Chartres Cathedral is one of the greatest architectural achievements of medieval Europe. The current Cathedral was constructed between 1194 and 1250 and is the last of at least five earlier buildings built on the site. Legend has it that around 100 BC, a Druidic shrine and sacred spring to the Goddess existed on the site where the Cathedral stands today.
It is traditionally believed that Chartres Cathedral was built to honour the Virgin Mary. The Cathedral has been a major pilgrimage destination of Miriam devotion since the middle ages. Today Chartres Cathedral continues to attract visitors in their thousands, who are inspired by the magnificence of this extraordinary masterpiece of art and architecture.
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| Chartres Cathedral © Copyright Deborah McLernon |
The Sancta Camisa
According to tradition, it is believed that Chartres Cathedral houses the sacred relics of the tunic worn by the blessed Virgin Mary at the birth of Jesus. It is believed that the Camisa was transferred to Chartres around 876 by Charlemagne’s grandson Charles the Bald. It is a robe or wrap around 5 metres long which is now preserved in a reliquary within the Cathedral.
It is traditionally believed that this sacred tunic was saved from a fire during the twelfth century by two priests who hid in the crypt with the precious relic. It was widely celebrated by the people of Chartres that divine intervention from the blessed Virgin had spared not only the lives of the priests, but also the Camisa itself. In joy, the people celebrated this miraculous event by declaring that a more wonderful church should be built in honour of the mother of God herself. Following this fire, the Cathedral was re-built and became the magnificent Cathedral as it stands today.
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| The Sancta Camisa © Copyright Deborah McLernon |
Medieval Mystery School
For two centuries Chartres was the centre of a flourishing mystery school which was the most important centre of learning in Europe. The mystery school was established by Fulbert in 1006, a prominent mystic and builder of his time, who later became bishop of Chartres. His intention was to enable his students to express the highest reaches of the divine human through the adoration of the Divine Feminine. This ancient tradition had existed at Chartres for millenia.
One thousand years before the birth of Christ the Druids would gather at Chartres to honour the black Madonna giving birth to a divine child. They recognised the powerful earth energies to be found at Chartres, and they engaged with these energies in an alchemy of awakening. The Chartres School attracted philosophers and visionaries from all over Europe as well as the east including Sufi, Jewish and Hindu masters. Chartres was described by mystical writer, Louis Charpentier, as the 'Golden Book, in which inspired sages have inscribed their wisdom as a lasting legacy to all who seek spiritual truth'. It has been suggested that Mary Magdalene may have visited Chartres following the death of Jesus upon her journey to the south of France.
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| Mary Magdalene |
Sacred Geometry
The ancient practice of sacred geometry is highly evident throughout Chartres Cathedral. Author Margaret Starbird suggests that the Knights Templar alongside planning and financing medieval cathedrals, also built ‘the tenants of their faith into the Cathedrals’. This faith was expressed in their Cathedral Designs through ‘the language of mathematics and symbol’ and included the ‘cosmic principle’ of balancing the ‘male and female energies’.
Bernard of Clairvaux, who was deeply connected to the Knights Templar and their founding, when asked what he thought God was, famously replied: 'Width, Length, Depth'. This philosophy is highly evident in the design and construction of the Gothic Cathedrals, including Chartres Cathedral itself. It is interesting to note that throughout all of the carvings and sculptures of the Cathedral, not one of them contains a scene of the Crucifixion. This is no coincidence, but as Tim Wallace Murphy asserts, reflects the faith of the Templars: 'that Jesus came to reveal and not to redeem'.
The Templars study of astrology enabled ‘the learned to contemplate the laws of the heavens and the grand design of the Divine Geometer, the Creator’. Their design plans, inspired by ancient blue prints from Jerusalem, were an attempt to ‘align the structures and plans for the city of God on Earth with the planets’ in line with the Hermetic philosophy 'As Above, So Below'. This ancient art and science was forced underground during the Inquisition, yet it is re-emerging amongst the many souls who are re-awakening to these ancient universal spiritual truths.
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| Sacred Geometric Designs © Copyright Deborah McLernon |
Well of the Saints Forts
Beneath Chartres Cathedral lies an ancient Crypt which contains the well of the ‘Saints Forts’. According to tradition, early Christians arrived in Chartres to preach the purest gospel of Jesus, the foundations of early Christianity. The archbishop of Sens, Potentian taught from this gospel, and made many converts including a young lady called Modesta. According to author Kathleen McGowan, Modesta converted to Christianity, and fell deeply in love with Potentian. Together they taught others the purest form of Christianity, brought to France by Mary Magdalene.
Modesta was the daughter of
the Roman Governor Quirinus, who persecuted the followers of this new religion,
including his own daughter. Potentian and
Modesta were both put to death; Modesta's remains were thrown down the well of
Saints Forts. At one of the entrances of
the Cathedral statues of Potentian and Modesta stand in unison. Modesta holds a copy of the purest gospel of
Jesus. Their legacy remains strong, even
in death.
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| Modesta and Potentian © Copyright Deborah McLernon |
The Labyrinth
“The secret of the rose with
six petals is its perfect correlation to the Lord’s Prayer. Each petal represents a different teaching
found within the prayer, and the central circle represents the essence and
wellspring of LOVE, as love must feed into all aspects of our lives in order
for us to achieve true fulfilment. The
rose is the symbol of the perfect spiritual practice as left to us by
Jesus. It is our map to the source of
miracles”.
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| The Labyrinth, Chartres Cathedral © Copyright Deborah McLernon |
The Labyrinth
Yet sadly, today the labyrinth
is covered over with chairs which continue to cause heart-breaking damage to
this ancient prayer tool. Visitors to
the cathedral are only allowed to walk the cathedral at designated times of the
week, under close supervision of the Cathedral officials.
Despite repeated attempts by many people over the years, those who hold a place of power within the church will not
allow the chairs to be removed. Quite
why the chairs need to be there remains a mystery as the church services rarely
require the use of these chairs, yet they remain placed there causing
unprecedented damage.
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