ARCH 233 Chapter 6 - The Age of Faith PDF

ARCH 233 - History & Theory of Architecture 1 CHAPTER 6 The Age of Faith P P R E PA R E D B Y M AYA K A M A R E D D I N E  CHAPTER OUTLINE Rise of Christianity TO PI C H I G H L I GHTS Constantine Churches vs. Justin...

ARCH 233 - History & Theory of Architecture 1 CHAPTER 6 The Age of Faith P P R E PA R E D B Y M AYA K A M A R E D D I N E  CHAPTER OUTLINE Rise of Christianity TO PI C H I G H L I GHTS Constantine Churches vs. Justinian Churches Byzantine Architecture: The Domed Churches The Middle Ages Church Authority during the Middle Ages Feudal Society Romanesque Architecture: Monasteries, Churches and Pilgrimage The High Middle Ages Reemergence of the City Gothic Architecture: Urban Churches Christians disapproved of cremation, and if suitable land for a graveyard was not available, the community developed underground cemeteries, generally begun in abandoned quarries, which became known as catacombs. The CATACOMBS of ROME became an early expression of Christian art. Roots of Christian Architecture Christian architecture after 313 derived in large measure from Roman precedent, and Early Christian and Byzantine buildings continue certain aspects of classical antiquity. At the same time, stylistic developments in this period contributed to later buildings in the medieval period, thus creating a transition between the classical past and the medieval era in western Europe. Constantinople as “New Rome” Justinian’s Churches The division between the Early Christian and the Byzantine eras is generally made at the reign of Justinian (527-65) who, as emperor based in Constantinople put an end to disputes and engaged in a vigorous program of church building to restore the Roman Supremacy. Work tied by patronage or tradition to Constantinople is termed Byzantine. One characteristic of much Byzantine architecture is a dear preference for domes on both basilican and centrally planned churches. Like the Romans, the Byzantines saw the dome as symbolic of the heavenly sphere, complementary to the earthly realm of floor and walls below. The impact of Christianity on Roman buildings was, of course, a negative one: the imperial forums were abandoned (associated with pagan religion), and very often, stones from Roman buildings were fired in large kilns to make lime for mortar. When Constantine left Rome in 326 ce and formally dedicated Constantinople as the “new Rome” in 330 ce, the city of Rome became a backwater almost overnight. Constantine founded his new city not so much as a Christian one, but rather as a place where Christianity and paganism could coexist. This was not possible in Rome, where Christians demanded complete allegiance from their sovereign.  The MIDDLE AGES The period known as the Middle Ages characterize the long centuries between what is perceived as the enlightened ancient civilization and the period of renewed humanism during the Renaissance. It is generally divided into three periods: the Early Middle Ages (450 to 1000), the High Middle Ages (1000 to 1150), and the Late Middle Ages (1150 to 1500). The first includes the end of the Roman Empire and the subsequent Dark Age that occurred between 500 and 800 but which ended with the rise of Charlemagne and the Frankish Empire in the ninth century. The next period, the High Middle Ages, was characterized by the development of a feudal system, the gradual resumption of travel and trade across Europe the gradual reemergence of cities as major cultural and economic forces, and the revival of building on a large scale, especially of churches, with an emerging Gothic style in the twelfth century.  Socio-Economic Characteristics of the Middle Ages CHURCH replacing the Political AUTHORITY WARS and Divisions FEUDAL Society The strong and central political authority disappeared, In the turbulent centuries that followed the collapse Roman culture was based on city life and depended on and the complex Roman network of public institutions of the Roman Empire, internal divisions and external a strong central government. However, as a result of and utilities broke down. invasions (wars) repeatedly threatened civil life. The the chaos that accompanied the invasions and wars, Roads fell into disrepair, aqueducts were broken, and Middle Ages became a period full of warfare and the basic skills required to maintain governmental the urban Roman centers disappeared and were violence authority, such as literacy (education), disappeared. replaced by villages and small towns. Urban settlements and the money economy of the The Western church survived the collapse of the Roman era were replaced by small agricultural units Roman Empire by embracing the hierarchical structure organized by local strongmen, who lived in fortified of the Roman political bureaucracy. dwellings and controlled the surrounding land by force The religious authority represented by the Pope in of arms. Peasants cultivated the land in exchange for Rome assumed power over the Kings and rulers. sustenance and protection. This arrangement of work in return to protection developed into the Feudal system.  Medieval Houses and Palaces Medieval architecture has necessarily concentrated on the design of religious buildings, primarily because the Church commanded the best design talent and greatest financial resources. Yet, enough secular structures survive in the Middle Ages to give a general idea of the buildings in which people lived. LONGHOUSE: Medieval PEASANT House MANOR HOUSE: Medieval Land-Owner House Medieval TOWN House  Medieval Palaces and Towns There is an obvious connection between medieval castles and towns, for both relied on well-built fortifications to withstand attack, and they are frequently found together. Most medieval towns were provided with a solidly constructed wall with lockable gates that in ordinary times enabled the municipality to collect taxes from merchants entering the city. the town walls served important defensive purposes as well. Medieval FORIFIED CASTLE/PALACE Medieval TOWN House Medieval Monasteries Aside from military construction and the residential, nearly all other major building activities during the Early Middle Ages involved religious structures. Monastic communities flourished, requiring the development of new building complexes. To the monasteries came men and women who sought to serve God; pledging celibacy, poverty, and obedience. They became places of refuge from uncertainty in the outer world and the recipients of gifts of land and buildings from local lords seeking absolution from sin or the assurance of heaven. As a result, monasteries came to function as the political, cultural, and agricultural centers of their surrounding regions. Monastery of St. Gale Monastery of St. Martin du Cangiou  Romanesque Church The Romanesque church, a development of the Roman basilica, was sponsored by powerful abbots and kings hoping to recreate the might and architectural splendor of ancient Rome. As the name implies, Romanesque buildings are derived from Roman architecture, primarily because they use the semicircular or Roman arch, the barrel vault, and the groin vault. Romanesque buildings tend to be massive and heavy: Romanesque results from a series of experiments to enclose and illuminate interior space, using incombustible masonry construction to reduce the chance of fire and protect the valuable relics held in the churches. Using stone, even for the roof created challenges in the structure. Since cutting openings weakens the supporting wall, Romanesque builders used very few windows to avoid damage to the structure's integrity. This resulted in limited light inside the churches. From the exterior, most Romanesque church features are clear. The aisle roofs are lower than that of the nave, and the westwerk (west elevation) is a distinct mass, as are the radiating chapels, ambulatory, choir, transepts, and crossing tower.  SHIFT in PEOPLE‘S VIEW on LIFE during the HIGH MIDDLE AGES Gothic architecture was the physical expression of a new, assertive, and comparatively positive outlook on life in the here and now, as contrasted to the emphatic focus of the Romanesque period on the afterlife. By 1200, the turbulent outlook of previous centuries began to be replaced with a more positive outlook and an overall security and cease of wars. Left: Sculpture of Virgin Mary at Notre-Dame de Paris, 14th century.  Socio-Economic Characteristics of the HIGH Middle Ages CHURCH UNIFYING EUROPE THE RE-EMERGENCE OF THE CITY The unifying agent across Europe continued to be the Europe was transformed socially during the High Middle Ages by two forces that reinforced church. The focus of human action remained religious life, each other: the reemergence of cities and the growth of commerce and trade. so the buildings that had the most advanced architectural design and technology were religious buildings built by Ninety-five percent of the total population of Europe was still rural, but the 5 percent who the church. lived in cities dominated the life and culture of Europe. The old agricultural feudal culture was gradually replaced by an urban mercantile culture. A new word entered the European vocabulary: bourgeois, meaning a person who lived in a city, and usually someone who operated a business. The rising bourgeoisie, this new class of merchants and bankers, soon rivaled the nobles and clergy in influence. As medieval lords lessened their day-to-day focus on military power, they developed an interest in the arts and literature—a development that elevated the position of women. The Gothic Church The consequence of these various social and commercial developments, and the resulting re-emergence of cities as a major economic force during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, is that Gothic architecture is largely an urban architecture. The great monuments documenting the rise of Gothic architecture are not primarily isolated monasteries or pilgrimage churches but urban cathedrals, building projects initiated by influential urban bishops and paid for by wealthy urban businessmen and craft guilds. What Gothic architects and builders did was to integrate a number of improvements in late Romanesque church architecture, including pointed arches and rib vaulting. Somehow they sensed that these elements of design might work together to create a lighter and more visually transparent architecture. What they wanted was to replace walls of stone with membranes of stained glass, which filtered and transformed sunlight so that it symbolized divine illumination.  Elements of the Gothic Church Unlike Romanesque buildings in which a continuous mass of wall is necessary to sustain the load, the Gothic structure is a skeletal system that transfers roof loads down to the ground at discrete points, thereby freeing large expanses of wall to be opened for windows resulting in a bright and illuminated interior. Gothic buildings tend to emphasize verticality, consisting of articulated but unified cells of space, and have a sense of openness afforded by the construction system. ELEMENT 1: The Pointed Arch ELEMENT 2: The Rib Vault ELEMENT 3: The Flying Buttresses ELEMENT 4: Stained Glass Window and Rose Window  Elements of the Gothic Church ELEMENT 5: Tracery ELEMENT 6: Ornaments All the information listed in this chapter along with images, unless listed differently, are based on the book : Roth, L.M. & Clark, A.C.R. 2014 , Understanding architecture : its elements, history, and meaning , Th ird e dn , West view Pre ss , Bo u ld e r, Co lora d o. Ch a p t e r 14 Fa zio, M., Mo ffe t t , M., & Wod e ho us e , L. ( 2 0 0 9 ). A wo r ld h is t o r y of a rch it e c t u re Ch a p t e r 8 a nd 9 What’s next?