Cathedral of Rheims, begun by the crusader, Bishop Albéric de Humbert, 1211--Its architects recorded in the pavement labyrinth--Its west façade the culmination of Gothic art--Coronation of Charles VII in 1429, Jeanne d'Arc present--Astounding sculptural wealth of this "Cathedral of the Angels"--Martyrdom of Rheims in the World War.
Cathedral of Amiens, the Parthenon of Gothic art--Bishop Evrard de Fouilloy began it, 1220--Designed by Robert de Lusarches--Its sculpture the peer of Rheims and Chartres--Its portal of the _Vierge Dorée_ (c. 1280).
VI. SIX OF THE LESSER GREAT CATHEDRALS: BOURGES, BEAUVAIS, TROYES, TOURS, LYONS, LE MANS 211
Cathedral of Bourges--Only XIII-century cathedral without a transept--Inner aisle has its own triforium and clearstory--Chevet built by St. Guillaume, 1200 to 1209--Over main portal is best Last Judgment (c. 1275)--Bourges famous for its stained glass--Jean, duc de Berry, and Jacques Coeur, the late-Gothic art patrons of Bourges--Their gifts to the cathedral--Orléans Cathedral destroyed by Calvinists (note).
Cathedral of Beauvais--A mighty fragment: only a choir and transept--Begun in 1247, derived directly from Amiens--Transept façades masterpieces of late-Gothic--Is Flamboyant Gothic of English origin?--Le Prince family of glassmakers.
Cathedral of Troyes--Its choir built by Bishop Hervé, 1206 to 1226--Martin Chambiges designed the Flamboyant west façade--Magnificent XIII- and XIV-century windows of Troyes Cathedral--St. Urbain's church begun by Pope Urban IV in 1262--Carried the Gothic principle of equilibrium to its limit--Churches of Troyes treasure-houses of stained glass and sculpture--Cultivated court of Champagne's rulers--To the Gothic school of Champagne belongs the Cathedral of Châlons-sur-Marne--Châlons another center for stained glass.
Cathedral of Tours--Choir begun about 1210--Has the classic note of the Touraine landscape--Cathedral windows set up between 1260 and 1270--Venerable ecclesiastical souvenirs of Tours--Tours, the center for the Region-of-the-Loire school of sculpture--Michel Colombe, last of the great Gothic artists, worked here--Environs of the city rich in Flamboyant Gothic.
Cathedral of Lyons--Lyons boasts an apostolic succession for its bishops--Early Christian martyrs of Rome's chief city in Gaul--St. Martin d'Ainay's abbatial dedicated in 1107--Cathedral choir late XII century--With Vienne Cathedral (note) it alone in France used incrustations--Nave of Lyons Cathedral building through the XIII century--Stained glass of Lyons of exceptional quality--All Christendom was represented at the Ecumenical Council held in Lyons Cathedral in 1274--Church of Brou built by Marguerite of Austria (note)--Moulins Cathedral and Souvigny's abbatial and tombs (notes).