Chartres Cathedral (Part Six).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: The Vendôme Chapel Stained Glass Windows

in Chartres Cathedral.

Français: Cathédrale de Chartres - 

Vitraux de la chapelle Vendôme.

Photo: August 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: MOSSOT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

On the whole, Chartres' windows have been remarkably fortunate. The Mediaeval glass largely escaped harm during the Huguenot iconoclasm and the 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, 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.

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 portraits of 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 Mediaeval Cathedral anywhere in the world.

English: The Central Portal in the West Facade at Chartres Cathedral.

Français: Portail central du porche occidental de la cathédrale de Chartres.

Photo: 18 June 2006.

Source: Own work.

Author: Urban.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Like most Mediaeval buildings, the windows at Chartres suffered badly from the corrosive effects of atmospheric acids during the Industrial Revolution, and subsequently. 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 re-installed. Since then, an on-going programme of conservation has been underway and isothermal secondary glazing is gradually been installed on the exterior to protect the windows from further damage.

The Cathedral has three great Façades, each equipped with three Portals, opening into the Nave from the West and into the Transepts from North and South. In each Façade, the Central Portal is particularly large and was only used for special ceremonies, while the smaller Side Portals allowed everyday access for the different communities that used the Cathedral.

English: The South Elevation of Chartres Cathedral.

Français/Deutsch: Monographie de la cathédrale de Chartres. 

Atlas / Gestochen von E. Ollivier gezeichnet von Lassus, Gedruckt bei Bougeard.

Date: Paris, Imprimerie impériale, 1867.

Source: Monographie de la Cathédrale de Chartres - Atlas.

Author: Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Lassus (1807–1857).

Scan and Post-Processing by Hubertl.

(Wikimedia Commons)

One of the few elements to survive from the Mid-12th-Century Church, the Portail Royal, was integrated into the new Cathedral, built after the 1194 fire. Opening onto the parvis (the large Square in front of the Cathedral where Markets were held), the two Lateral Doors would have been the first entry point for most visitors to Chartres, as it remains today. The Central Door was only opened for the entry of processions on major Festivals, of which the most important was the Adventus, or Installation, of a new Bishop. 

The harmonious appearance of the Façade, results, in part, from the relative proportions of the Central and Lateral Portals, whose widths are in the ratio 10:7 – one of the common Mediaeval approximations of the Square Root of 2.

As well as their basic functions of controlling access to the Interior, Portals were the main locations for sculpted images on the Gothic Cathedral, and it was on the West Façade, at Chartres, that this practice began to develop into a visual summa or encyclopaedia of theological knowledge. The three Portals each focus on a different aspect of Christ's role: His Earthly Incarnation, on the right Portal; His Second Coming, on the left Portal; and His Eternal Aspect, in the centre Portal.

Judgment Day Decoded: 

The Sacred Geometry of Chartres Cathedral.

Video available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/MIo8ILX7ax0.

Above the right Portal, the Lintel is carved in two Registers, with, (lower) the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Annunciation to the Shepherds and (upper) the Presentation in the Temple. Above this, the Tympanum shows the Virgin and Child enthroned in the Sedes sapientiae pose. 

Surrounding the Tympanum, as a reminder of the glory days of the School of Chartres, the Archivolts are carved with some very distinctive personifications of the Seven Liberal Arts, as well as the classical authors and philosophers most associated with them.

The final portion of Maurice Duruflé's "Prelude, Adagio & Choral Varié" 

on the Latin Hymn "Veni Creator".

Philippe Lefebvre performs on the instrument, installed in 1971, 

in a recording made ten years after the installation.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/R9m60BzjqI0.

The left Portal is more enigmatic, and art historians still argue over the correct identification. The Tympanum shows Christ standing on a cloud, apparently supported by two Angels. Some see this as a depiction of the Ascension of Christ (in which case the figures on the lower Lintel would represent the Disciples witnessing the event), while others see it as representing the Parousia, or Second Coming of Christ (in which case the Lintel figures could be either the Prophets, who foresaw that event, or else the 'Men of Galilee', mentioned in Acts 1:9-11). 

The presence of Angels in the upper Lintel, descending from a cloud and apparently shouting to those below, would seem to support the latter interpretation. The Archivolts contain the signs of the zodiac and the labours of the months – standard references to the cyclical nature of time, which appear in many Gothic Portals.

PART SEVEN FOLLOWS.

Saint Joseph And The Christ Child. Painting By Guido Reni (1575 - 1642).

Guido Reni (1575–1642).

Details of artist on Google Art Project.

Saint Joseph and the Christ Child.

Date: 1640.

Current location: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

Notes: More info at museum site.

Source/Photographer: Google Art Project: Home - pic.

(Wikimedia Commons)

San Simeone Piccolo, Venice.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Grand Canal, Venice: Looking South-West from the Chiesadegli Scalzi 

to the Fondamenta della Croce, with San Simeone Piccolo (on the left).

Canaletto, 1738.

Current location: THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON.

Illustration from ARTLOVER.ME

Giovanni Antonio Canal (1697 – 1768), better known as Canaletto (Italian: [kanaˈletto]), was an Italian painter of landscapes, or vedute, of Venice. He was also an important printmaker in etching.

He was born in Venice as the son of the painter Bernardo Canal, hence his mononym, Canaletto ("little Canal"), and Artemisia Barbieri. Bernardo Bellotto was his nephew and pupil. Canaletto served his apprenticeship with his father and his brother. He began in his father's occupation, that of a theatrical scene painter. Canaletto was inspired by the Roman vedutista, Giovanni Paolo Pannini, and started painting the daily life of the city and its people.

San Simeone Piccolo (also called San Simeone e Giuda) is a Church in the sestiere of Santa Croce in Venice, Northern Italy. From across the Grand Canal, it faces the railroad terminal, serving as entry point for most visitors to the city.

Built in 1718-38, by Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto, the Church shows the emerging eclecticism of Neo-Classical architecture. It accumulates academic architectural quotations, much like the contemporaneous Karlskirche in Vienna.

Wittkower, in his monograph, acknowledges San Simeone is modelled on the Pantheon, with a temple-front pronaos; on the other hand, the peaked Dome recalls Longhena's more-embellished and prominent Santa Maria della Salute Church.

English: San Simeone Piccolo. 

18th-Century. By architect Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto 

and the Scuola dei Tessitori di Panni di Lana,Venice.

Français: Église San Simeone Piccolo.

XVIIIe siècle par Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto, 

et la Scuola dei Tessitori di Panni di Lana, Venise.

Italiano: Chiesa di San Simeon Piccolo.

XVIII secolo dall'architetto Giovanni Antonio Scalfarotto 

e Scuola dei Tessitori di Panni di Lana,Venezia.

Photo: 23 November 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Didier Descouens.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The centralized circular Church design, and the metal Dome, recalls Byzantine models and San Marco, though the numerous centrifugal Chapels are characteristic of Post-Tridentine Churches.

This was one of the last Churches built in Venice, in one of its poorer sestieri.

The following paragraph is on the Video,

available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/GGQqw5VSECU

The Crucifix is housed in the right-hand aedicula entering our Church. We don't know where it was before 1559, but, since this date, it has been housed outside the Church, over a stone Altar, between the two Portals of the building, next to the main entrance. 

It was probably removed from there during (because of) the Revolution. The Church is the Saints Simon and Jude Church, in Venice (San Simeone Pìccolo), the very first Church that you can see in front of the railway station.

A Video of a Mass being said 

at the Church of San Simeone Piccolo, Venice, 

can also be seen at

http://youtu.be/49-Uw2L3fio

The Pediment of the entrance has a Marble Relief, depicting "The Martyr-isation of the Saints" by Francesco Penso, known as "il Cabianca". Saint Simon was apparently the martyred cousin of Christ, martyred as a Jew by the Romans.

The Mass is celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.

Canaletto (1697–1768).

Date: 1754.

Source: Nndb.com.

Author: Giovanni Battista Piazzetta (1682–1754).

(Wikipedia Commons)

Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas. John Taverner (1490 - 1545).

Text and Illustration from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Interior of Christ Church Cathedral, Christ Church, Oxford, England.

In 1526, Taverner became the first Organist and Master

of the Choristers at Christ Church, Oxford,

and was appointed by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

Photo: 16 December 2007.

Source: Own work.

Permission: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.5.

Please attribute using name and website URL (as per the author line, below).

Author: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Several of Taverner's other Masses use the widespread Cantus Firmus technique, where a Plainchant melody, with long note values, is placed in an interior part, often the tenor. Examples of Cantus Firmus Masses include "Corona Spinea" and "Gloria Tibi Trinitas". Another technique of composition is seen in his Mass, "Mater Christi", which is based upon material taken from his motet of that name, and hence known as a "derived" or "parody" Mass.

The Mass, "Gloria Tibi Trinitas", gave origin to the style of instrumental work known as an In Nomine. Although the Mass is in six parts, some more virtuosic sections are in reduced numbers of parts, presumably intended for soloists, a compositional technique used in several of his Masses. The section at the words "in nomine...", in the Benedictus, is in four parts, with the Plainchant in the alto. This section of the Mass became popular as an instrumental work for viol consort. Other composers came to write instrumental works modelled on this, and the name, "In nomine", was given to works of this type.

Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas.

John Taverner (1490 - 1545).

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/TnfdA7oWKr4.

The following Text is on the Video on YouTube.

Taverner's Festal Mass, "Missa Gloria tibi Trinitas", is some of his most elaborate and beautiful music. It was hugely influential, both on his contemporaries and successors. In fact, it gave rise to an entire new genre of music, the "In Nomine". Every English composer, upto and including Purcell, himself, tested their mastery of contrapuntal techniques by basing music on the 'In Nomine' section of the Benedictus of this Mass - Taverner's "Missa Gloria Tibi Trinitas". That is a unique achievement in the history of English music.

This music Video includes the Cantus Firmus and a troped Kyrie. I've included the Cantus Firmus so that you can hear it and recognise it as it occurs throughout the Mass. The troped Kyrie (in this case Kyrie Deus creator omnium) was widely used in the Sarum Rite Masses, said and sung in England at that time. I've created this Video for purposes of an article to be published on http://saturdaychorale.com discussing Taverner's music. The direct link to that article is here: http://saturdaychorale.com/2012/02/26...

Missa Corona Spinea. "Crown Of Thorns" Mass. The Gloria. John Taverner (1490 - 1545).

Text and Illustration from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

Interior of Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, England.

In 1526, Taverner became the first Organist and Master 

of the Choristers at Christ Church, Oxford, 

and was appointed by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. 

Photo: 16 December 2007.

Source: Own work.

Permission: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-2.5. 

Please attribute using name and website URL (as per the author line, below).

Author: Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The "Gloria"

from Missa Corona Spinea

(Crown of Thorns Mass)

by

John Taverner

(1490 - 1545).

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/0REBeocTjQY.

The following Text is that accompanying the Video on YouTube.

John Taverner was an Early-16th-Century English composer, born in Boston, Lincolnshire, around 1490. He was 'Informator' (Master of the Choristers) at the Oxford College founded by Cardinal Wolsey, known today as Christ Church College. 

'Missa Corona Spinea' was probably written while Taverner was at Oxford and is one of his three great Festal Masses, the others being 'O Michael' and 'Gloria Tibi Trinitas'. The great complexity and difficulty of the music suggests that Wolsey provided his new College's Chapel with singers (both boys and men) of exceptional skill. This work is one of the last great monuments of English Catholic Church Music, written just before the Reformation.

The whole Mass, as well as two other Liturgical works, the Marian Antiphon, "Gaude Plurimum", and the Lenten Respond, "In Pace", can be found on a Hyperion CD under the 'Helios' label.

Photos accompanying the music are all of English Cathedrals, Abbeys, Minsters and Chapels and are in the public domain. The painting is the Isenheim Altarpiece by Mathis Grunwald, a German contemporary of Taverner. The final photograph in the sequence shows the elevation of the Chalice during Mass in York Minster.

Chartres Cathedral (Part Five).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: The Western Rose Window of Chartres Cathedral, France.

Français: La rosace ouest de la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, France.

Photo: 7 February 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: This photo was taken by Eusebius (Guillaume Piolle).

Attribution: © Guillaume Piolle / CC-BY-3.0.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Each Bay of the Aisles and the Choir Ambulatory contains one large Lancet Window, most of them roughly 8.1m high by 2.2m wide. The subjects depicted in these windows, made between 1205 and 1235, include stories from the Old and New Testament and the Lives of the Saints, as well as typological cycles and symbolic images, such as the signs of the zodiac and labours of the months. Most windows are made up of around 25 – 30 individual panels showing distinct episodes within the narrative – only the Belle Verrière includes a larger image made up of multiple panels.

Several of the windows at Chartres include images of local tradesmen or labourers in the lowest two or three panels, often with fascinating details of their equipment and working methods. Traditionally, it was claimed that these images represented the Guilds of the donors who paid for the windows. In recent years, however, this view has largely been discounted, not least because each window would have cost around as much as a large mansion house to make – while most of the labourers depicted would have been subsistence workers with little or no disposable income.

Furthermore, although they became powerful and wealthy organisations in the Later-Mediaeval period, none of these Trade Guilds had actually been founded when the glass was being made in the early 13th-Century. A more likely explanation is that the Cathedral Clergy wanted to emphasise the universal reach of the Church, particularly at a time when their relationship with the local community was often a troubled one.

English: Chartres Cathedral. Rose Window in the South Transept.

Français: Cathédrale de Chartres - Transept Sud - Rose et verrières de la façade.

Photo: August 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: MOSSOT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Because of their greater distance from the viewer, the windows in the Clerestory generally adopt simpler, bolder designs. Most feature the standing figure of a Saint or Apostle in the upper two-thirds, often with one or two simplified narrative scenes in the lower part, either to help identify the figure or else to remind the viewer of some key event in their life.

Whereas the lower windows, in the Nave Arcades and the Ambulatory, consist of one simple Lancet per Bay, the Clerestory windows are each made up of a pair of Lancets with a plate-traceried Rose Window, above. The Nave and Transept Clerestory windows mainly depict Saints and Old Testament Prophets. Those in the Choir, depict the Kings of France and Castile and members of the local nobility, in the straight Bays, while the windows in the Apse hemi-cycle show those Old Testament Prophets who foresaw the Virgin Birth, flanking scenes of the Annunciation, Visitation and Nativity, in the Axial Window.

North Transept Rose Window. Circa 1235.

English: Northern Rose Window of Chartres Cathedral. The Rose depicts the Glorification of the Virgin Mary, surrounded by Angels, twelve Kings of Juda (David, Solomon, Abijam, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Ahaz, Manasseh, Hezechiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoram, Asa et Rehoboam) and the twelve Lesser Prophets (Hosea, Amos, Jonah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Zechariah, Malachi, Haggai, Habakkuk, Micah, Obadiah and Joel). Below, the Arms of France and Castile (the window was offered by Blanche of Castile).

The five Lancets represent Saint Anne, Mother of The Virgin, surrounded by the Kings Melchizedek, David, Solomon and Aaron, treading the sinner and idolatrous Kings: Nebuchadnezzar, Saul, Jeroboam and Pharaoh.

Français: Rosace nord de la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres. La rosace dépeint la Glorification de la Vierge, entourée des anges, de douze rois de Juda (David, Salomon, Abijam (Abia), Josaphat (Iosapht), Azarias (Ozias), Achaz (Acaz), Manassé (Mahases), Ézéchias, Joachim (Ioatam), Joram (Ioram), Asa et Roboam) et des douze petits prophètes (Osée (Oseas), Amos, Jonas, Nahum (Naum), Sophonie (Sephonias), Zacharie, Malachie (Malacias), Aggée (Ageus), Habacuc (Abbacuc), Michée (Micheas), Abdias et Joël (Iohel)). En-dessous, les armes de France et de Castille (la rosace a été offerte par Blanche de Castille). Les cinq lancettes représentent Sainte Anne, mère de la Vierge, entourée des rois Melchisedech, David, Salomon et d'Aaron, foulant les rois pécheurs et idolâtres : Nabuchodonosor, Saül, Jéroboam et Pharaon.

Photo: 7 February 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: This photo was taken by Eusebius (Guillaume Piolle).

Attribution: © Guillaume Piolle / CC-BY-3.0.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral has three large Rose Windows:

The Western Rose Window, made circa 1215, and twelve metres in diameter, shows the Last Judgement – a traditional theme for West Façades. A central oculus, showing Christ as the Judge, is surrounded by an inner ring of twelve paired roundels, containing Angels and the Elders of the Apocalypse, and an outer ring of twelve roundels, showing the dead emerging from their tombs and the Angels blowing trumpets to summon them to judgement;

The North Transept Rose Window (10.5 m diameter, made circa 1235), like much of the sculpture in the North Porch beneath it, is dedicated to the Virgin. The central oculus shows the Virgin and Child and is surrounded by twelve small petal-shaped windows, four with doves (the 'Four Gifts of the Spirit'), the rest with adoring Angels carrying candlesticks. Beyond this is a ring of twelve diamond-shaped openings containing the Old Testament Kings of Judah, another ring of smaller Lozenges containing the Arms of France and Castile, and, finally, a ring of semi-circles containing Old Testament Prophets holding scrolls.

The presence of the Arms of the French King (yellow fleurs-de-lis on a blue background) and of his mother, Blanche of Castile (yellow castles on a red background) are taken as a sign of royal patronage for this window. Beneath the Rose, itself, are five tall Lancet Windows (7.5 metres high) showing, in the centre, the Virgin, as an infant, held by her mother, Saint Anne – the same subject as the trumeau in the Portal beneath it. Flanking this Lancet are four more, containing Old Testament figures. Each of these standing figures is shown symbolically triumphing over an enemy, depicted in the base of the Lancet, beneath them – David over Saul, Aaron over Pharaoh, Saint Anne over Synagoga, etc;

North Porch of Chartres Cathedral.

Photo: 31 August 2007.

Source: Own work.

Reference: 2007/4/3691.

Author: Andreas F. Borchert.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The South Transept Rose Window (10.5 metres diameter, made circa 1225–30) is dedicated to Christ, Who is shown in the central oculus, right hand raised in benediction, surrounded by adoring Angels. Two outer rings of twelve circles each contain the twenty-four Elders of the Apocalypse, crowned and carrying phials and musical instruments. 

The central Lancet, beneath the Rose Window, shows the Virgin carrying the infant Christ. Either side of this, are four Lancets showing the four Evangelists, sitting on the shoulders of four Prophets – a rare literal illustration of the theological principle that the New Testament builds upon the Old Testament. This window was a donation of the Mauclerc family, the Counts of Dreux-Bretagne, who are depicted with their Arms in the bases of the Lancets.

The Rose Window
In Gothic Architecture.
Available on YouTube at
http://youtu.be/pCLF4WivmZw.

PART SIX FOLLOWS.

The Book Of Wisdom.

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Douay-Rheims Bible.

Illustration from Preserving Christian Publications at

http://www.pcpbooks.net/prestashop/55721.html

The following two paragraphs are taken from Wikisource

The Douay-Rheims Bible, also known as the Rheims-Douai Bible or Douai Bible and abbreviated as D-R, is a translation of the Bible from the Latin Vulgate into English. The New Testament was published in one volume with extensive commentary and notes in 1582. The Old Testament followed in 1609–10 in two volumes, also extensively annotated. The notes took up the bulk of the volumes and had a strong polemical and patristic character. They also offered insights on issues of translation, and on the Hebrew and Greek source texts of the Vulgate. The purpose of the version, both the text and notes, was to uphold Catholic tradition in the face of the Protestant Reformation which was heavily influencing England. As such, it was an impressive effort by English Catholics to support the Counter-Reformation.

The Douay–Rheims Bible, however, achieved little currency, even among English-speaking Catholics, until it was substantially revised between 1749 and 1752 by Richard Challoner, an English bishop, formally appointed to the deserted See of Debra. Challoner's revisions borrowed heavily from the King James Version, whose translators had themselves borrowed from the original Rheims NT of 1582. Challoner not only addressed the odd prose and many of the Latinisms, but produced a version which, while still called the Douay–Rheims, was little like it. At the same time, he aimed for improved readability and comprehensibility, rephrasing obscure and obsolete terms and construction; and in the process, consistently removing ambiguities of meaning that the original Rheims–Douay version had striven to retain.— Excerpted from Douay-Rheims Bible on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Book of Wisdom, often referred to simply as Wisdom or the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, is one of the books of the Bible, which are considered deuterocanonical by some Churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church, and non-canonical or apocryphal by others, such as the Protestant Churches. It is one of the seven Sapiential or wisdom books or bound with the Septuagint, along with Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon (Song of Songs), and Sirach.

Some opine that Melito of Sardis, in the 2nd-Century A.D., considered Wisdom of Solomon as part of the Old Testament (without necessarily using the term "canonical"). Some may opine that it was considered canonical by Jews and Christians. On the other hand, the contrary claim has been made: "In the catalogue of Melito, presented by Eusebius, after Proverbs, the word Wisdom occurs, which nearly all commentators have been of opinion is only another name for the same book, and not the name of the book now called 'The Wisdom of Solomon'." A Hebrew translation of the Wisdom of Solomon is mentioned by Naḥmanides in the preface to his commentary on the Pentateuch.

The Book of Wisdom should not be confused with the Wisdom of Sirach, a work from the 2nd-Century B.C., originally written in Hebrew.

The book is believed to have been written in the Greek language, but in a style patterned on that of Hebrew verse. Although the author's name is nowhere given in the text, the writer was traditionally believed to be King Solomon because of references, such as that found in IX:7-8, "Thou hast chosen me to be a king of thy people, and a judge of thy sons and daughters: Thou hast commanded me to build a temple upon thy holy mount . . ."

The formulation here is similar to that of Ecclesiastes I:12, "I, Koheleth, was king in Jerusalem over Israel," which also fails to denote Solomon by name, but leaves no doubt as to whom the reader should identify as the author. King Josiah was king in Israel; he built (repaired) the temple; like Ezra, who came after him, he preached the law of the Lord to the kahal, the assembly of the people; and he is praised as being greater and wiser than any king who came before him, greater and wiser than Solomon, who sinned. 

The praise of Josiah's wisdom parallels the words found in Ecclesiastes I:16, "Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem . . ." The early Christian community showed some awareness that the book was not actually authored by Solomon, as the Muratorian fragment notes that the book was "written by the friends of Solomon in his honour." By the early Mediaeval period, it was held to have been written by a Hellenised Jew, named Jesus, around 70 B.C.

The traditional attribution of The Book of Wisdom to Solomon has been soundly rejected in modern times. Says the Catholic Encyclopedia: "At the present day, it is freely admitted that Solomon is not the writer of the Book of Wisdom, which has been ascribed to him, because its author, through a literary fiction, speaks as if he were the Son of David." 

Although the book of Wisdom is also called the Wisdom of Solomon, it was most likely composed centuries after the death of King Solomon. Scholars believe that the book represents the most literary post-classical Greek language found in the Septuagint, having been written during the Jewish Hellenistic period (the 2nd-Century or 1st-Century B.C.). The author of the text appears well versed in the popular philosophical, religious, and ethical writings adopted by Hellenistic Alexandria.

The philosophical influences on the Book of Wisdom may include those of Middle-Platonism. Some religious and ethical influences may also stem from Stoicism, found in the writings of the Alexandrian Jew, Philo, to whom Book of Wisdom has on occasion been wrongly attributed. (This is evident in the use of the four Stoic ideals which are borrowed from Plato.) A sorites appears in Chapter 6 (v. 17-20). This logical form is also called chain-inference, "of which the Stoics were very fond."

One passage (Wis. 8:2-18) has notable similarity to Virtue's speech to Heracles in Xenophon's Memorabilia, Book 2, 1:37.

Although the Book of Wisdom is non-canonical in the Rabbinical Jewish tradition, the work was at least known to Mediaeval Jews, as Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (Ramban)attests. That it was known to ancient Jews, as well, is trivially true, as that was the milieu of its composition.

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, the last section (9:18-19:22) is devoid of all connection with what precedes it. The speaker is no longer Solomon, but the author or the Saints (16:28, 18:6 et passim), who recite the history of Israel's redemption from Egypt and other enemies. In like manner, the words are not addressed to the kings of the earth (9:18; 10:20; 11:4, 9, 17, 21; et passim), but to God, the deliverer from the Red Sea. The whole appears on close observation to be part of a Passover Haggadah recited in Egypt with reference to Gentile surroundings, and it accordingly abounds in genuine haggadic passages of an ancient character.

It is of some interest that the philosophy, which the Book of Wisdom in Chapter II puts in the mouths of the "ungodly," presumably the Epicureans, bears strong literary resemblance to a prominent passage from the Jewish High Holiday liturgy: "Man begins from dust and ends in dust" (אדם יסודו מעפר וסופו לעפר) from the Unetanneh Tokef prayer (cf. Genesis 3:19: כי‏ ‏עפר‏ ‏אתה‏ ‏ואל‏ ‏עפר‏ ‏תשוב). The relevant verses from Book of Wisdom (II:2-5) read in part, "the breath in our nostrils is as smoke... our body shall be turned to ashes, and our spirit shall vanish as the soft air... our life shall pass away as the trace of a cloud... and shall be dispersed as a mist... for our time is a very shadow that passeth away." The Unetanneh Tokef prayer seems to offer a close parallel: "As to man, his origin is dust and his end is dust... he is like a broken vessel of clay, like withering grass, a fading flower, a passing shadow, a drifting cloud, a fleeting breath, scattering dust, a transient dream."

If this similarity is more than coincidence or the common citation of a third text, such as Isaiah 40:7, it would not be the only instance of Apocryphal influences on the Jewish liturgy. Elements of Ben Sira are also found in the High Holiday service and other prayers.

There are found in the Book of Wisdom and other books of the wisdom literature to Wisdom as a personification with divine attributes.

In chapter seven, Wisdom is said to be “the fashioner of all things” (v. 22). Because she fashions all things, is “an associate in his [God’s] works” (8:4), and is a “pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty” (7:25), Wisdom is eternal and one in being (consubstantial) with the Father.

Because Wisdom is God’s “creative agent”, she must be intimately identified with God himself. It has been claimed that the most definite indication that personified Wisdom refers to the Messiah is the alleged paraphrasing of Wis 7:26 in Heb 1:3a. 

Wis 7:26 says that “she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.” The author of Hebrews says of Christ: “He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power.”

Furthermore, Wisdom speaks of personified Wisdom in a Trinitarian way at 9:17: “Who has learned your counsel, unless you have given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high?”. The next verse says that salvation is an act of Wisdom. In Christianity, salvation is an activity reserved for God, but it is here given to Wisdom, thus identifying them with one another.

Some may see the second chapter of the Book of Wisdom (Wisdom 2) as building up to a prophecy of Christ’s Passion. First, the ungodly men are described (Wis 1:16-2:9), followed by their plotting against the righteous man (2:10-20). The passage describes in detail the treatment of Jesus by the Jewish authorities. The first indication for some that it is a prophecy of the Messiah is in verse 11. Where the RSV reads "weak", the Greek has "achreston" (ἄχρηστον), which some may claim is a play on the title Christos (Χριστός).

Verse 12 is a quote of the LXX version of Is 3:10; Is 3:10 was allegedly taken to refer to Jesus in the 1st-Century Epistle of Barnabas. On the whole, this treatment of the suffering of the righteous man is heavily indebted to Isaiah; particularly the fourth Suffering Servant song (Is 52:13-53:12). Verse 13 uses pais (παῖς), child or servant, from Is 52:13. Verse 15 says his very sight is a burden, referencing Is 53:2. In verse 16, he calls God his father, which is thought to be based on a poor understanding of pais, as in Is 52:13. Verse 18 is comparable to Is 42:1. Verse 19 makes reference to Is 53:7. A final reference to the Messiah is the righteous man’s “shameful death” in verse 20. This death has been identified with Jesus’ death on a Cross, a cursed death hanging on a tree.

In the realm of Bible criticism and theology, all sorts of opinions are held by all sorts of persons, whether ordinary persons or university professors. Some opine that the Gospel of Matthew may contain allusions to the Wisdom of Solomon in the structuring of Matthew's Passion Narrative. Supposed parallels between Wisdom and Matthew include the theme of testing, and the mocking of a servant of God's claim to be protected by God. Matthew's gospel teaches that Jesus is the suffering servant of God.

As another example of the myriad opinions and interpretations of the Bible: While some think that Wis 2:17-18, “Let us see if his words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life; for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him, and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries,” was an influence on Mt 27:43, “He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”, it is more natural to see it as a reference to Ps 22:8: “He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: Let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.”

Zephyrinus Denies Being A Peruvian Swamp Lily.

Peruvian Swamp Lily

(Zephyranthus).

Photo: 28 March 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: M.arunprasad.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Zephyrinus recently had the indignity of being called a Peruvian Swamp Lily (botanical name Zephyranthus).

Whilst acknowledging that the said Lily is, in fact, an attractive flower, and that Peru is a fine South American country, well worth visiting, and a Swamp is a great source of benefit to both flora and fauna, it cannot go unchallenged that Zephyrinus is such a specimen.

It is to be hoped that that is the end of the matter.

Any further innuendi is either a typographical error or Eccles 'aving a larf !!!

Eccles operates from http://ecclesandbosco.blogspot.co.uk/

Morning Prayer. An Act Of Adoration And Thanksgiving.

Text is from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal (Morning Prayers).

Monk at Prayer.

From the film “Into Great Silence”.

Picture Credit from the Blog, 

"Mundus Tranquillare Hic" 

(The World Is Quiet Here), at 

http://www.thomryng.com/amateurmonk/benedict-in-retrospect/great-silence-4/

Morning Prayer.

An Act Of Adoration And Thanksgiving.

O Eternal God !

Father, Son and Holy Ghost;

The beginning and end of all things;

In whom we live, and move, and have our being;

Prostrate before Thee in body and Soul,

I adore Thee with the most profound humility.

I Bless Thee, and give Thee thanks,

For all the benefits Thou hast conferred upon me;

Especially that Thou hast created me out of nothing,

Made me after Thine own image and likeness,

Redeemed me with the precious Blood of Thy Son,

and sanctified me with Thy Holy Spirit.

I thank Thee that Thou hast called me into Thy Church,

Assisted me by Thy Grace,

Admitted me to Thy Sacraments,

Watched over me by Thy special providence;

Blessed me, notwithstanding my sins and unworthiness,

With the continuance of Thy gracious protection;

And for all the innumerable Blessings,

Which I owe to Thy undeserved bounty.

I thank Thee especially for having preserved me during the past night,

And for bringing me in safety to the beginning of another day.

What return can I make to Thee, O my God,

For all that Thou hast done for me ?

I will Bless Thy Holy Name,

And serve Thee all the days of my life.

Bless the Lord, O my Soul,

And let all that is within me

Praise His Holy Name.

Amen.

Chartres Cathedral (Part Four).

Text and Illustration from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Chartres Cathedral. Stained-Glass Window of the Vendome Chapel, circa 1415.

Français: Cathédrale de Chartres - Vitraux de la chapelle Vendôme.

Photo: August 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: MOSSOT.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In the last decade, the fabric of the Cathedral has seen an almost continuous programme of cleaning and restoration. In recent years, a major project has been underway to clean all the Stone Vaults of the Choir and Nave and repaint them in emulation of the 13th-Century polychromy.

The Cathedral is still the Seat of the Bishop of Chartres, of the Diocese of Chartres, though in the Ecclesiastical Province of Tours.

The Plan is Cruciform. A Two-Bay Narthex, at the Western End, opens into a Seven-Bay Nave, leading to The Crossing, from which wide Transepts extend Three Bays each to North and South. East of The Crossing are four rectangular Bays, terminating in a semi-circular Apse. 

The Nave and Transepts are flanked by Single Aisles, broadening to a Double-Aisled Ambulatory around the Choir and Apse. From the Ambulatory, radiate three deep semi-circular Chapels (overlying the deep Chapels of Fulbert's 11th-Century Crypt) and four much shallower ones. Of the latter, one was effectively lost in the 1320s, when the Chapel of Saint Piat was built.

Deutsch: Wandfläche mit Triforium.

English: Three tiers of wall structure of Chartres Cathedral: 

Arcade; Triforium; Clerestory (with 2 windows united by a small, round, Rosette window).

Photo: August 2006.

Source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Triforium_Chartres.jpg.

Author: BjörnT, BT from German Wikipedia.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The elevation of the Nave is Three-Storeyed, with Arcade, Triforium and Clerestory levels. By eschewing the Gallery level, that featured in many Early-Gothic Cathedrals (normally between Arcade and Triforium), the designers were able to make the richly-glazed Arcade and Clerestory levels larger and almost equal in height, with just a narrow dark Triforium in between. 

Although not the first example of this Three-Part Elevation, Chartres was perhaps the first of the great Churches to make a success of it and to use the same design consistently throughout. The result was a far greater area of window openings. These windows were entirely glazed with densely-coloured glass, which resulted in a relatively dark Interior – but one which accentuated the richness of the glass and the coloured light that filtered through them.

Increasing the size of the windows meant reducing the wall area, considerably, something which was made possible only by the extensive use of Flying Buttresses on the outside. These Buttresses supported the considerable lateral thrusts resulting from the 34m-high Stone Vaults, higher and wider than any attempted before in France. These Vaults were quadripartite, each Bay split into four webs by two diagonally-crossing Ribs, unlike the Sexpartite Vaults adopted in many earlier Gothic Cathedrals, such as at Laon.

Another architectural breakthrough, at Chartres, was a resolution to the problem of how to arrange attached Columns, or Shafts, around a Pier, in a way that worked aesthetically – but which also satisfied the desire for structural logic, that characterised French High-Gothic.

Chartres Cathedral marks the high point of French Gothic art.

The vast Nave, in pure ogival style, the Porches adorned with fine sculptures from the middle of the 12th-Century, and the magnificent 12th- and 13th-Century Stained-Glass Windows, all in remarkable condition, combine to make it a masterpiece.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/9727p6ozlYo.

The Nave, at Chartres, features alternating Round and Octagonal Solid-Cored Piers, each of which has four attached Half-Columns at the Cardinal Points: Two of these (on the East-West axis) support the Arches of the Arcade; one acts as the Springing for the Aisle Vault; and one supports the cluster of Shafts, that rise through the Triforium and Clerestory, to support the High-Vault Ribs. This Pier design, known as Pilier Cantonné, was to prove highly influential and subsequently featured in a number of other High-Gothic Churches.

Although the sculpture, on the Portals, at Chartres is generally of a high standard, the various carved elements inside, such as the Capitals and String Courses, are relatively poorly finished (when compared, for example, with those at Reims or Soissons) – the reason is simply that the Portals were carved from the finest Parisian limestone, or ' 'calcaire' ', while the internal Capitals were carved from the local Berchere stone, that is hard to work and can be brittle.

Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Chartres Cathedral is the extent to which architectural structure has been adapted to meet the needs of Stained Glass. The use of a Three-Part Elevation, with external buttressing, allowed for far larger windows than earlier designs, particularly at the Clerestory level. Most Cathedrals of the period had a mixture of windows containing plain, or grisaille, glass and windows containing dense, Stained Glass panels, with the result that the brightness of the former tended to diminish the impact and legibility of the latter. 

At Chartres, nearly all of the 176 windows were filled with equally dense Stained Glass, creating a relatively dark, but richly coloured, interior, in which the light, filtering through the myriad narrative and symbolic windows, was the main source of illumination.

The West Façade (Portail Royale), 

Chartres Cathedral.

Photo: 12 November 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Photo:Nina Aldin Thune User:Nina-no.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The majority of the windows, now visible at Chartres, were made and installed between 1205 and 1240, however, four Lancets preserve panels of Romanesque glass from the 12th-Century, which survived the fire of 1195. Three of these are located beneath the Rose Window in the West Façade; the Passion window, to the South, the Infancy of Christ, in the centre, and a Tree of Jesse, to the North. 

All three of these windows were originally made around 1145, but were restored in the Early-13th-Century and, again, in the 19th-Century. The other 12th-century window, perhaps the most famous at Chartres, is the, so-called, Belle Verrière, found in the first Bay of the Choir, after the South Transept. This window is actually a composite; the upper part, showing the Virgin and Child surrounded by adoring Angels, dates from around 1180 and was probably positioned at the centre of the Apse in the earlier building. 

The Virgin is depicted wearing a blue robe and sitting in a frontal pose on a throne, with the Christ Child seated on her lap, raising His hand in Blessing. This composition, known as the Sedes sapientiae ('Throne of Wisdom'), which also appears on the Portail Royale, is based on the famous cult figure kept in the Crypt. The lower part or the window, showing scenes from the Infancy of Christ, dates from the main glazing campaign, around 1225.

Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/w8QRG-Xc6oU.

PART FIVE FOLLOWS.

Souvenir, 8 December 1854. Open To Me Your Immaculate Heart, O Mary. I Have Chosen It As Home.

Text and Illustration from the Blog, HOLY CARD HEAVEN at

http://holycardheaven.blogspot.co.uk/

THE MOST HIGH HAS SANCTIFIED HIS TABERNACLE.

LE TRES HAUT A SANCTIFIE SON TABERNACLE.

~ Psalm 45.

She is a garden enclosed and a fountain sealed.

C'est ici, le Jardin fermé et la fontaine scellée.

~ Song of Songs.

Open to me your Immaculate Heart, O Mary. 

I have chosen it as home.

Ouvrez-moi votre Coeur Immaculé, O Marie. 

Je l'ai choisi pour demeure.

Chartres Cathedral (Part Three).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Notre-Dame de la Belle Verrière.

Stained-Glass Window in the Choir of Chartres cathedral. 

The lower part depicts the Temptation of Christ. 

The two following parts relate the Marriage at Cana. 

12th-Century (parts with the red background) and 13th-Century.

Français: « Notre-Dame de la Belle Verrière », vitrail du chœur de la Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres. Le registre inférieur évoque la Tentation du Christ. Les deux registres suivants relatent les Noces de Cana. XIIème siècle (panneaux sur fond rouge) et XIIIème siècle.

Photo: 7 February 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Eusebius (Guillaume Piolle).

(Wikimedia Commons)

It is important to remember that the builders were not working on a clean site, but would have had to clear back the rubble and surviving parts of the old Church, as they built the new. Nevertheless, work progressed rapidly. The South Porch, with most of its sculpture, was installed by 1210, and, by 1215, the North Porch had been completed and the Western Rose Window installed. 

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 subsequent two decades. The High Vaults, over the Choir, were not built until the last years of the 1250s, as was re-discovered in the first decade of the 21st-Century.

Each arm of the Transept was originally meant to support two Towers, two more were to flank the Choir, and there was to have been a central Lantern over The Crossing  –  nine Towers in all. Plans for a Crossing Tower were abandoned in 1221 and The Crossing was Vaulted over. 

Work on the remaining six Towers continued at a slower pace for some decades, until it was decided to leave them without Spires (as at Laon Cathedral, and elsewhere). The Cathedral was Consecrated on 24 October 1260 in the presence of King Louis IX of France, whose Coat-of-Arms was painted over the Apsidal Boss.

Chartres Cathedral.

Sacred Geometry.

Available on YouTube at

http://youtu.be/BeC7s_UtL2M.

Compared with other Mediaeval Churches, relatively few changes have been made to the Cathedral since its Consecration. In 1323, a substantial two-storey construction was added at the Eastern End of the Choir, with a Chapel, dedicated to Saint Piat, in the Upper Floor, accessed by a staircase opening onto the Ambulatory (the Chapel of Saint Piat is normally closed to visitors, although it occasionally houses temporary exhibitions). The chamber, below the Chapel, served the Canons as their Chapter House.

Shortly after 1417, a small Chapel was placed between the Buttresses of the South Nave for the Count of Vendôme. At the same time, the small Organ, that had been built in the Nave Aisle, was moved up into the Triforium, where it remains, though some time in the 16th-Century it was replaced with a larger one on a raised platform at the Western End of the building. To this end, some of the interior Shafts, in the Western Bay, were removed and plans made to rebuild the Organ there. In the event, this plan was abandoned, the glass, in the Western Lancets, was retained and the old Organ was replaced with the present one.

Français: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. 

La clôture du chœur.

English: Chartres Cathedral, Eure-et-Loir, Centre, France. 

The monumental Screen, around the Choir.

Photo: 28 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1506, lightning destroyed the North Spire, which was rebuilt in the 'Flamboyant' style by local mason, Jehan de Beauce (who also worked on the Abbey Church in Vendôme). It is 113 metres high and took seven years to construct. After its completion, Jehan continued working on the Cathedral, and began the monumental Screen around the Choir Stalls, which was not completed until the beginning of the 18th-Century.

In 1757, a number of changes were made to the Interior, to increase the visibility of the Mass, in accordance with changing religious customs. The jubé (Choir Screen), that separated the Liturgical Choir from the Nave, was torn down and the present Stalls built (some of the magnificent sculpture from this Screen was later found buried underneath the Paving and preserved, though it is not on public display). At the same time, some of the Stained-Glass in the Clerestory was removed and replaced with grisaille windows, greatly increasing the illumination of the High Altar.

In 1836, the old lead-covered Roof, with its complex structure of timber supports (known as 'the forest') was destroyed by fire. It was replaced with a copper-clad Roof, supported by a network of cast iron ribs, known as the Charpente de fer. At the time, the framework over The Crossing had the largest span of any iron-framed construction in Europe.

The iron girder structure (known as the charpente de fer) 

supporting the Roof of Chartres Cathedral (view from Western End).

Photo: 18 August 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: StuartLondon.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Cathedral was damaged in the French Revolution, when a mob began to destroy the sculpture on the North Porch. This is one of the few occasions on which the anti-religious fervour was stopped by the townsfolk. The Revolutionary Committee decided to destroy the Cathedral, via explosives, and asked a local architect to organise it. 

He saved the building, by pointing out that the vast amount of rubble from the demolished building would so clog the streets it would take years to clear away. However, when metal was needed for the army, the brass plaque, in the centre of the Labyrinth, was removed and melted down  –  our only record of what was on the plaque was Felibien's description.

The Cathedral of Chartres was, therefore, neither destroyed nor looted during the French Revolution and the numerous restorations have not diminished its reputation as a triumph of Gothic Art. The Cathedral has been fortunate in being spared the damage suffered by so many during the Wars of Religion and the Revolution, though the lead Roof was removed to make bullets and the Directorate threatened to destroy the building, as its upkeep, without a Roof, had become too onerous.

Chartres Cathedral.

Sacred Geometry.

Available on YouTube at
http://youtu.be/_3PbecRbggg.

All the glass from the Cathedral was removed in 1939, just before the Germans invaded France, and it was cleaned after the War and re-leaded before replacing. While the city suffered heavy damage by bombing in the course of World War II, the Cathedral was spared by an American Army officer, who challenged the order to destroy it.

Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. questioned the strategy of destroying the Cathedral and volunteered to go behind enemy lines to find out whether the German Army was occupying the Cathedral and using it as an observation post. 

With a single Enlisted Soldier to assist, Griffith proceeded to the Cathedral and confirmed that the Germans were not using it. After he returned from his reconnaissance, he reported that the Cathedral was clear of enemy troops. The order to destroy the Cathedral was withdrawn, and the Allies later liberated the area. Griffith was killed "In Action" on 16 August 1944, in the town of Leves, near Chartres.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.