LDS Scripture Commentary / Photos: Chartres Cathedral
Right: Window 001 - Jesse Tree
Bottom to top: Jesse, David, King (Solomon?), King, King, Mary, Jesus surrounded by seven doves (gifts of the Spirit). Prophets who testified of Christ's coming border the window.
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original (4295078119)
Window 006 - Good Samaritan
Bottom to top, left to right. Circles start at 6 o'clock, proceed left to right:
• Panels 1,2,3: Cobblers, the donors of the window
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• Quadrant 4: Jesus tells a parable.
• Quadrant 5: Man leaves Jerusalem for Jericho
• Center 6, quadrant 7: Thieves leap out to attack and rob him
• Quadrant 8: Priest and levite pass by without helping.
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• Panels 9,10,11: Samaritan binds his wounds, places the man on his donkey, and takes him to a waiting inn-keeper.
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• Quadrant 12: Samaritan cares for wounded man at the inn.
• Quadrant 13: God creates man, (breathing into Adam the breath of life?).
• Center 14: Adam in paradise.
• Quadrant 15: God makes woman from rib ('tsela') as Adam sleeps. The appearance of the legs matching both Adam and Eve is a beautiful bit of work, rich with symbolism.
• Quadrant 16: God forbids the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. Note the red serpent already coiled about the trunk.
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• Panel 17: They sit under the tree (a first step toward sin, perhaps?).
• Panel 18: Satan tempts them and they eat. Note the dark, ominous red background which echoes the serpent from Quadrant 16, and contrasts with the refreshing blue of the previous.
• Panel 19: God calls to them, but they hide and make fig-leaf aprons.
• Quadrant 20: Cherubim drives them from the garden and tree of life.
• Quadrant 21: Adam digs while Eve spins with a distaff.
• Center 22: God/Christ judges their sin but also promises redemption. {? makes covenant with them)
• Quadrant 23: Cain takes an axe to Abel's head; the first murder. Abel's name can be made out in text below the panel. Like Abel--and the man in the parable--we have fallen victim to a fallen world, and lie wounded and bleeding.
• Quadrant 24: Christ sits to redeem and judge, surrounded by angels. Reminds us that he is the ultimate figure to whom the parable of the Samaritan points.
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original (4295078123)
Window 004 - Saint John the Divine [author of Revelation / the Apocalypse]
Bottom to top, left to right:
• Row 01 [single]: Flight to Egypt (misplaced; doesn't fit with the rest)
• Rows 02 & 03: Armorers donate the window
• Row 04: Death of Stactacus
• Row 05 & 06: John banished to Patmos; he writes Revelation.
• Row 07: John summoned before Aristomedes
• Rows 08 & 09: John enters Ephesus and raises a woman from the dead; on-lookers are amazed.
• Row 10: John drinks poison and receives no harm.
• Rows 11 & 12: Two young men crush gems; John makes gems whole again.
• Row 13: Jesus appears to John.
• Rows 14 & 15: John changes wood to gold and pebbles into gems. Man gives treasure to money-changer.
• Row 16: John awaits death.
• Rows 17 & 18 & 19: Angels
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†South side, lancets, left to right: demonstrates the OT as the foundation for the NT witness of Christ
• Window 095C - South side, far left lancet: Saint Luke on Jeremiah, beneath is arms of donor's wife and daughter.
• Window 095B - South side, near left lancet: Saint Matthew on Isaiah, beneath is arms of donor's wife and daughter.
• Window 095A - South side, central lancet: Mary with Infant Christ, beneath is arms of donor Dreux-Brittany.
• Window 095D - South side, near right lancet: Saint John on Ezekiel, beneath is arms of donor Pierre Mauclerc and his son.
• Window 095E - South side, far right lancet: Saint Mark on Daniel, beneath is arms of donor Pierre Mauclerc and his son.
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Window 001 - Jesse Tree
Bottom to top: Jesse, David, King (Solomon?), King, King, Mary, Jesus surrounded by seven doves (gifts of the Spirit). Prophets who testified of Christ's coming border the window.
Window 002 - Life of Christ
Bottom to top, left to right:
• Row 01: Annunciation of Gabriel to Mary; Visitation of Mary to Elizabeth; Birth of Christ in stable. Note the altar-like manger.
• Row 02: Angels to shepherds; Herod; Wise men seeking Christ.
• Row 03: Wise men presenting gifts; Christ with Mary; Wise men returning home (they are warned by the angel in the panel directly above them).
• Row 04: Presentation at the temple (2 frames); Angel warns wise men to return a different way.
• Row 05: Herod angry he's been deceived by wise men; Slaughter of the Innocents (2 frames).
• Row 06: Flight into Egypt; Egypt; Return from Egypt.
• Row 07: Fall of the idols of Egypt; Baptism of Christ; Dream of St. Joseph.
• Row 08: Triumphal entry to Jerusalem (3 frames).
• Row 09: Christ in Glory flanked by two angels.
Window 003 - The Passion
Bottom to top, left to right:
• Row 01: Christ Transfigured; Descent from mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John.
• Row 02: Last Supper, Washing of Feet.
• Row 03: Jesus is betrayed by Judas and seized; Scourging of Christ.
• Row 04: Crucifixion; Descent from the Cross.
• Row 05: Deposition of Christ's body in the sepulchre; Easter morning: angels asks women come to annoint Jesus why they seek the dead among the living.
• Row 06: Mary Magdalen tell the apostles of Jesus' resurrection; Christ appears to the holy women
• Row 07: Jesus meets disciples on road to Emaeus; Jesus dines with the disciples from previous frame.
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duplicate (8s68sw5qRE2MmI2xWm1uHA)
Window 005 - Mary Magdalen
Bottom to top, left to right. Circles are SW to SE, then NW to NE:
• Panels 1,2,3: Water-bearers, the donors of the window
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• Quadrant 4: Mary Magdalen at Simon's house
• Quadrant 5: Lazarus dies
• Quadrants 6, 7: Funeral of Lazarus, with mourners to the left, the bier to the right.
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• Panels 8,9,10: Jesus comes to Bethany and is met by Mary and Martha, he then raises Lazarus (? while on-lookers are amazed)
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• Quadrant 11: Mary Magdalen at the sepulchre of Christ (Lazarus is being used as a type of Christ's resurrection)
• Quadrant 12: Jesus appears to Mary.
• Quadrants 13, 14: Mary tells the apostles of the resurrection; they do not believe her.
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• Panels 15,16,17: Mary comes to Provence; Mary's brother Saint Maximus preaches.
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• Quadrant 18: Mary Magdalen's death.
• Quadrant 19: She is buried.
• Quadrants 20, 21: Jesus receives Mary into Heaven. (Thanks to Him, she too has been 'raised,' just as Lazarus and Jesus were.)
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• Panels 22: Angel with censer.
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† Window 145 - North rose: Rose of France glorifying the Virgin (restored)
Virgin in center with Infant Jesus. Surrounded by four doves, four angels, and four Thrones. These are followed by twelve kings of Judah, Mary's ancestors. The outer ring contains twelve minor prophets.
The window was donated while Queen Blanche was regent of France (circa 1230). The arms of France alternating with Castile are seen below the rose itself. The entire ensemble is a none-too-subtle bit of royal propaganda, with Mary (the Queen of Heaven) at the center of it all. Note too that the figures below the rose in the lancets contrast a legitimate righteous sovereign with corrupt, foolish, or fallen ones. Blanche seems to have wanted no doubt about how she ought to be considered.
†North side, lancets, left to right: True versus false sovereigns (restored)
• Window 145C - North side, far left lancet: Melchizedek standing over Nebuchadnezzar (true king over the false Babylonian pretender to world-lordship, worshipping idol of his dream).
• Window 145B - North side, near left lancet: King David standing over King Saul (the chosen king over the apostate king rejected by God, who dies via suicide in despair).
• Window 145A - North side, central lancet: Saint Anne holding Infant Mary. Beneath this are the arms of France.
• Window 145D - North side, near right lancet: Solomon over Jeroboam, who worships golden calf (wise king over the fool who worshipped idols and abandoned the LORD).
• Window 145E - North side, far right lancet: Aaron above Pharoah, covered by the Red Sea (true priesthood and power over the false).
Album: Chartres-Cathedral
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Window 176 - West Rose - Last Judgment, detail
• Center: Christ enthroned in glory, displaying his wounds. Four beasts and angels surround him.
• First circle: Twelve apostles, with Abraham's bosom at 12 o'clock, and the judgment (weighing of souls) at 6 o'clock. Note the angel to the left and devil to the right.
• Outer circle: Starting from the 12:30 position, and proceeding clockwise (each circle on the right is paired with one on the left). (1, 12) Instruments of the passion; (2, 11) angels blow trumps; (3, 10) the resurrected dead awaiting judgment; (4,5,8,9) resurrection of the dead (naked, having just come from their graves); (6,7) hell (at the bottom of the circle, naturally enough) [not shown this photo].
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†North side, lancets, left to right: True versus false sovereigns (restored)
• Window 145C - North side, far left lancet: Melchizedek standing over Nebuchadnezzar (true king over the false Babylonian pretender to world-lordship, worshipping idol of his dream).
• Window 145B - North side, near left lancet: King David standing over King Saul (the chosen king over the apostate king rejected by God, who dies via suicide in despair).
• Window 145A - North side, central lancet: Saint Anne holding Infant Mary. Beneath this are the arms of France.
• Window 145D - North side, near right lancet: Solomon over Jeroboam, who worships golden calf (wise king over the fool who worshipped idols and abandoned the LORD).
• Window 145E - North side, far right lancet: Aaron above Pharoah, covered by the Red Sea (true priesthood and power over the false).
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Window 064 - Noah (restored)
Top to bottom, left to right
• Row 01: Wheelwrights, carpenters, coopers (barrel-makers) as donors. See also donors in the very small squares bottom left and right. Perhaps appropriate given the ark's water-tight construction of wood. The coopers likewise make the barrels that will hold the wine which Noah eventually grows.
• Row 02: Giants, sons and daughters of men (two panels) [see Genesis 6:4, the 'Nephilim'].
• Row 03: Giants, sons and daughters of men; God talks to Noah; Giants, sons and daughters of men.
• Row 04: Noah's three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; Noah's wife and daughters-in-law.
• Row 05: Two people (perhaps walking away from the Ark?); Noah and a son build the ark; Animals (including dogs and sheep) begin to gather two by two.
• Row 06: Animals (horses?) begin to gather two by two; Animals (large cats?) begin to gather two by two.
• Row 07: Animals (including camel and bird) begin to gather two by two; Ark in the water; Drowning of all other animals and people.
• Row 08: Drowning of all other animals and people (two panels).
• Row 09: Drowning of all other animals and people; Noah releases dove from window of the ark; Dove flies away and returns with olive leaf.
• Row 10: Corpses of men and animals remain when water dries up (two panels).
• Row 11: Raven eats the drowned corpses; Animals leaving ark (two panels).
• Row 12: Noah and family leave ark; Animals leave ark.
• Row 13: Noah makes wine (from vines above); Noah curses Ham; Noah gets drunk.
• Row 14: Planting of first vines (made into wine in previous row); Shem and Japheth (with wives) kneel to pray.
• Row 15: Angel, Rainbow, Angel.
• Row 16: Angel, Angel.
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