In European history, the Middle Ages or Medieval period, lasted from the 5th to the 15th century.

It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, and was followed by the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.

It is called the Dark Age because there were no significant discoveries made or artworks produced, there were no great leaders.

The period is subdivided into the Early, the High, and the Late Middle Ages.

In the 3rd century AD the Roman Empire was split into Western Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire.

Due to the constant barbaric invasions, the Western Roman Empire fell.

The province was split into small kingdoms as follows:

Ostrogoths: Italian peninsula

Visigoths: modern-day Spain

Angles and Saxons: modern-day Britain

Franks: central Europe

The eastern roman empire sustained and was then called the Byzantine empire.

The capital of roman empire was shifted from Rome to Constantinople

The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to the 11th century (c. 476-1000AD)

This period was saw constant warfare and invasions, deurbanisation, birth of feudalism and the growing power of the church.

With the end of the Western Roman Empire and with urban centres in decline, literacy and learning decreased in the West. Education became the preserve of monasteries and cathedrals.

The barbaric invasions resulted in splitting up of Western Europe into several small kingdoms until they were conquered by the Carolingians.

Source: www.google.com

The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, established an empire covering much of Western Europe; the Carolingian Empire endured until the 9th century, when it succumbed to the pressures of internal civil wars combined with external invasions—Vikings from the north, Magyars from the east, and Saracens from the south. Source: www.worldology.com

In the early middle ages (5-10 century AD), the capital of the Roman Empire shifted from Rome to Byzantium. This resulted in a change of trend in architecture. A new style evolved and came to be known as byzantine architecture.

By the beginning of the 8th century, the Carolingian Empire revived the basilica form of architecture.

During the High Middle Ages, i.e. after AD 1000, the population of Europe increased greatly due to technological and agricultural innovations.

The Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Middle Eastern Holy Land from the Muslims.

The crusaders

Toward the end of the 11th century, the Catholic Church began to authorize military expeditions, or Crusades, to expel Muslim “infidels” from the Holy Land.

The Crusades began in 1095 AD, when Pope Urban summoned a Christian army to fight its way to Jerusalem, and continued on and off until the end of the 15th century.

No one “won” the Crusades; in fact, many thousands of people from both sides lost their lives.

They made ordinary Catholics across Christendom feel like they had a common purpose.

They also exposed Crusaders to Islamic literature, science and technology--exposure that would have a lasting effect on European intellectual life.

Kings became the heads of centralized nation states, reducing crime and violence but making the ideal of a unified Christendom more distant.

Intellectual life was marked

by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasized joining faith to reason.

Architecture of Gothic cathedrals such as Chartres are among the outstanding achievements of this period.

Source: www.google.com

In the 10th century the establishment of churches and monasteries led to the development of stone architecture that elaborated vernacular Roman forms, from which the term Romanesque is derived.

Where available, Roman brick and stone buildings were recycled for their materials.

The distinctive European form of the castle was developed, and became crucial to politics and warfare.

Source: www.google.com

The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century (c. 1300–1500).

A series of famines and plagues, such as the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the Black Death, reduced the population to around half of what it was before the calamities.

Along with depopulation came social unrest and endemic warfare.

The unity of the Catholic Church was shattered by the Western Schism.

Printing press was discovered. Treaty of Magna Carta was the first printed document.

The large external sculptural schemes of Early Gothic churches gave way to more sculpture inside the building, as tombs became more elaborate and other features such as pulpits were sometimes lavishly carved.

Painted or carved wooden relief altarpieces became common.

Carved Tombs

Lavishly carved pulpits

In medieval Europe, rural life was governed by feudalism.

A political, economic, and social system in which land was allocated in exchange for services; roles and obligations were clearly defined for all participants.

Roles in the Feudal system:

1. Lord

2. Vassal

3. Fief

4. Manor

5. Serf

Source: www.google.com

While Christianity was the dominant religion in Medieval Europe, it was not the only one.

In the early Middle Ages, there were some people who still believed in the ancient Greek and Roman gods which were popular during the time of the Roman Empire.

The Norse people of Scandinavia were also slow to abandon their pagan gods and goddesses.

Between 1000 and 1500 AD there were also a number of people belonging to Judaism in western Europe.

Aside from Christianity, the other major religion in Europe during the Middle Ages (and still today), was Islam.

Medieval Architecture

• The end of Roman Empire not only disturbed the political, social and educational culture of Middle Ages, but also, it influenced the architecture of the Middle Ages in a significant manner.

• The essential aspect of this change was the increasing influence of Christianity and Church in political and cultural matters. The Church virtually became the major power to manage the life style of people of Middle Ages.

• Another significant reason that evolved various innovative steps in architecture of the Middle Ages was the tumultuous invasions by the barbarians and the evolution of feudal system during the Middle Ages.

• Medieval architecture can be divided in two classes; namely, religious architecture and military architecture.

• The temples of pagan and Roman religion were not designed for large gatherings.

• However, to spread Christianity, it was necessary to create Church buildings where large meetings could be held easily.

• To provide enough space, early Christians opted for a specific architectural design which is known as basilica. This design consisted of a nave, transepts and altars.

Pagan Temple

Source: www.google.com

• In order to protect their land and to provide protection for serfs, Lords created castles and fortified walls which later on became most significant non-religious examples of architecture of the Middle Ages.

• The peasants and serfs on the other hands were exploited by the members of nobility.

• The basic purpose of all these Gothic Churches and castles was either to spread influence of Christianity or to protect and to ensure security against invaders, barbarians and Islamic rulers.

• With changing influences of Church and feudalism, architectural styles of Middle Ages gradually changed from Romanesque architecture to Gothic architecture.

• During the early Middle Ages, most of the innovative architectural styles were influenced by modernization as architectural works were influenced by Italian, northern, Spanish, and Byzantine inputs. These architectural styles also showed the impact of religious and political competition between kings and the clergy

It is the architecture of the Byzantine or later Roman Empire.

Early Byzantine architecture was a continuation of Roman architecture.

Technological advancement and political and territorial changes meant that a distinct style gradually emerged which imbibed certain influences from the Near East and used the Greek cross plan in churches.

Dome at Hagia Sofia, Istanbul, Turkey.

Ground plan is either Basilican or cruciform.

Principal building material was brick arranged in decorative patterns or covered in plaster.

Columns and capitals were classical prototypes.

Narthex

Nave in Santa Sabina Church, Rome

Aisle

Ambulatory of an early Christian church in Rome.

One feature of the basilica is the use of a transept, or the "arms" of a cross-shaped building that are perpendicular to the long nave.

Other new features of religious architecture include the crossing tower and a monumental entrance to the church, usually at the west end of the building.

View of the interior shows the transept arms to right and left, and the chancel in the centre.

Altar

Piazza dei Miracoli, Italy

• Romanesque architectural style was influenced by Roman architecture with significant modernizing techniques.

• This architectural style was used during 800-1100 A.D. • Stone used in Romanesque architecture was cut with

precision• The use of the Roman arch led to the stone being supported

in the middle by the arch construction.• Buttresses were introduced as a means of support to the

basic design in Romanesque architecture in Medieval Times.• The vault was developed to enable the construction of stone

roofs. Barrel or Tunnel Vaults - consisted of a continuous surface of semicircular or pointed sections resembling a barrel or tunnel which has been cut in half lengthwise. Groin Vaults were produced by the intersection, at right angles of two barrel vaults. The arches of groin vaults were either pointed or round.

Round arches in

arcades, windows, doors and vaults,

Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, Italy

Malmesbury Abbey, England

Massive walls, Towers and Piers

Some types of vaulting used in Romanesque architecture.

The ribbed vaults at Saint-Étienne, Caen The aisle of the Abbey Church at Mozac has a groin vault supported on transverse arches.

Source: http://www.durhamworldheritagesite.com/

Portals with

sculpture and moldings

Cushion capitals

Murals and sculptures.

• Gradually, architecture of the Middle Ages went through a significant change and constructors started to produce building with perpendicular architecture which is also known as the Gothic architecture.

• This building and construction style was used during the period of 1200 – 1500 A. D. Gothic arch structures were light and spacious and they helped in creating airy structures that helped in creating high structures with proper light.

Tall structures with increased number of towers was an important feature of gothic architecture.

Large stained glass window openings.

Gothic rose window

Decorative designs

and sculptures

including Gargoyles

the Notre dame-French gothic

The Louvre palace- French

gothic

• Flying Buttresses• Stained glass windows• Pointed arch• Rib vaults• Pinnacles

A new method of construction

was evolved.

The pointed ‘rib and panel’

vaults over the lofty church

naves were now being held in

position with the buttresses.

The buttresses took the thrust

of the roof.

Hence the walls no longer

required to carry the load of

the roof, were decorated with

huge windows of stained glass.

The stained glass windows and

the sculptures that decorate the

buildings depicted the biblical

history from creation to

redemption as also the

chronicles of the kings, the

nobles, the knights and the

commoners.

• They were structurally employed in medieval architecture

• Use of the pointed arch gave a greater flexibility to architectural form.

• The pointed arch enabled architects to raise vaults much

higher than was possible in Romanesque architecture.

• This gave a very different and more vertical visual character to the structure.

• The pointed arch is used in every location where a vaulted

shape is called for, both structural and decorative.

• Openings such as doorways, windows, arcades and galleries have pointed arches.

• Vaulting above spaces was both large and small was usually supported by richly moulded ribs.

Use of pointed arch in gothic Architecture.

Pinnacles were used to counter-react the force exerted by the buttress

Summary

• In the early middle ages , the European kingdoms were in the state of constant warfare.

• The end of the united roman empire disturbed the political ,social, cultural stability.

• The art ,architecture, and science during the early medieval era, hence did not have

• any innovations

• Although ,the byzantine empire sustained, and the capital of the Roman Empire shifted from Rome to Byzantium. This resulted in a change of trend in architecture. A new style evolved and came to be known as byzantine architecture.

• Christianity was a new force in the medieval age. Christian faith was first

spread throughout the Roman Empire and then to the extremities of the

civilized world.

• The acceptance of Christianity as a state religion resulted in the construction

of churches in Rome.

• In the tenth, eleventh and twelfth centuries many churches,

cathedrals, monasteries, castles were erected.

• In the new nations of Europe, a new architectural style was seen

in the buildings. This style was an evolution from the late roman

architecture and hence came to be known as Romanesque

architecture.

• The religious enthusiasm that manifested in the crusades, led to

marvelous architectural developments during the high middle

ages.

• These were in turn evolved from the existing Romanesque style

and came to be known as gothic.

• The wealth and power of the clergy and the popular religious

fervor was responsible for the outburst of the construction of

churches during the late medieval europe.

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