The 12th century school of Chartres - mathematics and geometry keys to beauty and aesthetics

 

"The Renaissance of the 12th century is maybe even more interesting to study than the ‘Renaissance’ most people are familiar with. The Cathedral school of Chartes was the most famous of the Medieval cathedral schools and precursor to the University of Paris that was founded in 1150. What was the main impact of the School of Chartres?

The Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula, and in particular of Toledo in 1085, created a revolution in learning that dragged Europe out of the Dark Ages. The Toledo school of Translators copied books written in Greek, Arabic, and Hebrew, into Latin. These books made their way to places like Chartes and Cluny Abbey in France and led to the creation of the seven liberal arts. The trivium and study of logic, grammar, and rhetoric. The quadrivium and the study of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. 

The school of Chartes focused on the quadrivium in particular and also encouraged the study of natural philosophy. It was the cosmology presented in Chartes that inspired the construction of Saint-Denis in 1140, the first truly Gothic Cathedral. Beauty and aesthetics based on mathematics, geometry, and proportion transformed the way Europeans thought about God and the natural world. 

Knowledge that had been viewed as taboo, even evil, spread like wildfire. Universities became a common feature of this period and learning was encouraged, until it wasn’t. Round about the same time as the Albigensian Crusade 1209-1229, the Holy inquisition was created to help root out all ideas that weren’t in alignment with dogmatic Catholic beliefs. The Condemnations of 1210-1277 that took place at the University of Paris included a number of medieval theological teachings. These teachings were inspired by the study of Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Archimedes, Ptolemy, Arabic books on astronomy, geometry, even Alchemy, and countless Jewish works. 

Toledo in Spain was a melting pot of Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures. Although these cultures were at odds in the Holy Land because of the Crusades, they were also learning and sharing from each other in the Iberian Peninsula. On the one hand they seemingly had nothing in common, and on the other, they were more similar than different. This sentiment was clearly expressed by Wolfram von Eschenbach in Parzival. The Knights Templar were accused of adopting Islamic beliefs, and Freemasons are branded as traitors for treating all religions as equal. 

Mathematics and geometry transcend the petty disagreements that exist between religions. It is a universal language that is best expressed in architecture and art. The deepest secrets in all three the monotheistic religions revolve around these ideas. This is why a statue of the Greek philosopher Pythagoras can be found at Chartes Cathedral. Pythagoras taught that numbers are at the source of all things, a deeply profound understanding of the underlying order that permeates existence. 

In Wolframs Parzival, the focus is moved away from the Grail as a cup, towards the Grail being a sacred stone that fell from heaven. He says that the Knights Templar Templiesen, were the protectors and guardians of this stone, the Lapis Exillis, also known as the Philosophers Stone. Understanding the meaning of this stone decodes the Bible and reveals the knowledge of astronomy, mathematics, and geometry, that has been hidden in plain sight."

 

This blog quotes in full a post on Facebook of 1 September 2024 posted by Holy Incongruence. The illustration shows the statue of Pythagoras at Chartres Catherdral, France, source, Fair Use intended.

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