Lecture 2 – Week 3:
Early Christian Architecture of Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture (600 to 900 AD) and the Middle Ages: Gothic Architecture (1000 to 1400 AD)
Sejarah Senibina II / Sejarah Senibina Barat [BAEA 2115]
Slides of powerpoint presentation
Lecture 2 content:
- Introduction
- Byzantine Architecture
- Romanesque Architecture
- Gothic Architecture
Introduction
Early Christian architecture is depicted in Byzantine architecture and Romanesque architecture. Middle Ages were the period between ancient and modern times in western Europe. Before the Middle Ages, western Europe was part of the Roman Empire. After the Middle Ages, western Europe included the Holy Roman Empire, the kingdoms of England and France, and a number of smaller states. The Middle Ages are also known as the medieval period, from the Latin words medium (middle) and aevum (age). Sometimes the Middle Ages are incorrectly called the Dark Ages.
The history of the Middle Ages extends from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500’s. Historians today do not give exact dates for the end of the Roman Empire, because it ended over a period of several hundred years. Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and the Middle East, and by the Byzantine Empire in southeastern Europe.[1]
Medieval architecture refers to structures built in Europe during the Middle Ages. This historical period lasted from the A.D. 400’s to the 1500’s. The intellectual and spiritual life of medieval Europe centered on the Christian church, and so nearly all architects designed churches, monasteries, and other religious buildings. Castles, fortresses, and other nonreligious structures were also built.
Medieval architects developed a number of styles. The Byzantine style became dominant in eastern Europe. In western Europe, the leading styles were the Carolingian, the Romanesque, and the Gothic. All four styles were preceded by early Christian architecture, which flourished from the 300’s to the 500’s.
Early Christian architecture. During the early centuries of Christianity, a number of regional cultures–and regional architectural styles–developed in Europe and the Middle East. But almost all early Christian architects borrowed heavily from the Romans. They based their chief type of church design, the basilica, on large Roman halls that were used for public meeting.1
Byzantine Architecture
On July 25 in AD 306, Constantine was acclaimed Emperor of the World, and seven years later, in the Edict of Milan, Constantine gave freedom and official standing to the Christian Church. It was a political opportunity and thus securing him the loyalty of the army and the people. In 334 AD Constantine decided to move his capital from Rome to Byzantium, and renamed the city Constantinople. It became a strategic site where trading routes, maritime and caravan-based meet bringing cultures from the East and West together. Many elements inter-mingled from the Roman, Greek and Byzantine. (Furneaux, 1969)
In 395, the Roman Empire permanently split into the West Roman Empire and the East Roman, or Byzantine, Empire. The Byzantine Empire included lands along the Mediterranean and Black seas and lasted until 1453. In that year, the Ottomans captured Constantinople. The Ottomans later gave the city its present name, Istanbul.
Byzantine architecture is the culmination of the Early Christian architecture. This style developed after A.D. 330 when Emperor Constantine established the Imperial capital at Byzantinium (renamed Constantinople) on the Bosphorus.
The characteristics of the previous Roman architecture were evolved to produce a style of its own. Classical concepts such as the Orders, were no longer observed and the character evolved to less sculptural decorations (compared to Roman architecture) and had lacy ornaments, with a lot of mosaic work. In A.D. 500 two forms of church were evolved: the Basilica and the centrally planned church, which was intended to be for the shrines of the martyrs. The latter was called martyria, were usually built on a Greek cross plan and were domed – the combination of a dome with a square base being an introduction from the Near East.[2]
The outstanding masterpiece of Byzantine church architecture, Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (built A.D. 532-7) shows the effect of combining the two forms of church and created interiors where there are voids and solids, dark and light, producing the effect of mystery which is the striking feature of the Byzantine church.
By A.D. 900, symbolism became more important, as the church was regarded as the microcosm of all earth and sky, as the setting of Christ’s life on earth. Using painting and mosaic, the church design evolved further to express the mysteries, by using screens and galleries dividing the well-lit central area.
The story of Byzantine architecture involves first the solution of the structural problems inherent in the dome building; second, the discovery of a decorative system suitable for such buildings; third, the integration of plan and liturgy, or what we call ‘function’[3].
Main structural and planning problem of the Byzantine architect was, building circular domes over square spaces. The idea was to create a solution at the four corners of the square where the dome meets the square. Hence, the introduction of the ‘pendentive’ helped to bridge, the circle and the square together. The pendentive is a small triangular segment of the dome rising from each corner of the square. These four segments meet to form a circle upon which the true dome may then be built: the transformation from square to circle has been achieved. This element is the key to the development of Byzantine architecture.
Romanesque Architecture
Romanesque architecture began in the late 800’s and achieved its greatest importance during the 1000’s and 1100’s. The most significant Romanesque buildings were churches designed in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and England.
Scholars of the 1800’s originated the term Romanesque, which means like the Roman. These scholars believed that Romanesque architecture chiefly reflected Roman designs. However, Romanesque architecture actually combined Roman with Byzantine styles and many new features.
Romanesque churches differed from country to country, but many of the churches shared certain features. The typical Romanesque church had thick walls, columns built close together, and heavy curved arches. A tower rose from the roof over the point where the transept crossed the nave. Four large supports called piers held up the tower. An arcade separated the nave from the side aisles. A gallery was built above the arcade. The clerestory, made up of a row of windows set in arches, topped the gallery.
During the Romanesque period, many people made pilgrimages–that is, journeys to sacred places. Groups of pilgrims traveled throughout Europe and Palestine to visit pilgrimage churches, which housed the bones or possessions of certain saints. Important pilgrimage churches were extremely large to accommodate the many visitors. An example is the huge Church of St. Sernin (about 1080-1120) in Toulouse, France. The church has two aisles on each side of the nave. Small chapels open into the ambulatory, a semicircular aisle enclosing the apse. This plan permitted pilgrims to move along the aisles without disturbing services at the main altar[4]
The Romanesque architecture style is compared to Gothic architecture because of the clear distinction of styles. The former used round arches, and was also characterized by the clear, easily comprehended schemes of planning and elevation.1
Gothic Architecture
Gothic architecture is the architecture of the pointed arch, the rib vault, the flying buttress, and the walls are reduced to a minimum by spacious arcades, by gallery or triforium, and by spacious clerestory windows. These are not isolated but act together and represent a system of skeletal structure with active, slender, resilient members and membrane –thin infilling or no filling at all1.
These are not new inventions during the Gothic period as all the principles were found in previous architectural periods such as both pointed arches and ribbed vaults were present in the Romanesque style, which thrived during the 1000’s and the early 1100’s. The difference between Romanesque and Gothic styles is the way in which space is conceived. Space in a Romanesque building is achieved by adding bays, unit by unit, to create the total space. But a Gothic building is conceived as a total space that is subdivided into units.
Early Gothic architecture was noted for its immense size and height. These two elements were first combined in the design of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Use of the flying buttress, introduced about 1175, reduced the amount of solid wall space needed for support, allowing the walls to be opened with large stained glass windows.[5]
High Gothic architecture. A style called High Gothic was created at the end of the 1100’s. Chartres Cathedral and the cathedrals at Bourges, Reims, and Amiens in France represent some of the finest examples of the High Gothic style. All are significant for their enormous height.
Gothic architecture in England began with the rebuilding of the choir of Canterbury Cathedral in 1174 by a French builder, William of Sens. The English developed a distinctive, thoroughly native Gothic style, first in St. Hugh’s choir at Lincoln Cathedral and then in such cathedrals as those at Wells and Salisbury. The Decorated style, the English counterpart of Rayonnant and characterized by flowing curves, appeared in cathedrals at York, Exeter, and Wells. This style continued well into the 1300’s. It preceded and coexisted with another English variation, called the Perpendicular, named for the complex vertical tracery patterns on walls and vaults. An example of this style can be found in King’s College Chapel at Cambridge.
[1] World book encyclopedia
[2] Fleming, J et. al., 1985, The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture, 3rd Edition. Middlesex: Penguin Books
[3] Jordan, R.F., 1996, Western Architecture a concise history, London: Thames and Hudson.
[4] World Book Encyclopedia
1 Fleming, J et. al., 1985, The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture, 3rd Edition. Middlesex: Penguin Books
1 Fleming, J et. al., 1985, The Penguin Dictionary of Architecture, 3rd Edition. Middlesex: Penguin Books
[5] World Book
