Chartres cathedral draws millions of visitors every year, yet its origins have been largely forgotten. René Querido explores its story, including its foundation in the early eleventh century by Fulbertus as part of the great School of Chartres, and its development under Bernadus Silvestris, John of Salisbury and the last great master, Alanus ab Insulis.

Working through to the twentieth century, Querido never loses sight of the magnificence of the building, nor the great significance of the ideas that developed around it.