Why is this on a Christian cathedral? In lecture 4 Mike probes the mysteries surrounding some of the architectural elements of the cathedral. How did the ass become such a widespread symbol and how did it become a satire of the clergy in Chartres ? How did the Vices and Virtues, sculptural moral allegories come to adorn the cathedral’s exterior? And if gargoyles and grotesques derive from Celtic folklore and superstitions how did Carnunos go from being a god of fertility to a model for Satan? The cathedral’s iconography carries meaning from the past that we are still trying to recover.
Help us restore and preserve the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres
Your contributions are tax deductible in the United States to the extent allowed by law.
