TTF - Avant-garde Medieval worshipping

Tripping Through France - Chapter 4

Imagine casually walking down some quaint streets in a pretty town and glancing down a side street and being confronted with this view.  Not generally your everyday scene, I don't think.

This is the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges, built between the late 12th and 13th centuries, with construction starting by 1195.  It is a contemporary of the Notre Dame de Paris and Chartres cathedrals, all using innovative structural design for the times, such as described in Ken Follet's Pillars of the Earth.

It is still surrounded by many of the original half-timbered houses of the old medieval town, enabling one to really capture the ambiance of the original time period. 

Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges

Bourges is considered to be the first Christian community in ancient Gaul from the third century and thus has had a number of religious structures, probably all built on the same site.

As a royal city by the 12th century, it profited from the power, influence, and money the royalty provided to build this latest edifice.

A Romanesque basilica dedicated to St Stephen had already been built in the 11th century but burned down in the 12th; this cathedral was the replacement in the new Gothic style.   As it uses some of the doorways designed for the previous one, there is a combination of styles.

Romanesque is an architectural style of early medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. Gothic is marked by pointed arches and was revolutionary when this cathedral was built.

This façade is wider than that of any other of France’s Gothic churches and is considered quite remarkable by those who study these things.  It just looks like a typical old cathedral to me, although it really was amazing sitting in front of it.

Very wide cathedral façade, XIII Century

Lovely cathedral parvis

Walking around to the right side, you come across a large square that allows you to see the whole side from a bit of a distance.  It really is a pretty building.

This bell tower you see on the left has never housed any bells due to cracks in the structure and is thus known as the Deaf Tower.  The one on the other side came crashing down shortly after being built.  It was known as the Butter Tower when it was rebuilt since it was funded by offering donors an exemption from fasting during Lent.

Romanesque doorway, XII century

Walking across this square, we entered the cathedral through this door.  This is one of the 12th century Romanesque doors designed for the previous basilica that burned down (how does a stone structure burn down?).

I've never understood all the allegorical carvings on any of these old structures, even when reading detailed descriptions, so I won't bore you with any dull explanations.  It's enough to know that this workmanship is around 1,000 years old. 

We think we're so smart with our modern tools and equipment; it's just amazing what man was able to do with what they had available in the past.  I don't think we give the ancients enough credit for the brainpower they've had since the beginning of time.  Maybe we're not really so smart ourselves after all.

Once inside, man's past abilities continue to astound.  This huge open airy space is the result of the modern Gothic design of the 12th century.  Previously, they had to use heavy building materials for solidity without being able to have all the windows that can now allow in so much light.  Modern copies can easily support large structures, but these builders didn't have the luxury of today's knowledge.

Interior of Cathédrale Saint-Étienne, XIII century

As I was quite taken with the chandeliers, I've tried to show you some close-ups.  This was particularly difficult with my broken camera putting a dark film over an already dark interior, so I'm fairly pleased with the final result.  I can't find any dates now, but I believe I read that they are from the original time period.

As an aside, I just happened to come across this site, which I found rather amusing.  I would never have understood the significance of the collection name before this visit!

The grand central chandelier

One of  the side chandeliers

Another amazing aspect I wanted to share with you was the spectacular stained glass, which dates from around 1215.  It is apparently a magnificent example of the great workmanship of the day, and it all certainly caught my attention.  There are 22 of the original 25 panels still existing today.

Here is the back view from the inside (compare the outside front up above) over the huge organ, as well as the front view when facing the altar.

Rose window over organ

Row of windows over the altar area

Most large French churches have their Mary chapel behind the altar, I've discovered, with other chapels along the sides.  This one seems to have three of them.  As with the sculpting, I don't get into the allegories involved, although I was quite taken with the red set on the right.  Turns out that whole set is dedicated to the martyrdom of St. Stephen.

 

The three Mary chapels with their stained glass stories

 

Here are two other quite impressive windows in a couple of the side chapels.

 

One of the main chapels

Another principal chapel

 

There were numerous large narrow windows on either side of the Mary chapels; I've tried to capture a few of them to show you their magnificence.  It was quite amazing to just walk around behind the main altar with the outside light pouring in.

 

Four of the many stained glass windows, XIII century

 

Additional impressive decorations in one of the chapels were these beautiful tapestries.  It seems like nobody wants to talk about them, so I have no idea when they were made or what their subject matter is.  One was on either side of the chapel's walls.  (The size perspective seems a bit lost, look at the chapels above to imagine the size.)  If you haven't traveled around Europe, you may not have encountered these.  And if similar ones exist in the US, I doubt they have the same history behind them.  So I wanted to try to share them with you. 

Left side chapel tapestry

Right side chapel tapestry

To separate the altar area from the ambulatory (walkway) behind it, they had this beautiful wrought iron fencing.  I thought I'd show you how they look in situ, as well as a close-up the detailed work.  One would assume they also date from the original construction, but I really don't know for sure.

 

Wrought iron fencing

Fencing detail

 

Original clock mechanism, XV century

Original clock structure, XV century

As you can see, the Doc was quite taken by this astronomical clock from 1424 on display inside the cathedral, where it has always been located.

It is the oldest clock of its kind in France and has been very well preserved.  In the 19th century, the mechanism was modified to more current use, eliminating the solar and lunar readings.  It was restored in 1994, with the original mechanism being recreated, although not re-inserted into the original clock.

Mission Cross, 1817

One of the earliest European customs I learned about years ago in Paris was the Christian pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, as Paris was one of the major gathering spots.  In the Middle Ages, Santiago de Compostela ranked among the three most important pilgrimage destinations, the other two being Rome and the Holy Land.

When I learned this area was all the way over on the other side of Spain, I never figured I'd get there.  But one day I did, and the whole topic has always fascinated me as an early personal discovery of history.  So I found it interesting to learn that Bourges was another very important gathering point. Somehow that's connected to why this cathedral was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. 

From Bourges, we had our family visit in Paris, then we started back down south with a whole new set of adventures.  Stay tuned!

Remember, you can always tap a smaller picture to get an enlarged view.