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 Black Madonna by Goner
The story is told that the Christian missionaries first coming to the area of Chartres found the indigenous peoples worshipping a statue of a woman giving birth. The missionaries concluded this was a "pre-figuration" of the Virgin Mary and that the people were already Christians — they just didn't know it. A sanctuary was built around the original mother statue. She continued as the center piece of each succeeding church including the present cathedral built in the 1100's. During the French revolution a statue was deliberately destroyed and in 1856 a dark wooden sculpture was created to replace it.
Many images of the Black Madonna still exist today, mostly in Europe, and France has at least half of them. Most of the Black Madonnas are found in churches, chapels and sanctuaries. A few are in museums. Most are sculpted, usually out of wood, sometimes from stone and one was cast in lead. Some were destroyed, some have disappeared or are in private collections, a few have been lightened or repainted and are no longer black. Sometimes an ancient Black Virgin is destroyed and replaced by another.
I had read that the Black Madonnas were made of black walnut and the already dark wood aged even darker over centuries - is this true? I don't know, but it was exciting to see the Madonna and her ceremonial entrance. Leave a Comment
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 Exterior View by Goner
Stained-glass making was very popular during the 1300's-1400's. The glass was made from river sand, beechwood, and potash. Colors were made by adding metal oxides that were fused to the mixture. The pieces were assembled like a large puzzle and held together by lead. The glass was held together by two methods: bar tracery or plate tracery. Bar tracery is where thin stone bars were used to form a decorative pattern within the window opening and then the glass was inserted into the pattern. Leave a Comment
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 Tree of Jesse by Goner
The colors in this lancet are so vivid they shine like jewels were embedded in the window. Truly an amazing piece of art. Leave a Comment
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 Labyrinth by Goner
In walking the Chartres style labyrinth the walker meanders through each of the four quadrants several times before reaching the goal. To reach the rosette at the center is the symbol of of enlightenment. The four arms of the cross are readily visible and provide significant Christian symbolism.
It is laid into the floor in a style sometimes referred to as a pavement maze. The original center piece has been removed and other areas of the labyrinth have been restored. You'll find this maze when entering from the Royal Portal. Leave a Comment
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 Royal Portal by Goner
The central tympanum (space within the arch above the lintel) illustrates the Apocalypse with a central Christ surrounded by four beasts (Revelations 4-5); the twenty-four Elders and angels are in the voussoirs (wedge shaped stones). The tympanum to the left depicts Christ's Incarnation, the one to the right, his Ascension; thus the three tympana read together present a unified theme: Christ's entry into human history, his departure, and the end of time.
Fourteen figures occupy the lintel, identified as the twelve apostles, to whom Christ said at the Last Supper, "You shall sit on thrones as judges of the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:30) and Enoch and Elijah at either end.
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 The Sud Rose Window by Goner
It would take hours, more like days, just to view all the windows and learn what they are illustrating. Each window is divided into panels, which are usually read from left to right, bottom to top (earth to heaven). The number of figures or abstract shapes used is symbolic; three stands for the Church, squares and the number four symbolize the material world of the four elements, circles for eternal life. Leave a Comment
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 Door Jambs by Goner
For more information on the sculptures, check out http://ww.blufflon.edu Leave a Comment
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 The Modern Windows by Goner
The extensive window area would not have been possible were it not for the flying buttress construction method. It lowered the load-bearing responsibilities of the Chartres Cathedral walls, allowing them to be taller and full of sizeable holes for the windows. Leave a Comment
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 The Assumption by Goner
Chartres is definitely a cathedral dedicated to Mary. There are no less than 175 representations of the Virgin in the cathedral and with the precense of the Black Madonna and the " Virgin's Chemise ", called today the " Veil of the Virgin ", Chartres has been the center of pilgrimages to honor the Virgin. The Chemise is a piece of silk five metres in length. According to a recent expert evaluation (1927), the fabric could well date from the first century after Christ. The sovereign's of Constantinople had given it to the Western Emperor at the beginning of the 9th century. Around 876 Charles the Bald, grandson of Charlemagne, offered the precious relic to the cathedral, that he had withdrawn from the treasury of Aix-la-Chapelle. Leave a Comment
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 The Nativity by Goner
This is such an amazing church, I would love to go back and take another look - just unforgetable. Leave a Comment
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- Les Chandelles Bed & Breakfast
19 rue des Sablons Villiers-le-Morhier, Eure-et-Loir, Chartres - Best Western Le Grand Monarque
22 Place Des Epars, Chartres - Hotel Chatelet
6-8 av. Jehan-de-Beauce, Chartres - Novotel Chartres
Avenue Marcel Proust BP 817, Chartres Cedex, Chartres - Kyriad Chartres
Angle Rd 24 et Avenue Gustave Eiffel, Chartres - Comfort Hotel Chartres
ZA Forum du Coudray Beauce Angle Rocade-Route d'Orleans, Chartres - Ibis Chartres Centre Cathedrale
14, place Drouaise, Chartres - Mercure Chartres Barjouville
Rue des Pierres Missigault ZA Barjouville "La Torche", Chartres - Hotel Jehan de Beauce
19 Av Jehan de Beauce, Chartres - Hotel Campanile Chartres
Za Des Propylees Route de Gallardon Zac Des Propyles, Chartres
Local Merchants in Chartres
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