Medieval Cathedral Research Paper

When we enter a space such as a church or chapel, the architecture and decor add to our experience. We are often led to reflect and even question our morals, values, and belief system. Sometimes a space can even take us away from our hectic lives and place us in a safe haven or make us feel as if we are somewhere else, such as Heaven. The theological vision varies between each cathedral or church, depending on the location, creator, and time period. Each space provides us with a different journey.

One may notice that the mode of the Périgueux Cathedral is an open ended system. From afar, the Périgueux Cathedral appears as a collection of five Romanesque domes that create a sense of unity or togetherness by the way that the domes and lay and overlap each other depending on the perspective. The parti, or organizational kernel, of the Périgueux Cathedral resembles that of a Greek cross. The Périgueux Cathedral was designed and inspired greatly by St. Mark's Basilica of Venice, Italy. One can recognize the similarities particularly through the plan of the buildings by paying attention to the placement of the domes, which in both the Périgueux Cathedral and St. Mark’s Basilica, emulate the shape and image of the Greek cross and also invoke

A powerful symbol of the Middle Ages was the glorious cathedrals. Between 1000-1540 A.D. hundreds of cathedrals were built across Europe. Completion of these grand structures required hundreds of workers who labored more than a hundred years. These large structures contained millions of pounds of carefully carved stone; making them larger and more glorious than castles of the time. Murals, sculptures, tapestries, paintings and ornate windows embellished the cathedrals. Public life centered around cathedrals. Advancement of art and architecture was made although it was the Dark Ages. Cathedrals remain an influential image of the Middle Ages.

The people of Florence, Italy began the building of a noteworthy cathedral in 1296. They provided for a huge dome which at that time was impossible to build with the technology available because its size. They built a model of what the completed cathedral should look like and had no success until 1419 when they held a competition to get it completed. A local goldsmith, Filippo Brunelleschi, was one of the competitors. He had no training as an architect but was a talented inventor. Recognizing the difficulty of the problem of lifting heavy building materials, he invented a hoist mechanism to do the task differently than had ever been done before. He also invented a new method of laying brick that overcame the tendency of gravity to collapse

The Saint Isaac’s Cathedral was the largest cathedral in Russian when it was build. Know the cathedral is the fourth largest domed cathedral in the world and one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital . Located in Saint Petersburg Russia, the Saint Isaac’s Cathedral was build during Neoclassical period 18th and early 19th centuries. The Saint Isaac’s Cathedral was build by a french born architect Auguste Montferrand between 1818 to 1858 a construction that took forty years to complete. The Saint Isaac build and dedicated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great. This paper will focus on the feature and background of the Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, the architect, the values the that reflect from the Neoclassical period and the influence of Greeks, Byzantine and Romans style of architecture.

The city of Florence, Italy had commissioned for a cathedral to built. “Florence had become one of the leading cities in Europe. It had substantial wealth and a fast growing population. To accommodate this population for religious ceremonies . . . and to demonstrate the power of the city the construction of a major cathedral was undertaken. The body of the cathedral was completed in 1367. However, it had no dome or spire - it simply had a 42 meter wide hole in the chancel roof. . .For 50 years there was no progress until Brunelleschi was appointed in 1417.” The cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.

Have you ever walked into a church with high, vaulted ceilings, and beautiful stained glass windows covering the walls while sending beautiful tints all across the room as the lights shine through them? Well these are styles that were mainly used in Gothic art and architecture and further developed into buildings we now have. From 1140-1500 France and Northern Europe provided a destination for Gothic art and architecture to wow the populations with the different and intricate styles encompassed into the works (AA). Many of these works were created with new methods of building grand cathedrals that allowed grander spaces and supported the stained glass

How you could show devotion to a church was to build grand cathedrals, and also ecclesiastical structures like monasteries. In medieval; europe the largest buildings were cathedrals, found in the center in towns and cities around the continent. Most european cathedrals were built in Romanesque style between the 10th and 13th centuries. 1200 B.C. church builders embraced a new style of art known as the “Gothic” such as Abbey church of saint-denis in France.

An architectural wonder of the Middle Ages, The Great Cathedrals has become a source of amazement and disbelief for many spectators. For me, the most astonishing factor in the construction of The Great Cathedrals has been the lack of machines that we currently use for such monumental constructions. Unlike today, architects and builders of the Middle Ages employed simple tools like iron, wood and stones to build skyscraper like buildings. Nevertheless, when modern universities such as Columbia University laboratories attempted to mathematically reverse engineer The Great Cathedrals, researchers found that while the building continued higher, there was less than a 0.1 difference between the widths of both the top and bottom

The materials used in Romanesque varied dependant on the whether it was secular or not. The church could usually afford buildings made completely from stone, this meant they were also resistant to fire. However smaller projects such as this house at Poreč, Croatia used wood for its cantilevered walkway. The building materials used differed depending on where in Europe the building was located, and what local woods and stones were available.

The Brentwood Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Helen is the Catholic seat of the diocese of Brentwood. Original construction began in 1861 of the Gothic-style building. The church was raised to cathedral status in 1917. The final touches on the additions on the Italianate Classical style were dedicated in 1991.

Gothic Cathedrals were marvels in their time as they towered above the cities, they frequently reached over 150 meters tall. The Cathedrals were built with the intention of looking like a Latin cross; the two parts that make up the Latin cross are the Nave and the transept. The three elements that make Gothic cathedrals different from previous cathedrals are the Flying Buttresses, pointed arches and the ribbed vaults. Although these items are cornerstones for what Gothic stands for, the façade with the three door portals, the rose window and twin towers are what characterize French Gothic cathedrals.

Scott, Robert A: The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral. University of California Press, 2011.

The research paper, shall be concerned with discussion Gothic architecture in Europe-namely England, France, Germany, and Italy starting from 12th to the 16th Centuries. Architecture was the most original and lasting form of art during the Gothic Period, which lasted for four centuries starting from the mid 12th century. The impetus for this architecture was the Roman Catholic Church, which sought to portray their houses of worship as something which transcended the realm of mankind. It is interesting to note that many of the Northern European areas were predominately pagan, and only recently brought into the Church. The imagery provided by Gothic structural design was something these peoples could more readily understand, as they

In the 12th century architecture saw the progression from Romanesque architecture to the Gothic era, which saw the forthcoming of the prodigious cathedrals that were to become the architectural symbol of the middle ages. This was during a time of high aspirations. As well structural developments Gothic architecture is also associated with a change in thinking and social attitudes that are represented in numerous ways, essentially appealing to emotions.