CATHEDRAL CATALOG: Early Cathedrals of the Holy Land and Europe

The architecture of cathedrals, basilicas and abbey churches is characterised by the buildings' .. The earliest large churches, such as the Cathedral of San Giovanni in of the circular, mausoleum-like Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, In parts of Eastern Europe there are also round tower-like churches of the.
Table of contents

In the 16th century the Reformation brought about changes in the governance of the cathedrals as discussed below. Some existent buildings became cathedrals at this time. Several of the buildings were structurally damaged or left incomplete because of the Dissolution of the Monasteries , — Many of the large abbey churches, particularly those outside the towns, were robbed, burnt out and abandoned.

Cathedral - Wikipedia

The late 16th and early 17th centuries saw repairs to the fabric of many cathedrals and some new building and stained glass as well as many new fittings. During the period of the Commonwealth , —60, wholesale iconoclasm was wrought on all the pictorial elements of Christian buildings.


  • Never miss a beat..
  • Earth Angel.
  • OLYMPIC WANDERING: Time Travel Through Greece.
  • Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England - Wikipedia.
  • Medieval Cathedrals - Eden Saga - english.
  • Cathedral Building in the Middle Ages - Durham World Heritage Site.

Medieval paintings almost disappeared. Vestments embroidered in the famous style known as Opus Anglicanum were burnt. Those medieval Communion vessels that had escaped the Dissolution were melted down so that only about 50 items of pre-Reformation church plate remain. The Restoration of the Monarchy in also brought about some restoration of churches and cathedrals such as that at Lichfield by Sir William Wilson , [2] and their enrichment with new fittings, new church plate and many elaborate memorials.

The loss of the ancient St. In general, from the time of the Reformation onwards, apart from necessary repairs so that buildings might remain in use, and the internal adornments of successive generations who wished to be commemorated, there was little building work and only piecemeal restoration. This situation lasted for about years with the fabric of many major cathedrals suffering from neglect.

The severity of the problem was demonstrated by the spectacular collapse of the spire of Chichester Cathedral , which suddenly telescoped in on itself in By this date medieval architecture was back in fashion. The consciousness accelerated until in the s two academic groups, the Oxford Society and the Cambridge Camden Society both pronounced that the only suitable style in which to design a church was Gothic.


  • Architecture of the medieval cathedrals of England.
  • Cathedral Building As an Expression of Faith.
  • Unter Linken: Von einem, der aus Versehen konservativ wurde (German Edition);
  • The Con: How Scams Work, Why Youre Vulnerable, and How to Protect Yourself.
  • Architecture of cathedrals and great churches - Wikipedia.

The critic John Ruskin was an ardent advocate of all things medieval and popularised these ideas. The architect Augustus Welby Pugin , who designed mainly for the growing Roman Catholic Church , set himself to recreate not only the structural appearance of medieval churches, but also the richly decorated and colourful interiors that had been almost entirely lost, existing only as a painted screen here and there, a few tiled floors such as those at Winchester and Canterbury and the intricate painted wooden ceiling of Peterborough Cathedral.

Some buildings left incomplete were completed at this time and the greater part of existent church furniture, fittings and stained glass dates from this period. All the medieval buildings that are now cathedrals of England were Roman Catholic in origin, as they predate the Reformation. All these buildings now serve the Church of England as a result of the change to the official religion of the country, which occurred in during the reign of Henry VIII.

The cathedrals fall into three distinct groups, depending on their earlier organisational structure. Firstly, there are those that, during the Medieval period as now, were governed by a body of secular clergy or chapter, presided over by a dean. These cathedrals are Chichester, Exeter, Hereford, Lichfield, Lincoln, London, Salisbury, Wells, and York, all of which built specifically to serve as cathedral churches.

Secondly, there was a group of monastic cathedrals in which the bishop was titular abbot. These monasteries were Benedictine except in the case of Carlisle, which was Augustinian. Six of these churches were built from the start as cathedrals. Carlisle and Ely are purely monastic churches, which then became the seat of a bishop during the course of construction. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII , all the previously monastic cathedrals became governed by secular canons like the first group. The third group are those churches established as new cathedrals since the Reformation.

Bristol, Chester, Gloucester, Oxford, and Peterborough. Five further large churches later became cathedrals: St Albans and Southwark, which were of monastic foundation, and Manchester, Ripon, and Southwell, which were collegiate churches and all of which consequently combine the functions of cathedral and parish church. Westminster Abbey was a Benedictine monastery that became a cathedral after the Dissolution of the Monasteries , but only for ten years. Four other churches are associated with this tradition: The collegiate church of St John in Chester was raised to cathedral status in , but became a co-cathedral in , when the see was removed to Coventry.

The current building was probably begun around the time of the see's removal. The large parish church of St. It was bombed during World War II , leaving intact only its spire, regarded as one of the finest in England.

Architecture of cathedrals and great churches

The new Coventry Cathedral designed by Sir Basil Spence was consecrated in and adjoins the shell of the ancient church. Cathedrals are places where the Christian rituals particular to a bishop , especially ordination and enthronement , can be performed, and are structured and furnished for these purposes.

Each cathedral contains the seat of the local bishop , often literally a large throne. The bishop's throne is located towards the eastern end of the cathedral, near the high altar , which is main focus of worship. In the early Medieval period, the altar always contained, or was associated with, the relics of a saint. Sometimes the relics were held in a separate shrine, near the high altar. In this part of the church are often located the tombs of former bishops, typically arranged either side of the major shrine, so the worshipping congregation symbolically comprised the whole body of clergy of the diocese, both living and dead, in communion with their patron saint.

Seats are provided for the other significant clergy of the cathedral: To this end, cathedrals normally have a number of small chapels used for private devotion or for small groups. In England there is a strong tradition that each chapel should face the east. For this reason the transepts of English cathedrals are longer than those in most other countries, and there is often a second transept, as at Salisbury.

This arrangement permits a greater number of eastward-facing chapels. That part of the main interior which is furthest to the east and reserved for the prayers of the clergy is the presbytery. English cathedrals maintain a traditional form of church service , of which canticles , the set psalm of the day, responses, and an anthem are sung by a choir traditionally composed of about thirty men and boys. Many cathedrals now also have a girls choir, and a lay choir.

Because of this tradition, that part of the building that contains the stalls, usually to the east of the central tower but sometimes extending under it, is called the choir or quire. The choir is sometimes divided from the nave of the cathedral by a wide medieval pulpitum screen constructed of stone and in some instances carrying a large pipe organ [4] , notably at Exeter, Gloucester, Lincoln, Norwich, Rochester, St Albans, Southwell, Wells and York.

This screen traditionally separated the quire from the nave and the clergy from the laity, who were expected to worship at parish churches, rather than at the cathedral. The nave of the cathedral, in medieval times, was used primarily for processions. At its western end it contains the font for the ritual washing service of Baptism , at which a person, most often an infant, is symbolically accepted into the church. The font is usually made of stone and is usually the oldest fitting in the cathedral, many of them being Norman.

Since the Reformation, the nave is that part of the building which is usually open to and most used by the congregation and general public. There is also, usually in the nave, a raised pulpit from which the dean or other clergy can expound the scriptures. In the late 20th century it became customary in some cathedrals for an hourly prayer to be said, for the benefit of visitors, and this is often presented from the nave pulpit.

In a large cathedral, particularly in those where the building is divided by a screen as at Canterbury, an altar may be set at the eastern end of the nave so that services might be held there for large congregations. At each place where services are held there is a lectern on which rests a Bible. Like the majority of medieval cathedrals, those of England are cruciform. While most are of the Latin Cross shape with a single transept, several including Salisbury, Lincoln, Wells and Canterbury have two transepts, which is a distinctly English characteristic.

The transepts, unlike those of many French cathedrals, always project strongly. The cathedral, whether of monastic or secular foundation, often has several clearly defined subsidiary buildings, in particular the chapter house and cloister. With two exceptions, the naves and eastern arms of the cathedrals have single lower aisles on either side with a clerestory that illuminates the central space. At Bristol the aisles are at the same height as the medieval choir like some German cathedrals, and at Chichester there are two aisles on either side of the nave like some French cathedrals.

At a number of the cathedrals where the transepts are large they also have aisles, either on the eastern side as at Peterborough, Durham, Lincoln and Salisbury or both, as at Wells, Winchester, Ely and York. The longest cathedrals of Spain , including Seville , which has the largest floor area of any medieval church, are about metres. The last four cathedrals all, for various reasons, either have no medieval nave or only a few remaining bays.

By contrast with their tendency towards extreme length, the vaults of English cathedrals are low compared with many of those found in other countries. An important feature of English cathedrals, uncommon elsewhere except in Normandy, is the large and often elaborate square central tower over the crossing.

Among the cathedrals that have three towers, the central tower is usually much the tallest. At Southwell the two western towers are capped by pyramidal spires sheathed in lead. Tall Gothic central spires remain at Salisbury and Norwich, that at Chichester having been rebuilt in the 19th century after its collapse. It is also the tallest 14th-century spire, the tallest ashlar masonry spire as against the openwork spires of Germany and France , and tallest spire in the world that remains from the Medieval period that has not been entirely rebuilt.

However, it was greatly surpassed in height by the spires of Lincoln and Old St. Lichfield Cathedral, uniquely in England, has three medieval masonry spires. Although single western towers are common in English parish churches , only one medieval cathedral, Ely, retains a centrally placed western tower, and in that case, it was framed by two lower lateral towers, one of which has since fallen down.

Its upper parts are supported by hidden wooden hammer-beams , an architectural device unique to English Gothic. The facades of English cathedrals show a considerable diversity, rather than a consistent progression, as is the case in Northern France and other cathedrals influenced by the French Gothic style. The most typical cathedrals are those that have large paired towers at their western end, as at Canterbury, Durham, Southwell, Wells, Ripon and York. Between the towers is either a single large traceried window, as at York and Canterbury, or an arrangement of untraceried lancets, as at Ripon and Wells, rather than the rose windows typical of French facades.

There are usually three doors but unlike those of French cathedrals, they are rarely highly elaborate and far more emphasis is placed on the central door than those to either side. The entrance in most common use is sometimes located in a porch at one side of the nave. This arrangement may be seen at Salisbury, Winchester and Rochester.

Navigation menu

At Lincoln a vast Gothic screen with similar buttress-like terminals was built across the front of the cathedral, incorporating the Norman portals, but hiding the Norman towers. The towers were then greatly heightened to be visible above the screen. A Gothic screen was also added to the Norman nave at Peterborough, but this is an architectural oddity with no precedent or successor. The screen is composed of three enormous open arches, the two outer ones being much wider than that which frames the central door.

Cathedral Building in the Middle Ages

The overwhelming composition is somewhat spoilt by the later porch and the fact that two towers of very different height pop up from behind the screen. Despite this, it is regarded as one of the supreme masterpieces of Gothic, revealing the enormous diversity and imagination of English medieval architects. The eastern ends of English cathedrals show a greater diversity than those of any other country. Those built in the Norman era had high apsidal ends surrounded by a lower ambulatory, as is typical of Northern France.

This arrangement still exists at Norwich and in part at Peterborough and also, with variation, in the Early English Gothic east end at Canterbury, but in every other case has been modified. The typical arrangement for an English Gothic east end is square, and may be an unbroken cliff-like design as at York, Lincoln, Ripon, Ely and Carlisle or may have a projecting Lady Chapel of which there is a great diversity as at Salisbury, Lichfield, Hereford, Exeter and Chichester.

As English cathedrals are often surrounded by an expanse of green lawn, the plan is usually clearly visible at ground level, which is not the case with the many European cathedrals that are closely surrounded by town or monastic buildings. These horizontal projections are visibly balanced by the strong verticals of the massive towers, which may be one, two or three in number. Many of the cathedrals, particularly those like Winchester, St. While all the cathedrals are impressive, some, because of their location, are highly significant landmarks and landscape elements.

The grey spire of Norwich rises serenely from its surrounding city, to be a focus of the Norwich School of landscape painters. Ely, on a small hill, dominates the rural countryside and its appearance in times of flood causes it to be known as The Ship of the Fens. Because the architecture of English cathedrals is so diverse and inventive, the internal appearances differ a great deal.

However, in general, English cathedral interiors tend to give an impression of length. This is in part because many of the buildings are actually very long, but also because more than in the medieval architecture of any other country, the horizontal direction is given as much visual emphasis as the vertical. This is particularly the case at Wells where, unlike most Gothic buildings, there are no vertical shafts that continue from the arcade to the vault and there is a very strong emphasis on the triforium gallery with its seemingly endless and undifferentiated row of narrow arches.

Salisbury has a similar lack of verticals while the course below the triforium and the undecorated capitals of Purbeck stone create strong visual horizontals. In the cases of Winchester, Norwich and Exeter the horizontal effect is created by the emphasis on the ridge rib of the elaborate vaults. The complexity of the vault is another significant feature of English cathedrals. While in most cases a Norman church entirely replaced a Saxon one, at Ripon the cathedral uniquely retains its early Saxon crypt , while a similar crypt also survives below the former cathedral of Hexham.

At Winchester the excavated foundations of the 10th-century cathedral — when built, the largest church in northern Europe — are marked on grass of the cathedral close. At Worcester, a new cathedral was built in the Norman style from , but the crypt contains re-used stonework and columns from its two Saxon predecessor churches. Elsewhere, the abbey church of Sherborne preserves much masonry from the former Saxon cathedral, in the west front, transepts and crossing, so that the nave and crossing of present late medieval abbey retains the proportions of the previous Saxon structure.

The comprehensive reconstruction of the Saxon cathedral churches of England by the Normans represented the single largest ecclesiastical building programme of medieval Europe and when built, these were the biggest structures to have been erected in Christian Europe since the end of the Roman Empire. All the medieval cathedrals of England, with the exception of Salisbury, Lichfield and Wells have evidence of Norman architecture. Peterborough, Durham and Norwich remain for the greater part Norman buildings, while at many others there are substantial parts of the building in the Norman style, such as the naves of Ely, Gloucester and Southwell, and the transepts at Winchester.

The Norman architecture is distinguished by its round-headed arches, and bold tiers of arcades on piers, which originally supported flat wooden roofs of which two survive, at Peterborough and Ely. Columns, where used, are massive, as in the nave at Gloucester, and are alternated with piers at Durham. Mouldings were cut with geometric designs and arcading was a major decorative form, particularly externally. Little figurative sculpture has survived, notably the "barbaric" ornament around the west doors at Lincoln, the bestial capitals of the crypt at Canterbury and the tympanum of the west door at Rochester.

Many of the cathedrals have major parts in the lateth-to-earlyth-century style known as Lancet Gothic or Early English Gothic , and defined by its simple, untraceried lancet-like openings. Salisbury Cathedral is the major example of this style, which is also seen at Wells and Worcester, at the eastern arms of Canterbury, Hereford and Southwark, in the retrochoir at Winchester and the transepts of York. The Decorated Gothic style, with traceried windows, is further subdivided dependent upon whether the tracery is Geometric or Curvilinear. Many cathedrals have important parts in the Geometric style of the mid 13th to early 14th centuries, including much of Lincoln, Lichfield, the choir of Ely, at Winchester the quire east of the crossing and presbytery, and the chapter houses of Salisbury and Southwell.

By the late 13th century the style of tracery evolved to include a greater number of narrow shapes that adapted easily to Gothic openings in combination with circular shapes as can be seen in the windows of the chapter house of York, the Octagon of Ely and the west window of Exeter. Further development included the repetition of Curvilinear or flame-like forms that occur in a great number of windows of around , notably in the retro-choir at Wells and the nave of Exeter Cathedral. The last stage of Curvilinear or Flowing Decorated Gothic , is expressed in tracery of very varied and highly complex forms.

Many of the largest and most famous windows of England date from —30 and are in this style. There are many smaller architectural works within cathedrals which have the curvilinear tracery. These include the arcading in the Lady Chapel at Ely, which also has the widest vault in England, the pulpitum screen at Lincoln and richly decorated doorways at Ely and Rochester. Characteristic of this period of Gothic is elaborate lierne vaulting in which the main ribs are connected by intermediate ribs which do not spring from the wall and so are not major structural members.

The vaults of Bristol are the most famous examples of this style, which can also be seen at York. In the s, when the architects of Europe were embracing the Flamboyant style, English architecture moved away from the Flowing Decorated in an entirely different and much more sober direction with the reconstruction, in highly modular form, of the choir of the Norman abbey, now cathedral, at Gloucester. The Perpendicular style , which relies on a network of intersecting mullions and transoms rather than on a diversity of richly carved forms for effect, gives an overall impression of great unity, in which the structure of the vast windows of both clerestory and east end are integrated with the arcades below and the vault above.

The style proved very adaptable and continued with variations in the naves of Canterbury and Winchester, and in the choir of York. If we believe Bonvin Jacques Bonvin, Romanesque Churches, Places of Power , they treated these energies in two different ways, called the Romanesque style and the Gothic style.

In Romanesque churches, H networks or Hartmann networks are driven back into the thick walls and the nave is purged of them. In Gothic cathedrals, the networks are sucked by the vault and crumbled by bursters: In both cases, the faithful is free from any harm.

More than others, these places are propitious to spiritual growth. Gothic and Romanesque people participated often together to the realization of some major buildings. But they did not study the particular energies of caves and crypts, vaults suffering the terrible tension of thousands of tons of cut stones they support. They left that specialty to Romanesques. Thus, even in Gothic cathedrals, the crypts are Romanesque. The stones are living because they are energetic, because they vibrate, and because they transmit, with energy, the information they have gathered.

The polarized stones are memories of images, but their function is especially to protect the church from dangerous rays. In the sacred building, the stones are with alternative polarity to transmit the vril , or with continuous polarity to dilute it. Each architectural element has its geobiological function: But where did it come from? It came from the megalithic builders. Those who have raised the dolmens , pyramids and Cyclopean walls.

The Atlanteans … Medieval masons knew it so well that they carefully built churches and cathedrals on the high places of megalithism. Besides, this is usual. It is not about blind imitation.