For Further Study:
Favorite Books on Chartres Cathedral

Adams, Henry (1989). Mont-Saint-Michele and Chartres. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press.
"A study of Thirteenth-century unity and its expansive scope, together with the author's deep understanding of the period, makes it a classic in art history as well as American literature." Princeton University Press.

Barron, Robert. Heaven In Stone and Glass: Experiencing the Spirituality of the Great Cathedrals. New York: Crossroad Publishing Company, 2000.
A devotional tool to help understand the spiritual nature of the great cathedrals. Each chapter is designed to both teach and inspire. JKHG.

Bougard, Jean-Francois. Chartres Où Les Cathédrales Du Nombre. France: Mosaique, 2003.
There is a chapter on the labyrinth, beginning on page 231.

Charpentier, Louis (1966). The Mysteries of Chartres Cathedral. London, Thorsons Publishers LTD.
Louis Charpentier's book, which refers back to deep sources of divine knowledge, is at the same time a guide which no visitor to the cathedral of Chartres should leave out of account if [s]he wants to penetrate the riddle of this 'book of stone'." Thorsons Publishers LTD.

Compton, Vanessa Jane. "Experience and Meaning in the Cathedral Labyrinth Pilgrimage." Master of Arts, University of Toronto, 2001.

Cowen, Painton. Rose Windows. Golborne, Lanacashire: Thames and Hudson, 1979.
"...shows that the rose window evolved to answer a perennial human need for a symbol of divine and cosmic unity. He traces its origins in the simple oculus or round aperture, its identification iwth the Wheel of Fortune in Romanesque art, and its flowering in the twelfth-century renaissance that produced the Great Gothic cathedrals. Their builders incorporated an ever-growing complexity of geometrical relationships and theological conceptions into the layout of these vast concentric patterns, which came to serve as mandalas, healing images of order in a chaotic world." Publisher.

Erlande-Brandenburg, Alain (1993). The Cathedral Builders of the Middle Ages. London, Thames and Hudson.
"Even now, the great cathedrals of the Middle Ages overwhelm us by their imagination, technical daring and sheer scale. How could such structures be built when cities had only a few thousand inhabitants and only the most primitive machinery was available? Who designed them? Who paid for them? Through the sparse documentary records that exist today, and drawing and details from contemporary miniatures, we are led into the extraordinary world of the medieval master mason." Publisher.

Erlande-Brandenburg, Alain (2000). Chartres., Editions Jean-Paul Gisserot.
Small guidebook of the Cathedral.
Favier, Jean (1988). The World of Chartres. New York, Harry N Abrams, Inc.
"This is the most complete and sumptuously produced volume available on Chartres, its history, its structure, its sculpture, its music, and its glass artistry. Jean Favier, one of France's leading historians of the Middle Ages, has written a deeply personal, humanistic narrative of the cathedral's construction..." Publisher.

James, John (1982). The Master Masons of Chartres. NY, West Grinstead Publishing.
A wonderful book by a man who studied the cathedral stone by stone.

Katzenellenbogen, Adolf (1959). The Sculptural Programs of Chartres Cathedral. Christ, Mary, Ecclesia. New York, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
"In the sculptural decoration of its three facades, the Cathedral of Chartres holds a unique place among the great cathedrals of France. On no other church facades are the programs of representation so complex and finely spun, and at the same time, so clear in structure.
In addition to minute descriptions of each sculpture, and with constant reference to the illustration included in this volume, Dr. Katzenellenbogen brings into this discussion information culled from an analysis of many hitherto neglected literary sources and liturgical texts, and he takes into account as well the particular theological, philosophical and political concepts of the time which were vital in the formation of the programs." Publisher.

MacDonald, Fiona and John James (1991). A Medieval Cathedral. New York, Peter Bedrick Books.
"Step inside a medieval cathedral and discover for yourself what it was like to work and to worship there. Superb cutaway illustrations provide a vivid insight into the construction and way of life of these magnificent houses of prayer." Peter Bedrick Books.

Miller, Malcolm (1994). Chartres Cathedral. Medieval Masterpieces in Stained Glass and Sculpture. Andover, Hampshire, Great Britain, Pitkin Unichrome.
"...provides a superb introduction to the medieval masterpieces of Chartres, indicating where to find the most important features and explaining the significance of what can be seen." Publisher.

Prache, Anne (1993). Chartres Cathedral. Image of the Heavenly Jerusalem. Paris, CNRS Editions.
"The intention of the builders of Chartres was to create a place of meditation for the faithful. The author guides us through the cathedral along the same path taken by medieval Christians, and explains the mysterious attraction of this great Gothic masterpiece, a building which has come down to us almost intact over the ages, and which still radiates with a luminous spirituality." CNRS Editions.

Strachan, G. (2003). Chartres: Sacred Geometry, Sacred Space. Edinburgh, Floris Books.
"Chartres Cathedral continues to attract thousands of pilgrims after over seven hundred years. The author believes it is because of a unique combination of the earth energies of the ancient site, the marriage of Christian and Islamic architecture, mysticism and that skills of medieval geometers and craftsmen." Publisher.

Tripp, Judith. Poems from a Spring in Chartres. Woodacre, CA: Circleway Books, 2004.
A collection of poems written during a two month sojourn in Chartres, including poems from Holy Week. For copies, contact Judith Tripp P O Box 1006 Woodacre, CA 94973 Judith@circleway.com

Villette, Jean (1963). Chartres and its Cathedral. France, B. Arthaud.
"The cathedral of Chartres marks the triumph of Gothic Art. If other cathedrals can surpass this one by their majesty the unity of the style, or the quality of certain details, none is a more precious witness of the epoch which created it. An astonishing synthesis of a civilization overflowing with sap, a microcosm of mediaeval activity, it was for more than a century both the site where France's greatest masters could express themselves, and the school at which achievement and radiation can only be explained by the living faith which was its soul. Chartres is the masterpiece of the devotion of the Middle Ages, as much as of its art. Marcel Aubert.

Williams, Jane Welch (1993). Bread, Wine, and Money. The Windows of the Trades at Chartres Cathedral. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
"I have attempted to explain the significance of the trade windows through an extensive study of three trades represented at Chartres: bakers, tavern keepers, and money changers. The choice of these trades focused attention on bread, wind and money, whose uses in medieval society were ubiquitous as means of exchange, tithing, and offering.
This book challenges the prevailing interpretation of the windows of the trades and, by extension, the cathedral of Chartres."