Medieval: The Omnipresence of Religion
Old St. Peters
once stood on the spot where the Basilica of Saint Peter
stands today in Rome from the 4th to 16th centuries
Basilica Ulpia
served as inspiration
building consisted of
•five aisles
•a wide central nave
•two smaller aisles to each
side—each divided by 21
marble columns (all spoils from
earlier pagan buildings)
apse
nave
double side aisle
somewhat simplistic precursor to more ornate cathedrals
that were to come
Chartres
Cathedral
France, 1210-1225
Roman cubilculum—barrel
vaulted ceiling
Chartres Cathedral—groin
vaulted ceiling
Chartres Cathedral, France, 1210-1225, Suger of St Denis
highest vaults in France at time of building
Chartres Cathedral, South
Portal, France 1210-1225
section of Chartres Cathedral, France, 1210-1225
cathedral used flying buttresses extensively—these
supported the weight of the extremely high vaults
flying
buttress
buttress
cruciform—92 ft long
nave & short transepts
to the south and north
nave
apse
ambulatory
transcept
east end is rounded (apse) with an ambulatory which has
five semi-circular chapels radiating from it.
transcept
skeletal
structure
•used four rib vaults in a
rectangular space, instead of
six in a square pattern, as in
earlier Gothic cathedrals
pointed arch
•skeletal system of supports,
from the compound piers all
the way up to the springing
and transverse and diagonal
ribs, allowed large spaces of
the cathedral to be free for
stained glass work, as well as
a towering height
compound
piers
pointed arch
structure
infill
has three large rose windows:
•west front—Last Judgment
•north transept—Glorification
of the Virgin
•south transept—Glorification
of Christ
Rose Window
communicating to an illiterate public
the mystical
quality of light
and the
presence of
God
•in some respects the most daring
achievement of Gothic
architecture
•vaulting in the interior exceeds
150 ft
•work interrupted in1284 by the
collapse of the vaulting of the
choir, a disaster that produced a
temporary failure of nerve among
the masons working in Gothic style
Beauvais
Ste. Chapelle, Paris, 1242-48
•built to house precious relics
•in the heart of Paris
Ste. Chapelle, Paris, 1242-48
Ste. Chapelle, Paris, 1242-48
fan vaulting
Royal Chapel, Hampton
Court Palace, England,
1535
Chapel of Henry VII at
Westminster Abbey,
London, 16th century
Thorncrown
Chapel, Fay Jones,
Haddon Hall & Penshurst Place
Derbyshire & Kent, England
14th - 16th centuries
double court
crenellated
roof line
oriel
great hall
Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, England, 14th - 16th centuries
double court
crenellated
roof line
oriel
great hall
Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, England, 14th - 16th centuries
great
hall
Haddon Hall, Plan, 14th - 16th centuries
dais
trestle
table
trestle table
Penshurst Place
Penshurst Place, Great Hall,
Kent, England,
14th - 16th centuries
quatrefoil
minstrel’s
gallery
screen
brazier
Penshurst Place, Great Hall, Kent, England
14th - 16th centuries
Haddon Hall, Parlor, England
14th - 16th centuries
Haddon Hall, Long
Gallery, England
14th - 16th centuries
•often located on upper
floor
•stretched across the
entire frontage of the
building
•served several purposes:
•used for entertaining
guests
•for taking exercise in the
form of walking when the
weather was inclement
•displaying art collections
Penshurst Place, Long Gallery, England
14th - 16th centuries
prayer book
•used by laymen for
private devotion
• containing prayers
or meditations—
appropriate to certain
hours of the day, days
of the week, months
or seasons
•shows artist’s
depictions of day-today life
heavy
timber
or
half
timber
or
“black &
white”
cruck
Gothic Furniture
England, 13th - 16th centuries
Tester bed,
France,
13th - 16th
centuries
Oak Sideboard, England
13th - 16th centuries
Choirstall, England,
13th - 16th centuries
Cress w/ linen-fold
motif, England
13th - 16th centuries
Joyned Chair,
England, 13th 16th centuries
“Throne” chair, England, 13th - 16th centuries