Essay, Research Paper: Medieval Architecture

There were two main styles of architecture in the middle ages. Gothic style architecture
included big churches called cathedrals. Cathedrals had tall skyscraper-like towers. They
made them that way to get people to look up in the sky and think of God. Gothic
architecture involved lots of big windows of stained glass. The Gothic style was developed
fully in France and England during the 12th century. By the 13th century, Gothic style
spread to Germany. A real and true Gothic cathedral is the Milan Cathedral in Italy. The
Gothic church here is a picture of St. Chapelle in Paris, France. It was built in the
mid-1200s.
Romanesque architecture had big internal spaces. These buildings had barrel vaults,
columns and windows and doors with rounded arches. The buildings were solid and heavy
with small windows. They were dimly lit. This Romanesque church is in
St.-Guilhelm-le-Desert, France. It was founded by one of Charlemagne's bravest
lieutenants.
A gargoyle was a scary, ugly stone figure that was common on Gothic buildings. They
could be found on the roof or eaves. The original purpose of a gargoyle was to act as a
spout to prevent seepage and damage to the building. People believed they could scare
away evil spirits and serve a practical function at the same time. This gargoyle sits in front
of the bell tower at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France.
Sainte-Chapelle Reims Cathedral
1243 - 1248. 1210 and later, the nave of the cathedral.
1220 - 1330.
A significat characterisitc of gothic architecture is
hieght. However, the higher the wall, the more force there is pushing in a outwardly
direction. Buttresses allowed builders to go higher with their walls as it allowed more
support. In this photo you can see the buttresses jutting perpendicular from the wall.
Invention of the flying buttress allowed medieval
builders to construct taller and more delicated-looking buildings. In this photo, the flying
buttesses connect the main wall of the cathedral to outside support buttresses. The force
of the main wall is outwardly. The flying buttress directs the force of the wall out and
down into the ground. As flying buttresses are perpendicular to the walls, this opens up
space between the buttressing for stained glass windows.
When we look at a gothic building, it appears as though the flying
buttresses are pushing on the wall. This photo of a gothic ruin shows that is not the case.
Were the flying buttresses pushing on the wall, it would not be standing. Indeed, flying
buttresses direct the outward force of the wall out and down into the ground.
This photo shows three of the external characteristics of gothic
architecture. The backside of a gothic cathedral is semi-circular. This rounded end is
known as the "aspse." Other characteristics shown here are the flying buttresses, the
pinnacles, and the stained glass windows.
Inside the Cathedral
One of the characteristics of gothic architecture is
verticality. Medieval builders refined the simple arch into a vaulted arch and improved on
many of the accepted building techniques. In this picture, with the use of successive vaults,
delicate ribs on the arches, and collonades on the columns actual height is created along
with the illusion of height.
Vaulting was very important for structural as well as design reasons. This picture shows
sexpartite vaulting -- six ribs fan out from the center of the vault. This allows finish work
and decoration to be done on the ribs creating a light, delicate look. Notice, however, that
while the six ribs may provide a more delicate look, they force the stained-glass windows
to be narrower and more numerous.
With fewer ribs, this type of construction requires more support from the buttressing. But
it also permits wider openings for windows and thus more stained-glass and light into the
building.
In the 5th century A.D. barbarians from central and northern Europe attacked Rome. This
brought an end to the last great empire of the ancient world. For the next 300 years
western Europe was dominated by barbarian tribes, such as the Goths, Celts, Franks,
Teutons, and Lombards. These conquerors did not try to force their pagan religions on the
peoples they defeated. Instead they accepted Christianity and helped to spread it
throughout Europe.
BARBARIAN ART OF CHRISTIAN EUROPE
Long before the barbarian tribes overran western Europe, their artists were working in
traditional styles. They made ornate jewelry, baskets, pottery, and weapons. Decoration
was intricate and geometric--objects were carved with straight lines, curves, circles,
triangles, and ovals. Except for a few leaf shapes, the carvings were not made to look like
real objects. Very little sculpture and practically no painting was done.
When the barbarians became Christians, they turned to religion as the subject of their art.
Monks copied religious books and decorated the pages with brightly colored illustrations.
Because few peasants could read, the churches were decorated with sculpture that told
stories from the Bible.
The barbarians had abandoned their pagan beliefs, but they did not give up their traditions
of art. They decorated jeweled chalices (drinking cups) and great stone crosses with their
old geometric designs. Many of these richly carved crosses were placed along the
roadside. The barbarians had little interest in architecture. The small churches of the early
Middle Ages were made of wood and did not last long.
Gradually the Western Christian Empire grew stronger. Exposed to the ancient
architecture and sculpture of Rome, the barbarians began to imitate the techniques of the
Romans. But they had had no tradition or training in lifelike art. Saints were carved or
painted with gigantic or very tiny heads and stonelike bodies in impossible positions. The
figures were often surrounded by the creatures and demons of pagan legends.
The leaders of Christian Rome began to build churches of stone. The designs for these
churches were based on ancient Roman temples and law courts. When trade with the
Eastern Christian (or Byzantine) Empire increased, Oriental features of Byzantine art
began to influence the architecture of the West.
By the 9th century the barbarians had mixed with the more civilized people of southern
Europe. Wars were still fought almost constantly, and the life of the peasants remained
miserable. But war was no longer the only way of life, and scholarship was increasing.
Monasteries, which became centers of learning, were built all over Europe.
ROMANESQUE ART
It is difficult to say exactly when the Romanesque period began in Europe. Late in the 8th
and early in the 9th century the Frankish emperor Charlemagne conquered much of
Europe and some of the Muslim world. This made the Christian Roman Empire larger and
more powerful than it had ever been. Charlemagne told the builders of his new palace to
imitate the architecture of ancient Rome. Actually the palace was more Byzantine than
Roman in style. In the 10th century the emperor Otto the Great also wanted his churches,
monasteries, and schools built in a Roman manner. The new kind of architecture that was
developing came to be known as Romanesque, which means "in the Roman manner." But
Romanesque was actually a combination of styles and a new kind of art and architecture.
Romanesque buildings are low and heavy-looking, with thick walls, round arches, and
small windows. Rows of columns support round, arched ceilings, called vaults. The vaults
are heavy and tend to create downward force (thrust) that could cause the walls to fall.
For this reason, great stone supports called buttresses were built against the walls of the
churches. The Romanesque style had been developing since the 6th century, but all of its
features were probably first used together in 1088, when the Church of St. Ambrogio was
began in Milan, Italy. This style was used throughout western Europe, but different
countries introduced different elements.
Romanesque carving was almost always done in relief-sculpture carved from a
background. Early Romanesque buildings have little sculpture. But soon huge figures were
created to decorate the doorways and columns of churches. Like the sculpture of the
earlier Middle Ages, Romanesque carving was crude and not at all lifelike. But by the 12th
century, sculpted figures were beginning to appear with bent legs turned to one side or
with the head lowered. They no longer sat unnaturally still, staring straight ahead.
Because the windows of Romanesque churches were so small, there was a great deal of
wall space inside. This space was frequently decorated with frescoes (paintings done on
wet plaster) illustrating Bible stories. Most of these medieval paintings have been
destroyed. But we know what they looked like because painting was also done on
manuscripts, and these remain. The way the human figure was shown in painting was
similar to the style of sculpture. The manuscript pages were skillfully done. The monks
were masters of calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing. The handsome, intertwining
geometric designs of barbarian art still decorated the borders of manuscript pages.
GOTHIC ART
Building skills advanced rapidly. By the 12th century, medieval builders had learned to
build higher and more graceful churches. They had developed better ways of constructing
vaults, of making larger windows, and of supporting the high, pointed arches that were
becoming fashionable. To counteract the thrust from the new, higher vaults, Gothic
builders used strong supports called flying buttresses. These arched beams extended from
the old buttresses to the outsides of the vaults. The first church in which all the features of
Gothic architecture were used was probably the Church of St. Denis in France, begun in
1137.
Gothic cathedrals soar high, their windows, arches, and towers reaching heavenward.
They are decorated with beautiful stainedglass windows and sculpture more lifelike than
any since ancient Rome. Figures are carved in high relief on the columns and doors. Saints
appear in active poses with heads turned. Almond-shaped eyes replaced the blank, round
eyes of Romanesque days. Influenced by Byzantine sculpture, Gothic figures are long and
graceful.
The Gothic style started in France and quickly spread through all parts of western Europe.
More churches were built in this manner than in any other style in history. Even after the
Renaissance period, which began in the 15th century, brought the Middle Ages to an end,
Gothic churches continued to be built.