The town of Chartres is worth an overnight to take in its nighttime sound-and-light show, which incorporates 24 sites in an illuminated tour. (Rick Steves’ Europe)

The town of Chartres is worth an overnight to take in its nighttime sound-and-light show, which incorporates 24 sites in an illuminated tour. (Rick Steves’ Europe)

Chartres Cathedral: The age of faith in stone and stained glass

For a chance to experience the mystery of the medieval church through statues, glass and relics, France’s Chartres Cathedral, just an hour from Paris by train, is ideal. The towering Gothic cathedral, marking the center of the town of Chartres, somehow captures the spirit of the 13th century — the so-called Age of Faith — in the 21st century.

When an earlier church burned down in 1194, Chartres Cathedral was rebuilt so quickly and lavishly that it gained a much-appreciated unity of architecture, statuary and stained glass — preserving a relative snapshot of the time.

In 876, the church — officially called Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, honoring “our lady of Chartres” — acquired the torn veil believed to have been worn by Mary when she gave birth to Jesus. The popularity of the Virgin Mary was huge back then, and Chartres, a small town of 10,000 with such a prized relic, found itself in the big time on the pilgrim circuit.

Then, in 1194, a fire destroyed the old church. The treasured veil was feared lost. But lo and behold, several days later, townspeople found the veil miraculously unharmed. Church officials and the townsfolk interpreted this as a sign that Mary wanted a new church. The people of Chartres worked like mad to erect this grand cathedral, gift-bearing pilgrims came as never before, and the church we see today was completed in 70 years. That’s astonishing, considering that other Gothic cathedrals (such as Paris’ Notre-Dame) took centuries to build.

A fragment of Mary’s venerated veil is still on display in the cathedral, kept in a gold frame — away from light and behind bulletproof glass. But today the cathedral is most famous for its stained glass and statues. Together, the glass and statues — created to inspire the illiterate medieval masses — tell the entire Christian story. In the “book of Chartres,” as some nickname the church, the text is the sculpture and windows, and its binding is the architecture.

Gothic architects learned to create a skeleton of support with columns, pointed arches and buttresses, so that the walls no longer needed to support the heavy stone ceiling but were free to hold windows. And with its vast nave — over 400 feet long and the widest in France — Chartres has plenty of room for windows. The cathedral contains the world’s largest surviving collection of medieval stained glass, with over 150 13th-century windows. The mystical light pouring through these windows encouraged meditation and prayer. While churchgoers in medieval times may have been illiterate, they were fluent in understanding the rich symbolism in the windows, and that filled their lives with hope.

Medieval symbolism is more oblique to modern visitors, though, so I recommend the help of a good local guide to illuminate your visit. Historian Malcolm Miller has dedicated his life to studying the cathedral and teaching visitors its wonders. (Malcolm and his understudy Anne-Marie Woods give excellent cathedral tours for a small price daily in high season; www.cathedrale-chartres.org.)

As Malcolm explains, the windows on the cathedral’s darker north side feature Old Testament themes — awaiting the light of Christ’s arrival. And the windows on the brighter south side illustrate the good news of the New Testament. Read Chartres’ windows in the medieval style: from bottom to top. A window near the entrance to the tower tells the story of Noah and the flood. In the bottom diamond, God tells Noah he’ll destroy the Earth. Subsequent panes show Noah building the ark, loading animals, waves covering the Earth and drowning the wicked, and Noah releasing a dove. Near the top is a rainbow, symbolizing God’s promise never to bring another flood.

Outside, statues on the south porch show Christianity’s triumphs over persecution. On the center door, Jesus raises his arm in blessing, while trampling a dragon and lion, symbols of evil, underfoot. Beneath Christ, the souls are judged, the righteous on one side, and the wicked, who are thrown into the fiery jaws of hell, on the other.

A few years ago at dusk, I had some quality time all alone with Chartres’ Gothic statues. The setting sun brought life to the expressions on their delicately carved faces. As I stood there, quiet and unrushed, it almost felt as though they were struggling to share with me the stories they’ve told eight centuries of pilgrims.

It’s a different experience once darkness falls. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Europe’s wonderful Gothic church facades were boldly painted. “Chartres en Lumieres,” a nighttime sound-and-light show (April through September), helps re-create how the cathedral’s facades might have looked with colorful statuary. A path of lights guides the way to two dozen “scenographies” all over town.

Day or night, a pilgrimage to Chartres leaves me wonderstruck by its cathedral spires and stained glass — and awestruck by the devotion of its medieval faithful.

— Tribune Content Agency

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.