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Chartres Cathedral Essay

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Chartres Cathedral Essay
Chartres Cathedral, begun in the 12th century and completed in the 13th century, the cathedral functioned as a kind of marketplace. It is a monument of religious art with many different aspects to discover, its architecture that became a model for great Gothic cathedrals, an exceptional ensemble of stained-glass windows from the 12th and 13th centuries - the largest amount in the world. It is famous for its French Gothic character, including the soaring height built upon the Latin cross floor plan, which is easily seen from overhead. The design follows ultimately from the fourthth century Constantinian basilica of Old St. Peter’s The Cathedral of Notre-Dame At Chartres is southwest of Paris. Built of lime stone and glass it is at the site …show more content…
With thinner walls, larger windows and high pointed arched vaults, the distinctive flying buttresses were used to support the massive weight of its high clerestory windows. Masons oversaw the constrution. Mortar had to harden for 3 to 6 months so the construction crew moved from site to site. Fewer than 100 master builders are believed to have been responsible for the major projets around Paris durng the century long building boom. It was very dangerours work and often their names were incscribe in the labyrinths on the cathedral floors. Often masters were buried along with patrons and biships in the cathedrals they built. Chartres Cathedral is 112 feet high and 427 feet long. At Chartres, nearly all of the 176 windows were filled with dense deep blue and red stained glass, creating a hazy purple light filtering through the narrative and symbolic windows was the main source of illumination and light. There are three large rose windows. The cathedral includes a wide nave flanked by single aisles which widen into a double aisled ambulatory around the choir and apse, a high vault, spacious transepts with side aisles. It has three stories. The cathedral houses a piece of linen that may have been worn by Mary when she birthed Jesus that is believed to have

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