In 1316 the cathedral of Chartres was found to be in need of repair. A detailed account of present conditions and work required to correct them was rendered by a group of master craftsmen who were retained by the chapter of the cathedral.

In the year 1316, on the Thursday after the feast of the Nativity of the Holy Virgin Mary, the report on the defects of the church made by the masters delegated by the chapter to investigate these defects, was recorded as follows. (1)

Gentlemen, we report to you that the four arches which help to carry the vaults are good and strong, the piers which carry the ribs are good, and the center of the vault which carries the keystone is good and strong. It will not be necessary to take down more than half the vault to the point where one can see what needs to be done. We have also advised that the scaffolding be moved above the molding (enmerllement) of the stained glass window. This scaffolding will also help to protect your choir screen and the people who walk under it, and it will also be useful when making whatever other scaffoldings may turn out to be convenient and necessary in the vault.

Here are the defects which exist in the church of Notre Dame of Chartres as seen by Master Pierre de Chelles, master of the fabric of the cathedral of Paris, (2) Master Nicolas de Chaumes, master of the works of his majesty our king, (3) and by Master Jacques de Longjumeau, master carpenter and juror in Paris, (4) in the presence of Monsignor Jean de Reate, canon of Chartres, originally from Italy, Master Simon Daguon, master of the fabric [at Chartres], Master Simon the carpenter, and Master Berthaust, jurors of this cathedral fabric and responsible to the dean of the chapter. (5)

First, we have seen the vault over the crossing; here repair work is indeed necessary, and if it is not done within a short time there might be great danger.

Furthermore, we have seen the flying buttresses which shoulder the vaults; the joints must be reset in mortar and tightened, and if this is not done very soon great damage may well occur.

Also, there are two piers shouldering the towers which require repair work.

Furthermore, repair work is necessary on the piers connected with the galleries above the portals [porches], (6) and it is recommended that at each bay a further support be added to help carry what is above. One part of the support must rise from above the foundation on the ground to strengthen the corner pier, and the other part must move above to where the body of the church is again free and must have full dimensions in order to reduce the pressure; this should be done in all places where it is judged to be necessary.

In addition we have seen and explained to Master Berthaust how he can work on the statue of the Magdalene right where it is, without moving it.

Furthermore, we have looked into the large tower and observed that it needs repair work very badly, that one of the panels of its sides has large fissures and is in ruins, and that one of the finials is broken and in pieces.

Moreover, the porches are defective in front. The roofing is rotten and thin, for which reason it would be good to put an iron rod into each bay to help support it, which would be wise in order to remove all danger.

We have also seen to it, for the good of the church, that the first scaffolding be moved above the window molding for work on the vault of the crossing.

Furthermore, for the good of the church, we have examined the roof shaft which carries the angel aloft and which is completely rotten and unable to connect with the shaft of the nave of the church because the latter is broken where it connects with the joints of the woodwork from above. If this is to be well repaired, two boards should be laid together with those on the chevet; the angel should be placed on top of the second one of these. The greater part of the wood at this end should be replaced and used elsewhere.

Furthermore, the wooden bell carriage for the small bells is inadequate, for it has been old for a long time. The bell carriage for the large bells is also inadequate and must be improved soon.

Furthermore, four of the splices at the ridge of the roof must either be replaced, for the present ones are rotten at one end, or be thoroughly repaired if the chapter does not wish to replace them as we proposed to your masters. (7)

Notes
(1) Victor Mortet, "L'Expertise de la cathedrale de Chartres en 1316," Melanges d'archeologie, ser.2 (Paris, 1915), pp. 131-52; Mortet's text, taken from the records of the chapter, includes the actual expertise as rendered and recorded in French and the record of the business meetings of the chapter with regard to this matter in the customary Latin. Mortet concludes his essay by giving all available information on each of the three experts from Paris.

(2) Pierre de Chelles was not only chief architect of the cathedral of Paris during the first eighteen to twenty years of the fourteenth century but also master of the works of the city and suburbs of Paris (magister civitatis et suburbii Parisiensis) at the time. He must have been a descendent of jean de Chelles, the great architect of the remodeled transept of the same cathedral in the mid-thirteenth century.

(3) Nicolas de Chaumes seems to have been born and trained in the north of France, but is mentioned early in connection with some of the cathedrals in the heart of France, such as that of Sens, with which he appears to have been affiliated in an advisory capacity in 1319 and 1320, and that of Meaux, where he is mentioned in the same capacity in 1326.

(4) Jurors of the city were appointed by the provost of Paris and served as certified experts whenever called upon. Longjumeau's name occurs in an expertise of 1326 in which eight prominent architects were requested to judge a house on the Grand-Pont which threatened collapse.

(5) Simon Daguon appears as chief architect at Chartres, Master Simon as chief carpenter, and Master Berthaust, whose specific job is not mentioned but who is named here among the craftsmen, may well have been a master hewer, entrusted with the maintenance of the sculpture of the cathedral.

(6) In all probability this was the north transept facade, where the buttresses were cut back when the porch was decided upon in the first quarter of the thirteenth century; see Louis Grodecki, "The Transept Portals of Chartres Cathedral: The Date of Their Construction according to Archaeological Data," The Art Bulletin, XXXIII/3 (1951), 15673.

(7) Each expert was to be paid the sum of 20 Paris livres for labor, expenses and expertise. The valet of each was to receive 10 sous.

Bibliography
*Teresa G. Frisch, Gothic Art 1140 - c. 1450: Sources and Documents, University of Toronto Press in association with the Medieval Academy of America, 1987.