ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ground- plans of various early medieval abbeys and cathedrals by the application of geometry and then tests the results of a sample against measurements taken independently by others. The drawing of geometric constructions over plans of medieval churches has been the chosen method for countless studies reaching back over three centuries and yet it is a method that has also attracted many objections, some so strong as to dismiss it altogether as a valid procedure. Although initial tests showed a correlation between the geometry and plans of Speyer Cathedral and Southwell Minster, these were omitted in the interest of conciseness. Chartres Cathedral is investigated because of the connection of its cathedral building, both Romanesque and Gothic, with the location of the school that was foremost in Christian Platonist teaching. Given the Platonic basis of the geometry proposed, it was thought important for Chartres, of all buildings, to be included in the test.
