Comparing And Constructing Chartres Cathedral With Saint Sernin In Toulouse France
Comparing And Constructing Chartres Cathedral With Saint Sernin In Toulouse France
Saint Sernin and Chartres Cathedral
Introduction
The comparison of Gothic styles architecture and Romanesque has drastically progressed with time. The Romanesque period was followed by the Gothic period but did not have similar elements. The main difference between the Romanesque churches and the Gothic cathedrals is based on ideology and their style greatly differs. This puts the main difference between Chartres Cathedral and St. Sernin to be their elements of style. Though the two structures are closely related in time, they are very far and distantly related in style.
Chartres Cathedral
The Chartres Cathedral is also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres. In French is Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres . This is a cathedral of Latin Rite Catholic located in Chartres in Paris. The Cathedral is an example of Gothic Style architecture in France. The cathedral stands out as one of the architectural achievements in history and up to now it has managed to maintain its original a details and design. The extensive cycles for instance have remained intact as well as the stained glass windows that glow are still original. It therefore, portrays the original version of how it looked when it was constructed.
Chartered Cathedral has acted as a center of tourist attraction. Many people from allover the world, have paid pilgrimage to the cathedral since the middle Ages. The cathedral creates an atmosphere of holiness and ewe that can be felt even to the visitors who are not religious. The cathedral was constructed in 876 housing the Blessed Virgin Mary tunic called the Sancta Camisia. Charlemagne was giving the relic by the Cathedral when he visited Jerusalem. Because of this relic the city, Chartres has become a center of Miriam Pilgrimage where the faithful visit to give their honors to the relic.
A distance view of Chartres Cathedrals is like the building seems to be suspended in mid air in the wheat fields. But in a close view range is when you see where the cathedral stands on a hill. The Gothic symbols in the cathedral are alatain Cross which has three aisles, an ambulatory, and a transept that is short. The eastern view of the chapel has five semi circular chapels. Like most gothic art, double flying buttresses supported the high nave, anchored by great abutments and colonnets. The abutment has a lightened appearance with sculptures that fill the niches. A single flying buttress gives support to the apse which was added in the 14th century. Chartres is known to be the first building which the buttress was uses as an element in structural construction . The buttresses are what determine the general a building appearance. The buttresses were necessitated by the height of the nave and the clerestory windows which are large.
The elegant symmetry of the Chartres Cathedral is only distracted by the mismatched spears of the west. The north spheres are 377-foot long which was built in the 16th centaury the other southern spheres is 349-foot long . This spheres date back to the 1140s of a plain Romanesque pyramid. The windows have large transepts, three sculptured portal and flanking towers. The North Portal signifies the Old Testament, the precursor of Virgin Mary and Christ’s preparation. The statute of St Anne is in the central portal of the doors. The statute of St. Anne holding an infant who is Mary and below her feet there is Joachim who is grazing his flock. This is however, not very clear because most of it has faded. The central statute was added in honor of the epic given to Charters by the head of St Anne form Contastantnople (Sacred destinations, 2010).
There are three entrances in the cathedral which are richly ornamented and deeply receded. The front facade center is a rose window that is truly magnificent. The windows are stained windows that shine and glow with jewels. They date back in the early 13thcentury which has survived the religious war of the 16th centaury. The stained windows are said to have a collection of medieval a glasses that constitute a complete collection . The count up to 150 to 179 in types of stained glass windows.
These windows are the roses which were constructed in the 13th centaury from c.1150. These rose windows symbolize the last judgment with Christ as the judge accompanied by angels and four evangelists. There are also scenes of resurrection, hell, heaven and angles blowing the trumpets. Resurrection and passion window are to the left lancet. The Jesse window is the right lancet and the incarnation window is the middle lancet.
The queen of Blanca of Castile in the 1230 gave a gift of the five lancets which is the North rose window. This window shows the glorification of Virgin Mary. A picture of a child and the virgin are surrounded by the kings of the Old Testament, the prophets, angels and doves. The kings are Jeroboam, Saul and David. The South rose symbolizes Christ glorification. It dates back in the 1230s. The statute of Christ is shown in the lancet window who is surrounded and angels and four evangelists. There are the apocalypse elders and donors of arms to the cathedral. The evangelists Luke is shown behind. Jeremiah the prophet , prophet Isaiah is in front of Evangelist Mathew, Ezekiel the prophet is in front of John the evangelist and prophet Daniel is over evangelist Mark. The blue virgin window is also notable in the cathedral. It was created in 1150. The window is next to the transept and part of the window to the south.
The Labyrinth of the Charters is characterized by the ancient stone floor of 1205. The floor is used for meditation by the visitors just as it is used by the monks while contemplating. The path is 956 feet long through the labyrinth. The center of the labyrinth had once had a metal plate with pictures of Minotaur, ride and Theseus which were figures of classical mythology. This is according to John James.
The interior is a wonderful point of view with great elegance. It has the most spacious nave in the whole of France standing at a height of 121 feet. Along the magnificent apse is a view that is unbroken that starts in the right side of the western end. The plain bases have clustered columns that dramatically rise(Toman , 2008).
An ambulatory warps around the sanctuary and the choir at the east end. This wrap is divided from a dramatically vaulted of a carved choir screen , the sculptures shows scenes in the lines of Virgin Mary and of Christ (Murray, 1998).
The general beauty of Chartres Cathedral is the organic look that it has no much intricate dark details in its decoration but intend has light shed which makes it appear more natural. The nave arcade that is narrow and tall emphasizes dramatic and height decoration. This church survived a great fire which made a lot of pilgrims to come and view it from all over the world. The Charters Cathedral differs in style from St Sernin.
St. Sernin
The St. Sernin is a monastic church located in Toulouse a town in Southern France. It is a large church on the road to pilgrimage center called Santiago de Compostele. The pilgrimage center is in northwestern part of Spain. The St. Sernin was among the earliest Romanesque churches. Toulouse city became important and lively town in the Romanesque era because it was located along the way to a Spanish shrine. The St. Sernin church was built to cater for the large crowds of people stopping at the city to pay honor to St. Sernin Tomb.
The St. Sernin church began to be built around 1080; starting with the ratspete at the east and the chevet. The alter was consecrated by Pope Urban II, according to the surviving available inscription materials. It is further said that consecration was on May 24, 1096. The church later gained abbey status in 1117 when a major attention shift dwelt on monastic and cloister buildings. The western side has never been completed.
Bernard Abbot de Gensac commissioned the adding of gothic aspects in the church and the choir was given flashy furnishes during the era of Baroque. But the st. Sernin Basilica was left in its original design of Romanesque through the millennium after its construction.
By around 1872, Eugene violet le Duc made a full restoration of the church by plastering the walls and raising the floors. This is an aspect that differs from the Charters Cathedral which still maintains its original state . The St Sernin Church was extensively cleaned and modified in the 20th century and returned to its original state of the medieval appearance .
The church is not much blessed with an atmospheric setting compared to the Charters Cathedral of holiness and ewe. On its southern side, it has a large parking lot.
The exterior of the church is nevertheless very magnificent . The Romanesque chevet at the east end is the most harmonious in the whole of France. A pleasing visual rhythm is given by the two transepts.
Not like the Charter cathedral the St Sernin building is constructed by red bricks and decorated with white sculptures and accents. The roof line has animal and human figures similar to those of the cathedral but not specifically biblical characters like the prophets and the evangelist. There are three Romanesque octagonal towers of bricks and two gothic tires. There is a stubby appearance of the west façade that is incomplete with no towers like most of the medieval churches.
There are images of the Annunciation, expulsion from the Garden of Eden, and the massacre of the innocent. Other scriptures in the portals show King David flanked by lions , Simon the magician and St. Peter with keys on this hands.
Unlike the cathedral which has all the parts furnished. The west portal of the St. Sernin is not. It has however, a high quality than the three portals in the south. The Church has eight capitals with animal figures and carves of human portraits which have been intertwined to Foliage. The similar aspects between the two architectures are the tainted windows.
The interior in of St-Sernin Basilica has double side aisle . It gives a tranquil atmosphere .The church has no buttresses like the Charters cathedral but has a nave that is supported with narrow round arches. There are also 268 Romanesque capitals in the interior which are not in the cathedral. The transepts at the north have medieval frescoes. The choir region of the basilica is also curved like the one of the cathedral.
The Charter Cathedral and the St Sernin Basilica have few things in common but their styles greatly differ. It is surprising that the difference of style is great yet they were built in almost close period of time. The Romanesque church portrays much complexity than those of the earlier architectures.
References:
Sacred destinations, (2010) Chartres Cathedral. Retrieved from
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral
On August 6, 2010
Toman, R, (2008)Gothic: Architecture – Sculpture – Painting , publisher h. f. ullmann; 1 edition
Murray ,1998 contribution of Stephen Murray on Gothic art. Retrieved from
http//www.questia.com/SM.qst?act adv
On August 6, 2010
Miller, M (1997) Chartres Cathedral. New York: Riverside Book Co.,
Burckhardt, T (1996). Chartres and the birth of the cathedral. Bloomington: World Wisdom Books
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