Rod Dreher

Lord Grantham’s Double Standard

The Miracle Of Chartres

By Rod Dreher • February 11, 2013, 1:12 PM

Amid the tumultuous news of a papal resignation, here is a reminder of the permanent things: Peter Hitchens’s luminous meditation on a pilgrimage to the Chartres Cathedral. Excerpts:

The Cathedral at Chartres is not just one of the greatest monuments to human thought and skill and faith in France, or in Europe, but in the world. Yet it is not really announced as such. It is surrounded, in winter at least, by a quiet, modest and not specially prosperous town. Not far from it, in rather drab surroundings, stands the haunting, almost desolate, freezing cold church of St Pierre which in any other place would be famous for its astonishing stained glass, but because of its nearby competitor, is comparatively neglected. It was so empty and seemingly forgotten when I visited it that it brought to mind the M.R. James ghost story ‘Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook’, set in and around the echoing, shadowy, mysterious church of St Bertrand des Comminges (a real place close to the Pyrenees). Fortunately for me, I did not find in Chartres what Monty James’s hero found in St Bertrand.

What I did find ( for I had been there before long ago, callow and rushed, and had not really taken it in) was so much concentrated thought, wisdom and glory that I had to take rests between visits because my eyes and brain became too full to take in any more.

What Chartres represents is a map and model of the cosmos (something similar can be said about Jan Van Eyck’s otherwise inexplicably fascinating triptych ‘The Mystic Lamb’ in the cathedral at Ghent) enabling anyone with eyes to see to find an explanation of the spirit which motivates the universe, which arranges the stars and the comets in their orbits and courses, and which also causes our consciences to burn within us, and our eyes and ears to recognise truth and beauty when we see them. It is not literal, and not for the literal-minded. But then again, nor are poetry or music. And it is almost a cliché to say that Chartres is poetry and music, frozen into stone and glass.

As I studied this great possession of our civilisation, I was reading (for I have been asked to review it) yet another anti-God book penned by a clever man of our age. I felt that this building was and always would be a sufficient answer to his case. Man gropes, in all ages, for an understanding of where and what he is, and what he should be and do. It seems to me that he will find, in Chartres, a more useful guide than he will find in the Charter of Human Rights, or in the other unimaginative, cold , dry attempts to construct justice and liberty without understanding where these ideas come from in the first place.

Or, as George Weigel once put it, the Cube or the Cathedral?

UPDATE: A reader draws our attention to this two-and-a-half minute meditation on Chartres by Orson Welles:

Posted in Art & Architecture, Christianity. Tagged Chartres, Peter Hitchens, Roman Catholicism.

14 Responses to The Miracle Of Chartres

Sam M says:

February 11, 2013 at 1:27 pm

From the description of Weigel’s book, at Amazon:

“Contrasting the civilization that produced the starkly modernist “cube” of the Great Arch of La Defense in Paris with the civilization that produced the “cathedral,” Notre-Dame, Weigel argues that Europe’s embrace of a narrow and cramped secularism has led to a crisis of civilizational morale that is eroding Europe’s soul and failing to create the European future.”

I don’t know. If civilizational morale and “soul” are measured by architectural aesthetics… I just don’t know. I think the clear 20th century winner for most accomplishments in aesthetics would probably be the Nazis, no? They made some sweet looking stuff. Even their tanks were a beauty to behold.

Shouldn’t this go in the other direction? Should we not seek to see beauty in the things that good cultures produce, rather than vice versa? The Amish don’t have grand cathedrals. But I think their civilizational morale is in pretty decent shape.

When you consider that a lot of the people who funded the
construction of these grand cathedrals probably dies of starvation, it would be just as easy to see the beauty as pure decadence.
German_reader says:

February 11, 2013 at 1:34 pm

“As I studied this great possession of our civilisation, I was reading (for I have been asked to review it) yet another anti-God book penned by a clever man of our age. I felt that this building was and always would be a sufficient answer to his case. ”

I fail to see why the cathedral of Chartres (or indeed any other man-made building) should be regarded as proof that Christianity is true – to me it’s just as silly as claiming the Parthenon or the Pantheon (undoubtedly impressive buildings) are proof for the existence of the Olympic gods.
And I really don’t understand why you’re such a fan of Peter Hitchens; I’m not a Christian, so I’m biased, but I find his bullying tirades against “God-haters” rather childish. They’re unlikely to persuade anyone of Christianity’s merits. I’m sure there are many very intelligent Christians who could pen an eloquent defense of their faith, but frankly, Hitchens isn’t one of them.
Patrick Harris says:

February 11, 2013 at 1:36 pm

Just for the record, although fascism has been described as the “aesthesticisation of politics”, the Nazis had absolutely appalling taste. Albert Speer’s gaudy designs have nothing on Chartres.
Jack Shifflett says:

February 11, 2013 at 1:51 pm

If Chartres–the magnificence of which I don’t dispute for a second–is and was such a “useful guide” for the construction of “justice and liberty,” then why did it take so many centuries after the cathedral was built for France, and the rest of Europe, to get around to acknowledging “the rights of man”? Can’t we just admire Chartres and even the civilization and the age that produced it, without taking a gratuitous slap at “cold, dry “attempts” like the Charter on Human Rights? What’s wrong with a world that contains both Chartres and the Charter?
stillaninterestedobserver says:

February 11, 2013 at 1:59 pm

I admit, partially because Peter Hitchens leaves me colder than cold on all fronts, I will take Orson Welles’s moving short meditation on the cathedral and what it can mean instead. In the beautiful chaotic swirl that is F for Fake, suddenly this two and a half minutes of contemplation:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksmjh8LL2zA
JParker says:

February 11, 2013 at 2:18 pm

Chartres-philes (I’m one) should all say a prayer of thanks to the late Col. Welborn Barton Griffith, of Quanah, Texas, who almost single-handledly prevented the US army from shelling Chartres Cathedral during WWII. He later died in battle.

http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=6100

more here: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/266849/colonel-chartres-jay-nordlinger
JasonG says:

February 11, 2013 at 2:35 pm

I remember visiting the great Yorkminster Cathedral in York, UK last year and felt similar ways that Hitchens felt.
Amy2boys says:

February 11, 2013 at 2:44 pm

Weigel’s book arrived in the mail to me today! It’s been on my book list for the longest time.

I’ve been to Chartes in the dead of winter. I’ve never seen anything like that cathedral and we went into every (empty) church in every village throughout the Normandy and Brittany regions of France, and on into Paris and the churches there. Nothing moved me like Chartes. It’s a awe-inspiring wonder beyond description and really beyond photography as well. You must stand there.
Clint says:

February 11, 2013 at 3:08 pm

@Sam M:

Q: Do the Amish have problems?
A: Yes. They are humans and, like all human societies, have their share of problems. Sometimes rebellious youth act out and abuse alcohol or use drugs. Some marriages turn sour. There are documented cases of incest and sexual abuse in some families. Although such problems do exist, there are no systematic studies to enable comparisons with other groups or mainstream society.

Q: Do the Amish have genetic disorders because of inbreeding?
A: There are some diseases that appear more frequently in some Amish communities because their gene pool is restricted. For the same reason, other diseases are less likely to present themselves. The Amish do not permit first cousins to marry but sometimes second or third cousins marry.
Gus says:

February 11, 2013 at 3:47 pm

Also, check out Charles Laughton’s story about the Cathedral, available to download at http://archive.org/details/TheStory-teller
M.P.Ryan says:

February 11, 2013 at 4:41 pm

Chartres, along with Mont St. Michel, produced some beautiful prose as well. I am very fond of Henry Adams’ opening to his book, Mont St. Michel and Chartres:

SAINT MICHIEL DE LA MER DEL PERIL

“The Archangel loved heights. Standing on the summit of the tower that crowned his church, wings upspread, sword uplifted, the devil crawling beneath, and the cock, symbol of eternal vigilance, perched on his mailed foot, Saint Michael held a place of his own in heaven and on earth which seems, in the eleventh century, to leave hardly room for the Virgin of the Crypt at Chartres, still less for the Beau Christ of the thirteenth century at Amiens. The Archangel stands for Church and State, and both militant. He is the conqueror of Satan, the mightiest of all created spirits, the nearest to God. His place was where the danger was greatest; therefore you find him here. For the same reason he was, while the pagan danger lasted, the patron saint of France. So the Normans, when they were converted to Christianity, put themselves under his powerful protection. So he stood for centuries on his Mount in Peril of the Sea, watching across the tremor of the immense ocean,-immensi tremor oceani,-as Louis XI, inspired for once to poetry, inscribed on the collar of the Order of Saint Michael which he created. So soldiers, nobles, and monarchs went on pilgrimage to his shrine; so the common people followed, and still follow, like ourselves.”
Steve Sailer says:

February 11, 2013 at 5:32 pm

If you have a chance to visit Chartres, do so.
Paul Emmons says:

February 11, 2013 at 6:10 pm

When visiting Chartres Cathedral over ten years ago, I was lucky enough to be escorted around by Mr. Malcolm Miller. This Englishman fell so in love with the place at first sight many years earlier that he never left, but gave it such concentrated study that he eventually knew as much about it as anyone alive, and shared his enthusiasm daily with tourists. “Tour guide” doesn’t begin to do him justice. He was a leading iconographer.

I recall especially his peroration in front of a window showing both the story of Adam and Eve and that of the Good Samaritan. This juxtaposition had puzzled him for many years. It seemed random and therefore at odds with the edifice of symbolism that showed so much unity in general. For awhile he reluctantly dismissed the collocation as an accident. But his curiosity was revived when he noticed the same juxtaposition in the windows of a few other medieval churches. Finally he discovered the explanation: what was being portrayed were the Old Adam and the New Adam as presented allegorically in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

In the middle pages, it was often taught as being about Christ Himself. The traveler was Everyman. The robbers were devils who, if no rescue were forthcoming, would have consigned him to the ditch (hell). Along came officials of the Old Covenant who could not or would not help him. Finally along came Christ, who lifted him up, carried him to the inn (heaven), and paid the price of his staying there (atonement).

This was often the message of the parable in those days. The fit between story and doctrine is so detailed that one must wonder how it could not be correct. But at the same time, one does not want to ignore the straightforward message of charity to all in need, even if we despise them or they us. In _Being_as_Communion_, Bishop Zizioulas gainsays the allegorical interpretation as an unfortunate distraction. Perhaps the best response is not either-or but yes-and, meanwhile marveling at the ingenuity of Our Lord’s words and of divinely inspired scripture.
Franklin Evans says:

February 12, 2013 at 9:07 am

Whatever your tradition, however much outsiders might be hostile towards your religion (being somethine we Pagans take to heart in a big way), nothing replaces a visit to your tradition’s great works. In like fashion, you should make a similar effort to visit the great works of other traditions be they ancient or modern or anywhere in between.

The hallmark of humanity’s quest for meaning is in its continuance, not just in its accomplishments. Historical perspective is very important, not for the sake of comparison or measurement but for the astonishing scope of it.

A randomly ordered inadequately short list:

Angkor Wat
The Giza Plateau
Pueblo enclaves
Any of the many places in Central and South America (Aztec, Mayan, etc.)
The Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem; the Tomb of the Patriarchs
Stonehenge and Glastonbury Tor

Add to that many churches, cathedrals and shrines in Europe and other places.

My personal experience is that the quest for the heavens is never more profound and moving than within a place that reminds me of my roots in the land and in the people who created something there.