The Medieval Church: The Ultimate Expression of Faith

Evolution Roman Basilica: Old St. Peter’s Romanesque Cathedral Gothic Cathedral

Symbolism and Vocab

Vocabulary Nave Transept Apse Apsidals Ambulatory Aisles Narthex Atrium Propylaea Altar Choir Clerestory Triforium Arcade Baptistry Campanile

Romanesque Replace wood with stone. When the year 1000 A.D. came there was no Last Judgment, so there was a renewed interest in architecture. Monasteries and Cathedrals were built.

Romanesque traits Large round arches. Very dark and very heavy. Not much light. Has tiers.

Facade

St. Sernin

Pisa Cathedral

Leaning tower of Pisa Notice that there are THREE buildings. It just so happens that one of them is leaning, therefore, it’s the famous one. The three are the baptistry, cathedral, and campanile. The leaning tower is the campanile.

Abbot Suger The Gothic style was founded by Abbott Suger. He was a very powerful Abbott at the church, St. Denis 6 miles north of Paris. St. Denis is high profile. It is a Carolingian church where the royal family was buried. He read about Solomon’s Temple and the writings of St. Denis and was impressed to incorporate more light into the building.

Gothic = Light As opposed to modern connotations of Goths (black), Gothic cathedrals emphasized light. One way to do this is to change the vaults. Rather than having a rounded arch, use a pointed arch. These vaults were supported by thin piers. This makes it more vertical and is easier to support.

Flying Buttresses Romanesque walls had to be so thick to support the building. They had massive piers. The innovation used by Suger was to put a flying buttress at specific pressure points to hold up the wall. This would also allow for openness in the walls for windows.

Stained Glass The point of the flying buttresses was to open up the walls, and allow light to permeate the cathedral. They would build massive, beautiful windows. The light represented the light of Christ. It was beautiful, yet mystical, representative of spiritual knowledge. As most of the people were illiterate, it was a visual bible used to teach.

At the Western Facade and on the ends of the transepts were the Rose windows, big beautiful and round. Often below these were longer, pointed windows called lancets. Rose Windows and Lancets

Gothic Style Spreads Suger’s new design became very popular and was soon widely copied. Building a cathedral was a major undertaking. First of all, it cost vast amounts of money. Oftentimes construction would take years. So it gave a lot of jobs to stonecutters, masons, carpenters, etc. Once it was built it also became a pilgrimage attraction, bringing commerce and helping the economy. Most importantly, it was the symbol of a city. Everyone was involved with the construction, so everyone was proud of the church. It was a place of sanctuary. The worst insult an attacker could give would be to tear down the cathedral tower.

Chartres Cathedral

Chartres Chartres is one of the best-known cathedrals because it was one of the very first to be entirely constructed using Gothic architecture (St. Denis was a remodeling). All of the stonework and stained glass remain. It is a prime example of Gothic. The towers show the evolution from Early Gothic to High Gothic.

Sculpture of Chartres Tympanum Archivolts Lintel Jambs

Chartres Tympanum Eagle is JohnAngel is Matthew Lion for MarkBull for Luke

Notre Dame, Paris

Sainte-Chapelle, Paris

Reims Cathedral

Gothic Evolution

Salisbury, England

Milan, Italy

Detail from Milan

Romanesque vs. Gothic RomanesqueGothic EMPHASIS HorizontalVertical ELEVATION Modest HeightSoaring LAYOUT Multiple Units Unified, one space MAIN TRAIT Round ArchPointed Arch SUPPORT SYSTEM Piers, Walls Exterior Buttress Flying Buttress ENGINEERING Barrel & Groin vaultRibbed Groin Vault AMBIENCE Dark, SolemnAiry, Bright EXTERIOR Simple, SevereDecorated w/ Sculpture