The Chartres Cathedral happens to have a symmetrical look that is not at all a requirement of Gothic cathedrals, but they are structurally symmetrical but not formally for the most part. The town of Chartres is well known for its preservation of Early Gothic with High Gothic and the transitional periods in-between. On the western entrance of Chartres there are three doors known as the Royal Portal. It signifies the typological view of history, which represents the Second coming of Christ, with the four apocalyptic symbols of the Evangelists. The angel is Matthew, the lion is Mark, the eagle is John, and the bull is for Luke. Christ stands at the center and is considered to remind the visitors of the cathedral of their destiny. This arrangement of arches was derived from the Roman triumphal arch, the arches show a comparison to the interior of the church and the heavenly city of Jerusalem. In the Middle Ages it was thought that by entering a church it was an “earthly prefiguration” of one’s ultimate entry into heaven. The central portal reflects the Old Testament kings and queens on the door jambs with the apocalyptic vision of Saint John the Divine above the door. The door jamb statues date as far back as 1145 to 1170 and are the oldest symbolic examples of Early Gothic sculptural style. In Early Christian and Byzantine mosaics, the Old Testament kings and queens are frontal. This particular door is described by John the Divine in the Book of Revelation. Under the seated Christ is the twelve apostles that are arranged in four groups of three. The Royal Portal of Chartres shows the Christian view of history. The comparisons from the south transept of Chartres to that of the central portal shows the stylistic transition from Early Gothic to the beginning of High Gothic.
stephbusch 