Sainte-Chapelle
"The choice colors of the painting, the costly gilding of the carving, the delicate translucency of the red glowing windows, the splendid altar carvings, the miracles working power of the sacred relics, and the decorations of the shrines sparkling with their precious stones lend this house of prayer such an intensity of adornment that entering one would think one had been transported to Heaven, setting foot in one of the finest rooms of Paradise" (quoted from Toman, 486).Above are the reflections of thirteenth century theologian Jean de Jandun on his first visit to the Parisian palace chapel, Sainte-Chapelle, in the year 1323. Sainte-Chapelle remains one of the world's most impressive cathedrals and serves as an example to the modern viewer as an excellent example of the Gothic style of architecture. It is believed that Sainte-Chapelle was largely constructed in the early half of the 1240's. The construction was commissioned by the pious King Louis IX, or Saint Louis, patron saint of France (Toman, 83). The chapel was built to house holy relics, specifically the Crown of Thorns, which under Louis IX's reign was brought to Paris from Byzantium (Toman, 83). Pie
Brandenburg, Alain Erlande, "The Cathedral", Cambridge University Press, New York, 1989. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The political overtones surrounding the construction of Sainte-Chapelle were not always so obvious. In fact, there are a few subtle architectural details that add to the political and historical importance of this piece of France's artistic heritage. Sainte-Chapelle is a two-story building. The upper level is considered the royal chapel, a space for the king, his family and closest associates to worship; the lower level is for more common worship. Already, with the consideration of this two-story construction, it is clear that in its design, Sainte-Chapelle was conceived with a clear division of royal space and common space. In fact, the king had a separate, raised entrance from the palace to the chapel so that he could enter the upper level directly. This sort of differentiation between royal space and common space is interpreted as a reference to Charlemagne's palace chapel at Aachen, where his throne was separated and elevated from the rest of the space in the buildi!
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1218
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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