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Jean d'Orbais (ca. 1175-1231) was a French architect from

Orbais-l'Abbaye Orbais-l'Abbaye () is a Communes of France, commune in the Marne (department), Marne Departments of France, department in north-eastern France. The abbey at Orbais was founded at the end of the 7th century by Saint Réol, and the remains (includin ...

, active in the

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded b ...

area. He was an architect of the

High Gothic High Gothic is a particularly refined and imposing style of Gothic architecture that appeared in northern France from about 1195 until 1250. Notable examples include Chartres Cathedral, Reims Cathedral, Amiens Cathedral, Beauvais Cathedral, and ...

style and the first of the four architects of the

Cathedral of Reims , image = Reims Kathedrale.jpg , imagealt = Facade, looking northeast , caption = Façade of the cathedral, looking northeast , pushpin map = France , pushpin map alt = Location within France , ...

, where he is depicted in the labyrinth mosaic in the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-typ ...

. He was responsible for the design of and initial work on the cathedral of Notre Dame de Reims.

Early life

He was born c. 1175 in the village of Orbais in the and before working at Reims he made his debut with the construction of the Abbey Church of Orbais.

Abbey

Abbey Church building, church

.The Orbais-l'Abbaye#abbey, St. Pierre-St. Paul Church was built at the end of the 12th and early 13th centuries by Jean of Orbais, one of the architects of the

. The Abbey Church had a length of 8 m with eight bays of

, Two of which remain today. The architecture is superb and particularly the

façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...

, with its two towers similar to those of the Basilica Saint-Rémi de Reims and the choir with ambulatory with five radiating chapels. There is also

stained glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

s of the 12th century, funerary slabs from the 14th and 15th centuries, a

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

from the 16th century and the glazed tiles from the 15th century.

Cathedral of Reims

He saw the design and beginning of construction of the

Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Reims , image = Reims Kathedrale.jpg , imagealt = Facade, looking northeast , caption = Façade of the cathedral, looking northeast , pushpin map = France , pushpin map alt = Location within France , ...

, on which he worked from 1211AD to 1231AD and 1235. The design was carried out in ca. 1210; among its new features were three-tier elevation, and quadripartite vaults. The overall plan of the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

was his and he oversaw the first stone was laid may 6, 1211 AD, and at the time he was unaware of the cathedrals of Laon,

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as def ...

, which his successors would go on to emulate. Jean of Orbais began the construction of the Cathedral from the side by the apse, the southern pan of the transept and the choir, followed by much of the nave, until the fourth span and high walls of the aisles were completed with their windows.Le Labyrinth.
/ref> He was replaced as architect in 1228 by Jean-Le-Loup. It is not known why he ceased to work towards 1228 AD, although it is thought he was dismissed due to conflict with the newly appointed Archbishop Henri de Braisne. He died in 1231 in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jean Dorbais 13th-century French architects Gothic architects Architects from Reims Year of birth uncertain 1231 deaths