Chartres Favorites

Favorite thing: Stained glass served three purposes in the Gothic Cathedral; it contributed to the beauty of the building, it allowed more light into the space (remember: in the middle ages "light" was associated with God) and finally, it served as a textbook for the illiterate congregation of the villages. The windows can be read just like a book and medieval villagers learned many biblical stories from the windows.

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.

Favorite thing: Several alterations have been made to the cathedral. The northwest tower's distinctive spire (in the picture) was added in the early 1500s. This is the tallest of the two spires and is labeled flamboyant Gothic in style, which contrasts sharply with the rather plain Romanesque spire in the southwest corner.

Fondest memory: The spire is very ornate, it must have taken years of carving.

Favorite thing: A lancet is a single window with a pointed arched head and the stained glass panels always tell a biblical story. The 12th-century lancet window in the picture is entitled the Jesse Tree, it traces Christ's genealogy. The tree rises up from Jesse, father of David, at the bottom to Christ enthroned at the top. You can see it below the West Rose Window, if you have sun advantage, you will marvel at the colors.

Fondest memory: The colors in this lancet are so vivid they shine like jewels were embedded in the window. Truly an amazing piece of art.

Favorite thing: We visited Chartres cathedral on Assumption Day. Before the ceremony a Black Madonna was carried in and reverantly set upon a throne. The parishners each visited the Madonna with either a touch or a prayer. I'm not sure if this was the statue from 13th century that was taken from its resting place in the underground crypt or if its the statue from 1856.

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.

Fondest memory: 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.

Favorite thing: The oldest parts of the cathedral are its crypt and the west portal, or Royal Portal, which are remnants of a Romanesque church that was mostly destroyed by fire in 1194.

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.

Favorite thing: The 13th Century Labyrinth set in the nave floor was a feature in most medieval cathedrals. It was penance for the pilgrims to followed the tortuous route on their knees - this was their Way of the Cross since Jerusalem was so far away. It's 851 feet (262m) around the bands of broken concentric circles and took at least an hour to complete.

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.

Favorite thing: The South Rose Window illustrates the Apocalyse with Christ in Majesty (1225).

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.

Favorite thing: As you can see the sides of this facade do not match as there are two completely different spires rising up from it's corners.

In this west facade is the West Rose Window (1215) with Christ seated inthe center shows the Last Judgment.

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