Chartres Cathedral... information?

Question

Can anyone give me some basic info on the Chartres Cathedral? Like, about its history? Thanx!!!

Answer 1

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), located in Chartres, about 80 km from Paris, is considered one of the finest examples in all France of the Gothic style of architecture.

Chartres is a cathedral that inspires superlatives, and there are few architectural historians who have not waxed lyrical about its soaring aisles and delicate carving. These tributes are richly deserved, for Chartres is truly one of the greatest of all French Gothic cathedrals. From a distance it seems to hover in mid-air above waving fields of wheat, and it is only when the visitor draws closer that the city comes into view, clustering around the hill on which the cathedral stands. Its two contrasting spires — one, a 105 metre (349 ft) plain pyramid dating from the 1140s, and the other a 113 metre (377 ft) tall early 16th century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower — soar upwards over the pale green roof, while all around the outside are complex flying buttresses.

Begun in the 12th century under the driving influence of the local bishop, the cathedral established several new architectural features never seen before (flying buttresses and the arches used) and pioneered new techniques for construction at high elevations above ground (such as the conversion of war machines known as trebuchets into hoisting cranes). Before this, nothing had ever been built at such heights.

During its early construction, the cathedral was burned down once, nearly consumed by fire a second time, and formed the focal point of several tax revolts and riots which were incited by a local countess and influential town burgers who opposed the increased influence of the church and especially the onerous taxes being used to finance its construction. The cathedral is still the seat of the Diocese of Chartres, in the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical province of Tours.

The existing cathedral at Chartres is another of the French Gothic masterpieces built because fire had destroyed its predecessors. After the first cathedral of any great substance burnt down in 1020 (prior to this, other churches on the site had disappeared in smoke), a glorious new Romanesque basilica, which included a massive crypt, was built under the direction of Bishop Fulbert and later under the direction of Geoffroy de Lèves. However, having survived a fire in 1134 which destroyed much of the rest of the town, disaster struck yet again in the night from the 10th to 11th June 1194 when lightning created a blaze that left only the west towers, the façade between them and the crypt.

Construction of a new building on the Romanesque foundations of the earlier church (destroyed by fire in 1134) was begun in 1145 in a blaze of enthusiasm dubbed the 'Cult of the Carts.' During this religious outburst a crowd of more than a thousand penitents dragged carts filled with building provisions including stones, wood, grain, etc. to the site.[2] In 1194 a fire destroyed all but the west front of the cathedral (and much of the town), so that part is in the "early Gothic" style. The body of the cathedral was rebuilt between 1194 and 1220, a remarkably short span for medieval cathedrals. It has a ground area of 117 058 square feet (10 875 m²).



Jamb statues of Old Testament queen and two kingsRebuilding, with the help of donations from all over France, began almost immediately, using the plans laid out by the first architect, still anonymous, in order to preserve the harmonious aspect of the Cathedral. The enthusiasm for the project was such that the people of the city voluntarily gathered to haul the stone needed from local quarries 5 miles (8 km) away.