HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 2 NOTES

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Romanesque
- 800 – 1100 AD
- Roman empire in the west had already come to an end in 475 AD
- Romaesque style evolved in the west empire of roamn.
- The beginning of the era of Romanesque was marked by the election of king
Charlemagne as the roman emperor
- When Roman falls, they start to have a feudal system.
Feudal system,
it was divided into three
1. Those who work (workers)
2. those who fought or the warrior (soldiers)
3. Those who pray. (monastic priest and religious)
- Each part of symbiotic relationship whose purpose was to help man come to terms
with the imminent apocalypse.

Romanesque middle ages

- Believers believe in the end of the world.

Figure: Pantocrator, Court of Final judgement and twenty -four elders of the apocalypse,
Romanesque fresco in the apse, Ermita de San Miguel, 7th century

- The photo is the interpretation of the biblical apocalypse.

- Romanesque art is Apocalypse art
- The Romanesque art is the response of man to the biblical apocalypse

Figure: San Justo and San Pastor Church, Segovia, Spain, 12th century
- This fresco the usual theme of christ as the ruler of the universe or the creator and
some scene is the passion of christ.

Rocca Calascio

- Romanesque art is more on church buildings, monasteries and abbeys.

- Romanesque era is built more fortified structure version of the roman style of
construction.
 Castle of Soncino Lombardy, Italy

Vigolo Marchese
- Small rural center of the Apennines (it is a mountain range in italy)
- Compared to the village where it stand, it is really out of proportion because it was a
very huge church or basilica.
- Simple as you can see yet it is massive.
- Year 1008

Giant Building in rural village of Europe

Hexagonl Church of Santa maria del Quartier in Parma

Iglesia de San millan Church – Segovia Spain

 Saint-Vigor Cerisy-la-Foret
- It looks like a castle but actually an Abbey

Monasteries

Saint-Riquier
 St. Gallen
- Those building shows us that era of stone and faith was marked by cburches by the
eagerness of churches.

Properties of Romanesque Architecture

Romanesque Architecture Plan - Roman Basilica plan was the model or the reference for
the Romanesque churches.
- They use latin cross plan for the church.
 Figure 1: Romanesque Church Plan

- The addition of transepts and the prolongation of the sanctuary or chancel made the
church a well-defined cross on the plan.

Walls
 - Walls consist of pilaster strips (it is a column that was attached to the walls)
- The wall was roughly built, relieved externally by buttresses.
- A series of semicircular arches supported by corbels.
- Attached are columns with rough capitals that support the semicircular arches, that
formed wall arcading, which was a frequent decorative feature of the building

Corbel - If there is no shaft that is corbel.

This is Capital because it has shaft.

Openings
 - The church was arcaded and consisted of massive circular columns or piers that
supported semicircular arches.
EARLY CHRISTIAN BYZANTINE ROMANESQUE

Semi Circular Arch

Abacus

Circular Shaft

jambs or sides formed in a series of receding moulded planes known as " orders," in
which are circular shafts surmounted by a continuous abacus.

semicircular arch above was also constructed in receding concentric rings.

The rose or wheel window was often placed over the principal west door.
It was put in the middle upper part of the church to allow the natural light to come in.
The façade of the church is divided into three parts the 2 parts has lower slant roof and the
middle part is much higher because it has a clearstorey windows in it. It helps the church to
have much more light to come in.

ROOF

- Before the central nave often was made up of only simple wooden roof, it was made
of timber;
- because it was prone to fire because of the raid happening they changed it and
decided to use a vault (stone vault) to have a fireproof building. The Vault over the
aisle. And it was used during the eleventh century.

- They use stone vault for vaulting.

- It was part of Romanesque revolution

The Romanesque arch was semi circular, often raised or stilted.

1. Semi Circular Arch – the picture has corbel and arch

2. Stilted Arch – the photo has capital and a column and arch.

Corbel – it is a solid piece of masonry or sometime later iron.

- Sometime s made of timber.
- It’s a kind of bracket but it is within the wall
- It carries another structural material or element like an arch or a beam
 - It come with a plane design, howevevr in churches there are carvjngs of stylized
head. Sometimes animals sometimes human sometimes other imaginary beast
creature.

The romanesque use also the concept of pendentives on their church

When the crossing of nave and transepts was crowned by an octagonal dome, four of its
sides were carried on " squinch " arches
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 GOTHIC PERIOD

General Properties of Gothic Period

Then Arose new archietect who after the manner of their barbarous nations erected
buildings in that which we call gothic – Giorgio Vasari (A florintine Architect)

It is called gothic because it is not classical.

- There is no circular arches

- Pointed arches and roofs are the common designs

BRINGING BACK ROMANESQUE PERIOD

- Building have either stone barrel vaults (ie. Semi circular or groin vaults (bay
of barrel vaults crossing at a right angle)
- Walls have to be thicl to counterward vaultings causes to have a small
windows

The Gothic architecture use Ponted Arch because:

Semi circular – easily to colapse
Ponted Arch is – stronga rch less prone to collapse.

CHALLENGE DURING ROMANESQUE

1. How to span in stone, ever wider surfaces to form a greater heights?
That’s why Architects study a new invention for the buildings.

PROPERTIES OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

1. Addopted the POINTED ARCH
- Takes vertical forces and firect them into the side to the ground
- The slope of the lancet has raddi center
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2. Stone Ribbed Vaulting – distribute the weight of the vault to the collumns all the
way to the ground.
- a skeleton of arches or ribs on which masonry can be laid to form a ceiling or roof

3. Flying Buttresses – were used to transfer (absorb) the weight of vault that s made
of stone.
- It appears in 1170s, whose vertical members (upright) are connected to the exterior
wall of the building with bridge like arches.
 - The flying buttress is skelital and in exterior of the building.
- The external structure absorb the outward thrust of the vault at set intervals just
under the roof/vault, making it possible to reduce the building’s exterior masonry shell
to skeletal framewor.
- Since it is skelital it made the light to enter the church
- Buttresses – it is like a stopper

4. Stained glass window (It shows the depiction of important stories from the
bible)
- Architecture of light because of stained glass
- Stained glass windows is the poor man’s bible, because it depicts important
stories in the bible.

Design Properties of Gothic Period

French Gothic

Gothic Style
- Also known as Style Orgivale in France
- AD 1150 – AD1500
- Divided by m. de Caumont into:
 1. Primaire (twelfth Century) or Gothic Lancettes
2. Secondaire (Thirtheenth century) or “Rayannant”
3. Tertiare (fourteenth and fifteenth centuries) or “Flamboyant”

PRimare Twelth Century or Gothic Lancette

- Use pointed arches and geometric tracery windows. (Tracery

window bellow)

-
- Tracery window is used in decorative in windows or other opening
- Tracery window is a stone work window
- Tracery means it is a decorative elements. It is used in doors and
windows. It is applicable to the window decoration develop during
gothic period in europe
- Blind Tracery it is a relief as wall decoration
Types of Tracery

1. Geometric
2. Intersecting
3. Reticulated

Part of Windows:
Transom – it is originally is a horizental bar of stone or wood.
- Everything above the bar is called transome window.
- It is like the lintel of windows.

-
Mullions – is the vertical bar to divide the windows.

Cusp – it was the sharp where 2 arch meets (see photo bellow).

Foil – the arch or the petal like was the foil (see photo bellow).

Foils are divided into 4 types mainly distinguish thwough the number of its petals or
arch.

1. Trefoil
2. Quatrefoil
3. Cinquefoil
4. Multifoil
SECONDAIRE (THIRTEENTH CENTURY) RAYONNANT

- The name rayonnant reflects the radiating character of the rose window
- Circular windows with wheel tracery, as at Rheims, Amiens, and Bourges
- Another wheel window is put atop of a wheel window.
- They become more passionate with design in architecture in windows and
ornaments.
- It uses spire as decoration.

The spire – is a tower surmounts a building

Pinnacle – is an ornamental.
- Does not have window.
- No body.

Crocket - is the ornament

- Motif is vegital botanical
- Decorative stonework in vegetal or floral motif
- Some put in gables
 Finial – ends them all.

Flesh/Rood Tower – it is a type of spire that sits above the roof specifically the
intersection of nave and trancept.

TERTIARE (FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES) or FLAMBOYANT

- From the nature of the flame-like or free-flowig window tracery

- Gable (its like the triangle on top of ponted arch) on top of pointer arch

SUMMARY OF ROMANESQUE VS GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

Romanesque
Feature Gothic Architecture
Architecture
Period 12th – 16th centuries 10th – 12th centuries

Lightness, height, Strength, solidity,

Emphasis
ornamentation simplicity

Rounded arches
Arches Pointed arches
(semi-circular)

Groin vaults (ribbed

Barrel vaults (single
Vaults vaults with intersecting
curved vaults)
sections)

Thinner walls with Thick, heavy walls for

Walls
skeletal structure fortification

Flying buttresses
Massive internal
Buttresses (arches transferring
buttresses
weight outwards)

Large stained glass Small windows with

Windows
windows minimal decoration

Simple geometric
Extensive sculptures,
Decoration patterns, limited
gargoyles, tracery
sculptures

Overall Light, airy, soaring, Dark, sturdy,

Feel spiritual imposing, protective
 Notre Dame Cathedral Winchester Cathedral
Examples (Paris), Chartres (England), Abbey of
Cathedral (France) Cluny (France)