Section-by-Section Essay Roadmap

1. Introduction (before current first paragraph)

Contextualize your sources

• Briefly name your three anchors (Cowen 2005; Pastan 2022; Friends of Notre-Dame website).
• One sentence on historiographical gap—e.g. "While Cowen delineates hidden geometries and Pastan focuses on iconography, fewer studies link geometry, color pigments, and shifting natural light in lived worship."

Thesis preview

• Promise a triadic analysis: "I'll show how tracery geometry, numerological patterning, and chromatic effects under diurnal light combine in Notre-Dame's three great rose windows to shape medieval liturgical experience."

2. Geometry & Tracery

Manifest vs. Hidden Geometry

• Lift Cowen's "Manifest vs. Hidden Geometry" framework. (Outline: Use Cowen's chapters on "Manifest vs. Hidden Geometry.")
• Show how the petal-lobed design corresponds to a hidden square rotated 45° beneath the circle—quote Cowen's p. 45.

Plate vs. Bar Tracery

• Define plate tracery (thick wall pierced) vs. bar tracery (thin mullions) and locate which each rose uses.

3. Numerology

Table of Panel-Counts ↔ Symbolic Meaning

Use Mâle's analysis of medieval numerology to support these links.

Bullet List of Holy Numbers

• 8 = Resurrection/baptism
• 12 = Apostles/heavenly government
• 4 = Earth/cardinal directions

4. Color & Pigments

Physical Pigments & Trade

• Blue = Lapis lazuli (Afghan trade; hugely expensive).
• Red = Cinnabar/vermilion or potash glass (local furnaces).
• Outline: Friends of Notre-Dame "Extract dimensions...restoration notes" for pigment recovery.

Iconographic Color Meaning

• Blue = Mary/heaven (Pastan's West-rose breakdown).
• Red = Christ's sacrifice/martyrdom.
• Green = Paradise/renewal.

5. Natural Light & Temporal Dynamics

Orientation & Light Path

• North rose: diffuse morning light—prophetic tones.
• South rose: indirect afternoon—cool-toned blues stand out.
• West rose: direct sunset—warm reds intensify.
• Outline: Idea: Diurnal and seasonal shifts.

Obstructions & Restoration History

• Note the organ's late-19th-c. insertion partly shades West rose. (Outline: Pastan's restoration history.)

Seasonal Variation

• Briefly speculate on equinox vs. solstice effects (visitor testimony gap).

6. Theological Program

Salvation History Triad

• North = Advent/prophecy (Old Testament foreshadowing).
• South = Incarnation & Redemption.
• West = Last Judgment & eschaton.
• Outline: Map iconographic content of each rose.

Spatial Coherence

• How the three-fold cycle guided processions along the nave. (Outline: Discuss coherence of triadic program in space planning.)

7. Conclusion

1. Restate thesis in light of findings: geometry + numerology + color + light = immersive theology.
2. Synthesis: "These windows function not only as ornament but as liturgical 'scripture in color,' meshing math, mysticism, and material craft."
3. Limitations & Blind Spots:
   • Lack of contemporaneous parishioner diaries.
   • Gaps in winter lighting data.
4. Future Directions:
   • Acoustic interplay under colored light.
   • Comparisons with Chartres or 19th-c. Gothic revival.

8. Formatting & Citations

• Citation style: move all parenthetical notes into (Cowen 2005, p. 45) format.
• Section links: at top of each major heading, add a <nav> with anchor links to Geometry, Numerology, Color, Light, Theology.