Europe’s Middle Ages
476-1400 (app) CE
How does art and architecture reflect the values of a
society?
What does Medieval architecture say about the church?
What does architecture reflect or tell us about the values of the people
who built a particular structure?
Burj Khalifa, Dubai: world’s tallest building
The Pentagon, Arlington County, Virginia, 1943. The Pentagon is the world's largest office
building by floor area, with about 6,500,000 sq ft
Angkor Wat, Cambodian temple, 12th century, 1,000,000 square feet, Angkor Cambodia.
Romanesque (5th centuries and beyond) versus Gothic (after 12th centuries)
Typical Romanesque church
“Romanesque” style cathedral—early Middle Ages:
Walls support ceiling and structure
Romanesque style church, Besalu, Catalan (Spain)
Abbey Church, Fontenay, 1139-47
Abbey Church, Fontenay, 1139-47
Gothic Cathedral (after
mid-12th century): Late
Middle Ages
“Flying Buttresses”
support structure
“Flying Buttresses”
Typical interior of a
Gothic Cathedral
La Sainte Chapelle, Paris:
pointed “Gothic” arches and
‘flooded’ with light
Crucifixtion, detail of a window
from St. Remi, Reims 1190 CE
As with stained glass, medieval sculpture was used to tell biblical
stories to illiterate villagers.
Aerial view of Chartres
Cathedral, begun 1194 CE,
built in cross design
Ribbed ceiling: http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/medieval_chalons-enchamp_etie_amb.htm, Châlons-en-Champagne (France), Cathédrale Saint-Etienne, 12th –
17th centuries
Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Interior view of the crossing, 1220-1269, Amiens (France)
portal with figures: http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/medieval_amiens_cportal.htm
Flying buttresses: http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/medieval_amiens_clerestory.htm
View of choir, light: http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/medieval_amiens_choir.htm
From balcony: http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/medieval_amiens_transept_sclere.htm
http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/medieval_amiens_sambulatory.htm
Ribbed ceiling: http://www.mcah.columbia.edu/ha/html/medieval_chalons-enchamp_etie_amb.htm, Châlons-en-Champagne (France), Cathédrale Saint-Etienne, 12th –
17th centuries
Romanesque versus Gothic Cathedrals
Early Middle Ages
(Romanesque)
• Thick walls to support
roofs
Late Middle Ages (Gothic)
• Flying Buttresses didn’t
require thick walls
• Few windows
• Many windows, light
filled
• structures were shorter
• Tall structures—vertical,
not horizontal
• Roman rounded arch
• Gothic pointed arch
• Designed to leave viewer
in awe (to glorify God);
sense of dominance
The Church Forms and Evolves:
from the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages
• Jesus’ message of equality, advocacy for the poorEndorse feudal
hierarchy and salvation in the afterlife (suffering glorified).
• Separate from political power Political power, helped nobility maintain
caste system
• Invite conversionMilitary conversion (Crusades) and pressure to convert
in Western Europe
• Jesus’ resurrectionCrucifixtion: violence is sacred, Jesus died for
people’s sins
Medieval art
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/book/ho_2006.250.htm
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/06/euwc/ho_1977.421.htm
Gargoyles, Notre Dame
Cathedral, France
Monasticism and Monastic Values
• Origin: 4-5th centuries, around Mediterranean
• Purpose: enforce tradition, write manuscripts,
isolated from urban areas
• Values:
Pope Gregory (590-604): Gregorian Chant
Study and hard labor (book copying and
illustration, upkeep of monastery)
Communalism—lacking individualism.
Austerity (simplicity)—focus on spirituality,
poverty
Monasticism and Monastic Values
Origins:
Purpose
Values:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How did the Catholic Church transform during the Middle Ages?
Name___________________________
Romanesque versus Gothic (draw on this!)
Romanesque
Gothic