The Fabric of the Church: Textiles and the Interpretation of the Architectural Arts at Chartres Cathedral, c.1200–1224

Abstract

This thesis examines the sculptural attention accorded textiles in the Confessors portal on the south transept façade of Chartres cathedral (before 1224). The six jamb figures of clerical saints exhibit such a high degree of physiognomic and material verism that the life-sized sculptures are often cited as mirrors not just of their patrons, but of their era. These figures, their socles and the reliefs that rise above them in the tympanum and voussoirs raise questions about the function of Gothic naturalism both in the clerical sphere and with regard to relationships between architectural sculpture and artistic media such as metalwork and textiles. The thesis accounts for the prominence of textiles in the portal by considering the sculptures from three contextual perspectives: 1) the role of verism in articulating spiritual history and identity in the first quarter of the thirteenth century; 2) the signifying function of textile ornament, especially within the archdiocese of Sens; and 3) cultures of clerical role-playing that relied on liturgical vestments for commentary on both clerical identity and the use of sculpture within the cathedral.