260 General Discussion of the Crosses 



in the semicircular space, is the Adoration of the Magi.^ This is the 

 portal which has, on the capitals of the pilasters at the right, the archer 

 shooting at the demon. ^ There seems to have been an Annunciation 

 on the right hand pilaster of the central outer doorway of Vezelay. 



L'inscription Sancta Maria et Angelus se voyait en lettres romanes 

 sur le pilastre de droite, ce qui a autorise Viollet-le-Duc a y representer 

 une Annonciation.^ 



In the central lancef of the 12 th century window at Chartres there 

 are an Annunciation and a Visitation.* They are also to be found 

 among the statues of the north porch, but these date, according to 

 Viollet-le-Duc, from 1245 to 1270. Then there is an upper window 

 of the nave (Bulteau's No. 17) which has both the Annunciation 

 and the Visitation.^ In the Visitation, Mary is seen opening her 

 arms to receive EHzabeth, who places her right hand on Mary's 

 shoulder, while her left expresses admiration mingled with astonish- 

 ment.^ Still another Visitation is to be found among the capitals 

 at the right of the left doorway of the west front, where, beginning 

 at the right, there occur in succession the Visitation, the Nativity, 

 the Awakening of the Shepherds, the Wise Men before Herod, and 

 the Adoration of the Magi.' But the most interesting, for our pur- 

 pose, are another Annunciation and Visitation of the west front. 

 These are found in the tympanum of the right doorway. This con- 

 sists of two parallel rectangular panels, or lintels, with an arched 

 panel, or tympanum proper, above. The lower lintel contains, from 

 left to right, the Annunciation, the "S^^sitation. the Nativity, and the 

 Announcement to the Shepherds ; the upper lintel has the Presen- 

 tation in the Temple ; while the tympanum proper has a Madonna 

 of Byzantine type, holding the Child on her lap, with an angel censing 

 on either side.^ Here, as at Vezelay,^ the series begins with a winged 



1 Poree, U Ahhaye de Vezelay, pp. 38, 39 ; cf. VioUet-le-Duc 7. 437. 



2 See p. 61. 



8 Poree, p. 22. 



* Bulteau, MonograpTiie 3. 212. 



^ 13th century, but before 1240 (Merlet, La Cathedrale de Chartres, 

 pp. 48, 53). 



6 According to Bulteau (3. 224-5). 



' Marriage, Sculpt, of Chartres Cath., pp. 52-3. 



^ See the pictures in Marriage, pp. 69, 71 ; A. K. Porter, Mediaeval Archi- 

 tecture, 111. 215, Vol. 2 ; and cf. Bulteau 2. 72. For the Annunciation 

 and the Visitation at Amiens, see Michel, Hist, de VArt 2. 147 ; for that at 

 Rheims, see Porter 2. 303. 



^ JSote that Chartres, hke Vezelay, formerly had a narthex (Marriage, p. 14). 

 (48) 



