David's Diary: Tuesday, July 24, 2001

Chartres, France

After our full day in Paris we decided to do something that I've always wanted to do and visit Chartres Cathedral. I don't know why I waited so long. We could just imagine how it might feel for a 13C pilgrim to come over the final rise on the approach to Chartres and be greeted by the magnificent site of the cathedral off in the distance.

Chartres Cathedral is the only gothic cathedral that still has all of its original stained glass and sculptures. At the time that the cathedral was built, the printing press had not been invented and paper did not yet exist in Europe. Chartres Cathedral was created as a university or library. The stories it told were etched in glass and carved out of stone so that generations of people could be taught the stories that the cathedral has to tell.

The cathedral is dedicated to Mary. In 876, Charlemagne's grandson, Charles the Bald, presented the church with a sacred relic. This relic was known as the Sancta Camisia and was supposed to have been worn by Mary when she gave birth to Jesus. We saw this relic in a small chapel in the east end of the church.

We took the tour by renowned Chartres scholar Malcolm Miller that greatly increased our appreciation of the church. As we looked at the beauty of the stained glass windows, Malcolm described the stories that were told. In just over an hour, Malcolm only had time to show us two windows, the South Rose Window and the South Portal. To study all of the windows would take weeks, but each one holds fascinating stories. For our tour, Malcolm finished with a south window that told the story of The Good Samaritan and Adam and Eve and why these two stories are related.

View From the North Tower

After lunch, we went back into the church and walked up and down the nave. We decided to climb the North Bell Tower, a shorter climb than our one yesterday at the Eiffel Tower, but none the less rewarding. We got to view the enormous bell and the clear views of the countryside that surrounds the market town of Chartres.

To complete our tour, we took a visit to the crypt under the church. The crypt at Chartres Cathedral is one of the longest in Europe, running the entire length of the Southern and Northern aisles of the nave. This also gave us a view of the foundations of the church -- the key to holding the church up. A walk through the old town with its many shops and restaurants concluded a most interesting day.