Castles & Cathedrals:
Middle Ages Architecture
During the Middle Ages there were two forms of architecture that we still see and
remember today. Of course, from what we already know about the feudal Middle Ages is
that two groups had money: Nobles (Monarchs, Lords, Vassals) and the Roman Catholic
Church. The two great forms of architecture are castles and cathedrals.
Castles
Many of you may think of castles as wonderful places where the nobles lived in
great luxury, but the truth is that they were built out of necessity. Until around the 1050’s
A.D., castles were large places built out of mud and wood surrounded by motes, but as
the Middle Ages grew more violent and armies became more skilled, castles started to be
built out of stone. The stone structures could be built higher and could not be burned
down. Castles served a purpose of defense and little else. The stone floors and walls
often made it damp and cold. One noble called his a “cold stone box”. There were rarely
windows, just slits in the stone large enough for an archer to shoot an arrow. Of course,
as castles were built better, armies adapted. The military technique called “siege”
became popular in trying to take castles. A siege is when an army would wait outside
and not let anything in or out of a castle or city, and attack when people in the city or
castle were too weak to fight. Thousands of castles were built throughout the Middle
Ages, but by the 14 and 1500’s cannons arrived in Europe and could usually knock down
the walls.
Cathedrals
Middle Age Cathedrals are some of the most beautiful buildings ever built in
history. Many of them still stand today. They have very detailed stone and wood
carvings on them. The Roman Catholic Church built these houses of God to attract
people from all parts of the feudal Middle Ages, and show the power and
splendor (magnificence) of God and the Roman Catholic Church. Culture and art were
controlled by the Roman Catholic Church, and they displayed it at these cathedrals. The
cathedrals were really amazing considering what the rest of the feudal Middle Ages
looked like, which was walled cities, serfs shacks and the occasional stone castle.
One of the great architectural innovations used to build these great cathedrals was
the ‘Flying Buttress’. The Flying Buttress was a half arch that sat outside the cathedral
and held up the walls. Since the Flying Buttress took the load off of the walls, the walls
could be cut out and into. In these walls went beautiful stone and wood carvings, as well
as colorful stained glass windows that looked beautiful inside and out.
A double decker
buttress
A two column
buttress
1.) What was the main purpose of castles?
2.) Why did the church build these cathedrals?
The Butress still in action
today!