Preview

Chartres Cathedral Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
875 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
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

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The church was designed in such a beautiful way that people come just to see the decorated chapels. There are two of these chapels - the lower chapel and the upper chapel. The lower chapel is highly decorated, and is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. During the reign of King Louis IX, this area of the cathedral was reserved for palace staff. The architecture in this chapel is stunning; the ceiling is painted to appear a starry sky, the walls hold representations of the Apostles, and even the floor holds tombstones of reverends and treasurers of the Sainte-Chapelle. The one negative thing about the lower chapel is that it is quite dark. This is a contrast to the upper chapel. The upper chapel is light and full of color, and is known as the “Highlight of the Monument.” The decorations show art and religion working harmoniously, and there is a sense of holiness in this area because this is the chapel in which the Holy Relics were kept. Although both of these chapels are very beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful thing of all in this cathedral are the stained glass windows. Appearing in dominant colors of blue and red, there are about 600 square meters of these stained glass windows. The art dates back to a long time ago - the twelfth century craftsmanship is ancient, yet so perfect to the cathedral. What is even more stunning about these window panes is that they can be read in arches that go from left to right. In fact, they tell…

    • 688 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Patrick’s old Cathedral I immediately noticed how beautiful the building looked from the outside. The building is in great condition and it looks like it was just built a few years ago and when I did research on it I was very surprised when I found out that it is over 200 years old. When I went inside the church, I was amazed by the beauty of the church from the inside too. I first saw the huge altar in the front of the church and the amazing bright colors on the stained glass window above the altar. My eyes were also drawn right to the tall statues that are sitting around the back of the altar. The tall pillars inside the church running from the entrance towards the altar were also beautiful and makes the church look great. I was amazed that the church looks so beautiful even though it is so old and I am also very surprised that the architects who built were able to build it even though they didn’t have the technology that we have…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bayeux Tapestry Essay

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Throughout this course, we have gained knowledge of many intriguing topics such as the Bayeux Tapestry, the Sistine Chapel, Black Death, and the Martin Luther King’s Ninety-Five Theses. The two topics that stood out to me were the Bayeux Tapestry and Black Death.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    cathedral questions

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages

    1. In the beginning when the blind man came to their house for the first time, he judged Robert because he was blind. "And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed." The narrator changes his mind when Robert told him to draw the Cathedral on the paper.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    French Gothic Cathedrals

    • 1741 Words
    • 7 Pages

    One of the most notable differences is their preference on verticality versus horizontality, which can be considered to be opposition to each other in style features. They used architectural features such as vertical vault shafts to highlight the height and width of cathedrals. It is also found that although both of them used buttresses, they used in different ways. French gothic cathedrals intend to accentuate the vertical lines of the cathedrals by using the flying buttresses in the exterior, while English gothic cathedrals usually build buttresses in the interior of the cathedrals. Moreover, both of them differ from the facade and east ends of the cathedrals. There were also similarities between them, such as the use of ribbed vaulting and pointed arches. When it comes to the functions and meanings of French and English gothic cathedrals, they have distinctive values. The cathedrals in France are symbol of heaven, but in English it is the symbolic connotation of processions. Through comparing French and English gothic cathedrals, artistic styles, historical influence and functional values help us lay a solid foundation to have a better understanding of the complicated art at that historical…

    • 1741 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Monumental architecture was an important facet of classical society. Not only would it exhibit the advances in culture that each society was making, but it was gave them a chance to show off their wealth, power, and creativity to other societies. These monuments often took the innovations and collaborations of the country's top architects and builders to accomplish. They also exemplify the importance of the Mediterranean region in comparison to the world during the BC era and into early CE.…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    I stood facing the gothic cathedral and I couldn’t help but gasp at the distinct facade of Saint Patrick’s. At first glance, one would have an impression of ‘heavy layering, a bunch of shapes and lean, heavy pillars’, majestic, extravagant as well as complicatedly structured. However, at a second look, the facade is actually mainly just composed of triangles and rectangles, erected bold and beautiful in the center of the city.…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cathedral Motif

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver, the narrator is overwhelmed with disappointment and misunderstanding in his own life. He doesn’t see all the beauty and creativity in the world, but merely goes through the motions of life without actively living. Blindness is an underlying theme in this story, but not only as a physicality, but a social handicap. The narrator may be more capable of sight than the blind man, but he knows nothing of the descriptive illustration of life. It is through the blind mans probing of the narrator, that he finally discovers how closed off and shielded he has been. We can see a revelation in the narrator, and a transformation in his mindset.…

    • 810 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Civilizations have evolved and prospered throughout history, producing unique buildings and architectural styles along the way. The buildings are expressed as society’s values and unique characteristics that are simply astonishing. Medieval cathedrals were the product of more than a 1000 years of both religion and architectural evolution. Medieval cathedrals played a major role in Christian heritage, the gothic and architecture. The medieval period, with its boundless faith and energetic spirit, found an ultimate expression in the cathedral…

    • 1401 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Cathedral

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A persons ability to see is often taken for granted as it is in the story “Cathedral” by Raymond Carver. Although the title hints that the story is about a cathedral, it is really about two men who are blind. one of the men is Robert, the blind friend of the narrators wife. The other is the narrator, the husband himself; he is psychologically blind. through the husbands words and actions when he is dealing with Robert, the blind man, it is shown that the husband doesn’t “see” or understand what Roberts blindness means and how it changes or doesn’t change him as a person. At first, Robert makes the husband feel very uncomfortable, for the husband doesn’t know what to say or do around the blind man. As the story progresses, we can see a change in the husband, he seems to be able to see Robert as a person and not just a blind man.…

    • 854 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Cathedrals were the most obvious symbol of a church’s wealth. It must have been a competition of who had the nicest and largest Cathedral. In 1163, Notre-Dame in Paris was the highest at 34m tall…

    • 1572 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roman Architecture Essay

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rome was well known for its rule, is also wildly known for art. This also includes many architecture feats, just for example “The Roman Arch”. Also made famous by the Romans is the Colosseum, which was a monumental accomplishment for the roman people. Before Rome there was ancient Greece, which helped make these thing possible for the Romans. The Greeks had devised pillars, which the Romans took note of. The pillars, known as Greek Orders, these which were divided into three different orders, Doric, iconic and Corinthian orders. These orders differentiated in many different ways whether it be the elaborateness of shaft or the general stance of the entire pillar. Another thing the Greek’s were able to master was the painting of objects and…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The National Cathedral

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The national Cathedral is a Gothic sculptured building located in Washington D.C. There were several architect that help complete this masterpiece. Frederick Bodley started the structured in 1893 as the head architect. Henry Vaughan was appointed the head supervisor in 1907. After Bodley and Vaughan passed away, Philip Hubert Frohman an American finished the National Cathedral in 1990. It took 83 years to finish the project. The Washington National Cathedral landscaping is approximately 57 acres on Mount Saint Albans. It is the sixth largest Cathedral in the world. The National Cathedral consist of long, narrow rectangular mass formed by an eight bay nave with wide side aisles and a five bay chancel, intersected by a six bay transept. Above the crossing rising 91 m (301 ft) above the ground is the Gloria in Excelsis Tower. It 's top, at 206m (676 ft) above sea level is the highest point I Washington D.C. In total, the cathedral is 115m (375 ft) above sea level. Uniquely, the tower has two full sets of bells. A 53-bell carillon and a 10-bell peal for change ringing. There are various gothic architectural styles of the middle ages, marked among other things, by pointed arches, flying buttresses, vaulted ceilings, stained-glass windows, stone-carved decorations, and three similar towers, two on the west front and one surmounting the crossing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_National_Cathedral). Most of the Cathedral has Christian symbolism.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    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…

    • 878 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Effie Tower

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Nothing like it had ever been built like the Eiffel Tower. It is a 984-foot (300-meter) tower of wrought iron and open-lattice. The Eiffel Tower was the tallest structure in the world until the Chrusler Building was finished in New York City in 1930. Otis Elevator Company had designed glass-walled elevators, which climbed the legs of the tower to get to the first and second platforms. From the second floor to the third platform, which is near the top, four balanced elevators go up and down in the area. If you looked on a clear day, from the top platform, the view stretches for 50 miles (80 kilometers). On the first level are three-glass-confined structures, there are two level. They both contain one restaurant: Le Parisien on the lower level and La Belle France on the upper level. The third part is teh Salle (hall) Gustave Eiffel, where there is space for business, conferences, expositions, cultural events, and social meetings. There is a souvenir shop and a snack bar located on the smaller second floor. Even from this level, it is very possible that an excellent view of Paris can be seen without having to go to the…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays