedral on 27 February 1594

Relatively few changes were made after this time. An additional seven spires were proposed in the original plans, but these were never built.[5] In 1326 a new two-story chapel, dedicated to Saint Piatus of Tournai, displaying his relics, was added to the apse. The upper floor of this chapel was accessed by a staircase opening onto the ambulatory. (The chapel is normally closed to visitors, although it occasionally houses temporary exhibitions.) Another chapel was opened in 1417 by Louis, Count of Vendôme, who had been captured by the British at the Battle of Agincourt and fought alongside Joan of Arc at the siege of Orléans. It is located in the fifth bay of the south aisle and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its highly ornate Flamboyant Gothic style contrasts with the earlier chapels.[5]

In 1506, lightning destroyed the north spire, which was rebuilt in the 'Flamboyant' style in 1507–1513 by the architect Jean Texier. When he finished this, he began constructing a new jubé or Rood screen that separated the ceremonial choir space from the nave, where the worshippers sat.[5]

On 27 February 1594, King Henry IV of France was crowned in Chartres Cathedral, rather than the traditional Reims Cathedral, since both Paris and Reims were occupied at the time by the Catholic League. The ceremony took place in the choir of the church, after which the King and the Bishop mounted the rood screen to be seen by the crowd in the nave. After the ceremony and a mass, they moved to the residence of the bishop next to the cathedral for a banquet.

In 1753, further modifications were made to the interior to adapt it to new theological practices. The stone pillars were covered with stucco, and the tapestries which hung behind the stalls were replaced by marble reliefs. The rood screen that separated the liturgical choir from the nave was torn down and the present stalls built. At the same time, some of the stained glass in the clerestory was removed and replaced with grisaille windows, greatly increasing the light on the high altar in the centre of the church.

The 1836 fire of Chartres Cathedral by François-Alexandre Pernot (1837).

Inside the roof-space, the charpente de fer, built c. 1840

Early in the French Revolution a mob attacked and began to destroy the sculpture on the north porch, but was stopped by a larger crowd of townspeople. The local Revolutionary Committee decided to destroy the cathedral via explosives and asked a local architect to find the best place to set the explosions. He saved the building by pointing out that the vast amount of rubble from the demolished building would so clog the streets it would take years to clear away. The cathedral, like Notre Dame de Paris and other major cathedrals, became the property of the French State and worship was halted until the time of Napoleon, but it was not further damaged.

In 1836, due to the negligence of workmen, a fire began which destroyed the lead-covered wooden roof and the two belfries, but the building structure and the stained glass were untouched. The old roof was replaced by a copper-covered roof on an iron frame. At the time, the framework over the crossing had the largest span of any iron-framed construction in Europe.[5]

The Second World War, in France, was a battle between the Allies and the Germans. In July 1944, the British and Canadians found themselves restrained just south of Caen. The Americans and their five divisions planned an alternative route to the Germans. While some Americans headed west and south, others found themselves in a sweep east of Caen that lead them behind the frontline of the German forces. Hitler ordered the German Commissioner, Kluge, to head west to cut off the Americans. This ultimately lead the Allies to Chartres in mid August 1944.[9]

On August 16, 1944, during the intervention of the American troops in Chartres, the cathedral was saved from destruction thanks to the American colonel Welborn Barton Griffith Jr. (1901-1944), who questioned the order he was given to destroy the cathedral. The Americans believed that Chartres Cathedral was being used by the enemy. The belief was that the steeples and towers were being used as a range for artillery.[10]

But he volunteered to go and check if there were any German soldiers inside, and accompanied by a volunteer soldier, he could see that the cathedral was empty, so he had the cathedral bells ringing as a signal for the Americans not to shoot, the order for destruction was rescinded. Notre-Dame de Chartres had been saved. Colonel Griffith died in combat action that same day, in the town of Lèves, near Chartres. He was posthumously decorated with the Croix de Guerre avec Palme (War Cross 1939-1945), the Légion d'Honneur (Legion of Honour) and the Ordre National du Mérite (National Order of Merit) of the French government and the Distinguished Service Cross of the American government[11][12]

In 2009, the Monuments Historiques division of the French Ministry of Culture began an $18.5-million program of works at the cathedral, cleaning the inside and outside, protecting the stained glass with a coating, and cleaning and painting the inside masonry creamy-white with trompe l’oeil marbling and gilded detailing, as it may have looked in the 13th century. This has been a subject of controversy (see below).

The cathedral is still the seat of the Bishop of Chartres of the Diocese of Chartres. The diocese is part of the ecclesiastical province of Tours.

Every evening since the events of 11 September 2001, Vespers are sung by the Chemin Neuf Community.

• Length: 130 metres (430 ft)
• Width: 32 metres (105 ft) / 46 metres (151 ft)
• Nave: height 37 metres (121 ft); width 16.4 metres (54 ft)
• Ground area: 10,875 square metres (117,060 sq ft)
• Height of south-west tower: 105 metres (344 ft)
• Height of north-west tower: 113 metres (371 ft)
• 176 stained-glass windows
• Choir enclosure: 200 statues in 41 scenes

• 
  Chartres floorplan (1856) by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814–1879)
• 
  The elevation of the nave, showing the gallery on the ground level; the narrow triforium; and, on top, the windows of the clerestory
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  Flying buttresses supporting the upper walls and counterbalancing the outward thrust of the vaulted ceiling, allowing thin walls and greater space for windows
• 
  Flying buttresses seen from above
• 
  The vaults of the roof, connected by stone ribs to the pillars below, combined with the flying buttresses outside make possible thinner walls, and the great height and large windows of the Cathedral

The plan, like other Gothic cathedrals, is in the form of a cross and was determined by the shape and size of the 11th-century Romanesque cathedral, whose crypt and vestiges are underneath it. A two-bay narthex at the western end opens into a seven bay nave leading to the crossing, from which wide transepts extend three bays each to north and south. East of the crossing are four rectangular bays terminating in a semicircular apse. The nave and transepts are flanked by single aisles, broadening to a double-aisled ambulatory around the choir and apse. From the ambulatory three deep semi-circular chapels radiate (overlying the deep chapels of Fulbert's 11th-century crypt).[13]

While the floor plan was traditional, the elevation was bolder and more original, thanks to the use of the flying buttress to support the upper walls. This was the first known use in a Gothic cathedral.[14] These heavy columns of stone were joined to the walls by double stone arches, and reinforced by columns, like the spokes of a wheel. Each of these columns is made from a single piece of stone. The arches press against the walls, counterbalancing the outward thrust from the rib vaults over the cathedral interior. These vaults were also innovative, having just four compartments, unlike the six-part vaults of earlier Gothic churches. They were lighter and could cross a greater distance. Since the flying buttresses were experimental, the architect prudently added additional buttresses concealed under roofs of the aisles.[13]

The elevations of earlier Gothic cathedrals usually had four levels to give them solidity; an arcade of massive columns on the ground floor, supporting a wide arched tribune gallery or tribune, below a narrower arcade triforium; then, under the roof, the higher and thinner walls, or clerestory, where the windows were. Thanks to the buttresses, the architects of Chartres could eliminate the gallery entirely, make the triforium very narrow, and have much more room for windows above. Chartres was not the first cathedral to use this innovation, but it used it much more consistently and effectively throughout. This buttressing plan was adopted by the other major 13th-century cathedrals, notably Amiens Cathedral and Reims Cathedral.[13]

Another architectural innovation at Chartres was the design of the massive piers or pillars on the ground floor which receive the weight of the roof through the thin stone ribs of vaults above. The weight of the roof is carried by the thin stone ribs of the vaults outwards to the walls, where it is counterbalanced by the flying buttresses, and downwards, first through columns made ribs joined together, then by alternating round and octagonal solid cored piers, each of which bundles together four half-columns. This pier design, known as pilier cantonné, was strong, simple, and elegant, and permitted the large stained glass windows of the clerestory, or upper level. most notably Gothic churches.[13]

Although the sculpture on the portals at Chartres is generally of a high standard, the various carved elements inside, such as the capitals and string courses, are relatively poorly finished (when compared for example with those at Reims or Soissons) – the reason is simply that the portals were carved from the finest Parisian limestone, or ' 'calcaire' ', while the internal capitals were carved from the local "Berchères stone", that is hard to work and can be brittle.

• 
  Central tympanum of the Royal portal. Christ seated on a throne, surrounded by the symbols of the Evangelists; a winged man for St. Matthew, a lion for St. Mark; a bull for St. Luke; and an eagle for St. John.
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  Jambs of the centre doorway of the Royal Portal, with statues of the men and women of the Old Testament
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  West portal, tympanum of left door. It depicts Christ on a cloud, supported by two angels, above a row of figures representing the labours of the months and signs of the Zodiac[20]

One of the few parts of the cathedral to survive the 1194 fire, the Portail royal was integrated into the new cathedral. Opening on to the parvis (the large square in front of the cathedral where markets were held), the two lateral doors would have been the first entry point for most visitors to Chartres, as they remain today. The central door is only opened for the entry of processions on major festivals, of which the most important is the Adventus or installation of a new bishop.[21] The harmonious appearance of the façade results in part from the relative proportions of the central and lateral portals, whose widths are in the ratio 10:7 – one of the common medieval approximations of the square root of 2.

As well as their basic functions of providing access to the interior, portals are the main locations for sculpted images on the Gothic cathedral and it is on the west façade at Chartres that this practice began to develop into a visual summa or encyclopedia of theological knowledge. Each of the three portals focuses on a different aspect of Christ's role in salvation history; his earthly incarnation on the right, his Ascension or existence before the Incarnation on the left, and his Second Coming (the Theophanic Vision) in the centre.[18]

Above the right portal, the lintel is carved in two registers with (lower) the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Annunciation to the Shepherds and (upper) the Presentation in the Temple. Above this the tympanum shows the Virgin and Child enthroned in the Sedes sapientiae pose. Surrounding the tympanum, as a reminder of the glory days of the School of Chartres, the archivolts are carved with some very distinctive personifications of the Seven Liberal Arts as well as the classical authors and philosophers most closely associated with them.

The left portal is more enigmatic and art historians still argue over the correct identification. The tympanum shows Christ standing on a cloud, apparently supported by two angels. Some see this as a depiction of the Ascension of Christ (in which case the figures on the lower lintel would represent the disciples witnessing the event) while others see it as representing the Parousia, or Second Coming of Christ (in which case the lintel figures could be either the prophets who foresaw that event or else the 'Men of Galilee' mentioned in Acts 1:9-11). The presence of angels in the upper lintel, descending from a cloud and apparently shouting to those below, would seem to support the latter interpretation. The archivolts contain the signs of the zodiac and the labours of the months – standard references to the cyclical nature of time which appear in many Gothic portals.

The central portal is a more conventional representation of the End of Time as described in the Book of Revelation. In the centre of the tympanum is Christ within a mandorla, surrounded by the four symbols of the evangelists (the Tetramorph). The lintel shows the Twelve Apostles while the archivolts show the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse.

Although the upper parts of the three portals are treated separately, two sculptural elements run horizontally across the façade, uniting its different parts. Most obvious are the jamb statues affixed to the columns flanking the doorways – tall, slender standing figures of kings and queens from whom the Portail royal derived its name. Although in the 18th and 19th century these figures were mistakenly identified as the Merovingian monarchs of France (thus attracting the opprobrium of Revolutionary iconoclasts) they almost certainly represent the kings and queens of the Old Testament – another standard iconographical feature of Gothic portals.

Less obvious than the jamb statues but far more intricately carved is the frieze that stretches all across the façade in the sculpted capitals on top of the jamb columns. Carved into these capitals is a very lengthy narrative depicting the life of the Virgin and the life and Passion of Christ.[22]

• 
  Saint Anne holding the infant Virgin Mary on the trumeau of the central portal of the north transept
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  The tympanum over the center portal of the north transept. On the lintel are the Dormition (Death) and Assumption of the Virgin. Above is the Coronation of the Virgin: Mary, in her living body, will rule the heavens alongside her Son Christ.
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  New Testament figures Simeon, John the Baptist, and Saint Peter, with his keys
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  Unidentified characters from the Old Testament

The statuary of the north transept portals is devoted to the Old Testament, and the events leading up to the birth of Christ, with particular emphasis on the Virgin Mary.[23] The glorification of Mary in the centre, the incarnation of her son on the left and Old Testament prefigurations and prophecies on the right. One major exception to this scheme is the presence of large statues of St Modesta (a local martyr) and St Potentian on the north west corner of the porch, close to a small doorway where pilgrims visiting the crypt (where their relics were stored) would once have emerged[18]

As well as the main sculptural areas around the portals themselves, the deep porches are filled with other carvings depicting a range of subjects including local saints, Old Testament narratives, naturalistic foliage, fantastical beasts, Labours of the Months and personifications of the 'active and contemplative lives' (the vita activa and vita contemplativa). The personifications of the vita activa (directly overhead, just inside the inside of the left hand porch) are of particular interest for their meticulous depictions of the various stages in the preparation of flax – an important cash crop in the area during the Middle Ages.

• 
  Christian Martyrs framing the South Portal (13th century); including the "Perfect Knight" Roland,(far left) and Saint George (second from right)
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  Central doorway of the South Portal, with column statue of Christ. His feet rest on a lion and a dragon.
• 
  The Apostles

The south portal, which was added later than the others, in the 13th century, is devoted to events after the Crucifixion of Christ, and particularly to the Christian martyrs. The decoration of the central bay concentrates on the Last Judgement and the Apostles; the left bay on the lives of martyrs; and the right bay is devoted to confessor saints. This arrangement is repeated in the stained glass windows of the apse. The arches and columns of the porch are lavishly decorated with sculpture representing the labours of the months, the signs of the zodiac, and statues representing the virtues and vices. On top of the porch, between the gables, are pinnacles in the arcades with statues of eighteen Kings, beginning with King David, representing the lineage of Christ, and linking the Old Testament and the New.[24]

• 
  Lancet windows under the west rose window; the Jesse Window or genealogy of Christ (right); Life of Christ (center), and the Passion of Christ (left)
• 
  Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière » or the Blue Virgin (c.1180 and 1225)
• 
  Detail of the Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière

These are the oldest windows in the cathedral. The right window, the Jesse Window, depicts the genealogy of Christ. The middle window depicts the life of Christ, and the left window depicts the Passion of Christ, from the Transfiguration and Last Supper to the Resurrection.[28][29] All three of these windows were originally made around 1145 but were restored in the early 13th century and again in the 19th.[27]

The other 12th-century window, perhaps the most famous at Chartres, is the "Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière", or "The Blue Virgin". It is found in the first bay of the choir after the south transept. Most windows are made up of around 25 to 30 individual panels showing distinct episodes within the narrative; only Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière includes a larger image made up of multiple panels. This window is actually a composite; the upper part, showing the Virgin and Child surrounded by adoring angels, dates from around 1180 and was probably positioned at the centre of the apse in the earlier building. The Virgin is depicted wearing a blue robe and sitting in a frontal pose on a throne, with the Christ Child seated on her lap raising his hand in blessing. This composition, known as the Sedes sapientiae ("Throne of Wisdom"), which also appears on the Portail royal, is based on the famous cult figure kept in the crypt. The lower part of the window, showing scenes from the infancy of Christ, dates from the main glazing campaign around 1225.[27]

• 
  The west rose window c. 1215
• 
  North transept rose window, c. 1235
• 
  South transept rose window, c. 1221–1230

The cathedral has three large rose windows. The western rose (c. 1215, 12 m in diameter) shows the Last Judgement – a traditional theme for west façades. A central oculus showing Christ as the Judge is surrounded by an inner ring of twelve paired roundels containing angels and the Elders of the Apocalypse and an outer ring of 12 roundels showing the dead emerging from their tombs and the angels blowing trumpets to summon them to judgement.

The north transept rose (10.5 m diameter, c. 1235), like much of the sculpture in the north porch beneath it, is dedicated to the Virgin.[30] The central oculus shows the Virgin and Child and is surrounded by twelve small petal-shaped windows, 4 with doves (the 'Four Gifts of the Spirit'), the rest with adoring angels carrying candlesticks. Beyond this is a ring of twelve diamond-shaped openings containing the Old Testament Kings of Judah, another ring of smaller lozenges containing the arms of France and Castille, and finally a ring of semicircles containing Old Testament Prophets holding scrolls. The presence of the arms of the French king (yellow fleurs-de-lis on a blue background) and of his mother, Blanche of Castile (yellow castles on a red background) are taken as a sign of royal patronage for this window. Beneath the rose itself are five tall lancet windows (7.5 m high) showing, in the centre, the Virgin as an infant held by her mother, St Anne – the same subject as the trumeau in the portal beneath it. Flanking this lancet are four more containing Old Testament figures. Each of these standing figures is shown symbolically triumphing over an enemy depicted in the base of the lancet beneath them – David over Saul, Aaron over Pharaoh, St Anne over Synagoga, etc.

The south transept rose (10.5 m diameter, made c.1225–30) is dedicated to Christ, who is shown in the central oculus, right hand raised in benediction, surrounded by adoring angels. Two outer rings of twelve circles each contain the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse, crowned and carrying phials and musical instruments. The central lancet beneath the rose shows the Virgin carrying the infant Christ. Either side of this are four lancets showing the four evangelists sitting on the shoulders of four Prophets – a rare literal illustration of the theological principle that the New Testament builds upon the Old Testament. This window was a donation of the Mauclerc family, the Counts of Dreux-Bretagne, who are depicted with their arms in the bases of the lancets.[31]

• 
  Scene from the Good Samaritan Window; Christ tells the Good Samaritan parable to the Pharisees (1205-1235)
• 
  the entire Good Samaritan window (1205-1235)
• 
  Shoemakers at work in the Good Samaritan window (1205-1235)

Each bay of the aisles and the choir ambulatory contains one large lancet window, most of them roughly 8.1m high by 2.2m wide.[32] The subjects depicted in these windows, made between 1205 and 1235, include stories from the Old and New Testament and the Lives of the Saints as well as typological cycles and symbolic images such as the signs of the zodiac and labours of the months. One of the most famous examples is the Good Samaritan parable.

Several of the windows at Chartres include images of local tradesmen or labourers in the lowest two or three panels, often with details of their equipment and working methods. Traditionally it was claimed that these images represented the guilds of the donors who paid for the windows. In recent years however this view has largely been discounted, not least because each window would have cost around as much as a large mansion house to make – while most of the labourers depicted would have been subsistence workers with little or no disposable income. Furthermore, although they became powerful and wealthy organisations in the later medieval period, none of these trade guilds had actually been founded when the glass was being made in the early 13th century.[33] Another possible explanation is that the Cathedral clergy wanted to emphasise the universal reach of the Church, particularly at a time when their relationship with the local community was often a troubled one.

Because of their greater distance from the viewer, the windows in the clerestory generally adopt simpler, bolder designs. Most feature the standing figure of a saint or Apostle in the upper two-thirds, often with one or two simplified narrative scenes in the lower part, either to help identify the figure or else to remind the viewer of some key event in their life. Whereas the lower windows in the nave arcades and the ambulatory consist of one simple lancet per bay, the clerestory windows are each made up of a pair of lancets with a plate-traceried rose window above. The nave and transept clerestory windows mainly depict saints and Old Testament prophets. Those in the choir depict the kings of France and Castile and members of the local nobility in the straight bays, while the windows in the apse hemicycle show those Old Testament prophets who foresaw the virgin birth, flanking scenes of the Annunciation, Visitation and Nativity in the axial window.

Window of the Vendôme Chapel, c.1415

On the whole, Chartres' windows have been remarkably fortunate. The medieval glass largely escaped harm during the Huguenot iconoclasm and the religious wars of the 16th century although the west rose sustained damage from artillery fire in 1591. The relative darkness of the interior seems to have been a problem for some. A few windows were replaced with much lighter grisaille glass in the 14th century to improve illumination, particularly on the north side[34] and several more were replaced with clear glass in 1753 as part of the reforms to liturgical practice that also led to the removal of the jubé. The installation of the Vendôme Chapel between two buttresses of the nave in the early 15th century resulted in the loss of one more lancet window, though it did allow for the insertion of a fine late-gothic window with donor portraits of Louis de Bourbon and his family witnessing the Coronation of the Virgin with assorted saints.

Although estimates vary (depending on how one counts compound or grouped windows) approximately 152 of the original 176 stained glass windows survive – far more than any other medieval cathedral anywhere in the world.

Like most medieval buildings, the windows at Chartres suffered badly from the corrosive effects of atmospheric acids during the Industrial Revolution and thereafter. The majority of windows were cleaned and restored by the famous local workshop Atelier Lorin at the end of the 19th century but they continued to deteriorate. During World War II most of the stained glass was removed from the cathedral and stored in the surrounding countryside to protect it from damage. At the close of the war the windows were taken out of storage and reinstalled. Since then an ongoing programme of conservation has been underway and isothermal secondary glazing was gradually installed on the exterior to protect the windows from further damage.