Changing Geometries in the North Transept of Reims Cathedral

Reims Cathedral justly enjoys a reputation as one of the most unified and harmonious of major Gothic churches, but its north transept presents a number of perplexing features that seem, at least at first glance, to mark breakdowns in this overall coherence (Plate 1). The portals of the north transept, most obviously, sit within a massive masonry block that seems to crash into the rest of the composition, covering all but the tips of the three lancets below the triforium of the central bay, as seen in Figure 3.1: A.