Chartres depended on its cathedral as a source of income from the pilgrims that came to see the cloak, and some of these helped donate money towards the construction. "The pilgrims who were drawn [to Chartres]...were one major source of cash for rebuilding."
(more content follows the advertisement below) A D V E R T I S E M E N T
Merchants who made donations received acknowledgement in the cathedrals construction because it was shown which guild had contributed money for particular windows or sculptures. Funding also came from other non-religious sources such as the monarchy and leaders of the community in Chartres and Paris. The royal family and the counts in Chartres made large contributions towards the building of the cathedral.
As well as donating money, many townspeople came to work in the building yard. For the twenty seven years it was being rebuilt, wealthy and the poor alike came together as a community to either work in the construction, or to supply the workers. To inspire them was the memory of their family members who, a generation before, had rebuilt the cathedral in the first fire of 1134.
This was also an effort that involved both the rich and poor of the town, "an astounding demonstration of popular enthusiasm when nobles and [poor] people alike laboured together to build it." (Chamberlin 1967: 94) Reconstruction of the cathedral was not something which concerned only the religious community, for while it was being built Notre Dame de Chartres was the focus of the entire town and all its people.
Work on the cathedral provided jobs for hundreds of townspeople, developed the skills of the tradesmen, and allowed natural resources to be exploited in new ways. The church helped organise the workforce, with some occupations organised as religious fraternities before they became guilds.
During its construction, villagers brought all the materials that were needed to the cathedral in wagons, such as from the nearby church-owned quarries at Bercheres. "During the rebuilding of Chartres...the faithful harnessing themselves to wagons that were laden with stones, wood, provisions and whatever else was needed for the works of the cathedral."
The building of the cathedral occupied the people of the town who came together as a community in the project. In fact, the whole upper part of Chartres became an enormous building site that affected the population of the entire town in this great architectural endeavour.
|