The year 1194 saw the worst fire yet, which destroyed most of Fulbert's church, leaving only the crypt, the north and south towers and the new facade. The enthusiasm of the people of Chartres, the gifts of the clergy and monarchs from France and other countries, helped to build the new church in a remarkably short time. Work was begun that same year.
By 1220, only 26 years later, the church had been built and the roof constructed. Because it was built so quickly, Chartres has the most unity of style of any of the Gothic cathedrals. We know nothing about the who built Chartres Cathedral, or his team of sculptors, but the speed with which they finished the main body of the cathedral and the roof is extremely impressive and suggests that hundreds of craftsmen and builders must have been employed on the project.
