A Summary of the Climate of the Middle Ages

Climate Change and Medieval Sacred Architecture Chris Simmons Notre Dame de Paris Geography 495H Dr. Jongnam Choi Acknowledgement A very special thanks to Dr. Jongnam Choi for advising and evaluating this project. All of his help over the course of these past few years will always be warmly remembered by this author. A Guide to Medieval Architectural Periods and Terms Approximate Dates for Architectural Periods Early Romanesque: 950 - 1080 A.D. High Romanesque: around 1100 A.D. Late Romanesque: 1130 - 1200 A.D. German Late Romanesque: 1140-1215 A.D. Early Gothic: 1140 - 1215 A.D. Rayonnant Gothic (Decorated), also High Gothic: 1215 - 1300 A.D. Flamboyant Gothic (Perpendicular), also Late Gothic: 1300 - 1500 A.D. Architectural Terms Ambulatory: A passageway that extends around the choir to allow the circulation of people through the church Apse (Apsidial): A small chapel attached to the wall of a church, usually radiating outside of the main body of the church (Apsidial--relating to an apse) Buttress: A structure used to support the thrust of the ceiling vaults of a church or cathedral, often extending beyond the exterior wall (however, internal buttressing is also used in some locations) Buttress Pier: A tall, narrow tower extending upward from the aisle level to support buttresses flying outward from the upper clerestory or roof level Choir (Quire): The eastern end of the church, where the altar is located Clerestory: The upper levels of the interior of a church, where large windows are often placed Flying Buttress: A buttress that arcs outward from the exterior wall, used in many Gothic churches Jamb: A figural sculpture placed to the sides of a portal in a Romanesque or Gothic church Lancet: A thin window (usually placed directly adjacent to other similar windows), used most often underneath a rose window Lintel: A rectangular frieze above the door but below the tympanum in a portal, sometimes stretched beyond the portal along the sides of the building in Romanesque churches (but often contained to the portal in early Gothic churches and eliminated altogether in later Gothic churches). Pinnacle: A steep, small, spire-like extension that often sheds rain outward Portal: A church door or entrance, often surrounded by sculptures Nave: The main centre aisle of the church before the choir (western half of the church); on cross plans it corresponds to the lower vertical component of the cross Spandrel: The wall space immediately above the columns in an arcade, usually lining the nave near the mid levels of a church and often decorated with paintings or mosaics in the Romanesque period. Tracery: Thin, often curving stone decoration added to windows or architectural facades Transept: a north or south aisle extending away from the main aisle of a church; on cross plans, the transept are the wings making up the horizontal component of the cross Tribune Gallery: A passageway at the mid level of the church, formerly used to hold women or persons directing a service Triforium: An arcade (series of columns and arches) at the mid levels of a church between the aisle level and the clerestory, most common in Romanesque and Early Gothic churches and usually possessing a tribune gallery Tympanum: a half circular or bent triangular stone slab above the doors in a church’s portal entrance, often possessing relief sculptures during the Romanesque and Gothic eras Simmons 1 Abstract Shelter, as a means of providing an environment protected from the elements, has always been a function of climate for traditional and premodern cultures. This study attempts to explore the influence of climate and climate change on historical European shelters, and particularly Medieval sacred architecture (which perhaps provides the best, most intact, and most elaborate examples of constructions made during this period in history). In particular, building elements and styles between the Medieval Warm Period (1000-1200), during which much of Europe possessed a dry, sunny Mediterranean-like climate, and the Little Ice Age, which was characterized by below normal temperatures and rainier conditions over Northern Europe were analyzed. First, this study identifies the most dramatic architectural change of the high Middle Ages—that from Romanesque to Gothic between 1150 and 1200 A.D. The Romanesque style, with its small windows, low inclination roofs, and Classical Mediterranean design, was more suitable to the dry, warm Mediterranean climates. Romanesque remained popular well into the Thirteenth and Fourteenth centuries in southern and western France and Italy, long after the invention of the Gothic style, largely due to the Romanesque’s regional climactic suitability to the Mediterranean. However, as rain, snow, cloudier weather, and colder temperatures became more prevalent in the north, architects were compelled to design churches and cathedrals that would provide more interior lighting (larger windows) and better roofing. The Gothic style, with its pointed spires, high inclination roofs, large, symmetric windows, and efficient drainage system in the form of gargoyles, was more suitable the Little Ice Age climate of Northern Europe. When the Gothic style was used in Mediterranean countries it often took on vastly different qualities, Simmons 2 and many of these southern Gothic churches were similar to the Romanesque and Early Gothic designs from the Medieval Warm Period. In addition to linking international architectural style changes in Medieval Europe to climactic patterns, this study tracks the regional shifts in architectural styles still visible today, such as the differences between Gothic windows in France versus Gothic windows in Italy, as well as style changes over time (such as the expansion of window size and reduction of deep- color stain glass usage from the high to late Medieval eras in northern Europe, as well as the slow progression of gargoyles from northern to southern France at the onset of the Little Ice Age). In addition, this research seeks to identify ways in which some of these style changes can be seen as indicative of the location of the jet stream as it moved from a mean position over central Scandinavia during the Medieval Warm Period to a new location over Northern Europe (which provided these regions with colder and rainier weather). Introduction Shelters have always been integral elements of human society; people have relied on them since prehistoric times to provide vital protection from the elements of the outside world. Of all these external realities with which humans are concerned, weather and climate are perhaps the most fundamental considerations that go into the construction of shelters. We, as culturally adaptive creatures, have the remarkable ability to modify our environments and live on virtually any region of the earth where food and water are obtainable, and people familiar with a given environment are often able to devise creative and effective adaptations to their native climates. This is readily illustrated by traditional-style shelters developed around the world. For example, the insulating, thick tent shelter adopted by the inhabitants of the desert Mongolian plain are perfect for the dry, cold plains of northeast Asia, serving to keep dust out while sustaining Simmons 3 internal warmth. Similarly, the stilted and ventilated houses of tropical regions allow for greater internal circulation (resulting in a cooler interior) and protection from the deleterious effects of the heavy moisture content of the soil during rainy portions of the year. And European shelters are no different, with the brick-roofed villas and courtyards of Italy providing perfect shelters for the hot, dry Mediterranean climate and houses with steep timber or mansard roofs in France or England affording adequate protection from damp conditions, frequent rain, and occasional snow. Therefore, art and architectural historians, when studying the modification of building styles and features through the ages, should also take into account changes in the weather and climate that might have corresponded to or indirectly encouraged these alterations. Indeed, the art and science of architecture itself can be simply defined as the innovations and features used in construction of shelters, and while our modern society may have developed the technology (using metals and sturdy artificial materials) to construct the same type and format of building virtually anywhere in the world without modifying it substantially, more traditional, pre-modern societies that construct buildings using their own flesh and blood and out of materials taken (by traditional methods) directly from the earth must weigh climate matters more carefully. In addition, these traditional societies must also be more willing to respond to the changes in prevailing weather conditions that do gradually take place over time. Thus, looking at architectural modifications during the pre-modern Medieval period might provide a better indication of architects’ climate-related concerns than those buildings that were built using the sturdy and more universally sustainable Western architectural innovations of later periods. In addition, the Middle Ages also provide a particularly interesting example of architectural Simmons 4 evolution because they stretch across one of the most dramatic climate transitions that have taken place in the common era—the shift from the Medieval Warm Period to the Little Ice Age. Unfortunately, this aspect of architectural science is often overlooked, and many Medieval art

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