More about Chatres Cathedral!

Hello guys!! Welcome back to my blog, mixed feelings going around now since this will be my second last post, but actually technically this is supposed to be my last post but i miscalculated a little so one more extra entry later! I'll be talking about the interior of Chartres Cathedral today and for my extra blog post i will be wrapping things up and give you guys more in depth of what I think of what define a religious building! So stay tuned. <3

Still remember how Chartres Cathedral looks like from the outside? Let's rewind a little.  Chartres Cathedral is recognized as one of the three masterpieces of the French Gothic style alongside the cathedrals of Amiens and Reims (Lewis, 2008). Chartres Cathedral is known for its windows, which are regarded as the most harmonious and vivacious collections of stained glass ever assembled. Chartres Cathedral consists of flying buttresses to resist the stress of the vaults and arches. Moreover, the cathedral is known for its two contrasting spires, south and north tower. Chartres Cathedral also has a cycle of sculpture in the portals.

(Chartres Cathedral Historical Facts and Pictures, 2014)

Inside Chartres Cathedral, the internal space is breathtaking, the Gothic vault uses pointed arches, this makes the space lighter with more defined thrusts, combined with flying buttresses, the construction is able to carry a great deal of weight, including the stained glasses. The unbroken line of vision down the 128m long nave, from the western entrance through the wide choir to the rounded double ambulatory (Lewis, 2008).  ''The clustered columns run from the plain bases to the vault directing the eyes to the large stained class windows'' (Sacred-destinations.com, 2016).

(Williams, 2015)

Columns rise from the base to the high pointed vault.

(Best of Catholic Architecture, 2015)

Throughout the cathedral, it's filled with stained glass as it retains one of the most complete collections of medieval stained glass. The stained glass has this vivid colour splash and imitable cobalt blue colour this helps in adding the dimension of colour to the light into the cathedral. The stained glasses depict scenes from biblical history for example, the rose windows above the central entrance portal depicts the Last Judgement (French Moments, 2012). Rose windows are characteristic of the Gothic style. They are large circular wheel windows which was rare in the ancient times as it was new for them to be able to carve out a circular shape instead of their regular rigid rectangular stained glasses.

One of the Rose Windows of Chatres Cathedral.

(Bull, 2013)

(cathedral plans, and facts, 2016)

''The plan is cruciform, with a 92-foot-long nave and short transepts to the south and north. The east end is rounded, with five semi-circular chapels radiating from it'' (Newworldencyclopedia.org, 2013). As for the orientation one would realize cathedrals are not reliably oriented east-west, but variable.

The main altar usually are at the ‘eastern’ end, the prime public entrance is at the ‘west’, with side entrance at ‘north’ and ‘south’ (Abelard.org, 2013).

and....... that's it from me today, just a rough introduction of interior of Chartres Cathedral. I like how the cathedral exerts the mystical and holy vibe and apparently the architecture and ornamentation did a good job. On the other hand, Church of the Light by Tadao Ando is a great example of minimalist Church, Tadao Ando makes use of natural light he uses the cross cut in the concrete wall that allows penetration of sunlight to make one feels peace in the church. The contrary between Chatres Cathedral and Church of the Light are huge and obvious, so which do you prefer?

References :

Sacred-destinations.com. (2016). Chartres Cathedral - Chartres, France. [online] Available at: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Newworldencyclopedia.org. (2013). Chartres Cathedral - New World Encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Chartres_Cathedral [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

French Moments. (2012). Chartres Cathedral - French Moments. [online] Available at: http://frenchmoments.eu/chartres-cathedral/ [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Abelard.org. (2013). cathedral plans, and facts | France zone at abelard.org. [online] Available at: http://www.abelard.org/france/cathedral_plans_facts.php [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Lewis, M. (2008). Architectura. Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barrons Educational Series.

Image Sources :

Best of Catholic Architecture. (2015). [image] Available at: http://www.suscipedomine.com/forum/index.php?topic=9940.0 [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Bull, P. (2013). Another of THE Great Cathedrals?. [image] Available at: https://enthusiastical.wordpress.com/category/cathedral/page/2/ [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

cathedral plans, and facts. (2013). [image] Available at: http://www.abelard.org/france/cathedral_plans_facts.php [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Chartres Cathedral Historical Facts and Pictures. (2014). [image] Available at: http://www.thehistoryhub.com/chartres-cathedral-facts-pictures.htm [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].

Williams, M. (2015). Iconic Buildings: Chartres Cathedral. [image] Available at: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/blueprintforliving/iconic-buildings3a-chartres-cathedral/6642224 [Accessed 19 Jun. 2016].