HUM 300
Compare and Contrast Essay
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Compare and contrast Chartres Cathedral located in Chartres, France and the Basilica of Saint Sernin in Toulouse, France. In your essay, please discuss the function, size, decoration and architectural style of each building.
Building designs for almost everything has changed immensely throughout time. In this case we are focusing on the changes from the Gothic period followed by the Romanesque period. Two buildings in particular that we will be focusing on are the Chartes Cathedral in Chartes, France and the Basilica of Saint Sernin in Toulouse, France. Two buildings that are built around the same time, however, they are very different in style. When comparing the two buildings, it is …show more content…
The main function that had become of the building was that it had become a center of pilgrimage, where people all over the world were paying money to visit it. Being religious or not, one who visited the Cathedral had always felt the holiness of the building. When discussing the major elements of design, the Chartes Cathedral had consisted of double flying buttresses which had supported the high nave. Going further into the details of design, the symmetry of the building is not at all proportional. When looking at the measurements we can see that the north spheres are 377 feet long and the southern spheres are 349 feet long. Another thing to note about the building is that it has three entrances that are extremely decorated and ornamented (“Sacred”). Something that was interesting and unique about the Chartes Cathedral is that it contained 176 stained-glass windows, a major feature for which it is best known. On the inside of the building one can see an immense amount of sculptures, size small and big. Not only were they used to express beauty to the cathedral but they were also used to depict many scenes and figures from the Old and New Testaments. Although the Cathedral was damaged by a fire in the roof the building had gone through many restorations and still standing today