Chartres West Exterior Slides 080

Chartres West Exterior Slides 080

Chartres, north side, left portal

TYMPANUM
• Adoration of the Magi

INNER ARCH

• First archivolt: ten angels, lowest two on dragons, the rest on clouds
• Second archivolt: four foolish virgins on left, four foolish on the right
• Third archivolt: The four cardinal virtues and equivalent sins are on the left:
† Prudence (open book) with Folly underneath (woman eating a pebble);
† Justice (scales) with Injustice (falsify scales);
† Strength (mail coat) with Weakness beneath;
† Temperence (dove) with Intemperence (uncovering the breast)

• Fourth archivolt: Twelve queens bearing scrolls that at one time bore their names; these are the fruits of the spirit as per Galatians 5:22-23.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.