The Cathedral is a: place to worship God place to feel God beautiful awful inspiring place that is way better than the church in your town place that

Transcription

1 The Monumental Structures of the Middle Ages: God s House or Man s Ego Cathedra=the seat or chair of authority. The Bishop s seat The Cathedral is a: place to worship God place to feel God beautiful awful inspiring place that is way better than the church in your town place that cost a heck of a lot of money where artists and artisans can work for decades a great tourist attraction, important for the local economy

2 Here is what you will need to know when we are done this week: a. How the Arch and the buttress works b. Who built the cathedrals c. The names of the main parts of a cathedral d. The two distinctive (special elements) of Gothic cathedrals e. What the design, stained Glass and carvings may mean symbolically f. You will show us this on a written test Here is what you will need to do when we are done this week: You will work in pairs and design the West entrance (tower side). When designed, you will then submit a final drawing for a grade We will be looking at the dimensions, the detail and trueness to Gothic principles

3 What the Medieval architects were after 1. height.what would the height symbolize? What is the difficulty of building something really tall?

4 1. What is the problem as we build the wall higher and higher? 2. Now what will happen? So, how do we keep walls from collapsing in? Now, with the addition of the inside arch and keystone, you have both stability and heigth inside. Scholar question: there are really two arches. Where is the second?

5 2. The other characteristic (thing that makes Gothic design different) is the importance of light. What may light be symbolic of? The solution was the stained glass window. How do they make the windows so big and yet not crack?

6 How long it take to build a gothic cathedral? Records show that some may have been done in as little as 20 years while some took as long as 250 years to complete As long is the nave is complete, the building can be dedicated, so construction will be on going while the building is in use How much did it cost? Almost impossible to tell Special contributions of money from the rich Villages given as feuds to generate income Collections from all parishoners Our closest example is the National Cathedral in Washington DC

7 The National Cathedral started with a $40.00 donation 1850 It took 83 years to finish Completely funded through private sources A true Gothic, stone-on-stone cathedral The 8 th largest in the world Cost of $220,000,000.00

8 The Masons: The Magic and Mystery of How did they do that? In they old days, they actually did something! How to build the arch

9 Stone quarry.what are the quarrymen doing?

10 What do you think each tool is used for?

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13 Masonic symbol Ohio lodge Mason square Mason apron What would it be used for?

14 Mason marks

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17 What is the stuff around the tower called? What is it used for? Could they have made this in the middle ages?

18 Who are the people in the picture? What is happening? How is the picture made? What is this called?

19 Design elements The floor plan Label the floor The buttress The Tower

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22 Design Notice the shape of the floor plan What is #7? What is #5?

23 Hidden above the vaulting is the actual roof structure. What do you notice about the evenness of the cutting (planning) Why do you think it is this way? Why would the designers try to hide this structure?

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25 The props that we saw in our make believe constructions are called buttress, which means to reinforce The flying buttress is an important feature in Gothic Construction They get the name because the masons could magically have the buttress fly from its base to the wall In an effort to disguise its structural use, these were ornately (fancy and lots of it) decorated Think of how these would be built while not falling on the workers and killing them or destroying the building

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29 The layout of a Gothic Cathedral

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34 The first element: Height Okay, how are they built? These next shots are of the interior buttressing Here they are called columns (floor to ceiling) and ribbing or vaulting (roof supports) Where would the columns be in your sketch of the floor plan?

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36 Each Cathedral is a miniature of the Universe as God created it They are built to make you feel small They are built to let you know where you fit in the universe They are built to teach you about how God runs the world So, they will teach you History About holy people About the Bible About Jesus

37 The completed product

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46 We are now moving to the interior (inside) the Cathedral What elements give the building a sense of height?

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48 Architectural elements What does the eye want to do? Was this planned? Why?

49 Architectural elements

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61 The Gothic cathedral represented the universe in microcosm and each architectural concept, including the loftiness and huge dimensions of the structure, were intended to convey a theological message: the great glory of God. The building becomes a microcosm in two ways. Firstly, the mathematical and geometrical nature of the construction is an image of the orderly universe, in which an underlying rationality and logic can be perceived. Secondly, the statues, sculptural decoration, stained glass and murals incorporate the essence of creation in depictions of the Labours of the Months and the Zodiac [17] and sacred history from the Old and New Testaments and Lives of the Saints, as well as reference to the eternal in the Last Judgment and Coronation of the Virgin.

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67 Altar pieces These were the back drops for the altar Check out the details See if you can tell what story each of the pieces is trying to tell

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73 The Second element: Light How is the placement of the windows important? (especially before electricity) Notice how each window is constructed. How do they hold together such large pieces of glass?

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85 What are these stories?

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