DOCSLIB.ORG

— Medieval Manuscript Diagrams, Architectural

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT DIAGRAMS, ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS: THE CASE OF CHARTRES CATHEDRAL by Karen Faye Webb B.A., Furman University, 1999 M.A.P.H., The University of Chicago, 2001 M.A., University of Florida, 2004 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh — 2010 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Karen Faye Webb It was defended on March 1, 2010 and approved by Kathleen Christian, Assistant Professor, History of Art and Architecture M. F. Hearn, Professor Emeritus, History of Art and Architecture Anne Weis, Associate Professor, History of Art and Architecture Adam Shear, Associate Professor, Religious Studies Dissertation Advisor: M. A. Stones, Professor, History of Art and Architecture ii Copyright © by Karen Faye Webb 2010 iii MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT DIAGRAMS, ARCHITECTURAL STRUCTURES, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS: THE CASE OF CHARTRES CATHEDRAL Karen Faye Webb, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2010 The purpose of this study is to demonstrate some of the ways in which diagrammatic structures may have informed the layout and experience of architectural space in the middle ages. The Cathedral of Chartres is a unique case because the post-1194 building and its decorative program survive relatively complete and because the preceding century saw at Chartres the emergence of a sophisticated school of thought, many of whose precepts may be shown to bear upon the design of the monument. The writings of William of Conches and John of Salisbury in particular I consider central to an intellectual debate between Chartrain Masters and their intellectual rivals the Cornificians. The library at Chartres still preserves several manuscript copies of medieval texts and commentaries pertinent to this debate. In turn, I suggest this is fundamental to reading the decorative program of the cathedral and to experiencing its spaces. Thus the monument represents a fusion of disciplines which in turn may serve as an enlightening means of understanding the middle ages in general, its art, its architecture, and its viewer. Using the Cathedral of Chartres as an object of study, an environmental experience, and as a multi-vantage point visual dialogue, this dissertation examines the idea of medieval diagrams as templates for medieval architectural construction and conceptualization. By examining the layout of the medieval stained glass that retains its original position, I claim that the themes of the windows serve as placemarkers for diagramming. The windows are also iv examined individually as separate entities with their own diagrammatic orderings that suggest that the small scale, as well as the large scale, is organized in a diagrammatic way. Ultimately, I suggest that a diagrammatic structure underlies the layout and design of the windows, based on the ideas of Chartrain master William of Conches. I suggest that this diagrammatic structure forms the basis of a discourse between the Chartrains and their intellectual rivals, the Cornificians. Central to the argument is the disposition of the Signs of the Zodiac in the cathedral and a calendrical layout for the hagiographic windows. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ................................................................................................................................... XV 1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 LITERARY REFERENCES TO DIAGRAMS .............................................. 13 1.2 THE WORD FIGURA ....................................................................................... 15 1.3 ENTELECHY AND DIAGRAMMATIC THINKING .................................. 17 1.4 PREVIOUS SCHOLARSHIP........................................................................... 27 1.5 CHAPTER SUMMARIES ................................................................................ 33 2.0 INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT: THE CHARTRAINS AND THE CORNIFICIANS ......................................................................................................................... 35 2.1 THE LIBRARY AT CHARTRES .................................................................... 41 2.1.1 Polarities at Chartres Addressed in Manuscript Collections ................. 42 2.2 THE CHARTRAIN MASTERS ....................................................................... 43 2.2.1 The Legacy of the Chartrain Masters ....................................................... 45 2.2.2 Abelard’s Plea for Dialectics ...................................................................... 46 2.2.3 The Chartrains’ Perception of the Cornificians ...................................... 47 2.2.4 Augustine and Boethius .............................................................................. 52 2.2.5 Hugo of Folieto’s Diagrams of True and False Religion ......................... 53 2.2.6 The Perceiver and the Perceived ............................................................... 57 vi 3.0 CATHEDRAL PLAN AND WINDOWS AS LOCI ................................................ 63 3.1 ENTELECHY AND MICROCOSM/MACROCOSM ................................... 64 3.2 NORTH (LEFT) SIDE OF THE CATHEDRAL ............................................ 85 3.2.1 The Month of June. ..................................................................................... 85 3.2.2 The Month of July. ...................................................................................... 86 3.2.3 The Month of April. .................................................................................... 87 3.2.4 The Month of May. ..................................................................................... 88 3.2.5 The Month of March. ................................................................................. 88 3.2.6 The Month of February. ............................................................................. 89 3.2.7 The Month of January ................................................................................ 90 3.3 THE SOUTH (RIGHT) SIDE OF THE CATHEDRAL ................................ 91 3.3.1 The Sign of Leo............................................................................................ 91 3.3.2 The Sign of Cancer...................................................................................... 91 3.3.3 The Sign of Gemini, Taurus, and the Month of May. ............................. 92 3.3.3.1 The Explanation for the Combining of Taurus and Gemini. ......... 93 3.3.4 The Sign of Aries. ........................................................................................ 93 3.3.5 The Sign of Pisces. ....................................................................................... 94 3.3.6 The Sign of Aquarius .................................................................................. 94 3.4 NAVE DIAGRAMMING .................................................................................. 96 3.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 106 4.0 INTELLECTUAL CONTEXT: COLORS AND POSTURES ............................ 108 4.1 THE WINDOWS AS CELLAE....................................................................... 123 4.2 TRADES OF MEDITATION ......................................................................... 124 vii 4.3 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 128 5.0 WINDOW READING PATTERNS ....................................................................... 130 5.1 MARCUS MANILIUS AND THE POSTURES ........................................... 131 5.2 THE HISTORIOGRAPHY ............................................................................ 143 5.3 THE IMPORTANCE OF COLOR ................................................................ 149 5.4 WINDOW DIAGRAMS WITH COLORS AND POSTURES .................... 158 5.5 CONCLUSION ................................................................................................ 188 6.0 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 189 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................ 192 APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................................ 222 APPENDIX C ............................................................................................................................ 242 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 290 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Authors and Manuscripts in the Chartres Library .......................................................... 40 Table 2: Authors and their Connections to Chartres ..................................................................... 40 Table 3: Windows as Consanguinity Tree .................................................................................... 72 Table 4: Organization of the Zodiac and Labors of the Months Window .................................... 78 Table 5: Cathedral Window Placements and the Zodiac and Labors of the Months Window ..... 78 Table 6: The Left (North) Side of the Cathedral--Left Side of the Zodiac Window .................... 80 Table 7: Right
Recommended publications
  • Medieval Western Philosophy: the European Emergence

    Medieval Western Philosophy: the European Emergence

    Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Change Series I, Culture and Values, Volume 9 History of Western Philosophy by George F. McLean and Patrick J. Aspell Medieval Western Philosophy: The European Emergence By Patrick J. Aspell The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy 1 Copyright © 1999 by The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy Gibbons Hall B-20 620 Michigan Avenue, NE Washington, D.C. 20064 All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Aspell, Patrick, J. Medieval western philosophy: the European emergence / Patrick J. Aspell. p.cm. — (Cultural heritage and contemporary change. Series I. Culture and values ; vol. 9) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Philosophy, Medieval. I. Title. III. Series. B721.A87 1997 97-20069 320.9171’7’090495—dc21 CIP ISBN 1-56518-094-1 (pbk.) 2 Table of Contents Chronology of Events and Persons Significant in and beyond the History of Medieval Europe Preface xiii Part One: The Origins of Medieval Philosophy 1 Chapter I. Augustine: The Lover of Truth 5 Chapter II. Universals According to Boethius, Peter Abelard, and Other Dialecticians 57 Chapter III. Christian Neoplatoists: John Scotus Erigena and Anselm of Canterbury 73 Part Two: The Maturity of Medieval Philosophy Chronology 97 Chapter IV. Bonaventure: Philosopher of the Exemplar 101 Chapter V. Thomas Aquinas: Philosopher of the Existential Act 155 Part Three: Critical Reflection And Reconstruction 237 Chapter VI. John Duns Scotus: Metaphysician of Essence 243 Chapter
  • WICK's VARIETY STORE Bicycles and Automobiles |

    WICK's VARIETY STORE Bicycles and Automobiles |

    REV. MR. BURK’S LETTERS. it is, ami now tlie plaster has been removed WEST DEPTFORD. j CLARKSBORO. MULLICA HILL. ©lottccslcts «& Urmocral. one can see how Roman and Saxon, Eng- A WEEK’S NEWSCONDENSED. lish and Norman have contributed to its C. B. Platt and Samuel Sweeten Mr. ami Mrs. J. I). and Miss Tamsen Cole and Mrs. Hor- Income PUBLISHED EVERY Capt. Hoffman, Sr., sister, Surplus THURSDAY, AT Here was the each are the of a new of have been FAMILIAR WORDS ON ENTERING THE erection. chapel of Queen proud grandfather Miss Elsie Hoffman are spending tlie week ner, Phila., visiting their Friday, August 29. ■Woodbury, New Jersey. Bertha before came, and it grandson. Platt’s son Charlie, Hweeten’s at Ocean Grove. uncles, Joseph and Ira Coles. The boat destroyer cannot be HARBOR OF DOVER. Augustine here, torpedo Barry better spent than is St. son Forrest. said, Augustine baptized King Etbel- | Mr. C. Walter Higgins, of Philadelphia, A very light shower fell here on Wednes- made 28.12 knots an hour in her offi- PRICE—PAYABLE IN ADVANCE: bert. How much before Bertha’s Queen Irvin Starr’s five children and three and Carlton B. Higgins, of Long Island day evening, but entirely insufficient for cial trial yesterday. One Year.*1.30 A RIDE TO CANTERBURY—DESCRIPTION OF time there was a Christian church there no their the in Life Insur- others, of Thorofare, were visiting were over of Mr. and Mrs. needs. colored purchasing Hix Snnday guests Frank Smith, a lad, aged 11 Months.73 THE OLD TOWN—THE CATHEDRAL AND one can say.
  • New Light on "The Excursion" ALAN G

    New Light on "The Excursion" ALAN G

    New Light on "The Excursion" ALAN G. HILL fresh approach to The Excursion is long overdue if Wordsworth is to take his rightful place among the sages of the early Victorian period. But the obstacles in the way of this are great. There is little gen• eral agreement as to what, if anything, Wordsworth was trying to achieve in this vast, even sprawling, structure, and it has never attracted the steady critical attention that would have made it more accessible now. Apart from the tragic tale of Margaret in Book I, which in the form of The Ruined Cottage was written much earlier, the poem is largely ignored except as evidence of Wordsworth's poetic decline. Jeffrey's notorious verdict —• "This will never do!" — has re-echoed in one form or another down the years. The poem really deserves a better fate altogether. As one of the great reassertions of traditional values and be• liefs against the sceptical spirit of the Enlightenment, it is a work no student of the nineteenth century can afford to neglect. But a more favourable estimate is impossible while the whole raison d'etre of the design remains prob• lematic. Wordsworth's own remarks about The Excursion (parti• cularly in the Preface of 1814) and its relation to the un• finished Recluse reveal little about his intentions in or• ganizing the poem as he did. A few influences are fairly clear: the dialogues of Plato, and possibly those of George Berkeley as well, the didactic and contemplative poetry of the eighteenth century, and finally travelogues like John Thelwall's miscellany The Peripatetic (1793).
  • The Capital Sculpture of Wells Cathedral: Masons, Patrons and The

    The Capital Sculpture of Wells Cathedral: Masons, Patrons and The

    The Capital Sculpture of Wells Cathedral: Masons, Patrons and the Margins of English Gothic Architecture MATTHEW M. REEVE For Eric Fernie This paper considers the sculpted capitals in Wells cathedral. Although integral to the early Gothic fabric, they have hitherto eluded close examination as either a component of the building or as an important cycle of ecclesiastical imagery in their own right. Consideration of the archaeological evidence suggests that the capitals were introduced mid-way through the building campaigns and were likely the products of the cathedral’s masons rather than part of an original scheme for the cathedral as a whole. Possible sources for the images are considered. The distribution of the capitals in lay and clerical spaces of the cathedral leads to discussion of how the imagery might have been meaningful to diCerent audiences on either side of the choir screen. introduction THE capital sculpture of Wells Cathedral has the dubious honour of being one of the most frequently published but least studied image cycles in English medieval art. The capitals of the nave, transepts, and north porch of the early Gothic church are ornamented with a rich array of figural sculptures ranging from hybrid human-animals, dragons, and Old Testament prophets, to representations of the trades that inhabit stiC-leaf foliage, which were originally highlighted with paint (Figs 1, 2).1 The capitals sit upon a highly sophisticated pier design formed by a central cruciform support with triple shafts at each termination and in the angles, which oCered the possibility for a range of continuous and individual sculpted designs in the capitals above (Fig.
  • Paris, Brittany & Normandy

    Paris, Brittany & Normandy

    9 or 12 days PARIS, BRITTANY & NORMANDY FACULTY-LED INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS ABOUT THIS TOUR Rich in art, culture, fashion and history, France is an ideal setting for your students to finesse their language skills or admire the masterpieces in the Louvre. Delight in the culture of Paris, explore the rocky island commune of Mont Saint-Michel and reflect upon the events that took place during World War II on the beaches of Normandy. Through it all, you’ll return home prepared for whatever path lies ahead of you. Beyond photos and stories, new perspectives and glowing confidence, you’ll have something to carry with you for the rest of your life. It could be an inscription you read on the walls of a famous monument, or perhaps a joke you shared with another student from around the world. The fact is, there’s just something transformative about an EF College Study Tour, and it’s different for every traveler. Once you’ve traveled with us, you’ll know exactly what it is for you. DAY 2: Notre Dame DAY 3: Champs-Élysées DAY 4: Versailles DAY 5: Chartres Cathedral DAY 3: Taking in the views from the Eiff el Tower PARIS, BRITTANY & NORMANDY 9 or 12 days Rouen Normandy (2) INCLUDED ON TOUR: OPTIONAL EXCURSION: Mont Saint-Michel Caen Paris (4) St. Malo (1) Round-trip airfare Versailles Chartres Land transportation Optional excursions let you incorporate additional Hotel accommodations sites and attractions into your itinerary and make the Light breakfast daily and select meals most of your time abroad. Full-time Tour Director Sightseeing tours and visits to special attractions Free time to study and explore EXTENSION: French Riviera (3 days) FOR MORE INFORMATION: Extend your tour and enjoy extra time exploring your efcollegestudytours.com/FRAA destination or seeing a new place at a great value.
  • Books Available to Buy

    Books Available to Buy

    The Stained Glass Centre: Books Available to Buy If you are interested in purchasing any of the books listed below, please get in contact with the Friends Administrator by post or email: The Stained Glass Centre Friends Administrator, c/o York Glaziers Trust, 6 Deangate, York YO1 7JB, or [email protected] Books can be picked up from the centre by arrangement, made available to collect at any of our upcoming events, or will be posted to you. Postage and packaging prices will be dependent on the weight and size of purchase. Many thanks The Stained Glass Centre Author Title Price Stock History of York Minster (no cover so title and author £1.00 1 unknown) Albutt, R. Stained Glass Windows of AJ Davies of the £25.00 1 Bromsgrove Guild, Worcestershire Albutt, R. Stained Glass Windows of Bromsgrove and Redditch, £8.00 1 Worcestershire Angus, M. Modern Stained Glass in British Churches £5.00 3 Archer, M. Introduction to English Stained Glass £2.00 7 Archer, M. Stained Glass £1.00 4 Armitage, L. Stained Glass £10.00 1 Atterbury, P. Pugin £25.00 2 Aubert, M. Stained Glass of the Xiith and Xiiith Centuries from £12.00 1 French Cathedrals Aubert, M. Le Vitrail en France £5.00 1 Baker, E. Church Archaeology £5.00 1 Baker, J. English Stained Glass of the Medieval Period (83 £10.00 3 Plates) Beaulah, K. Church Tiles of the Nineteenth Century £1.00 1 Beckett, L. & A. York Minster £3.00 1 Hornak Beckett, W. & G. Pains of Glass: The Story of the Passion from King's £2.00 2 Pattison College Chapel, Cambridgeshire Bell, C.C.
  • Laon Cathedral • Early Gothic Example with a Plan That Resembles Romanesque

    Laon Cathedral • Early Gothic Example with a Plan That Resembles Romanesque

    Gothic Art • The Gothic period dates from the 12th and 13th century. • The term Gothic was a negative term first used by historians because it was believed that the barbaric Goths were responsible for the style of this period. Gothic Architecture The Gothic period began with the construction of the choir at St. Denis by the Abbot Suger. • Pointed arch allowed for added height. • Ribbed vaulting added skeletal structure and allowed for the use of larger stained glass windows. • The exterior walls are no longer so thick and massive. Terms: • Pointed Arches • Ribbed Vaulting • Flying Buttresses • Rose Windows Video - Birth of the Gothic: Abbot Suger and St. Denis Laon Cathedral • Early Gothic example with a plan that resembles Romanesque. • The interior goes from three to four levels. • The stone portals seem to jut forward from the façade. • Added stone pierced by arcades and arched and rose windows. • Filigree-like bell towers. Interior of Laon Cathedral, view facing east (begun c. 1190 CE). Exterior of Laon Cathedral, west facade (begun c. 1190 CE). Chartres Cathedral • Generally considered to be the first High Gothic church. • The three-part wall structure allowed for large clerestory and stained-glass windows. • New developments in the flying buttresses. • In the High Gothic period, there is a change from square to the new rectangular bay system. Khan Academy Video: Chartres West Facade of Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France (begun 1134 CE, rebuilt after 1194 CE). Royal Portals of Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France (begun 1134 CE, rebuilt after 1194 CE). Nave, Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France (begun 1134 CE, rebuilt after 1194 CE).
  • The Catholic Intellectual Tradition Scholarship, Faith, and Higher Education

    The Catholic Intellectual Tradition Scholarship, Faith, and Higher Education

    ISSN 1941-8450 Journal of Religion & Society Supplement Series The Kripke Center Supplement 6 (2011) The Catholic Intellectual Tradition Scholarship, Faith, and Higher Education Edited by John J. O’Keefe, Gina Merys, and Bridget Keegan The Catholic Intellectual Tradition Medieval Lessons Frederick Christian Bauerschmidt, Loyola University Maryland Introduction [1] Whatever else a tradition is, it is something that connects us to a past, and not simply to a past fondly remembered, but one that continues to inform our present. So it seems not implausible that we might look to the past in order to gain insight into what it means to be engaged in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition today. And because Catholicism seems, for good or for ill, to have a particular connection to the Middle Ages – the “Age of Faith” – we might look to that particular past to see what lessons we can learn about what we mean when we speak of a Catholic Intellectual Tradition, about what challenges are posed to and posed by this tradition, and about how we foster and further this tradition. I will proceed by first making and exploring a distinction, and then proposing some points for consideration. 10 The Catholic Intellectual Tradition [2] Medieval scholastic thought proceeded largely by the making of distinctions, and thus it would warm the heart of our scholastic forbears if we begin with a distinction. I suggest we might distinguish between what we mean materially by the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, and what we mean formally. In other words, when we speak “materially” about the Catholic Intellectual Tradition, we mean those texts, works of art, figures, concepts, and so forth that are indispensable in preservation, transmission, and extension of that tradition.
  • Contents Inhalt

    Contents Inhalt

    34 Rome, Pantheon, c. 120 A.D. Contents 34 Rome, Temple of Minerva Medica, c. 300 A.D. 35 Rome, Calidarium, Thermae of Caracalla, 211-217 A.D. Inhalt 35 Trier (Germany), Porta Nigra, c. 300 A.D. 36 NTmes (France), Pont du Gard, c. 15 B.C. 37 Rome, Arch of Constantine, 315 A.D. (Plan and elevation 1:800, Elevation 1:200) 38-47 Early Christian Basilicas and Baptisteries Frühchristliche Basiliken und Baptisterien 8- 9 Introduction by Ogden Hannaford 40 Rome, Basilica of Constantine, 310-13 41 Rome, San Pietro (Old Cathedral), 324 42 Ravenna, Sant' Apollinare Nuovo, c. 430-526 10-19 Great Buildings of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Persia 42 Ravenna, Sant'Apollinare in Classe, 534-549 Grosse Bauten Ägyptens, Mesopotamiens und Persiens 43 Rome, Sant' Agnese Fuori Le Mura, 7th cent. 43 Rome, San Clemente, 1084-1108 12 Giza (Egypt), Site Plan (Scale 1:5000) 44 Rome, Santa Costanza, c. 350 13 Giza, Pyramid of Cheops, c. 2550 B.C. (1:800) 44 Rome, Baptistery of Constantine (Lateran), 430-440 14 Karnak (Egypt), Site Plan, 1550-942 B.C. (1:5000) 44 Nocera (Italy), Baptistery, 450 15 Abu-Simbel (Egypt), Great Temple of Ramesses II, c. 1250 B.C. 45 Ravenna, Orthodox Baptistery, c. 450 (1:800, 1:200) 15 Mycenae (Greece), Treasury of Atreus, c. 1350 B.C. 16 Medinet Habu (Egypt), Funerary Temple of Ramesses II, c. 1175 B.C. 17 Edfu (Egypt), Great Temple of Horus, 237-57 B.C. 46-53 Byzantine Central and Cross-domed Churches 18 Khorsabad (Iraq), Palace of Sargon, 721 B.C.
  • Julius Firmicus Maternus: De Errore Profanarum Religionum

    Julius Firmicus Maternus: De Errore Profanarum Religionum

    RICE UNIVERSITY JULIUS FIRMICUS MATERNUS: DE ERRORE PROFANARUM RELIGIONUM. INTRODUCTION, TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY by Richard E. Oster, Jr. A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS Thesis Director's Signature: Houston, Texas May 1971 ABSTRACT JULIUS FIRMICUS MATERNUS: DE ERRORE PROFANARUM RELIGIONUM. INTRODUCTION, TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY BY Richard E. Oster, Jr. B.A. Texas Technological College M.A. Rice University Julius Firmicus Maternus, author of De Errore Profanarum Religiomm. and Mathesis, is an important but oftentimes over¬ looked writer from the middle of the fourth century. He is known to us only from the two works which he left behind, the former being a Christian polemic against pagan religion and the latter, a work he wrote while still a pagan, being on the subject of astrology. It is his Christian work which is the topic of this thesis. The middle of the fourth century when Firmicus wrote his work, A.D. 346-350, was a time of religious change and struggle in the Roman Empire. Within Christianity there were still troubles over the issues which precipitated the Council of Nicea. Outside of the church, paganism, though on the defensive, was still strong. Legislation had been passed against the pagan cults but it was not being enforced. So, about A.D. 348, a Roman Senator, Julius Firmicus Maternus, wrote a letter Concerning the Error of Profane 1 2 Religions to the Emperors Constans and Constantius. The first section of this work, chapters 1-17, presents the various gods of antiquity. Firmicus ridicules these by de¬ picting the crimes and immorality of the gods, by showing that the pagan gods were nothing more than personified elements or processes of nature.
  • The Column Figures on the West Portal of Rochester Cathedral

    The Column Figures on the West Portal of Rochester Cathedral

    http://kentarchaeology.org.uk/research/archaeologia-cantiana/ Kent Archaeological Society is a registered charity number 223382 © 2017 Kent Archaeological Society A QUESTION OF IDENTITY? THE COLUMN FIGURES ON THE WEST PORTAL OF ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL S. BLISS In the summer of 1991, the Romanesque west front of Rochester Cathedral (Plate I) underwent thorough cleaning and conservation.' This event draws attention, once again, to the significance of the façade and its sculptural enrichment within the development of English Romanesque art. The west portal (Plate II) is an important monument of this period and occupies a place of special significance in understanding some of the links between the theological, cultural and artistic concerns of the day. It would appear that both the patrons and sculptors of the west portal were highly aware of contemporary Continental precedents and this is made clear by an examination of the column figures incorporated into the jambs (Plates III and IV). They instigated work, which in its theological and aesthetic programme, was unusually rare in England and, perhaps more importantly, saw fit to adapt their subject-matter to express a number of concerns both spiritual and temporal. The figures' identities have been the subject of some debate and, though contemporary scholarship identifies them as King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, it is the intention of this short paper to review their formal uniqueness within the English Romanesque, the debates surrounding their attribution and to provide a possible reading of their meaning within the context of the Rochester portal. Before describing and discussing the figures in detail, it will be useful to consider their physical context within the design of the cathedral's west front.
  • Pages 114- 129 Great Architecture of the World Readings

    Pages 114- 129 Great Architecture of the World Readings

    Readings Pages 114- 129 Great Architecture of the World ARCH 1121 HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGY Photo: Alexander Aptekar © 2009 Gothic Architecture 1140-1500 Influenced by Romanesque Architecture While Romanesque remained solid and massive – Gothic: 1) opened up to walls with enormous windows and 2) replaced semicircular arch with the pointed arch. Style emerged in France Support: Piers and Flying Buttresses Décor: Sculpture and stained glass Effect: Soaring, vertical and skeleton-like Inspiration: Heavenly light Goal: To lift our everyday life up to the heavens Gothic Architecture 1140-1500 Dominant Art during this time was Architecture Growth of towns – more prosperous They wanted their own churches – Symbol of civic Pride More confident and optimistic Appreciation of Nature Church/Cathedral was the outlet for creativity Few people could read and write Clergy directed the operations of new churches- built by laymen Gothic Architecture 1140-1420 Began soon after the first Crusaders returned from Constantinople Brought new technology: Winches to hoist heavy stones New Translation of Euclid’s Elements – Geometry Gothic Architecture was the integration of Structure and Ornament – Interior Unity Elaborate Entrances covered with Sculpture and pronounced vertical emphasis, thin walls pierced by stained-glass Gothic Architecture Characteristics: Emphasis on verticality Skeletal Stone Structure Great Showing of Glass: Containers of light Sharply pointed Spires Clustered Columns Flying Buttresses Pointed Arches Ogive Shape Ribbed Vaults Inventive Sculpture Detail Sharply Pointed Spires Gothic Architecture 1140-1500 Abbot Suger had the vision that started Gothic Architecture Enlargement due to crowded churches, and larger windows Imagined the interior without partitions, flowing free Used of the Pointed Arch and Rib Vault St.