University of Louisville ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository Electronic Theses and Dissertations 12-2008 St. Ambrose and the architecture of the churches of northern Italy : ecclesiastical architecture as a function of liturgy. Sylvia Crenshaw Schneider 1948- University of Louisville Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd Recommended Citation Schneider, Sylvia Crenshaw 1948-, "St. Ambrose and the architecture of the churches of northern Italy : ecclesiastical architecture as a function of liturgy." (2008). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1275. https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/1275 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository. This title appears here courtesy of the author, who has retained all other copyrights. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ST. AMBROSE AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CHURCHES OF NORTHERN ITALY: ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE AS A FUNCTION OF LITURGY By Sylvia Crenshaw Schneider B.A., University of Missouri, 1970 A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Louisville in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of Art History University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky December 2008 Copyright 2008 by Sylvia A. Schneider All rights reserved ST. AMBROSE AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CHURCHES OF NORTHERN ITALY: ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE AS A FUNCTION OF LITURGY By Sylvia Crenshaw Schneider B. A., University of Missouri, 1970 A Thesis Approved on November 22, 2008 By the following Thesis Committee: ____________________________________________ Dr. Karen Britt, Thesis Director ____________________________________________ Dr. Linda Gigante _____________________________________________ Dr. Blake Beattie ii DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to my mother Marianne Louise Lukas Crenshaw A very great lady who survived interesting times with verve and an unrestrained curiosity. She taught me to love books. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my thesis advisor, Dr. Karen Britt, for her endless patience and guidance. Her enthusiasm for medieval studies, the depth and breadth of her scholarship, and the example of her discipline are an inspiration to all her students. To those qualities she brings a genuine concern for her students’ welfare, and the warm interest of friendship. With her, I would also like to thank the other members of my committee, Dr. Blake Beattie and Dr. Linda Gigante, for paying me the tremendous compliment of reading it critically. Additionally, I would like to acknowledge the support of my sister, Linda Crenshaw Mazzucchi, and dear friends, Ann Leide, Rita Carmean, and Ceil Dorger. They brought a critical ear to the loop of endless talk, and if they wearied of it, they were kind enough not to show it. Their encouragement and their laughter never faltered; in hard times, the journey would have been unbearably lonely without the support of this loving community of women. Finally, I would like to thank my children, Christopher David Schneider and Andrea Joan Schneider Legg, for their encouragement and support, and for making me believe that I have played some small part in the development of their beauty and their decency. iv ABSTRACT ST. AMBROSE AND THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE CHURCHES OF NORTHERN ITALY: ECCLESIASTICAL ARCHITECTURE AS A FUNCTION OF LITURGY Sylvia Crenshaw Schneider December, 2008 This thesis argues that the architecture of the churches of northern Italy that were constructed during the fifth and sixth centuries reflected the influence and vision of Ambrose, bishop of Milan (374-397), whose spiritual authority, theologically and liturgically, militantly extended the ecclesiastical authority of the see of Milan. In particular, this thesis demonstrates that the hegemony of the see of Milan in northern Italy was implemented in the architectural accommodation of the distinctive Ambrosian liturgy of Milan. To develop this argument, this thesis has adopted an integrated approach to the political and ecclesiastical history of northern Italy in the fourth century, divided into seven chapters, concentrating on the Ambrosian liturgy, the Ambrosian foundations and the derivative foundations that expressed the architectural influence of the Milanese see. As much as possible, inferences have been drawn from the writings of St. Ambrose and his contemporaries. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………iv ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………….v LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………..viii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………...1 The Development of the Northern Italian Christian Communities……….5 The Imperial Presence in Milan: Ecclesiastical Politics………………....13 II. AMBROSE OF MILAN………………………………………………... 22 III. THE EPISCOPACY OF AMBROSE…………………………………....42 The Early History of the See of Milan…………………………………...42 The Churches of Milan at the Time of Ambrose’s Accession…………...53 IV. THE AMBROSIAN LITURGY………………………………………....68 Early Liturgical Sources………………………………………………....69 The Ambrosian Rite……………………………………………………...74 Liturgical Practice in Milan……………………………………………...76 Missa Catechumenorum……………………………………………….....78 Missa Fidelium…………………………………………………………...89 Ceremony and Chant …………………………………………………...101 vi The Sacrament of Baptism …………………………………………….104 The Cult of the Saints………………………………………………….114 The Finding of Gervasius and Protasius……………………………….126 V. THE AMBROSIAN FOUNDATIONS………………………………..132 The Basilica Martyrum………………………………………………...137 The Basilica Apostolorum……………………………………………..144 The Basilica Virginum…………………………………………………157 S. Giovanni alle Fonti (baptistery)……………………………………..162 VI. THE DERIVATIVE FOUNDATIONS………………………………. 170 Verona: S. Stefano……………………………………………. 176 Vicenza: SS. Felice e Fortunato………………………………. 181 Padua: S. Prosdicimus (chapel)………………………………...185 Ravenna: The Neonian Baptistery……………………………..188 VII. CONCLUSION………………………………………………………...215 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………223 APPENDIX I: GLOSSARY……………………………………………………234 APPENDIX II: AMBROSE, EPISTOLA, XXII... ……………………………..244 APPENDIX II: RITES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH……………………...249 CURRICULUM VITAE ………………………………………………………250 vii LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE PAGE 1. The Missionary Journeys of St. Paul………………………………... 5 (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, The Scriptures Internet Edition, http://scriptures.lds.org/biblemaps/13) 2. Northern Italy, showing the prefecture of Aemilia-Liguria and the road from Milan to Aquileia…………………………………………. 7 ( McLynn, Ambrose of Milan, 283) 3. Northern Italian Conciliar Participation, 313-359…………………... 9 (Humphries, Communities of the Blessed, 51) 4. Timeline of imperial residence in Milan…………………………….. 15 (Author’s reconstruction) 5. Milan, S. Ambrogio: The body of St. Ambrose between SS Gervasius and Protasius…………………………………………………………. 31 (Crook, Architectural Setting of the Cult of the Saints, 15) 6. Ambrose leaves Rome as Govenor of Aemilia-Liguria……………… 32 (Hahn, “Golden Altar of Sant’Ambrogio,” Dumbarton Oaks 53, Fig. 9) 7. Ambrose Attempts to Flee Milan and Is Stopped by the Holy Spirit... 32 (Hahn, “Golden Altar of Sant’Ambrogio,” Dumbarton Oaks 53, Fig. 10) 8. Milan: Gervasius, S. Sartiro (S. Vittore in Ciel D’Oro) (5th c.)……… 34 (Brenk, “Homo Coelestis,” Architettura e Imagini, Fig. 13) 9. Milan: Ambrosius, S. Sartiro (5th c.)…………………………………. 34 (Brenk, “Homo Coelestis,” Architettura e Imagini, Fig. 12) 10. Milan: Protasius, S. Sartiro (5th c.)…………………………………... 34 (Brenk, “Homo Coelestis,” Architettura e Imagini, Fig. 14) 11. Ravenna: Bishop Maximian, S. Vitale (6th c.)………………………... 35 (Brenk, “Homo Coelestis,” Architettura e Imagini, Fig. 15) viii FIGURE PAGE 12. Evangelist, The Book of Durrow, (7th c.) Celtic Tonsure……………. 37 (http://library.thinkquest.org/C005417/bookdurr.htm) 13. Christian Dioceses of the fifth century………………………………. 43 (Jean Hubert, J. Porcher and W. F. Volbach; translated by Stuart Gilbert and James Emmons. Europe of the Invasions, frontispiece) 14. Late Roman and Early Christian Milan, c. 400……………………… 53 (Edwards (Lewis) “Two Critical Aspects of Fourth-Century Architecture at Milan),” 380, with additions by the author) 15. Piva’s plan of the episcopal complex of Milan at the time of Ambrose's accession…………………………………………………. 54 (Piva, “L’ipotetica basilica doppia di Milano,” 132) 16. Double Cathedral of Aquileia (early fourth century)………………… 55 (Humphries, Communities of the Blessed, 75) 17. Double Cathedral of Aquileia………………………………………... 55 stages of c. 313-319 and c. 350 or 400 (Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, 44) 18. Milan: The Baptisteries of the Episcopal Complex………………….. 56 (Temple, “Conversion and Political Expedience,” 31) 19. Milan: S. Tecla and the Ambrosian baptistery of S. Giovanni alle Fonti………………………………………………... 57 (Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, 84) 20. Rome, S. Giovanni in Laterano plan…………………………………. 57 (Richard Krautheimer, “The Constantinian Basilica,” Dumbarton Oaks, 21, Figure 8) 21. Milan: Three Phases of Reconstruction of S. Tecla………………….. 59 (Edwards (Lewis), “Two Critical Aspects of Fourth-Century Architecture at Milan,” 390) 22. Milan: S. Lorenzo, plan (before 378)………………………………… 60 (Krautheimer, Early Christian