Memory Lane

I hate my 8th grade self. During spring break of my 8th grade, I went on a trip to France with my school, but I cannot for the life of me remember where we went. Yes, I recall the obvious ones: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Arc de Triumphe, and Notre Dame. To add to my hatred of my 8th grade alter ego, I didn't even go in Notre Dame. I had seen it on a France trip a couple years earlier, so my friends and I took pictures of the outside and went shopping. As I scrolled through my pictures from the trip trying to recall the names of the unknown places, my disappointment grew. Here is about what I found: self-pics, guy from the Real World, Eiffel Tower,omg bff's, Arc de Triumphe, Louis Vuitton, more self-pics, more Eiffel Tower, let's take a picture of our feet, kissy face, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower at night, and so on. It seems that the drama of the trip and securing a boyfriend were more important than taking in the historic sites I was seeing. Luckily, there were some pictures that helped me identify one mystery location.

My elation as I stumbled upon pictures of Chartres Cathedral was unprecedented. Not only did I take a picture of the westwork, but I actually went inside to take pictures of the stained glass. Though my textbook offers much better quality pictures, I cannot help but be sentimental and post my own pictures.

Chartres is actually the French Gothic cathedral that bothers me. The two differing towers on the west facade do not sit well with my OCD-ness. What makes Chartres unique is the mixture of Early and High French Gothic elements. The west facade still has several Romanesque qualities. The decoration of the "Royal Portal" has a theme similar to the Romanesque Throne of Wisdom. However, Mary was given an unprecedented positio

n of prominence on the Chartres portal. The jamb statues of the Royal Portal display the Early Gothic emergence of naturalism.

Like other churches of the time, Chartres could not fend off fires. In 1194, a disastrous fire destroyed the majority of the cathedral--only the western facade and masonry of the crypt remained. A rebuilding

effort started immediately and took a short

27 years. The new plan of Chartres is High Gothic. Rectangular bays replaced the old square bays, and four part vaults took the place of the Early Gothic sexpartite vaults. The result of the changes was a huge, continuous hall.

The stained glass of Chartres limits the amount of light that is let in. Their purpose was to transform natural light into a mystical lux nova, rather than to illuminate the church. My pictures really are not very good, so I cannot decipher what is depicted in the stained glass.

Lastly, the new sculptures on the south transept of Chartres show the transformation from Early to HighGothic in sculpture. The individuals that are depicted have distinct personalities are not as rigid as their Early Gothic predecessors. Signs of Classical influence are seen in the use of contrappos

to in some of the figures.

What memories do I have of Chartres? I remember taking a picture with my friends and looking at brochures. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful that I no longer take a ridiculous amount of self-pics or pictures of my feet, and that at least I now appreciate the sights that I saw while in France, even if it took 4 years.

Proof.