The stained glass windows of the choir of Chartres Cathedral and their relationship with the devotional and Eucharistic functions of the altars

This article examines the three axial stained glass windows of the choir of Chartres Cathedral which form a vast Marian program by considering its different possible meanings: the links with the cult of the Virgin and more particularly with the disappeared Romanesque and Gothic statues, the involvement of the donors in this cult and the priestly role of the Virgin.

The assumption of a transposition of the Romanesque statue’ forms into monumental sculpture and stained glass windows has already been supported on many occasions, but the installation of a new statue in the choir around 1220 has hardly been taken into account in this discussion. The general characteristics of the two cult statues allow us to assume that the first was sought to be evoked in the sculpture and stained glass windows of the 12th century and the second in the stained glass windows of the 13^th century. The Eucharistic interpretation of the axial windows has also been considered, but it has been challenged with strong arguments. The article proposes a new argumentation for this hypothesis based on several iconographic clues, in particular the omnipresence of the Virgin wearing a chasuble, which suggests that she was given a priestly status.