A few days before Christmas and as for every major celebration, the carpet of the eighth centenary was put in place. This Friday, December 23, 2022, Davit (sacristan) and Henri (guardian – sacristan) worked in the morning coolness, to adjust the 4 elements around the altar.
A bit of history…
On the occasion of the eighth centenary of the cathedral in 1994, the artist Hervé Lelong (cardboard painter in Aubusson, France) had proposed to the rector François Legaux, to create a carpet to decorate the transept crossing around the new marble and silver altar created by the goldsmith Goudji, and thus continue the secular chain of ornamentation work of the cathedral.
He offers the cartoons of four carpets that will be executed in the tradition of the Aubusson tapestry. It is then the beginning of a great human adventure…
The 8th centenary carpet was installed in the cathedral at Pentecost 2000, thanks to the will and tenacity of more than 200 volunteers, under the leadership of Hervé Lelong and his wife Véronique. It is also thanks to the generosity of some 700 donors, who, like the volunteer embroiderers, come from France, Europe and the whole world.
It took 7 years, 64172 hours of work to embroider the 292 squares that form this carpet. A special stitch was used to give greater solidity and homogeneity to the carpet: the Chartres stitch, a combination of the cross stitch and the Saint-Cyr stitch. There were 37,100,800 needle passes, for a surface of 74 m2 and a weight of 146 kg (without the lining – 140 kg of wool).
Each embroiderer was able to make his or her mark by signing on the back of a small piece of fabric, on which he or she confided his or her identity or prayer intention.
Large symbolic motifs are inserted on a red and blue background, recalling the tones of stained glass. Some symbolic elements can be found in the statuary and stained glass windows of the cathedral.
On the carpet installed towards the north transept: a tree, that of Creation, as described in the book of Genesis (chapter 2, verse 9) “the tree of life in the middle of the garden“.
tapis du 8e centenaire cathédrale de Chartres : l’arbre de vie © NDC
In the south, another tree, the tree of life of the book of Revelation (end times) (chapter 22, verse 2) “in the middle of the city square and the two arms of the river, is a tree of life producing twelve crops“.
The doves (echoing the mosaics of Ravenna): one drinking from the fountain reminds us that we can drink from the living sources of the Word of Scripture, the other listening to this Word proclaimed.
The loaves and fishes: symbols of the Eucharistic offering and also an allusion to the Multiplication of the loaves.
The peacock, located on the west carpet, on the side of the nave, is a symbol of eternity while the phoenix symbolizes the Resurrection. The pelican, placed on the east side, towards the choir, where the priest stands to celebrate mass, symbolizes Christ in his Eucharist.
The wheat (Chartres is located in the Beauce region), for the bread and the vine for the wine, both signify the Eucharist.
The white lilies symbolize the virginity of Mary.
The carpet is placed in the transept, around the altar made by Goudgi, on the major feasts of the year: All Saints’ Day, from Christmas Eve to Epiphany, from Holy Saturday to Pentecost Monday, and August 15 (Assumption).
