Chartres Cathedral Chartres, France

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-1C
According to legend, a pagan sacred spring and shrine to a mother goddess exists on the site (historians doubt the shrine but confirm a sacred well)
4C
Probable conversion of Carnotum (Chartres) to Christianity
5C
First record of a bishop of Carnotum (Chartres), meaning its church was a cathedral; it would have been a simple wood structure
8C
Earliest record of Chartres Cathedral's dedication to the Virgin Mary, in a royal decree from Pepin's court
743
Chartres Cathedral is sacked by the Duke of Aquitaine
858
Chartres Cathedral is destroyed by Vikings
876
According to tradition, Charles the Bald gives Chartres the Virgin Mary's tunic (Sancta Camisa), given to his grandfather Charlemagne in Constantinople; Chartres becomes a pilgrimage destination
911
Chartres is besieged by Vikings led by Rollo(n); Bishop Gantelme orders the relic shown from the ramparts; the army flees; Rollo converts and becomes the first Duke of Normandy
c. 980
Fulbert of Reims arrives in Chartres to lead the cathedral school, which becomes one of the major education centers in Europe
1006
Fulbert becomes Bishop of Chartres
1020
Chartres Cathedral is destroyed by fire; Bishop Fulbert begins a grand rebuilding program funded by royal donations (the crypt survives from this building)
10 Apr 1028
Death of Bishop Fulbert of Chartres
1037
Chartres Cathedral is completed and consecrated by Bishop Thierry
1119
King Louis VI prepares to attack Chartres, where his enemy is camped; a procession of clergy with the Sancta Camisa changes his mind
1134
After Chartres Cathedral's west end is damaged by fire, Bishop Geoffrey de Lèves commissions the Romanesque west end that survives today
10 Jun 1194
Chartres Cathedral is mostly destroyed by fire; the Sacred Tunic is believed to be lost, leading to widespread despair and no plans to rebuild
13 Jun 1194
Bishop Renaud leads a procession of monks into the town square, where Chartres' citizens are gathered for a feast day, to reveal the miraculous survival of the Sacred Tunic
24 Oct 1260
Chartres Cathedral is consecrated in the presence of King Louis IX and his family