Editing Chartres Cathedral (section)

===Earlier Cathedrals===

At least five cathedrals have stood on this site, each replacing an earlier building damaged by war or fire. The first church dated from no later than the 4th century and was located at the base of a [[Gallo-Roman]] wall; this was put to the torch in 743 on the orders of the Duke of Aquitaine. The second church on the site was set on fire by [[Danes (Germanic tribe)|Danish pirates]] in 858. This was then reconstructed and enlarged by Bishop Gislebert, but was itself destroyed by fire in 1020. A vestige of this church, now known as Saint Lubin Chapel, remains, underneath the [[apse]] of the present cathedral.<ref>Houvet, Étienne. ''Chartres- Guide of the Cathedral'' (2019), p. 12</ref> It took its name from [[Leobinus|Lubinus]], the mid-6th-century Bishop of Chartres. It is lower than the rest of the crypt and may have been the shrine of a local saint, prior to the church's rededication to the [[Virgin Mary]].<ref>Jan van der Meulen, ''Notre-Dame de Chartres: Die vorromanische Ostanlage'', Berlin 1975.</ref>

In 962, the church was damaged by another fire and was reconstructed yet again. A more serious fire broke out on 7 September 1020, after which [[Fulbert of Chartres|Bishop Fulbert]] (bishop from 1006 to 1028) decided to build a new cathedral. He appealed to the royal houses of Europe, and received generous donations for the rebuilding, including a gift from [[Cnut the Great]], King of Norway, Denmark and England. The new cathedral was constructed atop and around the remains of the 9th-century church. It consisted of an ambulatory around the earlier chapel, surrounded by three large chapels with [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] [[barrel vault]] and [[groin vault]] ceilings, which still exist. On top of this structure he built the upper church, 108 meters long and 34 meters wide.<ref name="H12">Houvet, Étienne. ''Chartres- Guide of the Cathedral'' (2019), pp. 12–13</ref> The rebuilding proceeded in phases over the next century, culminating in 1145 in a display of public enthusiasm dubbed the "[[Cult of Carts]]" – one of several such incidents recorded during the period. It was claimed that during this religious outburst, a crowd of more than a thousand [[Penance|penitents]] dragged carts filled with building supplies and provisions including stones, wood, grain, etc. to the site.<ref>Honour, H. and Fleming, J. ''The Visual Arts: A History,'' 7th ed., Saddle River, New Jersey: [[Prentice Hall|Pearson Prentice Hall]], 2005.</ref>

In 1134, another fire in the town damaged the façade and the bell tower of the cathedral.<ref name="H12"/> Construction had already begun on the north tower in the mid-1120s,<ref>Philippe Debaud, ' 'Les Maitres Tailleurs de Pierre de la Cathédrale de Chartres, leurs marques identitaires dans les chantiers du XIIème siècle' ', unpublished, 2021.</ref> which was capped with a wooden spire around 1142. The site for the south tower was occupied by the Hotel Dieu that was damaged in the fire. Excavations for that tower were begun straight away. As it rose the sculpture for the Royal Portal (most of which had been carved beforehand) was integrated with the walls of the south tower. The square of the tower was changed to an octagon for the spire just after the [[Second Crusade]]. It was finished about 1165 and reached a height of 105 metres or 345 feet, one of the highest in Europe. There was a narthex between the towers and a chapel devoted to [[Saint Michael]]. Traces of the vaults and the shafts which supported them are still visible in the western two bays.<ref>John James, "La construction du narthex de la cathédrale de Chartres", ' 'Bulletin de la Société Archéologique d’Eure-et-Loir' ', lxxxvii 2006, 3–20. Also in English in ' 'In Search of the unknown in medieval architecture' ', 2007, Pindar Press, London.</ref> The stained glass in the three lancet windows over the portals dates from some time before 1145. The Royal Portal on the west façade, between the towers, the primary entrance to the cathedral, was probably finished a year or so after 1140.<ref name="H12"/>