Student 17 Exam I Fall 1999

*note: this exam was entered exactly as the student wrote it. No changes have been made.

Cathedrals are used as houses of prayer for many Christians dating back to the medieval times. It is considered functional art because the cathedral was used to tell the stories of the Bible, through architecture, windows, designs, and others. Cathedrals were always built in holy places. The cathedral at Chartres was built to house an ancient relic - the sancta camisa. This is a cloak the Mary, the mother of Jesus, supposedly wore. The reason this cloak is believed to be holy is that despite many fires the church has been through, the cloak always comes out unscathed. Because of the holy relic it contains, Chartres soon became a center of pilgrimage, especially after king Henry V took a pilgrimage there.

The cathedral of Chartres was started around the 12th century, but took hundreds of years to complete. The cathedral consists of 4 main parts, the main one being the nave. This is the central part of the cathedral and is seen as a vessel to the soul of one world to the next. All aspects of the nave, such as the painted arches and floor design, lead one's eyes and thoughts to God. Next is the transept, which is the cross section of the cathedral meant to make the cathedral in the shape of the cross. This brings focus to the crucifixion. In addition to these are the chapels, used for more private worship, and the ambulatory, which is where one walked around the perimeter of the cathedral. The cathedral is built in the Gothic style which can be viewed through features such as the vaulted ceilings, flying buttresses, and gargoyles. One of the main emphases of the Gothic cathedral was light, and so they were built to let in as much light as possible. Since the cathedral was built by patrons, many of the merchants and knights who took part in the construction of Chartres left their "signatures" through stained-glass windows on which they depicted their jobs or their crest.

Two major artistic parts of the cathedral are its windows and portals. One of the most famous stained-glass windows in the cathedral is the Rose Window. This window is also known as the Judgment window. The Rose window design was many, many circles. The circles represent eternity. There are 3 main circles, though, which represent the Trinity/ The number 12 is also used on this window, along with many other Christian works of art. This number represents the 12 tribes of Israel from the Old Testament, along with the 12 apostles of the New Testament. The Rose Window depicts what is going to happen at the end of time, according to Christian beliefs. When viewed in conjunction with the royal portal, it represents Christ as the Alpha and Omega -- the beginning and the end.

The Royal Portal consists of the 3 front entranceways and the carvings above them. The Central Portal represents Christ Triumphant. In this portal, the carving depicts the 12 apostles in 4 groups of 3. These numbers are significant because 3 represents the Trinity and the 4 represents three were,ld, and the 12 represents the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles. In the combination of these numbers, this portal displays the link between the world and the divine and the link between the Old and the New Testament. Also, in this portal are the 4 apocalyptic symbols. They are the winged man, representing St. Matthew, the calf representing St. Luke, the lion, representing St. Mark, and the Eagle, representing St. John. These symbols also stand for the various stages in the life of Jesus. The other 2 portals are Christ ascending and Christ on Mary's knee. All in all, ever aspect if the cathedral has some purpose, whether physically (architecturally) or spiritually (through stories).

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