Two Great Gothic Cathedrals - Essay Example

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Crawford, John, and Gillespie, Raymond. 2009. St. Patricks Cathedral, Dublin: A History. Ireland: Four Courts Press This collection of essays casts light on the history of Dublin, of the Church of Ireland, and of Ireland generally. It charts the effects of events such as the Reformation in the 16th century and disestablishment in the 19th century on St Patricks Cathedral. Hamlin, Alfred Dwight Foster. 1896. History of Architecture. New York: Longman. One of the series of “College Histories of Art,” of which Van Dykes “History of Painting” was the first. Professor Hamlins book is intended mainly for study, as in college classroom, and much is made of the lists of “monuments which conclude the chapters. These are surprisingly complete. At the head of each chapter is also a list of books recommended, very judiciously made up, except that one would like to exclude some books published sixty years or more ago, which cannot be trusted. The text itself is singularly intelligent, and indicates a firm grasp of the reality rather than of the mere external appearance of things. Hamlin, Talbot. 1940. Architecture through the Ages. New York: G.P. Putnams Sons. The text presented in the book is extremely descriptive and in depth. The book flows through the time in chronological order describing the details and purpose of the main periods in architecture. The book takes off talking about primitive architecture of our distant ancestors. It then takes a turn to the early architecture of the western world featuring Egyptian, Asian, and Mediterranean architecture. The classical ages of the Greek and Roman empires is explored as well as its conquering history. Castle building during the Feudalist medieval times features Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic forms of architecture. The European renaissance and its artistic intentions are presented before it gets into the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth century progression. The classic revival and then the architecture of today conclude the book of its journey through this unique yet strong art form. Jantzen, Hans. 1984. High Gothic: The Classic Cathedral of Chartres, Reims, and Amiens. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. This engaging study introduces the reader to one of the greatest achievements of Western art: the climactic phase of Gothic architecture in the first half of the thirteenth century. Through a comparative analysis of the cathedrals of Chartres, Reims, and Amiens, the author illuminates the technical, theological, artistic, and social factors that formed the High Gothic synthesis. Drawing on a lifetime of scholarship, he successively characterizes the different parts of the Gothic cathedral and describes the human context of the three great buildings. Miller, M. 1980. Chartres Cathedral. New York: Riverside Book Company. Millers text provides a short introduction to the Gothic movement, as well as the background of Chartres cathedral itself. But the focus of this book is the stained glass found in the cathedral, with a window-by-window detail of the glass, its date, and the allusions each window makes to the outside world. As such, this makes the book a valuable reference work, because one can follow the story from window to window in a way that would be difficult on-site without many days of time to do so. The choice of focusing on the stained glass, rather than other features present in Gothic cathedrals is justified: Chartres has some of the oldest and most-intact original stained glass of any cathedral in France, and is perhaps the single item among many others for which the structure is famous. Moore, Charles Herbert. 1890. Development and Character of Gothic Architecture. New York: Macmillan. An enthusiastic and scholarly book devoted to the examination of Gothic architecture in its essential structure and the resulting forms. Mr. Moore finds that not only did the style take its origin in northern France, but that it never was practiced in its completeness and purity outside of France except in certain instances. It is a book to be studied with the greatest care by any one desiring to know the facts as they offer themselves to a very careful and close student who is not himself a builder. Attentive reading of it cannot but give the reader larger views of the importance of a more minute inquiry into the essence and origin of architectural forms than is generally bestowed. Smith, Thomas Roger, and Poynter, Edward John. 1884. Architecture, Gothic and Renaissance. New York: Scribner. It shows the progress of Gothic architecture in England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and of Renaissance architecture in the same countries. It is illustrated with more than 100 engravings, including many of the principal cathedrals, churches, palaces, and domestic buildings on the continent. Not inaccurate, nor hard to understand, but vague, discursive; fails to give clear and connected ideas. It fails also to insist on the most important points. The smaller part, devoted to the Renaissance, is more nearly accurate than that given to the Gothic. There is a short glossary of technical terms. OUTLINE I. Chartres Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral are built during the medieval ages. A. Chartres Cathedral is one of the best Gothic cathedrals in France. i. It was built because its predecessors were destroyed by fire. ii. It is one of the most important buildings in the town of Chartres. iii. The original Chartres Cathedral was designed by Fulbert. B. St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the largest church in Ireland, was founded in 1191. i. It is one of the four Dublin Celtic parish churches. ii. The construction of the cathedral was overseen by Henry de Loundres of London. II. Gothic architecture started with the adaptation of early Romanesque style. A. Chartres Cathedral is a masterpiece of French Gothic Architecture. B. St. Patrick’s Cathedral was built in an Early English Gothic Style. III. Both cathedrals used basically the same materials for its construction. IV. Both structures served as a place for worship. Two Great Gothic Cathedrals Two great cathedrals built during the medieval period are the Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France (Figure 1) and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland (Figure 2). Medieval architecture, which started around the 5th century until the 16th century, included the Romanesque and the Gothic periods. Although the achievements in architecture in both the Romanesque and Gothic time periods were religiously focused, the Romanesque church was focused around accommodating the great numbers of pilgrims whereas Gothic churches were a sense of pride for the town where they were located. Both the Chartres Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral belong to the Gothic architecture category. Three distinct characteristics differentiate Gothic architecture from Romanesque: pointed arches, ribbed vault, and flying buttresses. These developments allowed the architects to make the church much larger and brighter. By transferring the weight of the ceilings outward thrust to the flying buttresses, they were now able to place huge stain glass windows in the walls. It allowed the once dim Romanesque Cathedral to be transformed into a very bright and warm feeling Gothic Cathedral. These churches also reflect the wealth and influence of the church during the medieval period (Moore 1890, 142). In 1134, a fire destroyed both the town of Chartres and the west front of the Chartres Cathedral. The rebuilding of the cathedral began in 1145 with the construction of a new west facade. The master-builder of Chartres outlined new principles which would inspire all the great architects of the 13th century (Jantzen 1984, p. 132). The elevation was in three tiers as it had no gallery, and the vaulting was quadripartite, which eliminated the need for alternating supports. Externally, an important change was introduced by abandoning the five towers initially planned over the transepts. Moreover, two flanking towers were combined with a tripartite portal zone, decorated with an abundance of sculptures, and a crowning rose window. The western entrances of Chartres Cathedral, known as the "Royal Portal," formed a unified whole, connected by a horizontal band or frieze of sculptures running across the entire portal zone. Figure 1. Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France (Miller 1980, p. 37). The remarkable speed (less than thirty years) with which most of Chartres Cathedral was reconstructed after the 1134 catastrophe accounts for its architectural unity, alternating Romanesque and Gothic (Miller 1980, p. 176). The medieval cathedral was physically integrated into the town. Houses crowded up to its very walls and "lean-tos" were built right against them. In the city, the tower cathedral was the medieval forerunner of the skyscraper, but unlike its modern counterpart, it subsumed a number of functions. At one moment or another, therefore the medieval church could serve civic, communal, and commercial purposes. However it was first and foremost a religious building. Although in modern times it served primary as a place of worship. The original Chartres Cathedral was designed by Fulbert and lasted until 1194, when a fire destroyed almost the entire church. The townspeople pulled together to make a large contribution to the reconstruction of the cathedral (Miller 1980, p. 283). The present Chartres Cathedral is largely the work of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. However, there are substantial remains of older monuments, notably in the crypt and on the west facade. Figure 2. Saint Patricks Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland (T. Hamlin 1940, p. 97). Another great Gothic cathedral built during the medieval period is Saint Patricks Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland. It is also known as The National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Saint Patrick. Moreover, in the Irish language, it is known as “Árd Eaglais Naomh Pádraig”. Saint Patricks Cathedral was founded in 1191 and it is the larger of Dublins two Church of Ireland cathedrals, and the largest church in Ireland. The building is 300 feet long, the nave 67 feet wide, the transepts 157 feet long and 80 feet wide, and the tower and steeple 221 feet high. Since 1870, Saint Patricks Cathedral has been the National Cathedral for the whole island, drawing chapter members from each of the twelve dioceses of the Church of Ireland (Crawford and Gillespie 2009, p. 59). The basis of the present cathedral was built between 1191 and 1270, though little now remains of the earliest work beyond the Baptistry. Much of the work was overseen by Henry of London, a friend of the King of England and signatory of the Magna Carta, who was also involved in the construction of Dublins city walls, and Dublin Castle. In 1192, John Comyn, the first Anglo-Norman Archbishop of Dublin, elevated one of the four Dublin Celtic parish churches, the one dedicated to St. Patrick, beside a holy well of the same name and on an island between two branches of the River Poddle, to the status of a collegiate church; that is, a church with a body of clergy devoted to both worship and learning. The progress of Gothic architecture in Ireland may be viewed as art carried in the train of an invading army to the advantage of the country conquered, just as, in England, a similar benefit had been conferred by the Normans. The style of Saint Patricks Cathedral, for instance, is most plainly that of the Englishmen who followed Strongbow, an English invader of Ireland, with no concession to, or consideration of, previous Irish forms of art. The cathedral has heavy buttressing and stout walls. Internally, it is decorated with memorials and monuments to important families and individuals connected to the cathedral. Moreover, the nave is separated from its aides by unadorned arches and octangular pillars. The choir is the most interesting portion of the interior; the arches, which divide the center from the side aisles, spring from clustered columns, each component shaft of which terminates in a small capital composed of foliage. The archbishops throne, which is of oak richly carved; the stalls of the knights of St. Patrick, over each of which are displayed the banner, helmet, and sword of the knight; the tall lancet-shaped windows, the fine altar-piece, and the magnificent organ placed in the screen that divides the nave and the choir, form a combination of objects which irresistibly recall the mind to the times when religion and chivalry mingled their solemn and gorgeous pageants. In this light, Saint Patricks Cathedral belongs to Early English Gothic Architecture. In contrast to the style of Saint Patricks Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral belongs to the French Gothic Architecture. All stained glass windows were individually endowed, and inscriptions or portraits on the lower window panel identify the benefactor of each window. The windows at Chartres thus provide insight into the role of royalty, the aristocracy, and guilds of tradesmen, all who helped adorn this great cathedral. The north and south transept rose windows show various allusions to the French aristocracys identification with ancient biblical royalty. In the north transept, a huge rose window shows Mary surrounded by angels, the kings of Judea, and prophets. Below the rose window, five lancet windows display Marys mother, St. Anne holding her child, and four kings and high priests of the Old Testament – David and Solomon on the left; Melchizedek and Aaron on the right (Figure 3). The whole composition is combined with numerous smaller windows containing golden lilies on blue backgrounds (the arms of the French royal family), and a golden castle on red ground for the arms of the family of Blanche of Castille who ruled France when the cathedral of Chartres was built. The representation of a youthful king Solomon in a contemporary style of clothes and haircut may be a portrait of the young Louis IX, son of Blanche of Castille. Figure 3. Stained glass windows in St. Patricks Cathedral – left (T. Hamlin 1940, p. 69), and Chartres Cathedral – right (Crawford and Gillespie 2009, p.17). In history, everyday buildings have always been made of materials that are readily to hand. This is the principal characteristic of all vernacular architecture. In an area where stone is widely available, that becomes the usual building material; where it is not, or is too difficult to work, brick or timber buildings will be found. Where good clay exists tiled floors will be common elsewhere they will be made of stone flags. Where timber is widely available joinery sections will be lavish; where it is scarce and costly to import they will be mean. Comparing the two cathedrals, we see that they are made of the same materials: stone, mixed with brightly colored stained glass, each depicting a religious story or a time-line of Jesus life in great detail. Moreover, the floor-plans are almost the same. Both the Chartres Cathedral and Saint Patricks Cathedral are centrally planned, entered through a narthex, followed by a long nave, with side aisles, leading to the transept crossing, and then culminating into the apse, reminiscent of the shape of a cross (Figure 4). Figure 4. Floor Plans of St. Patrick’s Cathedral – left (A.D.F. Hamlin 1896, p. 162) and Chartres Cathedral – right (A.D.F. Hamlin 1896, p.10). The similarities in the design of the two cathedrals also account for the similarities in their use and function. The layout of the two cathedrals was intended for medieval Christianity. Although the cathedrals, at some point in time, served communal or other non-religious purposes, they primary functioned as places of worship for Christians. In conclusion, Chartres Cathedral and Saint Patricks Cathedral are two of the great achievements of Western architecture. Their soaring proportions, wealth of sculpture, and glorious stained glass have had a profound effect on the preservation of medieval culture until the present day. Forever is a long time, but few buildings have ever been built which seem more likely to defy eternally the ordinary wear and tear of time than these two. They are still perfect; and where beautiful design and perfect construction are combined as they are here, the highest excellence of which architecture is capable has been achieved. Read More