The Chartres Cathedral is one of the most notable pieces of gothic architecture, and many people have been impressed and in awe of the cathedral since it has been built. This includes American filmmaker, Orson Welles. In his final film he highlights the Chartres Cathedral by saying: This has been standing here for centuries. The premier work of man perhaps in the whole Western world, and it’s without a signature: Chartres. A celebration to God’s glory and to the dignity of man (Orson Welles, F is for Fake) Orson, like many others, comments on the beauty and prestigious work that is encapsulated in the Chartres Cathedral.
Since being built, the Chartres Cathedral has had a tremendous effect on the Western world. The cathedral represents more than just the architectural features and the work that went into it; it also shows a lot about religious life, the economics of Europe in the Middle Ages, and the culture of France. Standing at over 400 feet, the Chartres Cathedral is a grand cathedral, and one of the tallest buildings at the time of construction. The Chartres Cathedral has been built and rebuilt several times, but it still stands in Chartres, France.
Christians built the cathedral in 1145. The cathedral was a church in honor of the Virgin Mary because Charles the Bald donated a piece of the tunic that Mary was supposedly wearing during the birth of Jesus. Carvers, who worked on both the building itself and the sculptures, labored tirelessly over the span of thirty years to create the cathedral. There was very advanced technology in place to create the cathedral. The massive columns, arches, and other architectural features required an expansive knowledge of math and science.
The materials used have stood the test of ime, and other than natural disasters, there has been no problem in maintaining the cathedral. There are many different and unique features to the Chartres cathedral such as the Gothic architecture, stained glass that is present all around the Chartres, the sculptures, the different facades, and the crypt. The Chartres has all of the elements of Gothic architecture that had just been emerging during the time of construction. This includes the pointed arches, the flying buttresses, and the ribbed vaults. One of the most known features of the Chartres is the stained glass windows.
The Chartres Cathedral contains 176 different windows. The windows were created to be educational, and they often contained stories from the Old and New Testament. Like the theme of Christian education with the stained glass, sculptures also played a similar role. The Chartres contains a large amount of sculptures ranging from columns to miniatures. They also teach about the Old and New Testament. One of the oldest parts of the cathedral was a crypt, which survived all of the destruction that the rest of the building had faced time and time again.
Due to how early on the crypt was built, it still has some Romanesque architectural features. Different facades The Cathedral had many different facades. The western facade, like the crypt, was one of the only surviving pieces of architecture from the fire of 1020. There are three major facades, each with a rose stained glass window. These all had different sculptures and scriptures. The cathedral also had a school built into it, and it was very famous at the time. The school attracted many scholars and it was a pivotal place for education during the middle ages. The school specialized in the study of logic.
Many influential thinkers went the cathedral school, including John of Salisbury, who went on to become an author and a bishop. The cathedral was also home to many forward thinkers of the Middle Ages. These were many of the architectural features of the Chartres Cathedral. The Chartres Cathedral relates back to the AP World History curriculum in many ways, including economics, culture, technology, and intellect. Economically speaking, the church was funded by Christians. The mass amount of Christians who made the pilgrimage to Chartres also greatly helped the economy.
Donations came from all over Europe, even as far as England because of Mary’s affiliation with the church. The church also became a place for labor exchange and a marketplace for goods. Culturally, it was a popular pilgrimage destination for Christian all throughout the middle ages. The complex architecture and craftsmanship involved in building the cathedral shows the technology that the builders of that time had. Finally, there was a school built into the cathedral. The Chartres Cathedral still stands today, and it is still as popular as it has been since being built.
The many unique architectural features make it one of the most beautiful cathedrals. It is also an invaluable historical look into life in the middle ages, with aspects of culture, technology, economics, and intellect being prevalent in the cathedral. The Chartres is one of the most well preserved cathedrals in France. Despite being built in 1145, all or almost all of the stained glass is the same from the original, and some features still remain from the very first building in 1020. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a very popular destination in France. It is also still a very prominent pilgrimage site for Christians all over the world.
