Chartres Cathedral (1194–1225) The rebuilt
Chartres Cathedral (1194) is considered the first example of a Gothic cathedral. building of Classic Gothic. A series of earlier cathedrals in Chartres beginning in the fourth century, were destroyed by fire. The cathedral immediately previous to the present church burned in 1194, leaving only the crypt, towers, and the recently built west front. Rebuilding began the same year, with support from the Pope, the King, and the wealthy nobility and merchants of the city. Work was nearly completed by 1225, with the architecture, glass and sculpture finished, though the seven steeples were still being rebuilt. It was not formally reconsecrated until 1260. Only a few changes were made since that time, including the addition of a new chapel dedicated to
Saint Piat in 1326, and the covering of the choir columns with stucco and the addition marble reliefs in behind the stalls in the 1750s. The new cathedral was 130.2 meters long and 30 meters high in the nave longer and higher than
Notre-Dame de Paris. Since the cathedral was constructed with the new flying buttresses, the walls were more stable, enabling the builders to eliminate the tribune level, and have more space for windows. Nevertheless, its windows have either no
tracery (apse and chapels) or plate tracery (celestories), therefore, by international phasing, the whole cathedral (besides later additions) is still an example of
Early Gothic. The famous Royal Portal of the west façade had been built before the fire, in 1134–1150, and therefore is still Primary Gothic. The fronts of the north and south transepts are High Gothic, as is the sculpture of the six thirteenth-century portals. The spire on the north tower is later
Flamboyant. Chartres still has much of its original medieval stained glass, famous for the deep color called Chartres blue. Chartres Cathedral Apsidal Chapels 2007 08 31.jpg|The choir and the apse chapels of Chartres Cathedral, except of the crypts already polygonal Cathedrale nd chartres sud026.jpg|South side of the nave: No fine tracery, except of the
Flamboyant window on the very right
Bourges Cathedral (1195–1230) While most High Gothic cathedrals generally followed the Chartres plan,
Bourges Cathedral took a different direction. It was built by Bishop Henri de Sully, whose brother,
Eudes de Sully, was the bishop of Paris, and its construction in several ways followed
Notre-Dame de Paris and not Chartres. Like Chartres, the builders simplified the vertical plan to three levels; grand arcades, triforium, and high windows. The triforium was simplified a long horizontal band, the entire length of the church. However, unlike Paris, Bourges continued to use the older six-part
rib vault used in Paris. This meant that the weight of the vaults fell unevenly upon the nave, and required, like
Early Gothic cathedrals, alternating strong and weak pillars. This was artfully hidden by the use of large cylindrical piers, each surrounded by eight engaged colonettes. The piers of the arcade are particularly imposing; each is tall. Since Bourges used six-part rib vaults instead of the lighter four-part vaults, the upper walls had to resist greater outward thrust, and the flying buttresses had to be more effective. The Bourges buttresses used a unique design with a particularly acute angle, which gave it the necessary force, but it was also reinforced by thicker and stronger walls than Chartres. The predominant sensation at Bourges is not only great height, but great length and interior space; the cathedral is long, without a transept or other interruption. The most unusual feature of Bourges Cathedral is the arrangement of vertical height; each part of the elevation is set back, like steps, with the highest roof and vaults over the central aisle. The outermost aisles have vaults nine meters high; the intermediate aisles have vaults high; and the center aisle has vaults high. Many later Gothic cathedrals followed the Chartres model, but several were influenced by Bourges, including
Le Mans Cathedral, the modified
Beauvais Cathedral, and
Toledo Cathedral in Spain, which copied the system of vaults of different heights. File:Interior of Cathédrale de Bourges.jpg|Nave, with 21-meter-high piers of the grand arcades File:Bourges - Cathédrale - Architecture -4.jpg|The chevet, all windows without tracery
Reims Cathedral (begun in 1211) from the northeast
Reims Cathedral, with the bar tracery of the chapels of its ambulatory, marks the onset of
High Gothic. It was the traditional site of the coronation of the
Capetian dynasty and for that reason was given special grandeur and importance. A fire in 1210 destroyed much of the old cathedral, giving an opportunity to build a more ambitious structure, the work began in 1211, but was interrupted by a local rebellion in 1233, and not resumed until 1236. The choir was finished by 1241, but work on the facade did not begin until 1252, and was not finished until the 15th century, with the completion of the bell towers. Concerning vaults and elevations, Reims Cathedral followed the scheme of Chartres cathedral, but it had an innovation of the columns, each of which was surrounded by a cluster of four attached columns that received the weight of the vaults. In addition to the large rose window on the west, smaller rose windows were added to the transepts and over the portals on the west facade, taking the place of the traditional tympanum. Another new decorative feature. The west façade was built after 1252, when the ground for the construction of the towers had been bought. The design of its windows was more advanced than in transept and nave and already fits the criteria of
Rayonnant Gothic, as the glass of the rose windows exceeds their circular frames. Also the style of the sculpture was more vivid, the
smiling angels are famous. Blind
tracery was attached to both interior walls and the facade. Even the flying buttresses were given elaborate decoration; they were crowned by small tabernacles containing statues of saints, which were topped with pinnacles. More than 2300 statues covered both the front and the back side of the facade. Apse of the Reims cathedral (east).jpg|Apse – fine tracery of the chapels Choir of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims 20140306.jpg|Choir with fine tracery but dark triforium Reims Cathedral (8132645115).jpg|Arcade, dark triforium and clerestory of the nave
Amiens Cathedral (1220–1266) Amiens Cathedral was begun in 1220 with its western parts, because the choir of this large building afforded an enlargement of the circle of the defensive walls of the city. Its western pars, almost contemporary with the choir of Reims Cathedral has the characteristics of Classic Gothic. The choir, begun in 1236, but mainly erected after 1258, already fits the criteria of Rayonnant Style. 0 Amiens - Cathédrale Notre-Dame (1).JPG|West façade Amiens cathédrale21.JPG|Nave (before 1235) with dark triforia Amiens Cathédrale Notre-Dame Innen Chor 2.jpg|Rayonnant choir (after 1236) with lit triforium == Plans and cross sections ==