Of the wave of pilgrims which now occupies our attention you may see a
record in the first window in the clerestory of the choir on the north
side. There, beneath a Virgin enthroned and the blazon of the bishop,
Regnault de Mouçon, are two groups which show what manner of men were
they who came to swell the tide of workers for Our Lady of Chartres, and
through whose aid, says the chronicler, the piers, the vaults and the
altars of the Cathedral rose as if by magic.
The Chapter was not content to sit idly and wait for miracles. They had
recourse to human means. To obtain contributions towards the expense of
this _mestre maison de la Reine des Cieux_, they sent priests afar to
collect in all the countries and cathedrals of Europe. Now a young
Englishman who had been studying in the schools of Paris and was
returning home passed by Soissons by chance and entered the church. A
Chartrain preacher was describing in eloquent and touching terms the
disasters that had befallen Notre-Dame of Chartres. The audience was so
moved by his eloquence that they all emptied their purses in response to
his appeal. But the young Englishman had nothing to give except a golden
necklace, which he intended for the girl he loved in London. Moved by
the words of the preacher, after a long struggle, he made the offering
of this necklace and, leaving Soissons, set out for the sea, passing the
night in the barn of a friendly innkeeper, for, as we have seen, he was
penniless. Overwhelmed with fatigue, he fell asleep upon the straw. But
in the dead of night the barn was filled with a celestial light, and,
waking, he beheld three women of rare beauty, one of whom revealed
herself to him as the Lady of Chartres. Then she restored to him his
necklace, and he vowed to consecrate himself to her service. He returned
to his own country,
‘A Londres dont il fu nais,’
and after taking leave of his parents, withdrew to a desert island,
where he lived the chaste life of a hermit and enjoyed the ineffable
bliss of communion with his fair visitant.
Richard Cœur-de-Lion, King of England, when he heard of this miracle,
conceived a great veneration for the Church of Chartres, and, although
he was at that time at war with Philippe-Auguste, he welcomed,
encouraged and endowed with alms the emissaries of the Chapter, gave
them safe conduct through his lands, and himself did obeisance before
the sacred coffer and its relics. It was he who told the tale of this
miraculous vision to his sister, Countess of Blois, and he loved to
speak of it to the faithful on every occasion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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