Gothic Art: The rich iconography of the Chartes Cathedral rose window.

Rose window and lancets, north transept, Chartres Cathedral, 13th century.

The unity of French society found its expression in the construction of cathedrals. The Chartres cathedral is certainly a testament to the French mastery of cathedral building and artistry.In gothic art stained glass windows served as more than artistic adornment. They were a story-telling method that gave life to the stories of the Bible and reflected the reality of life in that time period. The brilliant sunlight filtering through window would have created a dazzling display conveying God’s presence. It was important for practical reasons to represent religious importance visually through symbols and iconography, because the majority of people were illiterate.

In particular the large rose window adorning the north facade of the cathedral over the main entrance is exemplary of religious iconography embodied in every inch of the cathedral.  Below the rose window are five slender lancets featuring various religious iconography. The rose window itself displays magnificent symmetry. The window depicts symbolic Christian significance in the arrangement of geographic figures. Even the circularity of the window represents Christ, God, and the universality of the Church. The Virgin Mary is centered in the window emphasizing her importance in the Catholic religion as the mother of Christ and testify to Chartres’s importance as a shrine of worship in her honor. There are approximately 175 images of the Virgin in the Chartres.

The next geometric arrangement represents four doves and eight Old Testament Kings of Judah. The Kings of JUdah ruled over the Kingdom of Judah that chose David to rule it and eventually became king of reunited Israel. Each geometric arraignment is numbered by twelve. The order of these designs testify to the order that the Catholic Church provided in the time period. The outer quatrefoils bare the gold lilies of the king of France and were acknowledgment of his patronage for the Church and cathedral. The unique hue of deep blue seen in this rose window is unique to the cathedral and is called “Chartres blue.” The color is attributed to Mary and symbolizes her purity.