Originally sent to Charlemagne is a gift from the Empress Irene of Byzantium in 876. The Holy Tunic was one of the most sacred relics of all of Christendom. We will speak more of the Holy Tunic later when we study the Charlemagne window and the northeast side of The Choir of Chartres. Jehan le Marchand speaks of Chartres most prized relic in the third miracle of Our Lady of Chartres. "And we still find written in the book, according to the witnesses of ancient days, which guarantees the truth that at the time of her delivery, the lady wore this saintly garment. The very one, so holy, so saintly, when she gave birth to the true son of God. Thus, I'm here to tell you that the child touched this holy tunic, which you may believe without doubt: the shirt, in my view, touched both mother and child together. Thus, it follows necessarily that this is the most sacred relic that can be found anywhere; and it is proved by miracles." Since it was believed that saints intervened through relics, that were either part of their body, or have touched their body, it would be hard to imagine a more powerful relic than Mary's tunic. A series of panels in the "miracles of our lady" window depict the procession of the holy tunic through the streets of town. Jehan le Marchand tells us that the tunic is what makes Chartres great. "This was all the glory and the dignity and the honor of our city," he writes. "The light and the mirror of Chartres and the environs, and of the whole region." Thinking that the holy relic has been lost in the fire of 1194. Jehan asks, "How can we continue to live after such a disaster? Certainly, if we were wise, we would never live in peace. We have lost the precious vessel, so powerful and glorious, such a noble precious jewel, which by its joyous presence made our city shine, and held it in its power." In 1911, when Chartres was besieged by Vikings, led by the warrior Rollon, Bishop Gantelme ordered the holy relic to be displayed upon the city ramparts. This is the story related in Jehan's miracle. "A very famous miracle happened in the time of Charles, the king. A tyrant known for his cruelty invaded France. His name was Rollon. For which one still cries: "Haroul!" This tyrant led into France a great force, which he assembled out of pagans in Saracens. They destroyed everything on the coast, and laid waste to France and the country. They killed everyone, put them to the sword, and none could resist him. He didn't want to stop until he got to the royal city of Estampes, where he began his devastation again. He got as far as Chartres, which he attacked on both sides." Unable to resist the Vikings, and the siege engines that rained stones and fire upon them from all sides, the Chartrians implored the aid of their protectress, the Holy Virgin. "They begged for help from the One who has dominion over Chartres," Jehan writes. "They took the holy tunic of the Mother of God, which came once upon a time from Constantinople. A great king of France made to Chartres a precious and noble gift of it. Charles the Bald was his name from childhood. The Chartrians took the tunic and placed it on the walls of the city in the place of an insignia or banner. When the enemy saw it, they started to scorn it, and to mock and laugh among themselves. They hurled rocks and arrows from Turkish bows and crossbows. But God, who saw their defiance showed divine vengeance. He blinded them such that they lost their sight, and couldn't see a thing, so they could neither retreat nor could they go forward." The power of the tunic causes Rollon to flee to convert to Christianity, and to make a treaty at Ept with King Charles III. This treaty was the beginning of the more or less peaceful Normans settlement in the region of Normandy, and the development of state institutions that are sometimes referred to as the Norman miracle. As in Paris, with the growth of the University, the Sorbonne in the shadow of Notre-Dame in Paris, Chartres became a powerful, spiritual, and intellectual center, which is the subject of our next time together.
