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By Johnny R. Aguilar, Architectural History I Professor Laura Hollengreen, Arch 4105

A Cathedral Without A Cross

Bourges [is] an independent creation.1

With holy seraphim enjoying the rapid pace of church-building in Europe, the High Gothic emerged from the Romanesque with evangelized conviction.

2 Master builders worked out most of the difficulties related to construction devices, massing, volume, weights and materials; yet, more would follow. Churches grew toward the sky, reached ever higher, and glimmered with light. Their naves and filigree walls became like the folded wings of angels preparing for flight, yet bound to the earth by a complex network of ribs, buttresses and piers. Through transparent walls, divine light would transfigure the soul through an ecstatic and personal transfiguration. Among these reliquary cathedrals, the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges [Bourges] represents a model of how the High Gothic came into its very existence as stone confection.3

One account of its height and vast scale it was the first of the great Gothic [Notre-Dame of Paris] cathedrals to exemplify the soul of a city, by uniting the strands of the past and providing a dominating presence for the future. Its size was soon to inspire emulation in other cities, notably Bourges and Chartres.…

From its geometric plan and use of materials to its processional movement and overriding implications, Bourges represents a unique highpoint of in Gothic handiwork. This paper will review Bourges’ construction, its artistic use of sculpture and glass, and the main issues surrounding its construction. Although overrun by the Chartres crusade to build churches ever higher, Bourges represents more a metaphor of how the Gothic could have been rather than the path that ended at Beauvais.

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The Bourges Goth

During the preceding period of agreement between the Capetians and the makers of the Gothic, however, an average of one-third of the resources of France each year were devoted to the building of churches.5

The Gothic period was a transformational moment within European and architectural history.

6

This was a period when the Church functioned as the only state-like medieval administrative structure after the fall of Rome. To help all those souls, local lords and the church administration imposed Christian doctrine and obedient lifestyle upon the populous, and pagan ideas and rites either went to into the shadows or were syncretized with accepted religious beliefs.7 As the beneficiary of Romanesque rediscovery and re-engineering of classical ideas, Gothic master builders utilized these tectonic advances to build structures more congruent with the changed concept of religious and individual life.8 They had thought that the errors of weights, measures and stone were worked out by their forbearers, and they saw themselves as diminutive creators in their own right—subject only to the divine.9 “In this period[,] they were the supreme masters of the applied sciences and technology….”10

1 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1970), 48.

The patrons of these structures would manipulate legal, work and religious systems to begin their own dynastic rules over the region.

2 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture. (Boston: McGraw Hill, 2008), 220. 3 Id. at 220; Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>. 4 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic. (London: Hutchinson,1985), 67. 5 Id. at 22. 6 Id. at 9. 7 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 18; Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 9. 8 Id. at 9-10; Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe. (Norwich: The Hamlyn

Publishing Group Ltd, 1968), 10; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213. 9 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 10. 10 Id. at 12.

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And, they would use Bourges, and cathedrals like it, as a type of personal prestige, to exert influence over the Loire region to become a mercantile and social center of the Kingdom of France.11

Like other medieval towns, Bourges increased in prosperity because of a general period of global warming, that resulted in crops being more plentiful, animals bearing more young, and the population rebounding.

12 Further, with the adoption of the heavy plow, the food surplus made the masters of the region very rich.13 “The great cathedrals of the middle ages were created by towns that since the 11th century had been increasing in prosperity, size and independence from federal authorities.”14 Like other centers, Bourges needed a cathedral that would be economically feasible for the town, rival the cathedral at Notre-Dame in Paris, and be large enough to fit most (if not all) of the inhabitants within its walls.15 Since the administrative structure that was Pax Romana died, areas like Bourges had to re-engineer civilization, and these embryonic begins generally occurred behind walls protected by the cross. This was where science occurred, and, once accepted by church fathers, this was where the neo-Platonic academy and ancient thought continued in some form. Further, one must remember that before the Renaissance, when mercantilism and the City Hall came into existence, the Cathedral was “a city’s only visual expression of its civic pride—an expression made all the nobler since it glorified not only man but God.”16

Like other towns embroiled in the Gothic, for Bourges it was more than just a cause for building: it was a new mindset, a new relationship with the divine and a new concept of space.

As a result, Bourges’ new cathedral would be Bourges, and Bourges would pivot all social, financial and administrative life closet the doors of the cathedral.

17 The “effect of the interiors of the Great Gothic churches is not dissimilar to that aim: our minds, the rough the unifying perceptions of Gothic spaciousness, Gothic linearity, and Gothic height, are changed and expanded into the barely definable state of being part of an infinitely greater mind.”18 Unlike the domes from the ancient East and the basilicas to the south in Rome (both from the Byzantine and Romanesque), the Gothic represented a new mental connection with the northern French environment—trees, groves, hidden spaces, paths leading to uncharted territory. 19 To represent this in stone required space and drama while appeasing the wishes of the church and the patrons.20 “The liturgical needs for that wider space around the high altar were dictated by Suger’s desire for splendor and drama in the celebration of the mass at St.-Denis.”21 What had previously been an mass as thick structural walls would now be gouged out into a lattice to allow internal occupied space.22 Just as Christ became god, the Gothic would transmuted solid into space, and beneath the trunks and branches of ribbing, the populous could be awed.23

They wanted to create surprise and illumination at every moment within the procession of the cathedral. It was not just about knowing there was one God, but that each moment of the journey within life and the church was a moment of awe and inspiration and complete submission to humility.

24

11 Id. at 15-16, 22-23.

12 Warming, W. “Medieval Warm Period.” (retrieved November 20, 2010, from <http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Warm_Period>).

13 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 43. 14 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 9. 15 Id. 16 Id. 17 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 163. 18 Id. 19 Id. 20 Id. at 169. 21 Id. at 169; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 214-216. 22 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 163-169; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213. 23 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 167-169; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213. 24 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 167.

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La soeur église de Dieu

In the heart of the Loire Valley, builders would construct Bourges to rival its sister churches in the Île-de-France.25 The new cathedral would sit on the foundations of a smoldering Romanesque church and would signal the stage of religious activity upon the site.26 “This has been a site of Christian worship since the 3rd century, when the Roman city of Avaricum sheltered the first Christian community in Gaul. Successive monumental crypts were built here in the 3rd, 4th and 9th centuries.”27 Starting in the 12th Century, Henri de Sully, Bishop of Bourges, a kin of the Bishop of Paris, would initiate the Bourges’ construction as a revitalization of the previous Romanesque structure built in the previous century by Archbishop Gozlin, brother of Robert II of France.28

Bourges’ “[c]onstruction began in 1195” but progressed as points of activity.

29 It would start holy

eastern end and proceed west, “at which time the chevet was completed.”30 The builders constructed the lower church by 1200 and the choir in 1214.31 Glaziers completed the stained glass in the ambulatory began around 1225, and workmen finished the nave in 1230.32 After 1250 with the main cathedral built, “work slowed down considerably.”33 Like other Gothic structures, Bourges’ structural problems began after 1250. Ironically while the translucent walls were sure and stout, the façade with its thick structural framework started to buckle. By the late 13th century, the workers completed the western façade which eventually began to crack. “In 1313, great cracks began to appear in the southern tower, which had to be supported by extensive buttressing. The structural problems are such that it has never been able to carry bells and is dubbed a ‘deaf tower.’”34 By the time of Bourges’ dedication and consecration of May 13, 1324, the north tower still was not completed.35 After the first attempt of construction and its subsequent destruction (because of constructive defects), this “Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower)” finally rose in 1542.36 Still, masons built the tower in a style consistent with the original cathedral. After 55 years of construction, Bourges was a noble sister of the original Notre-Dame. Even after the looting of the Huguenots and Gabriel de Lorge during the Religious Wars and subsequent attacks by vandals and spite, Bourges stands in the stillness beckoning to another time.37

25 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).

26 Id.; Lavedan, P. French Architecture. (London: Scolar Press, 1944), 44. 27 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>). 28 Id.; Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>; Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 109. 29 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>). 30 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals. (London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1976), 2. 31 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>). 32 Id. 33 Id.; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 222; Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West

Portals, 3-4. 34 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).; Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 4.

35 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).

36 Id. 37 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 69; Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The

West Portals, 5-6.

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The cathedral at this time must have been at the height of its glory—resplendent with stained glass, the choir decorated with a carved screen and furnished with stalls and tapestries.38

Plan, Porch and Pedigree

Most cathedrals in the Middle Ages were built to some plan, but with later additions, the larger proximate structures subsumed the original plan in complexity.39 “It is rare for a medieval building to follow rigorously the law of symmetry. Yet it may be argued that the right and left halves of a church are alike.”40 The church built religious structures for their use, a sacred core with an increasing and larger administrative shell.41 At Bourges the outward appearance has been changed like other cathedrals in the region; however, unlike others, Bourges reach did not differ much from the footprint and layout of the original plan. In the facades, changes and manipulations went beyond the original of the builder as insight and changing fashion determined the positioning and angels and saints. Like Chartres’ sacristy and Notre-Dam’s façade, the Bourges façade does have gothic proportion but in an asymmetrical way.42 However, Bourges’ footprint plan seems very symmetrical, down to the very crypt. There is the balance, clarity and note to hierarchy that one sees at other Gothic structures, but it seems linked with geometry more so than others.43 In plan and in section, it is true that Bourges’ builders used the flat isosceles 45 degree triangle at their model in laud to the previous Romanesque cathedral that stood on the same spot. As a result, Bourges did have some classical proportions, such as the golden section and other geometric forms, that are absent in other Gothic cathedrals.44

Bourges’ builders began construction with Notre-Dame “in mind,” but they planned to manipulate the space and volume of the cathedral to new widths and heights not achieved before.

45 The nave rises to 123 feet and is 45 feet wide.46 “It is based on the Notre-Dame in Paris but with improvements in design, which can be seen especially in the astonishing height of the aisles.”47 The successive outer aisles also reach heights previously unattained.48 At 69 feet, the inner aisles rise to a much more daring scale than previously achieved in Paris.49

38 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 69.

“But the height of arcade is 20m, which is 6m higher than

39 Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 47-48. 40 Id. at 47.; see Diagram 8. 41 Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 48. 42 Id. at 47-48. 43 Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 51. 44 Id. at 45.; see Diagrams 3, 4, 5. 45 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).; Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 69; Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>; Office, L. M. A. R. “History of Gothic Architecture, Cathedral, Bourges No. 1.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/eng/hst/gothic/bourges.html>).; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 216-219; Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 12-13.; Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 117.

46 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172; Office, L. M. A. R. “History of Gothic Architecture, Cathedral, Bourges No. 1.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/eng/hst/gothic/bourges.html>); see Diagram 1.

47 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).; Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 69; Office, L. M. A. R. “History of Gothic Architecture, Cathedral, Bourges No. 1.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/eng/hst/gothic/bourges.html>).

48 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172; Office, L. M. A. R. “History of Gothic Architecture, Cathedral, Bourges No. 1.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/eng/hst/gothic/bourges.html>).

49 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 69.

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Chartres’s, so that the space of the [a]isles are more combined with the nave visually.”50 The height of the smaller aisle reaches more than 27 feet, completing a pathway down to the ground in a triangular fashion from the nave.51 These double aisles then follow the nave and curve around it in an uninterrupted line at the choir.52 With the inner aisle at almost 3/5th of the height of nave and the smaller aisle at almost 1/3rd of the inner aisle, the visual and occupied space pop into the creation of an almost undifferentiated space that is unified and concentrated.53 With the aisles at such heights, the effect is that a great amount of luminosity pours into the nave.54

The spatial effect is one of breadth and expansiveness, but the layered aisles vaults and roofs preclude clerestory windows as tall as those of Chartres, although here too they fill virtually the entire wall area between wall shafts.

55

The inner aisle has a higher vault than the outer one, while both the central vessel and the inner aisle have similar three-part elevations with arcade, triforium and clerestory windows; a design which admits considerably more light than one finds in traditional double-aisled buildings like Notre-Dame.”

56

While this layered effect limits the size of the clerestory windows at Bourges, it allows for almost the entire wall to be opened up and for further effects to take place.

57 Transepts are removed from the design in favor of the uninterrupted space, and wall is removed to allow for a “staccato effect” with a clerestory and triforium in the nave, and a secondary pair in the inner aisles—both allowing light to pour into the visually conjoined space.58 “Jean Bony sais that the effect is as though a church of normal height had been cut in two and another enormous church and been inserted in between.”59 What we have is a type of space where the cathedral becomes an unbroken unity of gothic space.60 While the surface area of Bourges is 6,200 square meters, there is an equally large and expanded inner sense of space caused by the “great height and breath of its sexpartite vaulting which were ‘exceptionally long’ and completely different than the ‘closely spaced and heavily stressed bay divisions which slow one’s visual progress along the central vessels at Chartres.”61

50 Office, L. M. A. R. “History of Gothic Architecture, Cathedral, Bourges No. 1.” (retrieved November 18,

2010, from <http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/eng/hst/gothic/bourges.html>).

With the long nave, the builders purposely crossed out the idea

51 Id.; see Diagram 1. 52 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 222-224; Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.”

(retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).; Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 69; Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 221; Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 117

53 Wilson, Christopher. The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 1130-1530 (London: Thames and Hudson, 1990), 107.

54 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 223-224. 55 Id. at 223. 56 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>; Branner, R. The Cathedral of Bourges and its Place in Gothic Architecture. (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1989, and Paris, 1962), 172; Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172.

57 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 223. 58 Id. at 222; Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 69; Wilson, Christopher.

The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 1130-1530, 107; see Diagram 1. 59 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172 60 Erlande-Branenburg, A. The Cathedral: The Social and Architectural Dynamics of Construction.

(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), 216. 61 Erlande-Branenburg, A. The Cathedral: The Social and Architectural Dynamics of Construction, 15;

Wilson, Christopher. The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 1130-1530, 107; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 221, 222-224; Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-Destinations.com/france/bourges-

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of a transept to “unify the internal volume of the monument and to simplify its external masses.”62 The central space becomes a sacred zone for the highly contemplative, unified and three dimensionally divine.63 “Bourges is all interior, and its unity of space” similar to the exhibition halls like the Crystal Palace more than a thousand years later.64

As a result, Bourges’ scale caused optical, numerological and human scale issues. Because of the lack of a transept and because of the long nave, the master builder knew that an optical illusion would bring the sides of the nave together narrowing the space optically.

65 As a result and like the ancient Greeks, the master builder broadened the nave at the end to compensate for this narrowing effect. At Bourges, the cathedral’s width starts at 48 feet from “centre to centre” as one enters the nave and expands “by the choir” to 50 from center to center.66 The bays of the aisles shrink in a corresponding manner so that the cathedral itself, from side to side, stays parallel.67 “The desired effect was that of a colonnade whose noble rhythm was caught and fulfilled in the round of the apse rather than dissolved into a vanishing point, as was the taste of the Renaissance and after.”68 Along with this planning, Bourges builders considered the differences between numerological form, human scale and the scale of human usage. Interestingly, Bourges keeps a human rhythm in numerological form. The numerological number for man is five, and Bourges rigidly keeps to this scale in its height of five from the bottom of the structure to the top of the nave.69 “For all its height and grandeur Bourges preserves much of the human scale because its interior elevation progresses through five graduations that alleviate its massive impact.”70 “Chartres in contrast, asserts the number three—the number of creation and the Trinity.”71 Along with adherence to a numerological scale, the Bourges’ builders balanced the difference between the scale of man, and the scale of human usage. “In 1771 the canons of Notre-Dame in Paris had the lintel of the centre portal destroyed because it hindered the passage of the canopy under which the archbishop went when processions came out of the church.”72

[There] is the lateral axis common to each bay, where the elevations of the nave and double aisles present a further vista of overlapping layers.

While other cathedrals changed to meet this new demand, Bourges’ master designer planned for this and increased sizes accordingly. There is no doubt that the changes at Notre-Dame would have been known at Bourges as it tried to copy its sister church. This scale was based upon how persons used the cathedral and what the designer could expect would take place with ecclesiastical usage—human, retinue, accoutrement, garment, ritual and numbers. As a result the cathedral is only a gigantic and exaggerated proportion when one looks at it from modern eyes in ways that are incongruent to its usage.

73

The view of the apse, shows the bold scale of the four-storied elevation comprising the crypt, outer aisles, clerestory of the inner aisles and clerestory of the nave. Oriel-like apsidal chapels accentuate the staccato effect.

74

Bourges includes five “capacious porches and six stout buttresses set across a generous platform of steps.”

75

cathedral.htm>).; Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 69; Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172; Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 117.

Still “higher up,” the design overwhelms with asymmetrical towers--a tower with four

62 Erlande-Branenburg, A. The Cathedral: The Social and Architectural Dynamics of Construction, 216 63 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 167. 64 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 66. 65 Id. at 70-71; see Diagram 2. 66 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 70-71. 67 Id. 68 Id. at 71. 69 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172. 70 Id. 71 Id. 72 Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 43. 73 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 66. 74 Id. at 69.

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“simple Early Gothic windows on the south tower and, on the north tower, the delicate filigree of crocketing of the Flamboyant style.”76 Etched on this are the “elliptical arches, a jewel staircase and on the topmost platform, a gazebo,” making Bourges a chateau for its occupants and God.77 “In between is the big west window, whose 14th century tracery blends the rectangular and arched forms of the façade; its culminating feature is the pointed circle of its magnificent rose.”78 This rose allows for more light compounding that coming from the side grazing.79 Effectively, the crypt below is a “lower church” mirroring the floor plan of the cathedral above in its own vaulting.80 It contains the tomb of Jean de Berry, various archbishops and a polychrome Holy Sepulcher, under a paneled baldachin.81 It also includes a screen mirroring the portals of the church with the “the jaws of hell and clergy boiling in a pot.”82 Even with this the builders constructed the Jardins de l’Archevêché to set the tone of the cathedral and make it more like a palace.83

[The] “pointed arch, the ribbed vault and, in incipient form, the flying buttress, were the means of expressing a new conception of man and his relationship to the divine world, a new sense of light, and a soaring, aspiring, hungering, desire for the unity they had already conceived in their own souls.”

84

Proving that decision were being made on the basis of appearance as much as, if not more than, structural logic, St. Etienne Cathedral in Bourges received a triangular cross section that was more efficient therefore more economically built, than either Paris’ or Chartres’, but its model was largely ignored.

85

In section, Bourges “differentiates from Notre-Dame de Paris in having a triangular section plan reminiscent of Cluny III.”

86 It seems that while Amiens and Paris were built to an Egyptian triangular module, only Bourges was built to the right-angled isosceles triangle.87 “The right-angled isosceles triangle, the flattest of the three, was eliminated in the Gothic period, which strove upwards, with the exception of Bourges cathedral which is still half Romanesque in spirit.”88 The builders forget the Corinthian column, a complete break with the past, and build piers which will bear the weight of stone and ideas that they were trying to construct.89 “Instead, the pier carries the structure of the vaults down to ground level, interrupted only by the top member or abacus of the capital.”90 The flying buttresses which encage Bourges provide the necessary support required for such a delicate thing.91

75 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 66; see Appendix 1, pages 1-3, 33-34,

and Appendix 2, page 35.

“The flying buttresses surrounding the cathedral are relatively slender and efficient, particularly compared to the contemporary but much heavier flyers at Chartres. Their steep angle helps to channel the thrust from the

76 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 66. 77 Id. 78 Id. 79 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 8 80 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>). 81 Id. 82 Id. 83 Id. 84 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 15. 85 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 249. 86 Id. at 222; see Diagrams 1 and 3. 87 Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 44. 88 Id. at 44; see Diagrams 1 and 3. 89 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 70. 90 Id. 91 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 15.

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nave vaults and the wind loading on the roof to the outer buttress piers more effectively.”92 They create a direct line from the nave to the secondary aisles to meet the ground, effectively creating an almost equilateral triangle that has a larger base than sides from the nave to the lower aisles, allowing the cathedral to go higher and wider.93

From a material perspective, this is extremely efficient. “Robert Martin … documented the structural logic of Bourges, which achieves a comparable interior height and area to Chartres, yet requires significantly less stone.”

94 The weight effectively transfers to the ground, allowing the walls to become gossamer panels.95 Given the amount of buttresses, it would seem that they were unplanned as in other cathedrals whose buttresses were applied later to prevent cracking in the nave. This is not the case at Bourges. In fact, the builders planned the thin-wall buttressing from the inception. In fact, to keep the builders planned much structural buttress support than was needed, and unified the design of buttresses counteracting limited lateral movement with all others in order to have a unified design.96 “The case of Bourges serves to dispel this misconception, for the flyers here are of uniform design despite the fact that those aligned with the intermediate single ribs of the high vaults are receiving lateral thrusts between two and three times less than those taken by other flyers.”97 There were two effects. First was a concerted effort to eliminate the wall by pushing down the clerestory and creating a wall of glass tracery.98 Second, the design of the outside was taken into effect so that persons viewing the cathedral from the outside would see a unified buttress design.99 Metaphorically, there was the elimination of the inside because the divine realm that supported the material world on the outside came pouring in like wine.100

Interestingly, the main problematic area at Bourges was the towers built in a fashion reminiscent of the Romanesque period. Containing the largest mass of stone and weight, they fell numerous times destroying several portals. Still, the push ever higher caused these false front masses also to go higher still.

101 Reconstruction of the tower continued with the installation of heavy buttressing so that these edifices of mass could reach ever higher. Still these heights were not high enough for the Gothic mind, and the standard of Chartres became the model for later cathedrals to follow.102

[The] … Gothic structure is a skeletal system that transfers roof loads down to the ground at discrete points, thereby freeing large expanses of wall to be opened for windows.

103

This flying buttress system worked in concerted with the, pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the compound pier, and formed a link in a highly tectonic structural system of design.

104 But, this was a system without back-up plans: it was a plan at the most minimal to break the wall away. Every element worked in concert with every other element.105

92 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213.

It also depended upon technological advances from foreign lands. The pointed arch in particular was most likely obtained from Islamic areas, and was much stronger than the Romanesque rounded arch. The pointed arch not only spanned an area, but it

93 Id. at 222; Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172. 94 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 223, 249. 95 Id. at, 213, 222. 96 Wilson, Christopher. The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 1130-1530, 111. 97 Id. 98 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 10; Anderson, W. The Rise of the

Gothic, 171-172. 99 Wilson, Christopher. The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 1130-1530, 111. 100 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 10; Anderson, W. The Rise of the

Gothic, 171-172. 101 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 20-21. 102 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 223. 103 Id. at 213. 104 Id.; Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 15, 39; see Diagram 1. 105 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213.

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redirected large lateral loads quickly downward, thus, it eliminated the structural loads that cathedral walls would have to bear.106 At Bourges, the pointed arch allowed each vault to rise in a highly vertical fashion, culminating in the sexpartite ribbed nave.107 Further, it allowed for vault design disparities to be unified into a more holistic design than was previously possible in the Romanesque.108 The load bearing systems in place eliminated the need for most of the structural support in the nave casing, allowing light to pour in. The wall could be replaced with tracery instead of dark stone and allow in divine light.109

Divine Glass

One suspects that building patrons, in Northern France at least, preferred the dramatic luminosity afforded by the tall clerestory windows of the single-aisles design more than the structural efficiency, since Gothic was not primarily and expression of technique but an architectural embodiment of religious and cultural ideas.110

Bourges is unique in that it maintains most of its original glazing.

111 “Of the original 25 windows,

a remarkable 22 survive. The three windows in the central east chapel were lost. The large windows in the main wall of the ambulatory are entirely original.”112 It still has some of the “finest collection of windows of any cathedral; it is also remarkable for the extensive period that it covers.”113 The purpose of the glazing was not just for beauty, the beauty was an equally important effect.114 The main purpose was to incorporate a new perception of man and his relation to God, and the neo-platonic ideas that considered reality as a diminished reflection of divine light. The “desire to create in stone and glass an interior expressing the Neoplatonic idea that our visible and corporeal light derives from a higher and incorporeal light.”115

The glaziers achieved great heights of technique by using techniques from optics, a study heavily influenced by Arab thinkers and scientists, and by joining stone lace with glass planes.

The resulting structural aspect is that of ornamentation, but, in reality, it was the central to the cathedral’s program.

116 Limestone and course material would hold the delicate lenses allowing the divine light to bejewel the inner cathedral by either direct illumination or secondary cast points of light.117

The great rose windows, whose circular form is itself cosmological in its implications, are invariably devoted to cosmological themes: the Last Judgment, the Apocalypse, the cycle of the year as expressed in the signs of the zodiac, the glorification of Christ and of the Virgin as the rulers of heaven. On the other hand, one of the reasons that the theme of

106 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 139, 171; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213;

see Appendix 1, page 1 and Appendix 2, page 35. 107 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 224. 108 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 11; Anderson, W. The Rise of the

Gothic, 171; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213. 109 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 39. 110 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 223-224. 111 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>; MedievalArt. “Bourges Cathedral - Medieval Stained Glass.” (retrieved November 20, 2010, from <http://www.medievalart.org.uk/bourges/bourges_default.htm>).; see Appendix 1, pages 9-31; Diagram 6.

112 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).

113 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 71. 114 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 214. 115 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 13, 15; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 214. 116 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 55; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213. 117 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 55; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213.

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the Jesse tree remained popular throughout the Middle Ages was that it lent itself to such a rich variety of ornamental treatments.118

Although Bourges had a large rose window in the central face, the majority of light streams through the nave and ambulatory. The ambulatory glass dates from 1215, and the rest of the glass was donated at different times by various professional guilds.

119 Like stonemasons and other workers who travelled to various cathedral projects honing their craft, many glaziers became masters at their craft, gaining experience on each cathedral project being built.120 “The French art historian Louis Grodecki identified three distinct masters or workshops involved in the glazing, one of whom may also have worked on the windows of Poitiers Cathedral.”121

At Bourges, the glazing tells biblical and allegorical stories through light. “The glazing [program] includes a famous Typological window (similar to examples at Sens and Canterbury), several hagiographic cycles, the story of the Old Testament patriarch, Joseph and symbolic depictions of the Apocalypse and Last [Judgment]. Other windows show the Passion and three of Christ’s parables; the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and the story of Dives and Lazarus.”

Like most guilds, this probably created a monopoly of expertise and a concentration of those intellectually and economically interested in the craft. Most likely it also allowed the cross-pollination of techniques and academic possibility between those in various guides and those in the religious circles who had access to medieval knowledge.

122 At Bourges, there are stories of John the Baptist and Christ in the choir clerestory.123 Across from this are twelve apostles, spreading the gospel to foreign lands and expanding the church’s reach in its formative years.124 “In Bourges Cathedral the huge figures of the Apostles in the south clerestory are paired off against the prophets in the north clerestory, the representatives of the New Testament thereby receiving the full light of the sun and their Old Testament counterparts the more crepuscular light of the north sky.”125 In the inner aisles one sees the bishops of Berri, and in the outer aisles the windows are “dedicated to preaching and interpreting the scriptures, while those in the apsidal chapels depict the saints.”126 The ambulatory abounds with glazing on a beautiful scale. “10 larger windows on the ambulatory wall are mainly original and generally in excellent condition. By contrast, the 12 narrower windows in the chapels were victims of changes to the altars in the 17th century which resulted in the loss of the lower 3-4 registers of each window.”127

“A visitor walking clockwise around the ambulatory comes first across the window (given by the masons) telling the stories of Dives and Lazarus, who appears, clapper in hand, as the patron saint of beggars and lepers. Then comes the story of the discovery of the relics of St. Stephen, the patron saint of the cathedral to whom a portal is dedicated on the west front. This is followed by one of the most beautiful windows at Bourges—the

Each window contains medallions of pictures, each window containing several scenes arranged in a directed pattern.

118 Encyclopædia Britannica. “Stained glass,” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. (retrieved November 21,

2010, from <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/562530/stained-glass>). 119 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>. 120 Id.; Grodecki, L. “A Stained Glass Atelier of the Thirteenth Century: A Study of Windows in the

Cathedrals of Bourges, Chartres and Poitiers,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 11, 1948, 87-111.

121 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>.

122 Id. 123 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 71. 124 Id. 125 Encyclopædia Britannica. “Stained glass,” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. (retrieved November 21,

2010, from <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/562530/stained-glass>). 126 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 71. 127 MedievalArt. “Bourges Cathedral - Medieval Stained Glass.” (retrieved November 20, 2010, from

<http://www.medievalart.org.uk/bourges/bourges_default.htm>). (See for detailed description of each window).

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Good Samaritan, the gift of the weavers. Next are the Prodigal Son, given by the tanners, and the New Alliance, given by the butchers and charcutiers.128

One can see themes, miracles, holiness, saintliness, Christ, sins, torment and repentance.

129

The colors used in the glass and garment also had meaning and a price. “All these windows are made in the 13th century and comprise varying arrangements of circular medallions, which contain small pieces of glass that are dark and predominately blue. The windows of the crypt…are made of larger pieces of glass, which are also lighter in tone with white, pale blue, and pink as in predominant colors.”

However, for the religious and at the point of initial installation, one sees not only one’s location on a metaphysical realm, but also one’s location and position within the cathedral and church hierarchy itself. At each position in the great church, with each type of glazier and picture, all are unique, and all tell you exactly where you are. Given that many parts of the cathedral were off-limits to the commoner, just being allowed to see the glass would show your inclusion within a highly regulated religious system. This is less so with cathedral sculpture before the positions of various pieces were changed over the centuries.

130 The blue used was not the Egyptian manufactured blue that was used in the ancient world, and which at the time was mildly expensive.131 “During the Middle Ages, the recipe for Egyptian blue was lost, so azurite and expensive ultramarine from Afghanistan were the only sources of blue available.”132 The use of the amount of blue in the wall glass at Bourges was of extremely expense, and, given the route that it would have to take, it was difficult at best to obtain. “Charlemagne, missal, circa 15th century. In early medieval Europe, blue was a royal and aristocratic color, as blue dyes were rare and expensive. Due to the rarity of blue dyes made from woad, and also because Tyrian purple had gone out of use in Western Europe after the collapse of the Roman Empire, Europeans’ idea of royal color shifted from Tyrian purple towards blue. The working class wore mainly green and brown.”133

Blue was commonly used in art depicting the Virgin Mary. This is an anonymous panel painting of the Annunciation, in egg tempera, from 1490. The blue color in Mary’s mantle links heaven and earth, the divine and the mundane, and also symbolizes purity.

Further, even discounting the cost, blue had a more important symbolic effect for Bourges cathedral. Blue was not only a symbol of the great expense in building the structure as a boast, but also it was used for the deification of Mary—the Notre Dame.

134

The process at which the blue glass was blown was just as difficult—adding to the yeoman’s work in making sure the cathedral windows were complete. For Bourges, the main additives in the glass would be ores containing cobalt for the blue, copper for the pinks and other metals, probably lead, for the whites.

135 Most likely cobalt came from Islamic sources, or in trade routes controlled and secretly guarded by others. In the 16th century, the Venetians controlled and horded the trade of cobalt.136 Since they were renowned for their glassware, they guarded where the main sources of cobalt in the world at that time was located. “In this period, most cobalt was mined in the mountains near Kashan in Central Iran and made its way to Venice via trade.”137

128 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 71.

It was highly likely during the building of Borges, the same economic and social forces were at play, making cobalt extra special and expensive to have as an ingredient in one’s glass.

129 Id. 130 Id. 131 Douma, M., Cur. “Pigments Through the Ages” (ed. 2008, retrieved November 20, 2010, from

<http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments>); see Diagram 7. 132 Douma, M., Cur. “Pigments Through the Ages” (ed. 2008, retrieved November 20, 2010, from

<http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments>). 133 Id. 134 Id. 135 Encyclopædia Britannica. “Stained glass,” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. (retrieved November 21,

2010, from <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/562530/stained-glass>). 136 Carboni, S. Venice and the Islamic world, 828-1797. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007), 347. 137 Id.

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Contrary to popular belief, the glassmaker and the stained-glass artist could seldom have been the same person even in the earliest times; in fact, the two arts were rarely practiced at the same location.138

Given the cutting of the forest that occurred around Bourges, glassmakers would need to be far afield in order to have a ready supply of wood for the stained glassmaking.

139 It seems that this would allow a glassmaking guide control more and more projects--at least in the royal district, where such zones of production could be centralized and then delivered to the site for assembly into stained glass. Made as cylinder glass, the glass would be cut in rough form in sheets long enough to be of use to the glass artists of the age, who set up shop much closer to the cathedral.140 “Whether by accident or by deliberate intent, the glass made in the 12th and 13th centuries had almost the ideal combination of crudity and refinement for stained glass.”141 The glass generally cut in sheets of 10 x 12 inches with a 5/16 inch thickness was exactly the thickness needed to show the transitions in color for a rich hue effect.142

Heavenly Stone

In short, at Bourges, the tectonic nature of the architecture created the place for the glazing, but it also helped create an industry by centralizing production and creating mass of persons interested in the science of glassmaking. The end result of their efforts was beauty and a house made of points of light, and by extension, a house of God.

Though not of the same class as it stained glass the sculptures of Bourges … cover and equally long period.143

The stonework at Bourges is a combination previous Romanesque pieces combined with new gothic pieces. However, all pieces were unified in their arranged to fit Bourges. “It has many characteristics which are Romanesque in design and contemporary to cathedrals like Chartres.”

144 In the broadest sense, the builders placed the sculpture to create a storyline and thresholds for the passers and gazers, who would know that they were seeing something new and inspiring—and of power. These carvings would push the religious and unconvinced to narrowly and straightly follow the Christian path. 145 “They were placed in there in part to preach and in part to ward off evil.”146

The first element is one of classical and pagan design--the use of patterns and elements that were representative in ancient Rome and Greece, as reviewed and redefined by Romanesque builders of the age just past. “One of these characteristics is the barbaric profusion of abstract and vegetable motifs, the latter largely classical in derivation.”

These sculptures had the power of the Church and the pike and sword of the State to back them up. In using sculpture, church fathers created a distinction between the heavenly world and the present existence. To do this, the church builders mainly used three categories of elements: classical and pagan, the foreign and the demonic/saint dichotomy.

147 Workmen applied these elements as devices to separate various elements and to direct the eye towards important items.148 Types of elements included amaranth plants, oak leaves, tendrils and baldachins.149

138 Encyclopædia Britannica. “Stained glass,” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. (retrieved November 21,

2010, from <

There are also carvings that are representative of column, orders and other elements of classical design, but these are carved and not independent of the stone

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/562530/stained-glass>). 139 Id. 140 Id. 141 Id. 142 Encyclopædia Britannica. “Stained glass,” Encyclopædia Britannica Online. (retrieved November 21,

2010, from <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/562530/stained-glass>). 143 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75. 144 Id.; see Appendix 1, pages 3-8. 145 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 13. 146 Id. 147 See Appendix 1, pages 6; Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75. 148 Id. 149 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 15; see Appendix 1, page 3.

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besides which they rest and they are never structural or supportive of loads. In a sense, the builders were portraying classical heaven, while keeping an eye toward those in the midst of the pagan field. The use of pagan symbolism is much more prevalent in other Cathedrals than Bourges. However, ones should not discount their incorporation within the classical designs that exist as ornamentation. One should note that the various types of leaves might also refer to the green man in European pagan mythology.150 The use of greenery proliferates over Gothic cathedrals, and Bourges is no exception to that rule. However, in others the green man’s face hides behind leaves and wraps around building edges.151 At Bourges, the use of plants as a background detail goes hand-in-hand with the juxtaposition of humans and mythological beasts, but not in the same way as in other cathedrals.152

Plants provided almost the entire pharmacopoeia of the ancient and medieval world, possession connotations of healing often foreign to us, and therefore linked, in the Gothic transformation to vegetation, to the healing of the wounds inflicted on the will and intellect by original sin.

Either the builders might have used the leaves as a metaphor for pagan usage--a metaphor for a transformed concept of original sin or the newly shaped Christian world out of the pagan darkness, or the builders might have been using the leaves and greenery in their classical fashion.

153

Throughout Bourges one can see various oak leaves and hazel nuts, and various floral designs within the portals and in the Western Façade. However, at Bourges, the plants are used in ways similar to classical and Romanesque practice. So, while the original symbols might have been pagan, the church’s power to persuade swallowed the symbol within Christian metaphor.

The symbolism of some of these plants is obvious in relation to the Passion. Adam of St. Victor said of the hazel-nut that it symbolized Christ.154

A second element to find its way into the Bourges repertoire was the use of Islamic and geometric designs.

155 This should not be surprising because the use of glass itself was the result of advances of glasswork in Islamic areas. “The simple geometry of these Moorish forms provide a fine frame for the Romanesque doorway behind, and together they make a remarkable juxtaposition of civilizations.”156 Note the curious polylobe embellishment of the the semicircular arches—a later addition of Moorish inspiration.”157 For glass, the Moorish intent to create distinctions between various spaces with just a transparent divide changed with added Christian meaning. One can find these Moorish elements in the types of semicircular arches in the window structures and in the glazing. However, just like with Moorish glass, the Christian church imposed a new meaning on those elements that was divorced from the original intent. Like French pagan and Roman and Greek thought beforehand, the church and patrons baptized in the new religion and used for their decorative purpose. Further, such devices were utilized by larger structural dichotomies such as lintel and tympana, outside and inside the threshold, and the hierarchical nature of these decorations in relation to either the subject matter or other elemental devices.158

The major element at Bourges was the use of saints and demons as an allegory for the Christian existence, how one should live, the domination over the pagan past, and the synchronistic nature of the

150 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 108-123. 151 Id. at 115. 152 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, plates 3-20, 31-35, 41, 44, 115-117, 146, 149-152,

155, 156, 170, 172, 174 (could be the green man, but not sure), 175; see Appendix 1, page 5. 153 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 115. 154 Id. 155 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75. 156 Id.; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 213; See Appendix 1 pages 2-3, (polylobe

windows in chevet), Appendix 2 pages 36, 37, 38 (windows in clerestory, and polylobes in stone on sculpture balconies).

157 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75. 158 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 13.

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intermixing of the pagan and Christian religious worlds.159 These figures not only jammed the jambs but also flowed throughout the portals and sculptural pieces, giving a functional message to those who not only entered but viewed their storyline—submit and obey, not only for heaven, but for your own personals livelihood. “The attenuating statues of the jambs, their finely pleated drapery [saints] clinging to their columnar figures, are also typical of this school. At the end of the 13th century, porches were added, cubic in form and pierced on three sides with sexfoiled oculi and trilobed semicircular arches.”160 They appeared not simply because they were there to ward off spirits and provide added structure buttress to the portals, but they were there because people still believed in the demons and pagan deities in a European landscape that was still quite in the pagan era. “The old gods and goddesses reappeared in the decoration of Romanesque and Gothic churches because, in at least three ways, nearly everyone still believed in them.”161

“Since Christian rites are celebrated mainly in the interior of the church, exterior decoration is placed chiefly at the doorways, its function being to address, instruct and admonish the worshipper before he crosses the threshold.”

Christians saw these figures, the green man, the demon, the misrepresented perception of other persons from other lands, as something to be warned against. These were warning signs for the Christian to not falter in their beliefs and patterns of practice.

162

For the common peasant, these were simply representations of their daily lives, the practices and dances that they still continued as a partly ancestor recognition but also as changed rituals to protect them against those the pagans feared. “The Christians saw them as demons and things to be warned against, whereas the natural peasants saw them as everyday reality and continued the rites and dances and preservation of the ancient ideas and spooks that their forefathers and foremothers taught them.”

163 What the gothic sculpture did was actually quite remarkable, when one thinks about their effect. They proclaimed the new state belief system imposed upon the commoner by the church and the principle powers of the region. They also dealt with the “psychic shock” of the commoners in Europe for having to take upon themselves belief patterns that were directly conflicting with their own lives and how they saw the world.164 It was almost as if Bourges and cathedrals like it were stone ships birthing on the shores of the New World for the first time, and shocking the mental framework of the pagans in the land.165

“They were placed in there in part to preach and in part to ward off evil.”

In this case, it was central France, and the time frame was five hundred years before the conquest of the New World.

166

Portals for Peasantry

“At Bourges each pair of figures support a single arch and the surmounting miniature architecture rings the shaft of the column like a hoop.”167

Where the stained glass was mainly for interior viewing, the statutory was its external composite creating hexes, warnings and stories on the outside of the church mainly on thresholds of access to the sacred space.

168

159 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75; Anderson, W. The Rise of the

Gothic, 87; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 17-18; see Appendix 1, pages 3, 7, 8.

“The original portal in the Roman period gave way to a much more defined threshold that incorporated the stories and threats of the Romanesque but also expanded greatly upon these

160 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75. 161 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 87. 162 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 17. 163 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 87. 164 Id. 165 Id. 166 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 13. 167 Id. at 15. 168 Id. at 13-15.

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stories to provide whole verses in stone.169 These stories were present for both those entering and leaving the church under these thresholds.170 “Since Christian rites are celebrated mainly in the interior of the church, exterior decoration is placed chiefly at the doorways, its function being to address, instruct and admonish the worshipper before he crosses the threshold.”171 These statues indicated the points of departure from the natural world to the world of the sacred, where persons creased to be judged by civil law and were under ecclesiastical law.172

At Bourges, there was a markedly different style than similar elements in the Ile-de-France region where most Gothic cathedrals were being constructed.

At Bourges, the statuary blossomed from the portals and places where they could be seen by common folk, providing points of visual reference for the town of Bourges and the congregant. But, Bourges was different.

173 “The jamb capitals, pieces of great virtuosity, are not comparable with works in the Ile-de-France; in theme, as in form, they are more lively, more capricious.”174 Even when the devices are similar to those at Chartres, they are executed differently. “Here the types are similar to Chartres, but show a divergence in execution: lines are more sharply drawn, folds more prominent. The figure of Moses perhaps compares with the Chartres Elders.”175 At Bourges, there was an exaggeration of degree rather than storyline.176

The sculptures cluster at the doorways, proclaiming the means of grace dispensed within the church or the saints whose relics it enshrines.

177

The North and South and the West façade are filled with sculptures not created at the same time. Many were created for the previous Romanesque structure, and not for the gothic Bourges. “They date from about 1160 and were reused from the earlier Romanesque cathedral.”

178 However, the manipulation of external ornamentation has continued up to the present, where sculptures are placed in different, and sometimes ‘correct position.’179 Some even had to be replaced for damage due to vandalism and war.180 For example, during the Religious wars between the Catholics and the Huguenots of France, portrayals of the Virgin Mary were mainly destroyed or defaced, causing many to suffered replacement or repair.181

Bourges’ north portal was installed in the 13th century, and it seems arbitrary in its symbolic and constructive pattern. However like the other portals, it is highly planned.

182 The figures are on a similar stylistic plane as those in the Portal Royal at Chartres.183 The main theme of the North portal is that of the Virgin Mary, with child, upon a throne surrounded by a regiment of angels supplicating around the sacred pair.184 Here the Virgin is not only the “mother of God” but she dominates the scene and is the central figure.185 “She is raised above, yet remains part of, the scenes which occupy the tympanum.”186

169 Id. at 15.

170 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 15. 171 Id. at 17. 172 Id. at 13. 173 Id. at 48. 174 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 48. 175 Id. at 48. 176 Id. 177 Id. at 17. 178 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>); see Appendix 1, pages 3-6, and Appendix 3, pages 39-40.

179 generally, Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals. (London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1976). 180 Id. 181 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>). 182 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 48. 183 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 72. 184 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 13, 32, plate 38. 185 Id. at 32, plate 35. 186 Id. at 32.

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We do not know which direction her gaze fits, or the gaze of the magi which surround the figure because this was vandalized by the Huguenots as they fought for their own religious freedoms within an ever increasingly Catholic France.187 But, the “tradition of combining the Adoration of the Magi with the frontal portrayal of the Virgin enthroned goes back to the early Christian period.”188 Unlike on the Western Façade, this portal’s trumeau is bare and does not contain a figure or a representation.189 However, it does mimic square column forms that uphold up the Virgin who sits enthroned above vegetative and classical designs.190

Squiring around and framing the Virgin and other sculptures, one sees foliage scroll recalling classical motifs and designs of Rome.

191 The tendrils drape the lower half of the lintel, covering anyone preparing to enter into the Cathedral.192 This is not just a type of design which functioned at Bourges, but it was a type of effect that was fostered in numerous cathedrals, such as those in Burgundy.193 Framing the Virgin, a baldachin of classical or Romanesque design and a large Romanesque arch cover the throne in a triumphal manner.194

This linked the [Bourges’] portals to those in Burgundy who also followed the same fashion, though it would disappear in 1200 BCE.

From the archivolt to the jambs, one further sees decorative designs and allegories, where even the saints that form the two sides of the entrance doors are themselves adorned with baldachin and glory. As people forgot about Rome and the Romanesque became less important, it would disappear.

195

The style of the sculpture does not seem gothic, for Bourges’ sculpture has a “freedom and looseness of composition unthinkable at Chartres.”

196 The Mary in the tympanum is lively and more human, and she lacks the perfect “symmetrical” nature that Chartres and other gothic cathedrals developed.197 In a sense, the types of sculpture at Bourges are more realistic and much less idealistic than in other places.198 What one sees is that the sculpture and the layout of the portals at Bourges comes from older traditions and has little in common with the new Chartres’ trajectory of similarity and symmetry defining the later Gothic.199 “With the Bourges portal before us, any idea that the royal portals follow a uniform stylistic development has to be abandoned. Here we find older traditions still active, models brought into play, which have nothing in common with Chartres.”200

187 Id.

One has to wonder if this was intentional or if it was the direct result of the craftsman from the area that helped build the structure. Maybe it is because many of these sculptures were use from the previous Romanesque structure, and the rest were created to be uniform in design. It may seem that Bourges’ was meant to be different than other Cathedrals—to stand out.

188 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 32. 189 Id. at plates 34-35. 190 Id. at plates 34-35. 191 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 72; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture

in France 1140-1270, plates 34-35; see Appendix 1, page 8. 192 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 72; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture

in France 1140-1270, 14, plates 34, 35. 193 Id. at 14. 194 Id. at plate 35. 195 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 14. 196 Id. at 48. 197 Id. 198 Id. 199 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 48. 200 Id.

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Bourges’ South portal is only slightly different from the North Portal. In the South, the tympanum’s main theme is “Christ in Majesty.”201 At the sides of Christ are the various “Four Evangelists,” prophets and kings which dominated the Christian liturgy.202 Workmen did not create these statues for the Gothic church, but they were commissioned for the previous Romanesque church. “They date from about 1160 and were reused from the earlier Romanesque cathedral.”203 “At Angers and Bourges the Majestas tympanum, like the corresponding tympanum at Chartres, has a border of Elders of the Apocalypse.”204 In this piece, Christ is judgment the souls of those who have died. The ‘elders,’ prophets and images from the Bible encircle the scene and multitudes of stories are told and related. We see Christ surrounded by Griffiths and fanciful creatures, sitting on a throne in the form of a classical structure.205 In the archivolt, the Elders of the Apocalypse surround the tympanum, and the jambs are jammed with Old Testament figures.206 Below Christ, one sees a bolt of elders or holy men covered within their own arches.207 And beyond each one sees the same classical designs and vegetative squires which dignified the Northern portal with the Virgin Mary, harkening back to the classical era.208

In the jambs to the side of Christ, one sees various columns of classical design, some with amaranth plants and others with interlocking swirls.

209 Like other uses of classical elements, sculptures broke each order apart and utilized individual elements as pieces of ornamentation.210 These Old Testament holy men frame the jambs and stand like Saint Simeon on columns of organic and classical elements, with baldachin surrounding their heads. These baldachins shoot forth into column-like forms, and, in a manner represented by Visigothic church column capitals, they form biblical and allegorical scenes.211 In one storyline, you see the expulsion from the garden, David, the huntsman, Noah and the grapes, Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, Sampson, and other Old Testament figures.212 In this portal, the various holy men drape the insides of the entrance. Like other statues at Borges, their clothes are flowing and more relaxed, and their expression and the various indications of holiness are expressive and natural.213 However as in the north portal, these extraneous figures are only codas in a grant storyline that focuses on the central character of Christ—and his importance to the cathedral.214 Below the lintel of holy men there is a version of Christ in an upstanding position, himself on a column as a saint.215 This trumeau symbolizes a singular phrase in the Bible meant to bring joy and fear to the those who pass through this threshold to enter the cathedral. For all have to pass under and by a Christ-figure in order to see the joyous light within.216

201 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, plates 36-39; see Appendix 1, page 4.

202 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 13, 27, plates 36-39.

203 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).

204 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 28, plates 32, 37. 205 Id. at plate 37. 206 Id. at plates 37, 38. 207 Id. at plate 37. 208 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, plates 37. 209 Id. at plates 36-37. 210 Id. at plates 36-37. 211 Id. at plates 36, 38, 39; see Appendix 1 pages 4-5. 212 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, plates 36, 38, 39. 213 Id. at plates 38, 30. 214 Id. at 13-14, plate 38. 215 Id. at plate 37. 216 John 14:6; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, plate 37.

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Old Testament cycles and figures are never at the centre of portal programs. They refer always to representations based on the New Testament.217

The Western Façade and Statuary

Bourges is remarkable among Gothic cathedrals for its sense of breadth exemplified in its west front, right, by the generous platform of steps, the niched arcading of the splays and the five magnificent portals.218

In light of previous cathedral design, the West Façade is of “particularly grand scale.”

219

Bourges’ Western Façade is its most dominant sculptural piece and is modeled after those in the “royal domain.”220 The West Façade is one of the widest facades among the Gothic cathedrals.221 At over 120 feet, the facades structurally represent the inner structure of the cathedral and protrude out in five great masses, indicating the aisles within.222 “The upper part of the central façade is entirely taken up by the fourteenth-century rose window.”223 The archivolts are on the same plane as the façade, and are covered with steep roofs and faced with gables.224 The nave and the four surrounding aisles project out into the grand porch, reflecting the inner medley within.225 “[Each of Bourges’] … five divisions of the nave is preceded by a portal.226 The porches carry sculpture which not only tells a story to the uneducated mind of the common folk in Bourges, but also, like the Parthenon indicate space and location, and how one would proceed into the structure and the limitations upon individuals regarding access. However, today it is difficult to assess whether the original location of items is the present set, given that many sculptures have changed positions over the years due to various causes.227

Still, the program within the façade is very unified.

228 These portals are actually in the

Romanesque style and were carved for the previous cathedral built in the 11th century. But, they decorate the cathedral in an economy of communication in a “profuse ornamentation” that is highly functional and necessary, given the nature of the cathedral to be read like a book by the illiterate.229 The use of saints in the sculpture also explained to the illiterate the type of grace ‘available within.”230

“Unifying all five portals is a dado screen of gabled niches which stretches the whole width of the facade. The spandrels between these niches feature an extended Genesis cycle which would originally have told the story from the beginning of Creation to God’s Covenant with Noah.”

231

217 Id. at 36.

218 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 73. 219 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 16; see Appendix 2, page 35, and Appendix 3, pages 39-40.

220 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 16. 221 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>). 222 Id. 223 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 8. 224 Id. 225 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>. 226 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 7. 227 Id., examples 27-49. 228 Id. at 9. 229 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>. 230 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 39. 231 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>; Bayard, T. “Thirteenth-Century Modifications in the

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Like other churches, the porches of Bourges have sculptures which have “scenes related to the Last Judgment” or tell the lives of saints.232 At Bourges, St. Ursinus and St. Stephen were important in establishing authority, while other portals the Virgin Mary, saints of the Old Testament, and allegorical visions were of great importance in relation to church doctrine.233 “Biblical history is … summarized in Old and New Testament scenes, and the history of Bourges itself is included by presentation of the lives of the two local saints, St. Ursin and St. William.”234 One of the portals tells the story of St. Stephen and how St. Ursinus found the relics of St. Stephen and brought them to the church.235 “The tympanum cycle starts with Ursinus being sent forth by Peter on his mission to Bourges and ends with the baptism of the local Roman governor.”236

An innovation is the arcading, which runs the length of the façade; this was carved between the 13th and 16th centuries with the scenes full of a delicate [humor] and accurate observation from nature.

237

Regarding St. Stephen and St. Ursinus, they were important for Bourges in ways unrelated to the repentance of souls. The church fathers used the Western Façade as an indication of the relics within and used stone to cement the power of Bourges in the region and within church hierarchy—these were advertisements of legitimization of the cathedral’s existence.

238

“But local saints were also displayed on portals when it was important to produce evidence of a see’s great antiquity, or to testify at the entrance of a metropolitan church that it had a right to is special privileges.”

239

The central portal is of the Last Judgment.

240 “On the figure-decorated portal of the early twelfth

century the most important theme referred to the end of the world and the Last Judgment.”241 It is similar to Romanesque churches which had like tympanum or thresholds where one would pass and receive an understanding of their own sins in the past or the sins they might commit inside—an example of which is St. Foy.242 “The central door’s 13th-century tympanum is of the highest quality, depicting the Last Judgment in figurative carvings alive with movement and imagination. The devils come complete with snakes’ tails and faces appearing below the waist, symbolic of the soul enslaved to sinful appetites.”243 The tone of the whole church is set by this central scene.244

West Portals of Bourges Cathedral,” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 34, No. 3 (Oct., 1975), 215-225.; Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 9.

With angels encircled, Christ raises his arms as a testament to show his wounds, that he was crucified, while imparting those marks of spoilage and

232 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 27-28, 39.

233 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>.

234 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 9-10. 235 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 40, 293.

236 Id. 237 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75. 238 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 40, plate 293. 239 Id. 240 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>).; Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 27-28; Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 14.

241 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 27. 242 Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 196. 243 Destinations, S. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from <http://www.sacred-

Destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm>). 244 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75.

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sacrifice upon the church itself.245 Christ does this while sitting under version of the sun and the moon--each pagan symbols and submitting to Christ by their abeyance--while being attended by both St. John and Mary on either side.246 Still further below the resurrection repeat, one sees “St. Mary Magdalene and St. Mary of Egypt, representing repentance; … [and] …on the gable in the corners of the oculus, are the Wise and Foolish Virgins with their lamps exemplifying vigilance.”247

Below this drama, one sees another scene independent of the scene of Christ, and yet allegorically tied to it. One sees an angelic host, St. Michael determining whether a soul is damned or blessed, sending the damned to hell and the blessed to Christ.

Like the portals before, each figure is encircling being radiance to the central being—Christ.

248 Here you see sculpture in really the most imaginative and extreme. In this scene, the bodies are twisting in pain, the demons stomachs with their great appetites have their own animation, and the great mouth of hell is swallowing up the hopeless.249

“St. Michael had acquired the task of weighting the souls of the dead. The most memorial depiction of him at this work is at Bourges where he stands with huge wings outspread, holding an iron balance with his with his right hand and with his left shielding the soul whose sins and virtues are being tested against a demon waiting with a grappling hook.”

250

In fact, what you see is more caricature and drama—what one would see in a cartoon representation of a demon in the modern era—a mixture between pagan misrepresentation and church imagination.

251 “These creatures are not only more numerous than their victims but far more grotesque; to show the baseness of their appetites, the sculptor has carved faces on their stomachs. A tendency to caricature also appears in the blessed, whose smiles and postures show self-satisfaction.”252 Their desires are so cavernous that they have their own personality—it is almost as if there is an animation of body parts directly in line with a pagan mindset of how bodies and minds work. “Animation of the outward form goes hand in hand in this case with a heightened capacity for expression.”253 In contrast, the statuary of other Cathedrals seems mundane by comparison.254

These scenes act almost like stills in a movie camera, for in the frame below, you see another frieze of souls judged worthy reuniting with their own bodies and entering “the heavenly realm.

255

Most likely due to the damage brought on the Religious wars the Central Portal is the only part of the façade which contains most of its jamb statutes, and even so, they are not in their original positions.

256 “The statutes of the central portal must have represented the Apostles, for they are traditionally present at the Last Judgment.”257 Also, the trumeau that is present in the South portal of Christ, must have been originally in the central portal of the West façade.258 The other portals are in various states of repair and reconstruction.259

245 Id.

When the unstable Tower fell, the Virgin portal collapsed,

246 Id.; Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals; 14-16. 247 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75-76; Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral:

The West Portals, 17. 248 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 136-137; see Appendix 2, page 36. 249 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 136-137. 250 Id. at 137. 251 Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World, Cathedrals of Europe, 75. 252 Id. 253 Sauerlander, W. Gothic Sculpture in France 1140-1270, 53. 254 Id. 255 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172, 136. 256 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 19-20. 257 Id. at 20. 258 Id. 259 Id. at 21.

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but in the repair, the original works such as the tympanum were used.260 The portal to St. Stephen to the right “tells the story of his Martrydom.”261 Two other tower portals are dedicated to St. William and St. Ursin, as discussed before. The portal to St. William had to be remade after the tower fell in 1506, retaining none of its original characteristics.262 The South Tower portal to St. Ursin “depicts his mission to Bourges” and the subsequence Christianization of the region.263 Even with these minor portal programs, the program of the central portal dominates over the façade and sets the tone of what one should consider upon entry. Some are general stories, and others are very specific, but their message has been lost in time. The “scene beneath Christ’s feet and that in the spandrel unit with the man and the dragons … indicate that the author of the iconographic program had a very definite message to convey.”264 The imagery used in the stories of the portals is all to realistic and animated and much different than the earlier age. At Bourges, the builders were not looking for the most symmetrical and idea, but the most imaginative, and gory it seems. The demons are most monstrous, and the mouth of the leviathan most hideous.265

Tectonic Fluidity, Space and an End

136- 137 One can easily understand how Bourges could affect so many for so long.

Bourges could rightly be characterized as a cathedral in the middle of France that influenced the building of Gothic structures in both Northern and Southern France, along with other areas of Catholic influence.266 However, these influences are in the various elements utilized in numerous places rather than the design as a whole.267 “Only the portals of the Cathedral of Poitiers are actually a copy of the Bourges portals.”268 Brazes, Bordeaux, Porte Royale, Saint-Macire, Le Mans, Mas-d’Aire and Potiers copy the spandrel design.269 “At Le Puy-Notre-Dame … there are several scenes from the Old and New Testament, but they are too badly damaged to be studied.”270 Only a few cathedrals like the Toledo Cathedral, the Cathedral of Milan and the choir at Le Mans would master builders learn the lessons of Bourges and try to emulate its simplicity.271

Both Bourges and Chartres invited prelates, masons, and townspeople to conceive new buildings on a greater scale. The chief influence of Bourges went abroad to Spain but Chartres had a multifarious influence within France.

272

This competition would be expressed in present-day sporting language as ‘trying to break a record.’ That of Chartres is broken by Reims, which is broken by Amiens, broken in turn by Beauvis.’

273

With the monies and the desire to go ever higher, by patron and by ecclesiastical authority, the dynamics that frame the Bourges triangular model could not be sustained. Bourges and cathedrals like it are of a dynamic models allowing light to enter a sacred zone, with a limited structural frame and with maximum visual and occupied space. If Bourges had one failing it was in making a singularly important

260 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 21. 261 Id. at 20-21 262 Id. at 22. 263 Id. at 22-23. 264 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 24. 265 Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 172, 136-137; Mitchell, A. Great Buildings of the World,

Cathedrals of Europe, 75. 266 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 138. 267 Id. at 138-140. 268 Id. at 140. 269 Id. at 139-140. 270 Bayard, T. Bourges Cathedral: The West Portals, 139. 271 Wikipedia. “Bourges Cathedral.” (retrieved November 18, 2010, from

<http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral>; Bony, J. French Gothic Architecture of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985), 212; Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 224, 237; Anderson, W. The Rise of the Gothic, 174.

272 Id. 273 Lavedan, P. French Architecture, 55.

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sin—the clerestory. “The triforia and lower [clerestory] at Bourges, largely on account of the squat proportions of the arches bounding them, fail to incorporate openings of maximum size and thus violate one of the fundamental principles of French Gothic; if the elevations had been more conventionally coherent, perhaps the Bourges system as a whole might have been widely accepted.”274 Further, gothic planners rejected the idea of a cathedral without a transept, following the Chartres model.275 While cathedrals without a cross provide more unified internal space, they do not allow for the most spectacular outward appearances.276

274 Wilson, Christopher. The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church, 1130-1530, 110;

Fazio, M., et al. A World History of Architecture, 223.

Regardless, the Chartres model triumphed in the gothic age. While the other cathedrals could rightly be categorized as the tectonics of height, Bourges could be rightly categorized as the tectonics of an equalized height and breath and of occupied space. Still, to the mind’s eye, it seems that Bourges has more in common with modern concepts of vertical and horizontal uninterrupted space than the medieval mindset. Regardless of its design and the blossoming of the biblical story on its walls of stone and glass, Bourges has a lot in common with the human evolution. Like homo erectus, it was on the branch that died out. It would never be the grand thrust toward later gothic periods as was the victor, Chartres. But, it was not created simply to be the primogenitor to an age of buildings. It was built by a religious and temporal community on the banks of the Yèvre as a testament to public pride and private faith—and it still stands.

275 Erlande-Branenburg, A. The Cathedral: The Social and Architectural Dynamics of Construction, 217. 276 Id.

Cross Section Present in the Cathedral at Bourge

DIAGRAM 1

Arcade

Triforium

Clerestory15 m wide - 37 m high

21.3 m high

9.3 m high

Here are the various forces directed downward due to the flying buttresses. The flying buttresses hit the tracery wall at several points and sometimes overlap. Maybe, this is because various weight compensa-tions were required. How-ever, interestingly, a golden section exists between the middle of the nave to the middle of the buttress pier. The triangular nature of Bourge makes the cathedral much wider at the base than it is tall.

North

North

DIAGRAM 2

48 feet 50 feet

From Nave becomes larger by 2 feet on both sides, while the corresponding bays shrink by the same amount. The cathedral’s sides are ultimately parallel.

DIAGRAM 3

In various points, Bourges is based on a right isosceles Triangle (90, 45, 45), in contrast to the other cathe-drals which were based on other geometries, breaking them from previous styles. Here are a few Examples.

Other cathedrals used the Egyptian triangle (3/4/5 sides).

Pier to center of Nave

Pier to Roof

Degree of tilt of most buttresses

Degree at which other buttresses relate to the pier

Nave to end of line of masses

Per to inner conjoining of inner aisles and nave

Inner aisle to outer aisle wall

North

DIAGRAM 5

Combined Regulating Lines

DIAGRAM 6

(Not really a diagrambut this is a goodlisting found on theInternet of the various areas in the cathedral, including glazing.)

DIAGRAM 4

Golden Sections Present in the Cathedral at Bourge

At this point you see severalgolden sections setting the cathedral in place. A larger blue one,coexisting within a still larger gray.You also see that there are two “locking” golden sections which lockthe nave area in place. But, thebuilders seem to go further, to subdivide the cathedral on thebasis of golden section geometry.

Here, you see a golden sectionin “yellow” that goes from pier tothe middle of aisle bays. It floats downthe nave aisle until it gets to the centerpoint of the apse, and then radiatesout to encompase the entirity of thecathedral in rose fashion. The remainingparts of the aisles are merely “halves”of the golden section that floats down from the West Facade, down the naveat to the flying buttresses at the endof the cheret.

The remaining areas within thecathedral divide also into various goldensections that form parts of the previous“yellow” which seems to be the maindevice that is used as a basis for layingout the compound piers and bays. Thefacade also has a similar radiatingeffect as in the apse, around the figure of Christ in the trumeau

ti ithi th

DIAGRAM 7

(Not really a diagrambut this is a good historicalchart showing the varioustypes of blue used fromancient to modern times.)

Blue and its use in the Middle Ages

The use and types of blue in the Middle Ages to the Present

From: Douma, M., curator. (2008). Pigments through the Ages. Retrieved November 20, 2010, from http://www.webexhibits.org/pigments.

North

DIAGRAM 8

(Not really a diagrambut here is an unaltered versionof the plan of Bourge Cathedralalong with a secion of its nave.)

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APPENDIX 1 (PAGES 1 THROUGH 34)

These pictures and the text are from the following website, and are used for educational purposes only. http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral-photos/index.htm They have a general copyright 07/18/08 which allows for educational usage.

View from South

South exterior of Bourges Cathedral, 1200-30.

View from South

South exterior of Bourges Cathedral, 1200-30

Tower Tops

Tops of the west towers of Bourges Cathedral from the southeast. The south tower (left) was built in the late 13th century; it has had structural problems ever since. The north tower was rebuilt in 1542 to the earlier Gothic style.

Choir and Apse

Exterior view of the boat-like choir and apse of Bourges Cathedral (completed 1214) from the southeast.

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Chevet

Exterior view of the choir and apse of Bourges Cathedral (completed 1214) from the south.

Chevet

Exterior view of the choir and apse of Bourges Cathedral (completed 1214) from the south.

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Apse with Trees

Exterior view of the apse of Bourges Cathedral (completed 1214), framed by trees.

South Portal

Romanesque sculpture on the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal: Statues

Romanesque statues of Old Testament prophets and kings on the right side of the south portal, Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal: Statues

Romanesque statues of Old Testament prophets and kings on the left side of the south portal, Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

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South Portal: Column Decoration

Geometric and plant-inspired decoration on the lower columns of the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal Tympanum

Romanesque sculpture on the tympanum and archivolts of the south portal, Bourges Cathedral, c.1160. This portal is very similar in subject, layout and style to the central bay of Chartres Cathedral's Royal Portal (c.1150)

South Portal: Column Decoration

Geometric and plant-inspired decoration on the lower columns of the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal: Trumeau Christ

Statue of Christ on the trumeau of the south portal, Bourges Cathedral, c.1240.

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South Portal Capital: Man in Vine

Human figure in a vine tendril. Romanesque capital on the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal Capital: Bear and Equestrian

Romanesque capital depicting a bear holding something and a beardless man on horseback. Maybe it is the helpful bear of St. Gall? Detail of the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal Capital: Adam and Eve

Romanesque capital of Adam and Eve plucking fruit from the Tree of Knowledge (which has disappeared). Detail of the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal Capital: Harpist

Romanesque capital of a harpist (perhaps King David, but no crown). Detail of the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

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South Portal Capital: Bear and Equestrian

Romanesque capital depicting a bear holding something and a beardless man on horseback. Maybe it is the helpful bear of St. Gall? Detail of the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal: Apostles

Seated apostles in conversation. Detail of Romanesque sculpture on the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal: Apostles

Seated apostles in conversation. Detail of Romanesque sculpture on the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal: Apostles

Seated apostles in conversation. Detail of Romanesque sculpture on the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

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South Portal: Apostles

Seated apostles in conversation. Detail of Romanesque sculpture on the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal: Apostles

Seated apostles in conversation. Detail of Romanesque sculpture on the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160.

South Portal: Apostles

Seated apostles in conversation. Detail of Romanesque sculpture on the south portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160

North Portal: Statue

Full-length Romanesque statue on the north portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160. Because it depicts scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary, the portal was badly mutilated by Protestants in 1562.

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North Portal: Virgin and Child

Damaged remains of a Virgin and Child. Detail of Romanesque sculpture on the north portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160, depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. It was badly mutilated by Protestants in 1562.

North Portal: Announcement to the Shepherds

Damaged remains of the announcement to the Shepherds of Christ's birth. Romanesque sculpture on the north portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160, depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. It was badly mutilated by Protestants in 1562.

North Portal: Adoration of the Magi

Damaged remains of the Adoration of the Magi. Detail of Romanesque sculpture on the north portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160, depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. It was badly mutilated by Protestants in 1562.

North Portal

Damaged remains of an Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) and Visitation (Luke 1:39-56). Detail of Romanesque sculpture on the north portal of Bourges Cathedral, c.1160, depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary. It was badly mutilated by Protestants in 1562.

Peter and Paul Window: Paul and Barnabas in Lystra

9 | P a g e APPENDIX

On St. Paul's first missionary journey, the people of Lystra try to offer Paul and Barnabas a sacrifice of an ox (Acts 13-14). Here Paul takes the ox by the horns and leads it away as Barnabas looks on. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25

Peter and Paul Window: Peter Baptizing

St. Peter baptizes a man in a barrel. Possibly this refers to Peter's baptism of the guards after miraculously bringing water from a rock. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Traditio Clavum

The Traditio Clavum: Christ gives the keys of heaven to St. Peter (Matthew 16:13-23; Mark 8:27-33; Luke 9:18-22). Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Nero and Paul

Emperor Nero and St. Paul holding a book. Both look to the next panel, in which St. Peter is baptizing a man in a barrel. Interestingly the two men are dressed the same, except for Nero's belt and boots. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Peter and Paul Window: Resurrection of Nicostratus

St. Peter raises the senator Nicostratus from the dead as St. Paul prays behind him. This is part of the contest between Peter and Simon Magus in Rome, as told in the apocryphal Acts of Peter. In the accompanying left pane, Simon had tried to raise him from the dead but could only move his head. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Simon Magus Fails

Simon Magus tries to raise the senator Nicostratus from the dead, but is only able to move his head a little. Behind him, St. Paul gestures to Peter's subsequent success at the same task. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Dispute with Simon Magus

St. Peter and St. Paul dispute with the pagan magician Simon Magus in Rome, in the the presence of Nero. Right panel of a pair. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Dispute with Simon Magus

St. Peter and St. Paul dispute with the pagan magician Simon Magus in Rome, in the the presence of Nero. Left panel of a pair. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Peter and Paul Window: Prayer Against Simon Magus

St. Paul (left) and St. Peter (right) pray while Simon Magus tries to fly off a tower; as a result, he comes crashing to the ground in the panel above. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Simon Magus Predicts Flying

Simon Magus predicts his flying demonstration in Rome. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Peter and Nero

St. Peter and Nero. Detail from a two-panel scene of the contest between St. Peter and Simon Magus before Nero in Rome. Simon flies off a tower with the help of demons, but when Peter prays, he crashes to the ground. The story is told in the apocryphal Acts of Peter. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Fall of Simon Magus

The contest between St. Peter and Simon Magus before Nero in Rome: Simon flies off a tower with the help of demons, but when Peter prays, he crashes to the ground. The story is told in the apocryphal Acts of Peter. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Peter and Paul Window: Domine Quo Vadis

St. Peter sees a vision of Christ while trying to leave Rome unnoticed. Peter asks, "Lord, where are you going?" (Domine, Quo Vadis) and Christ replies he is going to be crucified again. This inspires Peter to turn around and face his own martyrdom. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Peter Released from Prison

An angel releases St. Peter from prison. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Embrace before Execution

Sts. Peter and Paul embrace before their respective executions. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Peter and Paul Window: Peter Led to Execution

St. Peter being led to his execution, fulfilling Christ's prophecy that "you will be led where you do not want to go" (John 21:18). Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25

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Peter and Paul Window: Martyrdom of Paul

Martyrdom of St. Paul in Rome by beheading. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25

Peter and Paul Window: Angels

Peter and Paul Window: Martyrdom of Peter

The martyrdom of St. Peter by upside-down crucifixion, with angels above. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25

Peter and Paul Window: Martyrdom of Peter and Paul

The martyrdom of St. Peter by upside-down crucifixion and of St. Paul by beheading, with angels above. Detail of Peter and Paul Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Last Judgment Window

General view of the Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25. The greyed out panels seem to be absent only temporarily, as they are present in other modern photographs.

Last Judgment Window: Life, Death and Resurrection

Bottom register of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25. The greyed out panels seem to be absent only temporarily, as they are present in other modern photographs. The lowest panels depict the good death of a righteous man (left) and the demon-inflicted punishment of a wicked rich man (right), as direct consequences of their life as represented by the church scene in the center. Replacing the usual sponsor scenes in other windows, these panels serve as an earthly prologue for the judgment above. Above is the general resurrection of the dead.

Last Judgment Window: Good and Bad Man in Church

An interesting double scene showing the same priest ministering to a good man (left) and a bad man (right) in church. It forms the center of the bottom register of the Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25. Along with the death scenes of the men on each side, it makes for a poignant earthly prelude to the cosmic events shown above. On the left, an angel supports the good man as he kneels before the altar and grasps the priest's stole. On the right, a rich man (indicated by large purse and fur-lined cloak) is pulled out of church by a demon. The priest holds a book in his left hand and points an unknown object at him with his right.

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Last Judgment Window: Resurrection of the Dead

The Resurrection of the Dead. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25. The greyed out panels seem to be absent only temporarily, as they are present in other modern photographs.

Last Judgment Window: The Good Death

Left half of an interesting double scene on the bottom register of the Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25. Replacing the usual donor portraits, this makes for a poignant earthly prelude to the cosmic events shown above. Here an angel supports a man as he kneels before the altar and grasps the priest's stole. On the left is his good death, with an angel taking his soul to heaven. The other half of the scene (not seen here) shows a bad man and his fate

Last Judgment Window: The Bad Death

Right half of an interesting double scene on the bottom register of the Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25. Replacing the usual donor panels, it makes for a poignant earthly prelude to the cosmic events shown above. A rich man (indicated by large purse and fur-lined cloak) is pulled out of church by a demon. The priest holds a book in his left hand and points an unknown object at him with his right. On the right, the man's soul is punished by demons in a fiery hell. He receives the usual special punishment for greed: a demon gleefully defecates money in his mouth. Restorer's mark "G39" visible in the right panel.

Last Judgment Window: Resurrection of the Dead

The Resurrection of the Dead. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25. The greyed out panels seem to be absent only temporarily, as they are present in other modern photographs.

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Last Judgment Window: Trumpeting Angels

Two angels sound trumpets (actually long horns) to wake the dead. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25. The greyed out panels seem to be absent only temporarily, as they are present in other modern photographs

Last Judgment Window: Weighing and Division of Souls

The Weighing of Souls, the division of the blessed and the damned, Abraham's Bosom and the Jaws of Hell. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Last Judgment Window: The Damned

The damned (among them a bishop, a lady, a queen, monks, and at least one abbot) are chained and led to the fiery Jaws of Hell by demons. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Last Judgment Window: Blessed and Damned

The blessed (all wearing crowns) are led to heaven by an angel while the damned (among them a queen, a lady, a bishop, monks and abbots) are led to hell by a demon. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Last Judgment Window: Abraham's Bosom

The blessed dead are led by an angel to heaven, represented by pleasant trees and souls in Abraham's Bosom. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Last Judgment Window: Weighing of Souls

The Weighing of Souls. St. Michael the Archangel holds the scale in which two souls are weighed. The devil interferes by grabbing the scales at the top and a smaller demon hangs on one side to sway the results. Two souls wait in the wings for their turn to be judged. Restorer's mark "G21" visible at top. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Last Judgment Window: Peter and the Redeemed

St. Peter (with keys) sits among the redeemed in heaven. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Last Judgment Window: Paul and the Redeemed

St. Paul sits among the redeemed in heaven. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Last Judgment Window: Deesis

Mary and John the Baptist interceding before Christ in Judgment (known as the "Deesis"). Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Last Judgment Window: Christ in Judgment

Christ in Judgment against a background of stars, displaying his five wounds and flanked by instruments of the Passion. Six adoring angels below. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Last Judgment Window: Instrument of the Passion

Angel next to Christ in Judgment holding a spear, one of the instruments of the Passion. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Last Judgment Window: Instrument of the Passion

Angel next to Christ in Judgment holding a cross, one of the instruments of the Passion. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Last Judgment Window: Dove and Martyrs

The dove of the Holy Spirit and crowned martyrs look down from heaven on Christ appearing in Judgment. Restorer's mark "G2" visible next to the dove. Detail of Last Judgment Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window

Full view of the Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Passion Window: Furrier

A medieval furrier selling a fur-lined cloak. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Triumphal Entry 2

Second panel in a depiction of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Furrier

Furrier stitching a skin. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Furriers

Furriers preparing skins. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Passion Window: Furrier

Furriers preparing a skin. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Triumphal Entry 2

Second panel in a depiction of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Triumphal Entry 1

First panel in a depiction of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Christ and the Doctors

Jesus questioned by the doctors. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Passion Window: Washing of Feet

Christ washes the feet of the disciples to demonstrate humility (John 13:1-20). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Washing of Feet (Detail)

Christ washes the feet of the disciples to demonstrate humility (John 13:1-20). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Last Supper (Detail)

The Last Supper, with John the beloved disciple leaning on Jesus. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Last Supper

The Last Supper, with John the beloved disciple leaning on Jesus. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Passion Window: Agony in the Garden

Christ's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his arrest, with apostles sleeping (Matthew 26:36-56; Mark 14:32-52; Luke 22:39-53; John 18:1-12). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Raising of Lazarus

Christ raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Cleansing of the Temple

Christ driving the money-changers from the temple (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46; John 12:12-19). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Preparation of the Cross

The preparation of the cross before Christ's crucifixion (Matthew 27:34-44; Mark 15:23-32; Luke 23:33-43; John 19:18-24). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Passion Window: Kiss of Judas

The Kiss of Judas. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Kiss of Judas

The Kiss of Judas. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Scourging

The scourging of Christ (Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Judas Receiving Payment

Judas Iscariot receiving payment from the chief priests for agreeing to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:4-6). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Passion Window: Trial Before Pilate

Trial of Christ before Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:11-26; Mark 15:2-15; Luke 23:2-7, 23:13-25; John 18:28 - 19:16). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Crucifixion and Deposition

The Crucifixion (right) and Deposition from the Cross (left), with trial before Pilate in the quatrefoil below. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Deposition

The Deposition from the Cross, with help from Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:58-66; Mark 15:46-47; Luke 23:53-56; John 19:39-42). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Crucifixion

The Crucifixion of Christ, with angels, Mary, John, Stephaton with a sponge and Longinus with the spear (Matthew 27:45-58; Mark 15:33-45; Luke 23:44-52; John 19:25-38). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Passion Window: Harrowing of Hell

After the Crucifixion, Christ rescues souls from Hell. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Resurrection of Christ

The Resurrection of Christ. Christ steps triumphantly out of the tomb, holding a tall cross. The soldiers ordered to guard the tomb sleep on. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Censing Angels

Angels with censers above the Deposition of the Cross. Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Passion Window: Entombment of Christ

The entombment of Christ (Matthew 27:58-66; Mark 15:46-47; Luke 23:53-56; John 19:39-42). Detail of Passion Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Apocalypse Window

General view of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Christ of the Apocalypse

John's vision of Christ as recorded in Revelation 1-3, standing among seven candlesticks with a sword in his mouth (shown here with an Alpha and Omega), holding a book with seven seals in his right hand and seven stars in his left. The two medallions above are filled with angels; the lower right depicts baptism and the lower left shows a group of saints. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Top Register

Top register of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25. In the center is the Triumph of Christ, showing Christ in a mandorla held aloft by angels. The bottom medallions show St. Peter receiving the righteous in heaven, the Lamb of God is at top left, and the top right shows Ecclesia (Church) nursing her members.

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Apocalypse Window: Baptism

Baptism. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Saints

Group of saints including a queen. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Christ of the Apocalypse

John's vision of Christ as recorded in Revelation 1-3, standing among seven candlesticks with a sword in his mouth (shown here with an Alpha and Omega), holding a book with seven seals in his right hand and seven stars in his left. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Christ of the Apocalypse

John's vision of Christ as recorded in Revelation 1-3, standing among seven candlesticks with a sword in his mouth (shown here with an Alpha and Omega), holding a book with seven seals in his right hand and seven stars in his left. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Apocalypse Window: Angels of the Churches

Three of the angels of the seven churches, to whom Christ directs John to give messages in Revelation 1-3. They look just like typical adoring angels, but there are four on the other side, significantly totalling seven. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Angels of the Churches

Four of the angels of the seven churches, to whom Christ directs John to give messages in Revelation 1-3. They look just like typical adoring angels, but there are three on the other side, significantly totalling seven. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Christ and the 24 Elders

Christ and the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse. An adaptation of St. John's vision in Revelation 4. The fire coming from Christ's hands might represent the phrase, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder" (4:5). Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Christ and the 24 Elders

Christ and the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse. An adaptation of St. John's vision in Revelation 4. The fire coming from Christ's hands might represent the phrase, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder" (4:5). Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Apocalypse Window: Christ and the 24 Elders

Christ and the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse. An adaptation of St. John's vision in Revelation 4. The fire coming from Christ's hands might represent the phrase, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder" (4:5). Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Christ and the 24 Elders

Christ and the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse. An adaptation of St. John's vision in Revelation 4. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Christ and the 24 Elders

Christ and the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse. An adaptation of St. John's vision in Revelation 4. This medallion only has five elders, making a total of 23, but there seems to be one missing on the far right. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: St. Peter

St. Peter greeting the righteous in heaven. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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Apocalypse Window: The Righteous

Group of six saints, who are probably part of the righteous crowd gathering before St. Peter in heaven in the left-hand medallion. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Triumph of Christ

The Triumph of Christ. Christ is shown holding a staff, standing inside a mandorla held aloft by angels. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Lamb of God

The Lamb of God (Agnus Dei), with banner full of symbols: Greek cross, Latin cross, Alpha, Omega, and Chi-Rho. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

Apocalypse Window: Ecclesia

Ecclesia (Church), the bride of Christ, nursing members of the Church. Detail of the Apocalypse Window in the ambulatory of Bourges Cathedral, dating from c.1215-25.

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North Tower Stairs

Some of the 396 steps up the north tower of Bourges Cathedral, which was rebuilt in 1542. It is known as the Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower), since it was funded by granting donors an exemption from fasting during Lent. Thanks to the tower's relative youth, the stairs are a bit wider and larger than in most cathedral towers.

North Tower Window View

View from a window in the stairs up the north tower of Bourges Cathedral. Rebuilt in 1542, it is known as the Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower), since it was funded by granting donors an exemption from fasting during Lent.

Top of the North Tower

Top of the stairs on the north tower of Bourges Cathedral, rebuilt in 1542. It is known as the Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower), since it was funded by granting donors an exemption from fasting during Lent. It takes 396 steps to reach the top.

Top of the North Tower

Top of the north tower (1542) of Bourges Cathedral, with bell, weathervane, bronze Pelican-in-Her-Piety and various modern contraptions. The tower is known as the Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower), since it was funded by granting donors an exemption from fasting during Lent. It takes 396 steps to reach the top.

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Top of the North Tower

Top of the north tower of Bourges Cathedral, rebuilt in 1542. It is known as the Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower), since it was funded by granting donors an exemption from fasting during Lent. It takes 396 steps to reach the top.

Roof from Above

Roof and flying buttresses of Bourges Cathedral's magnificent long nave, built c.1200-30. View from the north tower (Tour de Beurre) looking east.

Roof from Above

Roof and flying buttresses of Bourges Cathedral's magnificent long nave, built c.1200-30. View from the north tower (Tour de Beurre) looking east.

Buttresses

A bird's eye view of flying buttresses on the north side of Bourges Cathedral (c.1200-30) from the north tower.

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Buttresses

A bird's eye view of flying buttresses on the north side of Bourges Cathedral (c.1200-30) from the north tower.

South Tower from Above

View of the Gothic south tower of Bourges Cathedral from the north tower. The south tower was completed by the end of the 13th century, but in 1313 great cracks began to appear, necessitating extensive buttressing. The structural problems are such that it has never been able to carry bells and is dubbed a "deaf tower."

Bourges Cityscape

A beautiful view over the city of Bourges from the north tower of Bourges Cathedral. Rebuilt in 1542. It is known as the Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower), since it was funded by granting donors an exemption from fasting during Lent. It takes 396 steps to reach the top.

Rose Garden from Above

View of the rose garden from the north tower of Bourges Cathedral. Rebuilt in 1542, the tower is known as the Tour de Beurre (Butter Tower), since it was funded by granting donors an exemption from fasting during Lent. It costs 396 steps to enjoy this view.

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APPENDIX 2 (PAGES 35 THROUGH 38)

All pictures taken from: Pobe’, Marcel. “Splendor Gothique En France.” Paris, Braun & Cie, 1960.

Print 80

Print 73

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Prints 74-75

Print 77

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Print 76

Print 78-79

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Print 78-79

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APPENDIX 3 (PAGES 39 THROUGH 40)

All pictures taken from: Sauerlander, W. (1970). Gothic Sculputure in France 1140-1270. New York, Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

Plates 38 and 39

Plates 34 and 35

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Plates 36 and 37