Cathedrale St Etienne, St Stephen Cathedral, Bourges, Loire Valley, France

The Cathedrale St-Etienne is a magnificent early Gothic structure very much on par with its more famous neighbours to the north, Chartres and Notre Dame de Paris.

Listed as a World Heritage Monument by UNESCO in 1992, Bourges Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in France.

The apse and choir were built between 1195 and 1215 during the first construction campaign.  A second campaign followed, between 1225 and 1260 when the nave and façade were built. Most notably in the design of the cathedral is that it has no transepts, the cross shape found in most churches, which gives the cathedral a unique appearance, both inside and out.  Without the break-up of the transept the visitor is offered a much longer view down the nave, which is made more striking by the height of the ceiling.

There is the use of the flying buttresses to help support the wide structure. However as this was still a relatively new technique of the time the walls of the Cathedral were still made noticeably quite thick, as compared to later structures of the time.  So it is here that you can see the groundwork being laid for cathedrals moving from the thick small windowed structures of the Romanesque to the light and graceful cathedrals of the Gothic Age.

The western façade, is the main entrance and contains the unusual number of 5 portals. The façade over the central portal represents the Last Judgement; this is a masterpiece of 13^th century sculpture.   It is a grandiose sculptural depiction where images of Hell swarm with demons and creatures in the torments of despair. The two doorways to the left were restored in the 16^th century; the first shows scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary.  The second is devoted to life of St William, the first Archbishop of Bourges.  The doorways to the right are dedicated to St Steven, the patron Saint Etienne, and the other to St Ursin, the first bishop of Bourges 

The cathedral of St Etienne de Bourges has one of the most beautiful sets of stained glass in France, made between the 11^th and 17^th centuries, and is attributed to three different workshops led by anonymous masters, though most of the glass dates from the 13^th century, overlapping its creation to the stained-glass windows of Chartres

Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris a Self Guide

The city of Paris’ cathedral Notre Dame ranks as one of the greatest achievements of Gothic architecture in the world. Notre Dame was begun in 1163 and completed around 1345, taking over 170 years; the massive interior can accommodate over 6000 worshippers.

Although Notre Dame is regarded as a sublime architectural achievement, there are all sorts of minor anomalies as a result of the different architects who worked on the cathedral. Some of these anomalies include the trio of main entrances that are each shaped differently from the other. The flying buttresses that were added to the design under the eighth builder, they were built around the choir in about 1350 when stress cracks began to appear in the walls as they grew higher, and the Rose Windows; the North and South Rose windows in the transepts are noticeably larger then that of the Western Rose Window.

The three spectacular and enormous Rose Windows dominate the interior. The Western Rose Window is directly over the main portal and depicts the Virgin, whom the Cathedral is dedicated, surrounded by figures of the Old Testament and zodiacal symbols and was completed in 1225 and measures 10 meters in diameter and was the largest ever attempted at its time of construction. The Southern Rose Window lies over the Southern Portal of the transept, as that of the Northern Rose Window in the North transept, rises over 13 meters, (43 Feet) in height or a staggering 19 meters if you include the bays in which they sit and were completed by 1270, 50 years later then the Western Rose Window. The larger windows are a direct result of improved technology and building techniques that changed over the 50 years from the completion of the Western Rose Window.
The Northern Rose window is considered to be the most splendid of the three as it has much of its original glass and also depicts The Virgin. The Southern Rose Window is dedicated to Jesus and the New Testament, though with two major restorations much of the original glass is gone and the missing and broken medallions were put back in the spirit of overall authenticity rather then accuracy.

From the base of the north tower of the western façade, visitors can climb to the roof top level of the cathedral to access a close view of the cathedral's many gargoyles on the Galerie des Chimere

The western façade, above the three main portals has a row of twenty-eight statues, the Galerie de Rois, depicting the Kings of Judea, from whom Christ was descended. During medieval times these were painted brilliant colours. In the French Revolution the crowds pulled these statues down, mistakenly thinking that they represented French kings. They were restored in the mid 19th century. Above the Gallery, in the center, over the center portal, is a statue of the Virgin and Child with two angles flanking them; on the far left, over the left portal, is a statue of Adam and the far right side over the right portal is a statue of Eve. The whole work symbolizes the Redemption of Man after the Fall of Man.

Notre Dame de Paris Gargoyles on the Galerie des Chimere.

Gargoyles are stone carvings found on Gothic buildings.  They were designed as waterspouts to direct rainwater way from the roof and sides of a building. A trough is cut in the back of the gargoyle and rainwater typically exits through the open mouth. Gargoyles usually depict an elongated animal.  Everything is elongated because the length of the gargoyle is important as to how far water is thrown from the wall.

The term gargoyle originates from the French gargouille, which in English literally means "throat" or "gullet"

Some of most fantastical and ornate gargoyles can be found on medieval churches.  The Church used them to portray messages to the common people. Since literacy was uncommon, images were the best way to convey ideas. Gargoyles were used as a representation of evil.  The most common representation of evil used by the Church were chimeras. Chimeras are creatures that are mixes of different types of animal body parts to create a new creature. Some of the more notable chimeras are griffins, centaurs, harpies, and mermaids. Chimeras often served as a warning to people who underestimated the devil.

Technically chimeras are not gargoyles, they are grotesques, as they did not act as rainspouts and served more as ornamentation and warnings, but are now they are synonymous with gargoyles.

The most famous examples of chimeras are located at Notre Dame de Paris on the Galerie des Chimere.  Visitors can climb to the upper parts of the façade and are able to gain access to the chimeras/ gargoyles on the Galerie des Chimère