LDS Scripture Commentary / Photos: Chartres Cathedral
Chartres, west side, left door
• Tympanum - Christ ascending into heaven. Angels lean down to ask the apostles "Ye men of Gallilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?"
• Archivolts - zodiac alternating with the tasks for each month
• Jamb figures - all unknown OT individuals except Moses on the right.
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Chartres west side, right portal, tympanum
• At top: presentation at the temple
• Lintel: the Nativity: Mary lies on the altar-like bed, with the Infant Jesus on top; at the far right, the angel brings glad tidings to the shepherds.
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Chartres, west side, left door
• Tympanum - Christ ascending into heaven. Angels lean down to ask the apostles "Ye men of Gallilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?"
• Archivolts - zodiac alternating with the tasks for each month
• Jamb figures - all unknown OT individuals except Moses on the right.
Album: Chartres-Cathedral
Categories: Chartres-Cathedral
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Chartres west side, right portal
LINTEL
• Below: presentation at the temple
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The Last Judgment
TYMPANUM
Mary (left) and St. John (right) plead and intercede for sinners.
Jesus sits on bench of judgment, with his wounds exposed, signifying his right to be judge of all.
Angels bear the instruments of the passion (L - R)
• Angel behind Mary bears the Roman soldier's spear that pierced his side
• Angel above Mary bears the crown of thorns
• Two angels in high center bear the cross
• Angel above St. John bears the nails
• Angel behind St. John bears the scourage and scourging pillar used by Pilate prior to the crucifixion.
LINTEL
Beneath Christ is the resurrection. The redeemed (to Christ's right, our left) prepare for glory.
To his left, the demons take the wicked to hell. Angels above them drive them with sword and shield.
In the center, St. Michael weighs the soul of each person in the balance to determine their fate. A tiny baby-figure represents the soul; demons and a toad represent the weight of their sins. As so often occurs in these scenes, another demon tries to cheat by pulling the scale downward.
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Chartres west side, central portal, tympanum
• Christ in glory sits in the center, surrounded by symbols of the four gospel authors (evangelists):
• Matthew - winged man
• Mark - winged lion
• Luke - winged ox or bull
• John - eagle
• In the lintel beneath, the twelve apostles are in four groups of three.
• To their immediate left stands Elijah; to their right stands Enoch.
• The first archivolt: twelve angels.
• The second and third archivolts: twenty-four elders of the apocalypse (see Revelation 4:4).
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Chartres, south side, center, lintel [detail]
Beneath Christ is the resurrection. The redeemed (to Christ's right, our left) prepare for glory.
To his left, the demons take the wicked to hell. Angels above them drive them with sword and shield.
Album: Chartres-Cathedral
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Chartres west side, right portal
LINTEL
• Below: presentation at the temple
(Music from the archivolt seen at far right foreground).
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Chartres west side, right portal, tympanum
• At top: infant Jesus enthroned on Mary's lap flanked by two angels
• Below: presentation at the temple
• Lintel: the Nativity story. (a) At the far left the Annunciation by the angel; (b) next Mary and Elizabeth meeting; (c) then the nativity: Joseph stands to the left, Mary lies on the altar-like bed, with the Infant Jesus on top; finally (d) at the far right, the angel brings glad tidings to the shepherds.
• First archivolt: Pisces (fish), Gemeni (twins), then 6 angels, Music (one of the seven liberal arts), Pythagorus (first defined mathematical relationship of harmonious tones).
• Second archivolt: Aristotle, Dialectic, Cicero, Rhetoric, Euclid, Geometry, Priscian or Donatus, Grammar, Ptolomy, Astronomy, Boethius or Pythagorus.
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