Chartres - Cathédrale Notre-Dame

There have been five cathedrals on this site. One was destroyed by Visigothic troops mid of the 8th century. The successive cathedral was burnt down by Vikings ("Danes") in 858. The carolingian structure that was erected within the next decades was burnt down in 962 by troops led by Richard I of Normandy (aka "Richard the Fearless", "Richard Sans-Peur").

The rebuilding started again, but whatever was completed got destroyed by a fire, caused accidently, in 1020. The erection of a Romanesque cathedral started and most of the still existing crypt dates back to that building.

In 1134, another fire damaged the town and large parts of the cathedral. The towers got repaired and rebuilt and the portal between them got created. Another blaze hit the town in June 1194. The cathedral was burnt down. Construction works started the same year. The western towers and the undamaged western portal ("Portail Royal") got integrated into the new building.

The nave was already vaulted in 1220, the transept and the stained windows were completed in 1260. On 24 October 1260, only 66 years after the start of construction, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame was consecrated in the presence of Louis IX of France (aka "Saint Louis", "le Prudhomme").

Since Charles the Bald, Louis the Pious´ son, had given the "Sancta Camisia" to the cathedral in 876. Because of this "Veil of the Virgin" Chartres developed into a very important Marian pilgrimage center in medieval times.

The "Portail Royal" is part of the cathedral´s western façade. This portal survived the fire, that destroyed the preceding cathedral in 1194. The portal was carved by 1150, a visible transition from Romanesque to Gothic style.

The upper part of the Royal Portal´s right portal is seen here. This portal is the entrance for thousands of visitors every day.

The lintel is carved in two registers. The lower one depicts (from left to right) the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Nativity (ox and ass have lost their heads), the Adoration to the Shepherds. The Presentation in the Temple is seen on the upper register.

The tympanum is seen as a "Sedes Sapientiae", Virgin and Child enthroned, flanked by two censing angels. The archivolts, surrounding the tympanum, are carved with personifications of the Seven Liberal Arts. "Music" (inner archivolt, right side) holds vielle and organum and plays a carillon.