Charlemagne Window at Chartres: Relics, Epic Legend, and Roland

The Charlemagne window, located in the north section of the ambulatory between the windows of St. James the Greater and Saints Theodore and Vincent, is considered the most significant secular window in the cathedral. Charlemagne, who died in 814, was a powerful European leader between the 5th and 19th centuries, seeing himself as an heir to Rome. Despite being illiterate, he was a patron of learning and the arts. His capital was in Aachen (formerly Ex-la-Chapelle), and he was responsible for transferring relics from the Middle East to Chartres, which contributed to the prestige of both the cathedral and the town.

The Song of Roland and its Historical Context

The Charlemagne window was donated by fur merchants, who seemingly had no direct connection to the legend of Charlemagne and his nephew, Count Roland of Brittany. The legend is the subject of "The Song of Roland," an epic work of literature similar to Homer's "Iliad," rooted in a historical event from 778. Charlemagne's biographer, Einhard, recounts that during a campaign against the Saxons, Charlemagne attacked Spain, crossing the Pyrenees. On his return, his army was ambushed by Basques, resulting in the deaths of Seneschal Eggihard, Count Anselm, and Roland, Duke of the March of Brittany.

The most famous version of "The Song of Roland" was written much later, around the time of the First Crusade (late 11th century). The manuscript was lost for centuries until its rediscovery in the mid-1830s by Francis Michel, who was searching for French manuscripts in British museums and libraries. The poem was first published in the mid-1830s.

By the time the oral legend of the Battle of Roncesvalles was committed to writing, France was ruled by the Capetian monarchs, who sought legitimacy by looking back to the Carolingian past. A wave of identification with the Carolingians occurred around the First Crusade in 1096, with "The Song of Roland" being part of this nostalgic movement. A second wave of "Charlemania" took place in the early 13th century, with King Philip Augustus (reigned from 1179) claiming Charlemagne as an ancestor. The Charlemagne window at Chartres, whose original source was the Charlemagne and First Crusade window in Saint-Denis, attests to this popularity.

Description of the Charlemagne Window

The Charlemagne window at Chartres is 28 feet high and 6.5 feet wide. Its donation by furriers is indicated by a signature panel at the bottom, showing a fur merchant displaying goods to a buyer, with other pelts on a table and hanging on a wall. The connection between furriers and Charlemagne is not explicit, though it's speculated that Charlemagne was an avid hunter.

The window narrates a story drawn from various sources: the 12th-century Latin chronicle known as the Pseudo-Turpin, Old French epics like "The Song of Roland," and a later epic, "Charlemagne's Voyage to Jerusalem." The lower sections depict Charlemagne's journey to the Middle East, while the middle and upper sections recount his venture into Spain and the Battle of Roncesvalles, where Roland was killed.

Charlemagne's Journey to the Middle East

The narrative begins at the bottom right with the dream of Emperor Constantine of Byzantium. Constantine, identified by his crown, dreams that a Frankish king, Charlemagne (identified by the French oriflamme banner), defeats Muslim armies and reclaims Jerusalem. An angel above Constantine's head signifies the dream's divine inspiration.

The Eastern Emperor sends emissaries to Charlemagne, who is depicted seated between two bishops, one of whom brings a letter. Charlemagne is then shown fighting Saracens, fulfilling the Byzantine Emperor's dream. The overwhelming presence of French soldiers with closed helmets and kite-shaped shields, contrasted with the Muslims' open helmets and round shields, suggests a rout. The banner carried by Charlemagne in Constantine's dream is also seen in battle.

After conquering Jerusalem, Charlemagne is welcomed by the Byzantine emperor in a town, likely Constantinople. Charlemagne still wears his spurs, indicating his recent arrival, and a third figure, presumed to be Roland, is present. In a scene of sanctity marked by an oil lamp, Constantine bestows relics upon Charlemagne, including three reliquary cases resembling small churches. These relics are believed to include fragments of the Crown of Thorns, a nail from the Crucifixion, and various fabrics, possibly including the tunic Mary wore at Jesus' birth, which is still at Chartres Cathedral.

Moving up the window, Charlemagne brings the relics back to Europe, depositing them on an altar at his capital, Aachen (Ex-la-Chapelle). This is identified by a cross on the wall, the emperor's miter, and the architectural pattern of a rounded cupola with windows, characteristic of Aachen's basilica. An interesting detail is an elephant tusk hanging between two columns above the emperor's head, possibly representing the horn Roland will blow at Roncesvalles, which features prominently in "The Song of Roland."

Charlemagne's Venture into Spain

A second narrative, focusing on Spain, begins a third of the way up the window. Charlemagne is shown studying the stars of the Milky Way (represented by a wavy red and green line) for their meaning. According to the Pseudo-Turpin Chronicle, Charlemagne dreams of St. James the Major, who admonishes him for not liberating his tomb in Galicia from the Saracens. St. James explains that the Milky Way leads to his tomb and urges Charlemagne to deliver it.

Heeding the call, Charlemagne, accompanied by his knights and Turpin (wearing an archbishop's miter), sets off for Spain. The depiction of travel is generalized, with six riders' heads on three horses, and only eight legs for the three horses. The panel then shows Charlemagne, dressed in chain mail and a surcoat, praying before a battle, with his knights, one holding the oriflamme banner, ready for combat.

Moving to the right, Charlemagne lays siege to a town, possibly Pamplona. A city inhabitant sounds an alarm from a tower, while a French knight with a kite-shaped shield enters the city gates, piercing a fleeing Saracen knight with a round shield.

In a round panel above and to the left of the battle, Charlemagne is seen constructing a church, identified as Gothic by its flying buttresses, similar to Chartres. He rebuilds the church at St. James Compostela, which had been desecrated by the Saracens. The Pseudo-Turpin notes that Charlemagne enlarged the church with gold from kings and princes. The scene includes hods carrying stones up a ladder, a master mason (distinguished by his full surcoat) setting a stone at the top of the tower, and the emperor on horseback supervising the construction, issuing orders with his raised right hand.

A scene reminiscent of Joachim's flowering rods shows Charlemagne's knights sleeping with their heads on their shields, their lances flowering—a divine sign that they will die as martyrs the next day.

A pitched battle between mounted French and Saracen knights follows, appearing less one-sided than earlier depictions. A close-up shows a French knight (left, with kite shield and closed helmet) versus a Saracen knight (right, with open helmet and round shield).

The battle is complicated by the giant Ferrautus, who defeats many French knights in single combat. Roland confronts Ferrautus, who, like Goliath, is vulnerable only through his navel. Roland, with a red nimbus around his head, thrusts his sword through Ferrautus's middle.

The Battle of Roncesvalles and Roland's Death

As the window depicts "The Song of Roland," Charlemagne returns home from Spain, crossing the Pyrenees (represented by craggy vertical layers of grass with trees). The sloping landscape behind the knights suggests Charlemagne has already crossed, leaving Roland in the rear guard in the high mountain pass.

There, Roland, betrayed by his stepfather Ganelon, is attacked by Saracens. Despite the many bodies on the ground, defeat seems inevitable. In the right side of the roundel, Roland sounds his horn for help, and on the left, he tries to break his sword against a rock to prevent it from falling into pagan hands.

Finally, the hand of God descends to receive the defeated hero in heaven. As Roland is dying, he asks a knight, possibly Baldwin, for water. Baldwin, looking downcast, rides off to inform Charlemagne of the treacherous attack, but it is too late.

At the very top of the Charlemagne window, in a scene shrouded in mystery, Charlemagne, seated on the left and looking worried, celebrates the Mass of St. Giles for the forgiveness of an unspeakable sin. An angel appears over the altar with a scroll detailing Charlemagne's sin. According to one chronicle, Charlemagne's sin was incest with his sister, from which Roland was born. Roland's death, as depicted in "The Song of Roland" and the Chartres window, is seen as an expiation for this sin.