Chartres Cathedral - Cathedral School

Cathedral School

In the Middle Ages the cathedral also functioned as an important cathedral school. In the early 11th century Bishop Fulbert established Chartres as one of the leading schools in Europe. Although the role of Fulbert himself as a scholar and teacher has been questioned, perhaps his greatest talent was as an administrator, who established the conditions in which the school could flourish, as well as laying the foundations for the rebuilding of the cathedral after the fire of 1020. Great scholars were attracted to the cathedral school, including Thierry of Chartres, William of Conches and the Englishman John of Salisbury. These men were at the forefront of the intense intellectual rethinking that culminated in what is now known as the twelfth-century renaissance, pioneering the Scholastic philosophy that came to dominate medieval thinking throughout Europe.

By the early 12th century the status of the School of Chartres was on the wane. It was gradually eclipsed by the newly emerging University of Paris, particularly at the School of the Abbey of St Victoire (the 'Victorines'). By the middle of the century the importance of Chartres Cathedral had begun to shift away from education and towards pilgrimage, a changing emphasis reflected in the subsequent architectural developments.