Inside Chartres Cathedral Mysteries
Home to Ancient Religious Artifacts ?
It was in 1135 that the Cirstercian monks began the construction the Chartres Cathedral, in Eure-et-Loir, 95 kilometers south-west of Paris. The religious building represents an absolutely unique plan and architectural intersections. The Cistercian order was closely linked to the order of the Knights Templar, through the figure of Bernard de Clairvaux. And the Templars were the holders, with many other secrets, of the knowledge associated with the construction of cathedrals. But among the many objectives of the Knights Templar, there was also that of collecting and preserving holy relics : and it may also be that, in this regard, Chartres played a very important role.
The mysterious floor labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral
The first phase of work on Chartres Cathedral ended in 1240, one hundred and five years after the start of its construction, although the towers and other details were still missing. The solemn consecration took place in 1260. The labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral which is on the paving is one of the most surprising elements of the building. The number of stones which constitute it is equal to the number of days of gestation of a woman. For many scholars, the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral would represent an initiatory journey: traversing it from the outside to the center is synonymous with spiritual growth and the birth of a new life. But it is not only that: the course which approaches and continually departs from the goal, is an allegory showing how the path to bliss is sinuous and how much it tests the real desire to there reach. We walk on our knees the 261 meters of the path, inside the labyrinth of Chartres Cathedral, wearing a rosary around our neck and praying incessantly: it can still happen today to witness this practice by the faithful, during the day of the summer solstice, June 21. Not far from Rome, in Alatri, we find the same labyrinth, but, instead of the rose window present in Chartres, it is characterized by a representation of Christ.
A link between Chartres, Castel del Monte and the Great Pyramid of Giza
The mysteries of the Chartres Cathedral are not limited to the labyrinth, they concern all its dimensions: the large central nave, 74 meters long, crosses an ideal line, 37 meters long, which crosses the choir. The sum of 74 and 37 gives 111. This number also appears in many other places associated with the Knights Templar ; it inextricably links Chartres to Castel del Monte in Puglia and to the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt: these three great monuments are, in fact, on a straight line which connects them, and in each of the three the number 111, with the two terms of its sum, 74 and 37, reappears in the architectural elements.
A magical atmosphere and an indecipherable enigma
Chartres is the only Gothic cathedral that has kept its original stained glass windows; certainly an artistic masterpiece, a collection unique in the world with more than 4,000 characters represented. Light is one of the greatest protagonists of the magical atmosphere of Chartres Cathedral interior : whether the outside light is diffuse or bright, the stained glass windows shine with the same brightness. In broad daylight or at dusk, the stained glass windows emit the same enchanted aura inside Chartres Cathedral. For some, the effect is due to an exterior iridescence of the stained glass, to the secret components with which it was made.
One of these stained glass windows poses an enigma that nobody has yet managed to decipher: on the edge of the stained glass window of St. Apollinaire, a small circular hole devoid of colored glass lets a ray of light filter through. There would be nothing very strange there except that, every June 24 at 2 p.m., the beam will reach a larger slab at the corner of the south transept and the aisle of the nave, and strike the little golden metal nail that is planted there. In a cathedral where nothing is left to chance and where symbols and metaphors are linked, this nail arouses many curiosities and attracts many visitors to observe the event on the day said. The function of this solar mechanism would have been to verify, periodically, that the clocks are on time.
The Ark of the Covenant in Chartres ?
Some have imagined that the great secret of Chartres relates to holy relics and more precisely to the legendary Ark of the Covenant: on a pillar of the north portal of the cathedral are indeed represented the Ark and its sacred content. And just below, an engraving in medieval Latin states: Hic Amittitur Archa Federis, which can be understood as follows: “this is where the Ark was sent”. Perhaps precisely by the order of the Knights Templar. Would it still be buried under the splendid and majestic crypt of the mysterious Chartres Cathedral ?
