ABSTRACT
The north rose of Reims Cathedral has been damaged repeatedly over the centuries. 1 However, thanks to the rich archive of the Atelier Simon-Marq at Reims, the workshop in charge of the restoration of the cathedral’s stained glass since 1640, it is possible to carry out a comprehensive archaeological study of the north rose window and to propose a tentative restitution of the rose before its restoration in the nineteenth century. The present study builds upon the thesis of Nathalie Frachon written in the early 1980s. She was the first to rely upon the drawings produced during the important restoration of the rose in 1872 and now preserved in the archives of the Simon-Marq workshop in Reims. 2 Attention is also called to the surviving original elements that provide information concerning the style and thus the dating of the north rose window. This chapter summarizes initial results drawn from a wider study of the medieval stained glass of Reims Cathedral based in large part on the extensive documentation conserved in the archives of the Simon-Marq workshop. 3 As the project is still in progress, the conclusions presented here must be considered preliminary. 4
