It will be understood that his relations with Philippe were not of the
kind to encourage him to ask for aid in that quarter. But he sent two
monks to Henry I. of England with a letter, in which, after expressing
the pious hope that Henry would continue to walk in the footsteps of his
father, and recognise that, as the body ought to be subject to the mind,
so ought the civil government to be subject to the ecclesiastical, he
tells him that he is the servant of the servants of God, and not their
master; their protector, and not their lord; and then adds that the
bearers of the letter will explain to His Highness the needs of the
Church, which he is conjured to satisfy with the same generosity as his
parents showed.
It is scarcely surprising that a letter couched in such terms was not
productive of alms from the English King who had taken his spouse from a
nunnery; nor was an appeal to Matilda in the following year ‘to show
that love for the Queen of the Angels which the Queens of the Angles
have always so generously displayed’ any more successful. But a third
more likely letter knocked, to borrow S. Ives’s own phrase, at the door
of Henry’s generous heart with better result. Queen Matilda was charged
with the duty of replying to it, and she made many gifts to the Church,
among which were several bells, of which S. Ives writes in
acknowledgment that ‘they are doubly dear to us, both on account of your
piety and of their own sweet melody. Every time that they are put in
motion to indicate certain hours, our ears are soothed with such
delicious music that your memory is renewed within our hearts.’ He also
reminds her, amid many such graceful sayings, that the roof wants
mending; and at her death we find that his words bear fruit, for she
made many bequests to the Cathedral, and left money to defray the
expenses of a lead roof. But it was not only Kings and Queens who fell
under the charm of S. Ives and the love of his Church, and it was not
only the great who received his thanks. Such phrases as the following
occur again and again in the Necrology of Notre-Dame:--‘On Nov. 24th,
died Jean, son of Vital, the clever and faithful carpenter of this
Church, who always worked with love and zeal at the work of this
Church.’ That is but one name among the thousands, who now, with an
extraordinary outburst of enthusiasm, came from far and near to build
the superb monument of Chartres Cathedral.
CHAPTER V
_The Cathedral and Its Builders_
‘By suffrage universal it was built
As practised then, for all the country came
From far as Rouen, to give votes for God,
Each vote a block of stone securely laid
Obedient to the Master’s deep-mused plan.’
JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.
‘Like some tall palm the mystic fabric grew.’
REGINALD HEBER.
‘Elle est enfin, cette basilique, la plus magnifique expression de
l’art que le Moyen Age nous ait léguée.’--J. K. HUYSMANS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account