Editing Chartres Cathedral (section)

====Later windows====
[[File:Cathédrale de Chartres - Chapelle de Vendôme.JPG|thumb|right|150px|Window of the Vendôme Chapel, {{Circa|1415}}]]
On the whole, Chartres' windows have been remarkably fortunate. The medieval glass largely escaped harm during the [[Huguenot]] [[iconoclasm]] and the [[French Wars of Religion|religious wars]] of the 16th century although the west rose sustained damage from artillery fire in 1591. The relative darkness of the interior seems to have been a problem for some. A few windows were replaced with much lighter grisaille glass in the 14th century to improve illumination, particularly on the north side<ref>Meredith Parsons Lillich, ''A Redating of the Thirteenth Century Grisaille Windows of Chartres Cathedral'', in ''Gesta'', xi, 1972, pp. 11–18</ref> and several more were replaced with clear glass in 1753 as part of the reforms to liturgical practice that also led to the removal of the ''jubé'' (rood screen). The installation of the Vendôme Chapel between two buttresses of the nave in the early 15th century resulted in the loss of one more lancet window, though it did allow for the insertion of a fine late-Gothic window with [[donor portrait]]s of [[Louis, Count of Vendôme|Louis de Bourbon]] and his family witnessing the [[Coronation of the Virgin]] with assorted saints.

Although estimates vary (depending on how one counts compound or grouped windows) approximately 152 of the original 176 stained glass windows survive – far more than any other medieval cathedral anywhere in the world.

Like most medieval buildings, the windows at Chartres suffered badly from the corrosive effects of atmospheric acids during the [[Industrial Revolution]] and thereafter. The majority of windows were cleaned and restored by the famous local workshop ''Atelier Lorin'' at the end of the 19th century, but they continued to deteriorate. During World War II most of the stained glass was removed from the cathedral and stored in the surrounding countryside to protect it from damage. At the close of the war the windows were taken out of storage and reinstalled. Since then, an ongoing programme of conservation has been underway and [[isothermal]] secondary glazing was gradually installed on the exterior to protect the windows from further damage.