Medieval Medieval CathedralsCathedrals

RomanesqueRomanesque

• Use of the barrel vault which allowed for a taller church

• Few windows • Begin to use stained glass• Always cruciform in shape; with transept about

¾ of way down the nave• Addition of side aisles to facilitate traffic• Stone roofs replace earlier wooden roofs• Increasing importance of entrance at the west

end• Use of towers at west end or above transepts;

sometimes domes above transept (popular in Italy)

Ely Cathedral, England

Pisa, Italy

Pisa with the Leaning Tower

Barrel Vault –

San Miniato, Italy

Ely, the Nave

GothicGothic

The Pointed Arch

Lyon, France

Allows for a taller, but narrow, building

Chartres, France

Chartres

Chartres – cruciform in shape

Notre Dame,

Paris

Westminster Abbey, London

Sainte Chapelle, Paris

Perpendicular Gothic

• Not as tall

• Longer

• Transept often crosses at middle of church

• Frequently has a tower where transept and nave cross

• Popular in England

York Minster

York Minster

Salisbury Cathedral, England

Gloucester, England

Fan Vaulting at Bath Abbey, England

Flying Buttresses

Flying buttresses were external

supports which took some of the weight off

of the walls and allowed for a taller

building

Notre Dame

Chartres

Chartres

The nave is the main area of the church

where the congregation gathers

for Mass

Notre Dame, Paris

York Minster, England

The Choir

In cathedrals which had a monastery, the choir was where the monks or nuns sat to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours

Westminster Abbey

Canterbury

The Sanctuary

• The area of the church where the liturgy takes place.

• Includes the main altar, the lectern, and the Presider's chair

Notre Dame

Westminster Abbey – the Main Altar with the reredos

Reredos

A screen behind the altar that makes the altar the focal point of the church

The Rood Screen

• Also called the iconostasis

• A screen that divides the nave from the sanctuary

• Medieval Catholics believed the Mass was a holy mystery – something we were not worthy to view or to take part in

York Minister

Segovia

St. Mary’s, Barking, England

Portal

• From Latin for “door”

• The main door of most Medieval churches was the West Portal

• Frequently a painting or carving the Last Judgment was above the door

Notre Dame,

West Portal

Stained Glass

• Stained glass first appeared in church windows around 600 AD

• Common by 800• Medieval churches wanted lots of glass to let

light in – light represented the presence of God (Jesus as “Light of the World”)

• Stained glass pictures were considered to the “poor man’s Bible” – telling Biblical stories or the lives of the saints

Rose Window - Chartres

Chartres

Notre Dame

Sainte-Chapelle

Crypt

• The basement of a large church or cathedral

• Sometimes contains chapels

• Medieval crypts were often burial places

Crypt – Canterbury Cathedral

Mont St Michel, France

The Mass