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cathedrals 10:
Le Mans and Bourges -
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Looking up at Le Mans cathedral

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index
Cathédrale Saint-Julien du Mans
bifurcating buttresses
plan of Le Mans cathedral
violent damage from wars and revolutions
the stained glass windows
      twelfth century glass
      thirteenth century glass
      fifteenth century glass
Le Mans - the town and environs
 background facts 
Cathé;drale Saint-Étienne de Bourges
triforium or tribune?
 background facts
bibliography
end notes

Cathédrale Saint-Julien du Mans

Henry II was born in Le Mans in 1133, as the Angevin (or Plantagenet) house was moving to the height of its power. Henry was probably baptised in the old Romanesque cathedral.

By the time of Bishop Maurice, the Capetians of Paris had considerably changed the balance of power. In 1215, Bishop Maurice came to Le Mans. He was obviously a big-time mover and shaker of his time. He wanted one of the brand new Gothic cathedrals, and petitioned Philip II (Philip-Augustus) to okay the project.

Maurice was involved in a series of councils at Rouen between 1214 and 1224, introducing the reforms of the Great 4th Lateran Council of 1215. These were exciting times. 1215 was also the year of the Magna Carta and the year that Philip-Augustus established the University of Paris.

As you see in the plan of the cathedral, the new layout involved extending and building up the site beyond the old city wall. This brought into being the magnificent, combined structure you now can see.

Le Mans catherdal, view of apse
Built on a hillock above the Sarthe River

This postcard is a view looking up from the old market area below the cathedral. The structure looks like some great alien space craft making ready to return to its home star system.

If I were so minded to take up residence in one cathedral city to explore its cathedral in detail, I would chose Le Mans. And we can even take time off to bathe in the wonder of the world at Chartres, just 80 miles, or 128 kilometres up the road.

The cathedral of Saint Julien is one of those fascinating religious edifices which is both Romanesque and Gothic. There are rounded topped windows and pointed Gothic ones.

 
Google satelllite view of Le Mans cathedral and its environs, including the River Sarthe
Google satellite view of Le Mans cathedral and its environs, including the River Sarthe

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New translation, the Magna Carta

Around the nave are simple stone ledges wide and at a height to use as a seat. These were the seats available for the old and infirm of the congregation. The healthy members stood on the bare nave floor, perhaps using a stave or a stick as a support. Seats like these are also to be seen at Poitiers cathedral.

View of the apse with some bifurcated butresses marked
View of Le mans cathedral. Image credit: fafner

bifurcating buttresses

From the east, the flying buttresses on the outside of the chancel present an unusually dense forest of masonry, owing to their unique system of bifurcating flying buttresses. Each of the sloping flyers splits in two, presenting a 'Y'-shape in a bird's-eye view. Thus, each arm originates from the same upright braces at the cathedral end, and engages with two outer braces to make the flying buttress system.

This is repeated at each level. Although this design was not taken up elsewhere, it lends an uncharacteristically graceful and delicate feel to the eastern end of the building, especially when seen from the bottom of the hill (from the Place des Huguenots).

Satellite view of the apse with some bifurcated butresses marked
Satellite view of the apse with some bifurcated buttresses marked

View of the apse with some bifurcated butresses marked
View of the apse with some bifurcated buttresses, the vertical pillars of which are marked in blue.
Image credit: fafner

Because of the bifurcation, the buttresses are arranged so they do not throw so many shadows upon the windows.


Plan of Le Mans cathedral
Plan of Le Mans cathedral
click on underlined words for more information

violent damage from wars and revolutions

1562, from 3rd April, the Huguenots ransacked the town for three months. In the cathedral statues, altars, tombs and windows suffered considerable damage.

On the 20th of Brumaire, year 11, it was announced by the mayor that this “ancient house of error” was to be demolished, while another entrepreneur wanted to turn it into a handkerchief factory. 1798 ... pulling down the cathedral and replacing it by jails and law-courts is considered.

Fortunately, the influential Société des Arts stepped in and saved the cathedral.

the stained glass windows

Le Mans cathedral is one of the very greatest Gothic structures in France, its collection of 12th and 13th century stained glass being second only to that of Chartres.

twelfth century glass

 
Life of Saint Julien, to whom Le Mans cathedral is dedicated
Life of Saint Julien, to whom Le Mans cathedral is dedicated (in west nave)
Large version from upload.wikimedia.org
Life of Saint Julien, to whom Le Mans cathedral is dedicated
Legend to story window of Saint Julien
Expanded version of legend
 

The window above is one of the twelfth century windows in the cathedral. It is must count as one of the most beautiful specimens of twelfth century stained glass. Close to half the panels that fill this large window contain old work, more or less mutilated or restored, that date from the beginning of the second half of the twelfth century.

The border and the central figure of Saint Julien were executed in 1896 by Félix Gaudin, master glassworker, at Paris.

The Latin inscriptions below the panels are a recent addition, probably added in the 19th century when other repairs and restorations were made.

Saint Julien causes a spring to come forth
Saint Julien causes a spring to come forth (panel no.1)

Some of the stained glass windows in the Romanesque part of Le Mans cathedral are among the oldest windows in France - note the rounded top to the windows.

The Ascension window is one of the earliest windows known. The top and the bottom rows are modern repairs, fashioned from scrap glass found during clearing rubble. It is thought that the figures are looking up to Jesus ascending into Heaven. I think that there are other possible interpretations of this window - more research to be done.

Ascension window. Image credit: Benchaum


Asczension, detail. Image credit: Holly Hayes

Above: Ascension, detail.
Image credit:
Holly Hayes

Left: The Ascension window.
Image credit:
Benchaum

Tree of Jesse
Key for labels on this Tree of Jesse

thirteenth century glass

The windows in the Gothic part of Le Mans cathedral are in the standard arrangement, with different types of subjects in the different levels. [See reading stained glass.]

Thus, on the lowest level are story windows, for more see comments on the page about Rouen. Although there are far more of them, the windows at Le Mans do not reach the quality of those at Beauvais. The Le Mans windows do tend to be a more primitive form of the art. There’s a lot of patchy and much restoration remains to be done. There are two or three very important windows. (link below)

First a little on the architectural terms being used to describe the windows at the different levels in this cathedral. For Le Mans, to use ‘triforium’ and ‘clerestory’ is rather misleading. This is because the vertical cross-section of Le Mans is like that of Bourges, and so to be accurate the two levels are upper and lower clerestories.

Middle level [triforium or lower clerestory] - many beautiful lancets integrated into art forms such as the window just below.

Life, miracles and glorification of the Virgin, the Tree of Jesse, Theophilus, Jewish Bourges boy
Life, miracles and glorification of the Virgin, the Tree of Jesse (enlargement on the left), Theophilus, Jewish Bourges boy

Top level [clerestory or upper clerestory] - here are the usual prophets, kings and other worthies, see the example below that is part of a top level window, in the clerestory..

Labelled cupper clerestory window       

 

Some notes on thuribles and upside -down angels.

fifteenth century glass

Prophets and kings
Rene d'Anjou (or Louis III?), Louis II d'Anjou, Marie de Bretagne (mother of Louis II), Yoland d'Aragon (wife of Louis II)

These portraits are in the lancets below the rose window in the north transept, the only rose window in this cathedral.

Marker at abelard.org


stone seating along the side of the nave
stone seating along the wall of the nave Image: mappinggothic.org

le mans - the town and environs

Henry II of England was born at Le Mans in 1133.

Close to the city of Le Mans is the world-famous Le Mans race track, where the Le Mans 24-hour motor race is held annually. On the 22-23 June 2013 the 90th edition of this famous race will be held.

Background facts
Le MansLe Mans coat of arms

approximate population : 144,500
average altitude/elevation : 48 m
Le Mans is the capital of the département of Sarthe (72000)

cathedral dimensions
total length: 129 m
length of nave: 57 m
length of transept: 52 m
height of Romanesque transept: 24 m
height of Gothic choir vaults: 34 m
height of double ambulatory: 11 and 22 m
height of south tower: 60 m

cathédrale saint-étienne de bourges

West facade of Bourges cathedral, with its five doorways
West facade of Bourges cathedral, with its five doorways.
Notice the ’orrible Victorian pimple on the left (north) tower.
One day it will be removed.

Bourges cathedral is one of the great cathedrals of France. It has several peculiarities.

  • It is the shortest great cathedral. Yes, Beauvais cathedral is shorter, but that is because that cathedral was never completed.
  • It is one of a minority of cathedrals with no transept.
  • It is quite radical in its design :
    • sexpartite vaulting.
    • five-aisle design - the nave has inner and outer side aisles, and has five doorways on the west facade that match the five-aisle design within.
    • the building’s design is unusually unified.
    • outside, the building has a rising spaceship design, like Le Mans cathedral.

Outside, behind the cathedral to the south-east is a beautifully kept little park where you may come across a rock band playing on a summer’s day.

Like Le Mans (and Noyon, Angers and Troyes), the Gothic cathedral was expanded outside the old city walls during the great cathedral-building revolution.

Unlike the cathedral at Le Mans, where the site foundations were built up to accommodate the new, extended cathedral, at Bourges a lower crypt was constructed as the foundation. This is shown in the following illustration.

Although some are impressed by the variety of the twenty-two early story windows in their many styles, to my taste they are more crude than those of the windows of more northern cathedrals such as Le Mans, Beauvais, Rouen or Chartres. However, the great variety of geometric designs is interesting.

On the five doorways of the west facade, the archivault and tympanum carvings are worth a look.

triforium or tribune?

interior and exterior of Bourges cathedral

A: upper triforium      B: lower triforium

 

Bourges cathedral has two walkways [A and B] between the upper, middle and lower rows of stained glass windows. On the external view of the cathedral, these triforia are beneath a sloped roof protecting them as the roof extends outwards beyond the row of windows above.

Interior of Laon cathedral, showing its four levels. Image credit: Michael LeutyThe technical term for such a walkway is triforium. But beware, there are columned walkways that look rather similar but which are called tribunes.

What’s the difference? The triforium is a relatively narrow walkway without windows. The triforium and the outside roof hide the space above the vaults. In that space, rubble was placed to to increase pressure and so to help stabilise the vaults below. The triforium also provides another row of colonnades and so contributes to the coherence of the cathedral interior.

By contrast, a tribune is a much wider area, extending across the width of the aisle below. The tribune is more like a room, lit by windows to the outside. Here, to the right, is a thumbnail of the colonnades at Laon cathedral. Below the high clerestory windows is a triforium, a narrow walkway with no windows. And below that, and above the colonnade of the outer aisle is a wider, windowed tribune. (Click on the photo to be taken to a larger version.)

Notice that the triforia come opposite protective roofs on the outside. This hiatus is the meeting between levels of aisle arches. You can see a tribune glazed at the second level between the low-level windows and the clerestory at Laon - see the two cathedral cross-sections below. The triforium does not have a walkway in some cathedrals, or parts of cathedrals. In this case, it is often referred to as a blind, or false, triforium.

cross-section of Bourges cathedral cross-section of Laon cathedral nave, showing the unusual four-tier construction. Above: Cross-section of Laon cathedral nave, showing the unusual four-tier construction.

Left: Cross-section of Bourges cathedral

Showing trifriums and tribunes
simplified schematic showing the relationship between the pillars, aisles, triforia, tribunes and roofs
in Bourges and Laon cathedrals

The windows in cathedrals do not tend to be labelled consistently. You will see ‘lower storey’, ‘clerestory’ (a more standard label), and several other references. You will also see ‘tribune windows’, as at Laon (see diagram above) and ‘aisle windows’, that is the windows within the aisle - the first storey. You may see ‘nave windows’, an alternative to ‘clerestory windows’ in the Laon cross-section above. As there are two aisles at Bourges, maybe someone calls them ‘inner’ and ‘outer aisle windows’, but I have yet to come across this choice of labels.

Notice that the inner pillars (closest to the nave) often carry more than one storey/vault.


Plan of Bourges cathedral
Plan of Bourges cathedral
click on underlined words for more information

For more information about the reinforcing iron chain and tie-rods, see using metal in gothic cathedral construction.

Background facts
BourgesBourges coat of arms

approximate population : 68,600
average altitude/elevation : 146 m
Bourges is the capital of the département of Cher (18000)

cathedral dimensions
total length, exterior: 125 m
total length, interior: 117.95 m
total interior width: 41 m
width of internal aisle: 6.52 m
width of external aisle: 6.65 m
width of central nave in the choir: 14.96 m
height under vaults of central nave: 37.15 m
height under vaults of internal aisle: 21.50 m
height under vaults of external aisle: 9.30 m
height of great pillars: 17 m

bibliography

La cathedrale du Mans by A Marquet

La Cathédrale du Mans
by A. Marquet

Imprimerie Couilleaux, Le Mans, pbk, 1992


La cathedrale du Mans by A Marquet

La Cathédrale du Mans
by Gabriel Fleury

Henri Laurens, Paris, pbk, approx. 1900s

(series: Petites monographies des grands édifices de la France)


La cathedrale du Mans by A Marquet

La Cathédrale de Bourges
by Amédée Boinet

Henri Laurens, Paris, pbk, approx. 1900s

(series: Petites monographies des grands édifices de la France)


Cathedral of Bourges, and its place in Gothic Architecture
by Robert Branner
Cathedral of Bourges by Robetr Branner
  • The MIT Press, 1989
  • ISBN-10: 026252130X
    ISBN-13: 978-0262521307

amazon.com
amazon.co.uk

 


end notes
1. French has two grammatical genders, “le” and “la”.
The meaning of “le” or “la” is “the”.
“Le” is used for male living beings and “la” for female ones.
For inanimate objects, often more important ones are “la”, for instance the river La Loire is more significant than the river Le Loir. But, of course, rules are never hard and fast.

When saying “of the”, as in “the cathedral of the town”, French is not uniform for the two genders, “le” and “la”.
If the object specified by “the” is female, the town - “la ville”, you say/write “de la ville”.
If the object specified by “the” is male, the village - “le village”, you say/write “du village”. The “de” and “le” elide to become “du” .

So the phrase “the cathedral of Le Mans” translates in French to “le cathédrale Du Mans”. (Note that here the “d” is capitalised because the “L” in Le Mans is capitalised (being part of a name).

This is a real pain when doing internet, or other, searches about Le Mans. You have to search both for "Le Mans" and "Du Mans", preferably with inverted commas ( " ).


[ There is a similar elision in French when saying/writing “to the object”.
If the object specified by “the” is female, the town - “la ville”, you say/write “à la ville”.
If the object specified by “the” is male, the village - “le village”, you say/write “au village”. The “à” and “le” elide to become “au” . ]
   
2.

Timeline chart of contextual dates relating to Notre-Dame and the Ile de /france/de la cite
If you look at this chart, you will see that the French kings invented a marvellous way of becoming important. They managed to rule for unusually long periods. The Angevins (or Plantagenets) had spent several generations marrying the right people. This culminated in Henry II, an immensely effective ruler who dominated the western half of France, holding it against his weak Capetian rivals.

Meanwhile, as you see in the chart, the great innovators on the Ile de France were building the intellectual hothouse of Europe.

But Henry II had a fatal flaw. His child-raising skills left much to be desired. So when Richard I took over, he was far more interested in adventure and becoming one of the greatest generals of all time. In the end, this got him killed. Poor John tried his damnedest to hold together the huge empire his father had built, but those pesky French kings with their long experience steadily outmanoeuvred the Angevins and their successors, slowly eroded the Norman grip in what is now France.

For more, see contextual dates.

   
3. Some bishops of Le Mans cathedral
  • Maurice 1215–1231, then Rouen 1234
    By patents of November 1217, king Philip-Augustus granted the canons of Le Mans the right to extend the cathedral choir beyond the old Gallo-Roman wall, that is partly outside the old city limits.
  • Geoffroi de Laval 1231–1234
  • Geoffroi de Loudon 1234–1255:
    1254, consecrated the cathedral of Le Mans
   
4.
  • 1. At the prayers of Saint Julien [SJ], a marvellous water springs from the Centonomius fountain.
  • 2. SJ enters the township of Cénomans.
  • 3. SJ blesses the Defensor, the governor of Le Mans (defensor civitatis).
  • 4. SJ baptises the Defensor and his family.
  • 5. The Defensor gives his palace to SJ to make it into a church.
  • 6. SJ resuscitates the son of Anastase, strong rich man, who resisted the preachings of the bishop.
  • 7. He resuscitates the son of Jovinien, but the Latin inscription inaccurately says,
    “Fil Jovinianus clamet: magnus cd Deus.”- “The son of Jovinien proclaims to grandeur of God”.
    The inscriptions are a recent addition, probably added in the 19th century when other repairs and restorations were made.
  • 8. SJ brings back to life the son of his host at Pruillé-l'Eguille.
  • 9. He delivers a possessed person at Ruillé.
  • 10. He restores the sight of a blind person at Ruillé.
  • 11. SJ overturns an idol and its temple at Artins.
  • 12. He protects a child from the embrace of a giant snake.
  • 13. The Defensor gives his palace to SJ to make it into a church.
  • 14. SJ designates St. Thuribe as his successor.
  • 15. SJ dies at St-Marceau, near Le Mans.
  • 16. Translation of the relics of Saint Julien to Le Mans.
  • 17. Adoring angel.
   
5.

A tree of Jesse is a tradition in stained glass windows, giving a visual representation of the genealogy, the family tree, of Jesus. The name ‘Jesse Tree’ comes from the Book of Isaiah 11:1, where Jesus is described as a shoot coming up from the ‘loins’ of Jesse, the father of David. As with most story windows, it is read from base to top.

The lineage shown at Le Mans comprises only five characters of a much greater possible list:

  • 1. Jesse, father of David
  • 2. David
  • 3. Solomon
  • 4. Mary, with palm leaves in her hands
  • 5. Jesus, with seven doves (representing being in the Holy Spirit)
  • 6. Angel
  • 7. Four prophets

In general, the lineage includes the following characters. Below is a typical Jesse tree are accompanied by symbols, which may decorate the Jesse tree. Bible sources are also included.
Adam and Eve, symbol : apple (Genesis 2:4-3:24)
Noah : ark or rainbow (Genesis 6:11-22, 7:17-8:12, 20-9:17)
Abraham : knife (Genesis 12:1-7, 15:1-6)
Isaac : ram (Genesis 22:1-19)
Jacob : ladder (Genesis 27:41-28:22)
Joseph : colourful coat (Genesis 37, 39:1-50:21)
Moses : tablets of the law (Exodus 2:1-4:20)
David : harp (1 Samuel 16:17-23)
Isaiah : lion and lamb (Isaiah 1:10-20, 6:1-13, 8:11-9:7)
Mary : lily (Luke 1:26-38)
Elizabeth : small home (Luke 1:39-55)
Joseph : hammer or saw (Matthew 1:18-25)

The full Jesse tree according to Luke, or to Matthew, is something else!

Luke 3:23-38, King James Version (KJV)

  1. And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,

  2. Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,

  3. Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,

  4. Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,

  5. Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,

  6. Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,

  7.  Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,

  8. Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,

  9. Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,

  10. Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,

  11.  Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,

  12. Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,

  13.  Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,

  14. Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,

  15. Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,

  16. Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

Matthew 1:1-16, King James Version (KJV)

1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;

3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;

4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;

5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;

6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;

8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;

9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;

10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;

11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;

14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;

15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

   
6.

The angels are shown upside down because ... well, artistically, a thurible-swinging angel does not fit comfortably in the triangular space at the top of a lancet if the right way up.

The angels are hovering above Jesus, or whoever else they are lauding and censing. Again artistically, it looks better that the angel’s head and thurible are near the one being worshipped, rather than the angel’s feet.

Marker at abelard.org

Often “anges theriféraires is translated as exalting, praising or lauding angels. But these angels are clearly each swinging a thurible , or censer of incense. But note that these angels are not swinging their thuribles in a practical fashion.

When swung effectively, the weight of the thurible causes the chains holding it to be taut, not slack and curving as in the stained glass window.

Swinging a thurible is common in Catholic liturgy.

Here is a rather spectacular thurible being swung at Compostella. It weighs 53 kg!


8:32 mins

   
7.
triforia
Triforia is the plural of the Latin word triforium. In Latin, words that end in -um are most often neuter words in the Second Declension, and decline to -a in the plural.

Many will remember declining bellum - war:
Bellum, bellum, bellum, belli, bello, bello
Bella, bella, bella, bellorum, bellis, bellis.
Of course, this degenerated in schoolboy/girl fashion to
B’lum, b’lum, b’lum, b’li, b’lo, b’lo
B’la, b’la, b’la, b’lorum, b’lis, b’lis!

Thus, in this current article, one triforium, several triforia.
   
8.

You see that the plan of Bourges cathedral includes a line marking the passage of the méridien de Paris.

The Paris Méridien was created at the behest of Louis XIV and so predates the Greenwich Meridian as the line of 0° longitude. However, the Greenwich Meridian was chosen in 1884 as the world reference longitude of 0°. The Paris Meridien is now at longitude 2° 20' 14.025" East.

In Paris, the Saint Sulpice Church has inlaid on the stone floor a copper strip to indicate the line of the Paris Méridien. In reality, the Méridien does not pass through the church, but runs a few hundred metres distant from the “official” Méridien wanted by Louis XIV. The meridian in Saint Sulpice Church is described as a “dissident” meridian.

The Paris Méridien passes through the town of Bourges, quite close to, but not in, the cathedral. Thus, the meridian line marked on the Bourges cathedral plan, and inlaid on the stone floor is another “dissident” meridian.

marker cathedrals – introduction: reading stained glass
marker gothic cathedral and church construction
marker cathedrals, an illustrated glossary
marker Chartres - wonder of the world
marker Notre Dame de Paris, Paris
marker lantern towers of Normandy and elsewhere
marker history of ugly stained glass: Auch, Bazas, Dreux
marker Auch cathedral choir and stalls
marker Rouen and Monet
marker at France pages Dax and church iconography marker photographs, Dax
marker Bazas - iconography and architectural styles
marker Poitiers, neglected masterpiece marker photographs, Poitiers / photos 2
marker Angers, heart of the Angevin Empire marker photographs, Angers
marker Laon, the midst of the gothic transition, with added oxen marker photographs, Laon
marker Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Lyon
marker Notre Dame of Lausanne
marker Senlis - how a typical cathedral changes through the ages
marker Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges - the cathedral of the Pyrenees
marker Cathedrale Saint-Gatien at Tours

marker Le Mans and Bourges cathedrals - medieval space technology
marker Lausanne rose window - photo-analysis
marker cathedrals in Lorraine - the Three Bishoprics
marker cathedral giants - Amiens and Beauvais
marker Clermont-Ferrand and Agde - from volcanoes to cathedrals

marker Germans in France - Arras cathedral
marker Germans in France - Reims cathedral
marker Germans in France - St. Quentin cathedral
marker Germans in France - Noyon cathedral
marker Germans in France - Cambrai cathedral
marker Germans in France - Soissons cathedral

marker cathedral plans, and facts
marker stone in church and cathedral construction
marker using metal in gothic cathedral construction
marker cathedral labyrinths and mazes in France
marker cathedrals and cloisters of Franceby Elise Whitlock Rose
marker the perpendicular or English style of cathedral
marker Romanesque churches and cathedrals in south-west France
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the address for this document is https://www.abelard.org/france/cathedrals10_le_mans_bourges.php

3,620 words
prints as 22 A4 pages (on my printer and set-up)

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