Part 2 - Medieval & Gothic

The decline of the Roman Empire from 476 AD marked the beginning of a new era in architecture outside of the Byzantine Empire. The Dark Ages which followed this event constituted the formative period of the new Western civilization, during which the Celtic and Germanic races were being Christianized and subjected to the authority and to the influences of the Church. Under these conditions a new architecture was developed, founded upon the traditions of the early Christian builders, and modified in different regions by Roman or Byzantine influences.

From the 5^th to the 13^th centuries, after the demise of the centralized system of government and authority enforced under Roman rule, anarchy and power struggles between constantly warring factions created a dangerous air of constant fear, poverty and deprivation. The constant fighting for land and power gave rise to feudalism, a system of hierarchical authoritarianism governed by a minority of titled aristocracy who used armed force to exert their dominance over the common population. This constant shifting of power created the need for better defensive measures, which encouraged the building of massive defensive walls around cities and towns, as well as castles and defensive military outposts. The Normans gained knowledge of Roman building methods from their travels to the Holy Land, especially the methods of groin or barrel vaulting and domed construction. These features of Norman castle architecture can be seen throughout Europe, and are recognizable by their semi-circular rounded Roman arches, concentric castles ( buildings, walls, towers and gatehouses in a huge castle complex), small narrow windows, turrets and keeps, thick walls with stone that required heavy buttressing. Aesthetically, castles and fortresses were designed to inspire fear and awe to subjugate the indigenous population, and look threatening and imposing to discourage and ward off threats of attack.

It was in this unstable environment, where day -to-day survival was the primary concern, that architectural design, art, and creativity were stifled. To compensate for the loss of stable central governments, there was a strong movement to found monasteries from about 650 to 1200. Such brotherhoods, which lived the ideal Christian life as it was understood at the time, were islands of civilization in a very much disturbed world. In the Middle Ages the population of Europe had diminished by half since Roman times. Communication and transport, either by land or by sea, might be difficult or hazardous, and this tended naturally to divide the country into neighbourhoods. Under these conditions, a great monastery, like a city, could serve a considerable surrounding area as an administrative, intellectual, and spiritual centre and as a workshop, granary, and refuge. With increasing prosperity the monastic building complexes were progressively better organized, better built, and more impressive. The monastic builders lacked the technical skills and knowledge of Byzantine techniques, being far removed from any influences, and relied on their own resources developed through trial and error to learn their craft. They were relatively undisturbed by war, and this relative cultural stability led to their growth in prosperity and power.

Romanesque artists were aware of and could synthesize ideas and practices from Rome, Byzantium, the Islamic world, Scandinavia, and the Teutonic regions, and this knowledge gave them many sources to draw from. New building techniques were developed from the older traditions, bringing a new cultural perspective to their decoration. New and improved tools, such as the chisel replacing the axe, allowed more precise stone cutting and consequently sturdier buildings, most notably enabling the replacement of fire prone wooden ceilings with stone. This thick-walled construction, although safe from attack and fire, was often damp and cold, prompting the use of heavy fabrics and woven wool tapestries on walls, while matted rush or wood was used for flooring. Safer environments meant people could stay and defend their property rather than having to flee from attack, and these more permanent lifestyles encouraged the development of furniture and decoration. Although the exact date of the beginning of medieval style is unclear, examples found across the continent suggest that Romanesque was the first major recognizable style widespread throughout Europe occurring from the 6th to the 10th centuries.

The Romanesque style was predominantly though not exclusively monastic. Massive walls, round arches stepped or recessed to lighten their appearance, heavy mouldings richly carved, clustered piers and jamb-shafts, Corinthian-like pillars, rose windows, and strong and effective carving are common features among French, German, English, and Spanish Romanesque architecture. Although the Romanesque style in England is more traditionally referred to as Norman architecture.

Combining features of contemporary Western Roman and Byzantine buildings, Romanesque architecture is known by its massive quality, its thick walls, round arches, sturdy piers, groin vaults, large towers and decorative arcading. Each building has clearly defined forms and they are frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan so that the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics and different materials. The greatest works in the Romanesque style date from 1075 to 1125, after this, in some regions, the style entered a florid, decorative phase that lasted a generation and then was revivified as Gothic.

Gothic architecture originated in Normandy and Burgundy in the 12^th century. The style is distinctive in its use of vertical lines of tall pillars, spires, greater height in interior spaces, pointed arch, rib vaulting, and the flying buttress. The use of the pointed Gothic arch in medieval architecture led to the construction of taller, more spacious, structures, allowing greater heights to be achieved in architecture than ever before. This type of arch could support greater loads, allowing the walls of large buildings to be made thinner with wider window openings, which were filled with highly decorative areas of stained glass.

A type of window decoration known as tracery is also a particularly identifiable characteristic of Gothic style, and was usually detailed in thin, complex patterns. Radiating lines, and flame-like lines of tracery gave the names Rayonnant and Flamboyant, respectively to eras in French Gothic architecture, from those being their most defining features. The introduction of flying buttresses in medieval architecture distributed the weight of roofs and walls right down to the ground, and were distinctive and imposing features of the exterior. As a result, the clerestory and lower walls , no longer carrying any weight could be opened up for higher clerestory windows and vast areas of stained glass. Much use was made of this new level of support for more elaborate systems of vaulting that could be set on any shaped base, and consequently the use of rib vaulting was developed, with highly elaborate fan vaulting being later used, especially in later English Gothic.

Sculptures of stone gargoyles and grotesques were introduced as waterspouts protecting the structure from rain and water damage. The Gothic period developed its own vocabulary of decorative detail, often drawing on nature as inspiration. Leaf shaped ornamentation called trefoil, quatrefoil, and crockets were introduced, as were sculptures, dazzling gold and brightly coloured surfaces showing depictions of religious events, which must have served as a mesmerizing and inspiring didactic to the ordinary person in those bleakest of eras.

English & Italian Gothic Styles

English Gothic architecture is the term used to describe the building styles which were used in the Medieval years dating from 1200 to 1500. The different types of Gothic styles, often to identify different elements of this evolving style, are divided into three phases:

The style of Gothic architecture described as Early English ( Lancet ) used during the period of 1200 - 1300 is marks the transition period from Norman works to Gothic, first using the pointed arch and vaulting, and so has the simplest decorative detail.

The Decorated Gothic style of the 14^th century was characterized by wider windows decorated with tracery, hammerbeam roofs, and fan vaulting, and stained glass. Gothic rose windows are mainly associated with Gothic churches and cathedrals and were a decorative by-product of the development of stained glass, now used with increasingly elaborate ornamentation over greater area. Carved decoration based on curving lines of foliage is a primary characteristic.

The Perpendicular Gothic style of the 15^th century is the last phase of English Gothic work, and is best known for its parallel vertically divided windows and the use of fan vaulting.

There is much similarity between the English and French Gothic styles and suggest close collaboration between both countries clergymen, possibly sharing the services of a group of travelling architects and stonemasons. The fact that cathedrals were being built in the interest of strengthening the influence of the Church throughout Europe when power struggles were the norm, suggests an alliance born more out of the desire for self preservation than to praise the glory of their creator.

Italian Gothic in its development of its own unique style stood apart from the rest of Europe. The more obvious developments of the Italian Gothic style occurred comparatively late—in the 13th century. Whereas in most European countries architects imitated, reasonably faithfully, architectural styles that were derived ultimately from northern France, they did not so much in Italy. This was in part because of geographic and geologic factors. Italian Gothic style could not seem to escape the influence of the past, and almost moved from Romanesque to post-Gothic Renaissance without fully exploiting the pointed arch, unlike the rest of European Gothic. In the figurative arts the combined influences of Byzantine Constantinople and Classical antiquity continued to play a far more important role in Italy than in the rest of Europe. The Italians preferred to decorate rather than build and did not have much interest in Gothic building principles. Even when Gothic was employed in Italian architecture it appeared as an imported fashion, rather than a revolutionary building development. Also, Italian architectural style was decisively affected by the fact that brick—not stone—was the most common building material and marble the most common decorative material available.

The Gothic leaning towards large traceried windows did not suit the Italian Mediterranean climate where large wall areas to provide cooling interior environments to their buildings were preferred, making later European Gothic style disagreeable to the Italians. The legacy of Greek and Roman architecture never fully left the Italian psyche, and many stylistic details from these eras were carried through the Gothic style effectively diluting the overall effect in comparison with other European versions. The medieval buildings of Venice for example, being naturally protected from attack by water seemed to escape much of the upheaval that afflicted the Italian mainland and the rest of Europe. Consequently, its architectural style grew at a more considered and steadier pace sheltered both from the hostilities and cultural influences that shaped the rest of Western civilization throughout the Dark Ages.

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References:

Hamlin, A.D.F; A History of Architecture

Encyclopedia Britannica

Pile, John; A History of Interior Design

HTTP://www.castles.me.uk/romanesque-architecture.htm

The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, Vol. 1; various authors, 1895

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