Amiens: The Reconstructed Floor Plan

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      “Mankind has never conceived of anything important that it has not carved in stone.”

Victor Hugo

Plan of Amiens Cathedral - Credit: Gothika - CC-BY-SA

On this page, we’ll test our triple-enclosure system on Amiens Cathedral. Let’s look at the floor plan. After measuring the distances between the different enclosures, we’ll look them up in the Table. I’ll give you the result right away. As in the case of Reims, we see that segment A is obtained by an arc of a circle with origin O passing through the center of the Table (Fig. 2a). The procedure is identical. However, the path of segment B differs. Its origin is still at point O, but its endpoint is defined here by a division of the Table into three parts (Fig. 2b). 

 

 
At first glance, this construction may seem curious or arbitrary, but recall the method used to partition a Gothic apse. It required drawing a rectangle composed of three squares. Since the base of the apse is equal to the width of the Table, there is no need to make a further division (Fig. 3). It suffices to retain and extend the existing lines to draw segment B in a single stroke (the same drawing principle is found in Chartres).
 

 

Fig. 3 - Unified layout of the apse and the Table of Amiens

 

This leaves the green segment, which is determined here by half the height of the Table. The length of the transept, meanwhile, is obtained by transferring segment C three times.

         

Figure 6 shows the layout of the three enclosures with their natural extensions and respective proportions. The angle that divides the apse corresponds to the diagonal of a rectangle, as explained earlier. The blue segment is equal to 3 times the green segment.
Only five lines (dotted) have been added to mark the intermediate bays. They are equidistant, determined by the green segment, so it was very easy to draw them. Note that the sixth bay of the nave is wider than the others. This element is not shown in the drawing. Figure 7 completes the reconstruction by drawing pillars at each intersection of lines and buttresses where the lines cross outside the outline. Figure 8 shows the floor plan of Amiens Cathedral.

 

Figs. 6, 7, 8 - The Amiens Cathedral redrawn (excluding the western massif and apsidioles) 

Based on the basic outline of the triple enclosure, segments are added to give the building its characteristic Latin cross shape—a figure in which one arm is longer than the other. However, this shape is merely a symbol which, while it affects the building’s footprint, has no bearing on the sacred proportions of the sanctuary defined by the triple enclosure. I explain this in the book. You will also find a reconstruction of Chartres Cathedral, including a floor plan and elevation.