Editing Chartres Cathedral (section)

==Construction==
Work was begun on the Royal Portal with the south lintel around 1136 and with all its sculpture installed up to 1141. Opinions are uncertain as the sizes and styles of the figures vary and some elements, such as the lintel over the right-hand portal, have clearly been cut down to fit the available spaces. The sculpture was originally designed for these portals, but the layouts were changed by successive masters, see careful lithic analysis by John James.<ref name="John James 1986 pp. 101">John James, "An Examination of Some Anomalies in the Ascension and Incarnation Portals of Chartres Cathedral", ''Gesta'', 25:1 (1986) pp. 101–108.</ref> Either way, most of the carving follows the exceptionally high standard typical of this period and exercised a strong influence on the subsequent development of Gothic portal design.<ref name="C. Edson Armi 1994">C. Edson Armi, ''The "Headmaster" of Chartres and the Origins of "Gothic" Sculpture'', Penn. State, 1994.</ref>

Some of the masters have been identified by John James, and drafts of these studies have been published on the web site of the International Center of Medieval Art, New York.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://medievalart.org/?page_id=214 |title=John James &#124; International Center of Medieval ArtInternational Center of Medieval Art |publisher=Medievalart.org |access-date=12 March 2013 |archive-date=21 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121175136/http://medievalart.org/?page_id=214 |url-status=live }}</ref>

On 10 June 1194, another fire caused extensive damage to Fulbert's cathedral. The true extent of the damage is unknown, though the fact that the lead [[came]]s holding the west windows together survived the conflagration intact suggests contemporary accounts of the terrible devastation may have been exaggerated. Either way, the opportunity was taken to begin a complete rebuilding of the choir and nave in the latest style. The undamaged western towers and façade were incorporated into the new works, as was the earlier crypt, effectively limiting the designers of the new building to the same general plan as its predecessor. In fact, the present building is only marginally longer than Fulbert's cathedral.

One of the features of Chartres cathedral is the speed with which it was built – a factor which helped contribute to the consistency of its design. Even though there were innumerable changes to the details, the plan remains consistent. The major change occurred six years after work began when the seven deep chapels around the choir opening off a single ambulatory were turned into shallow recesses opening off a double-aisled ambulatory.<ref>John James, ' 'The contractors of Chartres' ', Wyong, ii vols. 1979–81.</ref>

Australian architectural historian John James, who made a detailed study of the cathedral, has estimated that there were about 300 men working on the site at any one time, although it has to be acknowledged that current knowledge of working practices at this time is somewhat limited. Normally medieval churches were built from east to west so that the choir could be completed first and put into use (with a temporary wall sealing off the west end) while the crossing and nave were completed. Canon Delaporte argued that building work started at the crossing and proceeded outwards from there,<ref>Yves Delaporte, ''Notre-Dame de Chartres: Introduction historique et archéologique'', Paris, 1957</ref> but the evidence in the stonework itself is unequivocal, especially within the level of the triforium: the nave was at all times more advanced than ambulatory bays of the choir, and this has been confirmed by dendrochronology.{{Citation needed|date=May 2019}}

The builders were not working on a clean site; they would have had to clear back the rubble and surviving parts of the old church as they built the new. Work nevertheless progressed rapidly: the south porch with most of its sculpture was installed by 1210, and by 1215 the north porch and the west rose window were completed.<ref>{{cite book |first=John |last=James |title=The Master Masons of Chartres |location=London; New York; Chartres; Sydney |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-646-00805-9 |publisher=West Grinstead Pub.}}</ref> The nave high vaults were erected in the 1220s, the canons moved into their new stalls in 1221 under a temporary roof at the level of the clerestory, and the transept roses were erected over the next two decades. The high vaults over the choir were not built until the last years of the 1250s, as was rediscovered in the first decade of the 21st century.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Claudine |last=Lautier |title=Restaurations récentes à la cathédrale de Chartres et nouvelles recherches |journal=Bulletin Monumental |volume=169 |year=2011 |pages=3–11 |doi=10.3406/bulmo.2011.7891}}</ref>