Chartres Outtakes

As I said, these cathedrals are a pain in the neck

Our first day at Chartres, we had lunch at a place called Le
Pichet--recommended by two of our guidebooks--where
Vicki had the best beef bourgignon ever, and I had an onion
soup that would have embarrassed Campbell's

Near the north side of the cathedral, Chartres
firemen practice their rappel skills

Nearly every city, town and village in
France is covered in beautiful flower
gardens, but Chartres was exceptional

Today's wedding photos are from the north
porch of Chartres cathedral

In a stained glass shoppe adjacent to the cathedral; Vicki is
thinking seriously of taking it up...someday

And just off the cathedral square, a
classroom of the International School of
Stained Glass

Same gargoyles that have adorned our bookshelves since
1979; probably the same gift shoppe too

Historic home of the Office of Tourisme in Chartres, the
Maison de Saumon; have I mentioned recently how
uniformly helpful and energetic these people are, everywhere
in Europe?

Ever wonder what happens to all those little candles people
light up in churches?

Walking through Chartres' pretty downtown, a muralist
working on a new building

Our campsite at the municipal campground, the Bord du
L'Eure; we've been staying there from '79; the trees are larger,
but everything else is pretty much the same

It's a  3k hike from the campground to the cathedral: first
through these luscious woods, then along the river Eure,
then into the old city; one of the more pleasant strolls to
a great destination

Chartres Sculpture

Chartres 12th-13th century sculpture is relatively well-preserved, considering the ravages of time, religious wars, revolutions, and other matters. The choir screen is 15th-16th century, the lives of Mary and Jesus, but also of interest.

South portal, a bit of construction still going on

Judgment, again

Anatomically incorrect sinner/devil

North porch

Light in the north transept

Jamb statues

Vicki maintains this gargoyle/downspout was a gift of the dental labs of Chartres

At Chartres, the buttresses become more than architectural: they become objects
of art...

At the west end, yes, it's a Mary church

Architecture: in the seven liberal arts archivolt

Grammar: a caution to anyone who would teach language...

Zodiac in the archivolt

More jamb statues

Alive and in conversation with one another...this is new in
western art

Unusual Nativity

Writer

Janus/January

A secular character

And some things you don't know what to
make of...

Finally, in the 16th century screen, one of the disciples has lost a contact

But, miraculously, Jesus finds it and puts it back in...

Details Of Chartres' Windows

I never can remember whether it's God or the Devil that's in the details. God, according to Einstein, I think. Anyhow, below are a fraction of some of the details in Chartres' window, mostly the lower-down, more easily photographed ones. Much is familiar Biblical stuff, much is lives of various saints, some is depiction of life in the 12th and 13th century--those are the ones we like best--and then the unusual/lurid/humorous items we also like. It's a fascinating experience, looking at all the windows for hours on end, and also a painful one, in the neck. But it's a small price to pay.

Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus

Rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub

International garment workers, again

Not a Biblical story

Ouch!

Carpenters' and wheel-wrights' window

Throwing dice on a checkerboard

Blacksmiths and furriers

Apothecary

Batting practice

Presenting Joseph's coat of many colors

Joseph riding a camel in Egypt

St. Eustace and the deer that has sprouted a cross between its antlers

Something about the perils of drinking?

Noah's ark

Aries, from the Zodiac window

Annunciation

Baptism of anatomically-correct Jesus

Garden of Eden fun

Builders

A replacement window, I think, given by the architects of the United States