During the Middle Ages the common people were poor. Many of them lived in houses that we would call hovels. But their poor houses did not matter so much if they had beautiful churches to worship in.
It took more than 100 years to build some of the great cathedrals. The people of a region did not simply hire someone to build their great church for them. Instead, they did much of the work themselves. No people worked harder for their cathedral than did the people of Chartres in France. Princes and peasants, old men and boys, hitched themselves to carts as if they were horses and pulled loads of stone.
The cathedral of Chartres towers high above the town. It is in the style of architecture called Gothic. The main part of the cathedral is in the form of a cross. The arches are pointed. Great braces called flying buttresses strengthen the thick walls of stone.
Magnificent stained glass Windows and hundreds of figures carved from stone help make the cathedral beautiful. The higharched ceiling and the soft light coming through the stained glass Windows make the inside of the cathedral aweinspiring and give an air of mystery.
A cathedral of the Middle Ages was the center of the life of the town. The people for miles around gathered there to worship. They carm for Christmas and other special celebrations. At times there were plays that told stories of the lives of saints.
