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structures and ruins--an amphitheater and aqueducts
among them. Christianity enjoyed a strong founda-
tion in Chartres: A church was extant in 743. Owing
to Viking sackings and fires, the main church was
often rebuilt. By 1024, an enormous crypt (still the
largest in France), had been established within a
new cathedral. (A medieval church was designated
a “cathedral” when it housed a bishop’s cathedra, or
chair. Medieval cathedrals vied to obtain a holy
object, the verification of which was subject to
Rome’s guidelines.)
The town of Chartres became an intellectual cen-
ter in 990 with the arrival of the esteemed Bishop
Fulbert, who became a teacher at the Chartres Acad-
emy. Chartres’ scholastic supremacy declined only
with the founding of the University of Paris in 1215.
Today, it the stained glass of Chartres’ cathedral
that draws millions. Chartres possesses the most
complete collection of medieval stained glass in the
world. As Chartres gained in population and wealth
in the 13th century, merchants donated windows.
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