[MUSIC] Welcome back to the Age of Cathedrals. In our last time together, we discussed the all important west facade of Our Lady of Chartres. As we now enter this magnificent and most sacred home of the Virgin Mary in Western Europe we are struck by the extraordinary blue hued windows for which the Cathedral is known. The stained glass at Chartres impresses us with the depth of its' color. The glass here is thicker than elsewhere, almost three times as thick as the glass in the windows of this Sainte-Chapelle in Paris to which we will next travel. But the glass is also more densely saturated with color, the Lapis Lazuli which may have come to France along the Silk Road from as far away as Afghanistan. The crystallogical drama of the incarnation, passion and last judgment which we visited last time on the three portals of the west facade of Chartres are continued on the inside. Along the inner wall of the west facade. Here we find some of the same motifs we've seen elsewhere, that is, the Tree of Jesse that we saw at Saint-Denis in a high window depicting the genealogy of Christ and also linking the Old and New Testaments, through the figure of the dreaming Jesse, which culminates with the Virgin and Jesus at the top. The four crowned figures we see in the Chartres Jesse Window probably represent David, Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abia, the first in Matthew's long list of twice 14 Kings of Judah, Christ's royal ancestors. Christ is here identified by the cruciform nimbus around his head. Within the red half circles on either side of the figures in the tree and turned toward them are 14 Old Testament prophets bearing scrolls on which their names are written, from top and from left to right. They are Habakkuk, and Zephaniah, Isiah and Daniel, Moses and Balaam, Zechariah and Joel, Ezekiel and Micah, Samuel and Amos, Nahum and Hosea. The drama of the Incarnation appears in glass as well as on the lower lintel of the left west facade portal. As on the outside, the Chartres Incarnation Window contains the story of the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel visits Mary. The Visitation of Mary who is pregnant with Jesus and Elizabeth, who is pregnant with John the Baptist. The Nativity, and note here the resemblance between the portrayal of the birth of Jesus in the stained glass of the inside of the church. And the portrayal in stone on the outside, both depicted in a double decker bed and crib arrangement. The Annunciation to the Shepherds is there. We see King Herod consulting with the astrologers who have seen the stars signifying the birth of the King of the Jews. We see the Adoration of the Magi who, following the star shown here in the upper right hand corner of the widow panel, will find Jesus. We see the Epiphany or Dream of the Magi in which they're warned not to return to King Herod. Here we see the presentation of Jesus in the Temple. As Mary hands Jesus to Simeon, who prophesied to Mary, behold this child is set for the falling and rising of many in Israel. And here we see, Herod's massacre of the Holy Innocents, accompanied by the Flight of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus into Egypt. We see Joseph's Dream after Herod's Death. We see the Baptism of Christ. Christ's entry and welcome into Jerusalem with his disciples, an event depicted not in one, but in three slides. And finally, Mary enthroned with Jesus on her lap, a scene we have encountered on the outside of the cathedral in the tympanum of the south portal of Chartres' west facade. The scene of the Sedes Sapentiae is also captured in one of Chartres' most famous windows, known as La Belle Verriere. Which still contains some of the original 12th century glass. Within the realm of the Christological drama, we also find a Passion and Resurrection Window. The 14 panels and double circles of pearl-like, white dots offer a detailed narrative account of the Passion and Resurrection, beginning with Christ's Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. Here we see a representation of the Transfiguration, according to which Jesus departs with the Apostles, Peter, James, and John. He begins to radiate light, and on the mountain he speaks with the Old Testament prophets, Elijah and Moses, when a voice from the sky calls him, Son. Here we see the images from the Passion Window of the Last Supper, of the Washing of the Disciples' Feet, of the betrayal of Judas, who can be seen just at Christ's right, kissing his face. We see a scene of the Flagellation, of the Crucifixion, of the Deposition from the cross, of the anointing and Entombment of Christ's body. We see the resurrection and the scene of the words Noli me tangere, do not touch me, spoken by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognizes him after He is risen. Here we see a scene of the Apostles, Receiving the News of the Resurrection. Then moving to the top of the Chartres Passion Window, we find the Meeting of Jesus with Two Disciples on the Road to Emmaus. And finally, the Supper at Emmaus, where Jesus returned to Earth, is recognized.
