The period of European history extending from about 500 to

1400–1500 CE is traditionally known as the Medieval Ages.

The term was first used by 15th-century scholars to designate the

MEDIEVAL PERIOD period between their own time and the fall of the Western
EUROPE Roman Empire.

The period is often considered to have its own internal divisions:

either early and late or early, central or high, and late.

Art Deco
1925-1937 CE

Early
Christian
315-750 CE
1895-1925 CE
Beaux Art
0 CE

Medieval Period
500-1500 CE
Neoclassicism
1730-1925 CE
Early Christian
Romanesque
Prehistoric
11600-3500
800-1200 CE

RENNAISANCE
Baroque
1600-1830 CE
Modernist Style
1900-present Architecture
3050 to 900 BCE

Classical
1890-1914 CE

BCE
Art Noveau

850 BCE to 476 CE

14th to 17th Century CE Postmodernism
315-750 CE
Egyptian

700 to 323 BCE — Greek Rococo

323 to 146 BCE — Hellenistic
1650-1790 CE
1972-present
44 BCE to 476 CE — Roman
Neo-Modernism and

Neogothic
Parametricism
1997-present

Byzantine 1905-1930 CE
Gothic
527-565 CE 1100-1450 CE
 EARLY CHRISTIAN ARCHITECTURE

- By the end of the first century, it is evident that Christian places of worship had
developed a somewhat standard form of architecture.

- Churches from the 1st through the 3rd centuries took classical Greek and Roman
architecture in its most flourished form as its main influence.

- The tendency to use Greek and Roman architectural styles was made without
reference to their original symbolism.

- This allowed for a more complete freedom of architectural styles.

- There were unique designs that were created specifically for churches. One of the few
architectural developments made by early churches was the construction of a dome on
top of a polygon.

• Totally new architectural forms would not be as effective as architectural forms that
THE BASILICA carried meaning. This led to use of category of Roman building known as the Basilica.

- The term Basilica originally denoted anything kingly or lordly. • Roman basilicas served places for public gatherings: law courts, financial centers, army
drill halls, reception rooms in imperial palaces.
- The basic characteristics of a basilica in terms of a place of worship are: a rectangular
ground plan divided longitudinally into three or five aisles by columns which support • Roman cities would regularly have a Basilica as a central public building. It was, like our
the roof. City Hall, a center of public power.

- The roof above the middle aisle (the nave) is raised above the adjacent aisles so that • These basilicas regularly had an architectural form we call an apse. (The apse was a
its supporting walls have openings for air and light. A half dome projects beyond the semi-circular projection usually off the short wall of the rectangular building.)
rectangular plan.
• The apse was the site of the law court. It would be here that the magistrate would
- By the third century, it was the Middle East that was the most flourished region for dispense the law. Adjacent to the seat of the magistrate would regularly appear the
Christianity. Unfortunately it is in this area that early Christian monuments have either image of the Emperor.
been completely destroyed or hardly explored. Many of these early churches were
likely converted by Islam into mosques, the most notable example being Hagia Sophia. • This clearly symbolized the translation of legal authority from the Emperor to the
Magistrate.
 Characteristics of Early Christian Church Building
1) Propylaeum – the entrance building of a sacred precinct, whether church or imperial
palace.

2) Atrium – in early Christian, Byzantine, and medieval architecture, the forecourt of a

church; as a rule enveloped by four colonnaded porticoes.

3) Narthex – the entrance hall or porch preceding the nave of a church.

4) Nave – the great central space in a church. In longitudinal churches, it extends from the
entrance to the apse (or only to the crossing if the church has one) and is usually flanked by
side aisles.

5) Side Aisle – one of the corridors running parallel to the nave of a church and separated
from it by an arcade or colonnade.
Early Christian Church
6) Crossing – the area in a church where the transept and the nave intersect.

7) Transept – in a cruciform church, the whole arm set at right angles to the nave. Note
that the transept appears infrequently in Early Christian churches. Old St. Peter’s is one of
the few example of a basilica with a transept from this period. The transept would not
become a standard component of the Christian church until the Carolingian period.

8) Apse – a recess, sometimes rectangular but usually semicircular, in the wall at the end of
a Roman basilica or Christian church. The apse in the Roman basilica frequently contained
an image of the Emperor and was where the magistrate dispensed laws. In the Early
Christian basilica, the apses contained the “cathedra” or throne of the bishop and the altar.
Byzantine
Architecture
9) Nave elevation – term that refers to the division of the nave wall into various levels. In
the Early Christian basilica, the nave elevation usually is composed of a nave colonnade or
527-565 CE
arcade and clerestory.

10) Clerestory – a clerestory, i.e. a row of windows in the upper part of a wall. In churches,
the clerestory windows above the roofs of the side aisles permit direct illumination of the
nave.
 Evolution of Byzantine Architecture
• Architecture developed from the fifth century A.D. in the Byzantine Empire,
characterized especially by massive domes with square bases and rounded arches and • The first churches in the Roman empire were built in the basilica style which means
spires and much use of glass mosaics. they were built as a place for public gatherings, with high walls and large open spaces
for audiences.
• Emperor Constantine adopted Christianity and in 330 AD moved his capital from Rome
to Constantinople. This religious shift dramatically affected the art that was created • In the Early Byzantine period, the Christian churches were built with decorations for
across the newly formed — Eastern Roman empire. the interior of churches, including icons and mosaics.

• The eastern Roman Empire (aka Byzantine Empire) flourished from 4th century CE to • Architecture in the Middle Byzantine period moved toward the centralized
15th century CE, during which they erected several churches and other public cross-in-square plan and increased ornamentation on church exteriors and interiors
buildings. which became the identity of Byzantine Architecture.

• The character of Byzantine architecture, which dates from the fourth century to the
present day, is determined by the novel development of the dome to cover polygonal
and square plans for churches, tombs, and baptisteries.

Architectural Characteristics

• Domed central-plan: Byzantine structures can be identified by their huge

hemispherical roofs constructed over a square-shaped base.

• Pendentives and squinches are architectural supports that bridge the difference
between a square room and the curved dome that rises above it.

• Greek Cross: The plans of the early byzantine buildings were in the shape of a Greek
Cross. The Greek cross is a very early form of the Christian cross. It predates the Latin
The Holy Apostles in Thessaloniki, Athens in the
cross wherein all the four arms are equal in length. Quincunx pattern

• Quincunx: A quincunx is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a

cross, with four of them at the corners of a square or rectangle and a fifth at its centre.

Interior of Hagia Sophia

 Spatial composition:
Interior Details Hagia Sophia

• Lofty and towering interior spaces, with high windows.

• Windowed domes were made to look like a crown with jewels of light which
symbolized the ‘vault of heaven’.

• The columns were made of marble with inlay work.

• The ceilings were sometimes coffered using gold and most empty spaces were covered
with mosaic.

• Central-plan churches usually had an atrium, a narthex (entrance lobby opposite the
main altar) and an apse (semi-circular end of an aisle, usually where the altar is
placed), but the nave (central aisle) is usually much shorter. Central plan structures
were first used as tombs, baptistries and shrines to martyrs.

Plan: Hagia Sophia, Section: Hagia Sophia,

Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul, Turkey
 Hagia Sophia
• The Hagia Sophia (“sacred wisdom,” 532–37 CE) in Constantinople was, from the date
of its opening, considered one of the greatest buildings in the Western world.

• Little is known for certain about its predecessor, which was dedicated by Constantine
in 360 CE but damaged in civil strife.

• For the new church, Justinian called in Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus,
who produced a daring and lofty domed structure still largely intact today.

• Sheathed in marble and gold, its splendor made it one of the most talked about
buildings in the Christian world.

• Some skeptics thought they had been right when an earthquake destroyed the dome
in 557 CE, barely twenty years after its dedication.

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia

• But undaunted, Justinian had a new one built, though the second one was more • The deep galleries on the north and south, which form spacious corridors
steeply pitched. parallel to the nave, help create the sense of drama that pervades the
building.
• The structural system is simple but ingenious. • From a structural point of view, they serve to divide the buttressing into
• A 30-meter square forms the center. segments.
• At the corners, piers rise up to support four arches, between which are
pendentives that hold a dome scalloped with forty ribs.
• Windows line the base of the dome, making it seem to float.
• The east and west arches are closed off with a screen of columns and windows.
• The undersides of the east and west arches, however, seem to have blown
away, allowing one to look into vast, three-apsed buildings on both sides.
• The only difference between east and west is that on the eastern side, the final
8 meters of the apse boldly project from the perimeter wall that otherwise, like
a box, contains its precious spatial cargo.
Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia
• The vaults, made of brick, are thin and lightweight. • But the large windowless openings under the supporting arch at the west end are filled
only with grille work.
• There is still considerable uncertainty about the statics that govern the building’s
integrity, because the semi-domes are too thin to be of much assistance. • Under the north and south tympana, the colonnaded columns stand in the shadows,
backlit from the windows in the outer wall.
• But the combination of supporting half-domes, quarter-domes, and massive piers were
enough, and in the days before computers and earthquake impact studies, the • Impressive as the complex structural system the Hagia Sophia is, the architects made
audacity of the system is remarkable. every effort to make it appear effortless.

• Later, from the 8th century on, various types of buttresses were added to the exterior • The marble cladding and the mosaics would have obliterated any sense of oppression
to prevent problems. or weight.

• The use of windows is similarly complex. • From the dark-gray marble of the pavement to green marble with white veins,
dark-blue marble with yellow veins, and reddish columns, to the silver and gold of the
• The window at the east end of the apse, the lights along the base of the dome, and mosaics, the eye moves from surface to surface as if structure simply did not exist.
those on the north and south all allow light to stream directly into the nave.

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia

• The first dome was covered with a gold mosaic. • In fact, past the narthex the space rises forcefully, creating the feeling of being at the
bottom of a vast canyon, with the church floor a type of stage on which the Entrance
• The second one had a large figure of a cross embedded in its decoration. of the Mysterires was performed.

• The windows were filled with glass tinted blue, red, green, brown, yellow, and purple. • Nighttime illumination must also have been impressive.
The light was thus a subdued one.
• Form the base of the dome, brass chains swept down to support a metal ring equipped
• Even the patterned marble floor, unlike the floor of the Pantheon, denies a sense of with flat silver disks pierced to hold glass vessels for oil lamps.
stability and has been described by ancient commentators as a wavy sea.
• Within this vast candelabrum hung another, smaller crown of lights, while higher up, a
• Though a good deal of the marble panels have survived, few of the mosaics have, since great silver disk acted as a reflector.
most were taken down or plastered over during its conversion to a mosque. (The Hagia
Sophia was secularized in 1935.) • The church was sited just north of the palace complex at the terminus of the main
avenue that ran through the city.
• From the outside, with its staggered heaping of volumes, a visitor would not expect an
interior space of this dimension and scale. • Apart from the Hagia Sophia, very little of the palace survives today.
 GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

• Gothic architecture began mainly in France, where architects were inspired by

Romanesque architecture and the pointed arches of Spanish Moorish architecture.

• Gothic architecture was originally known as "French Style". During the period of
Renaissance it fell out of fashion and it was not respected by many artists.
Gothic
Architecture • They marked it as "Gothic" to suggest it was the crude work of German barbarians
(Goths).
1100-1450 CE
• Examples of Gothic architecture: Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and St. Patrick's
Cathedral in Dublin.

• It was a style of masonry building Pointed Arches Ribbed Vaults

characterized by cavernous spaces
with the expanse of walls broken up
by overlaid tracery.

• Gothic Architecture is often Large Stained Windows

characterized by few key Rose window

architectural elements:
- Light and airy interior,
- Focus on verticality
- Large stained glass windows, Gargoyles

- Pointed arches,
Ornate Decoration
- Ribbed vaults,
- Pointed Pinnacles,
- Gargoyles,
- Flying buttresses, and
- Ornate decoration. Rose window and tracery Flying Buttresses
 Pointed Arch
Pointed Pinnacles
• Gothic architecture is not merely about ornamentation.
• Add strength and stability to the structure
• The Gothic style brought innovative new construction techniques that allowed churches
• Enables buildings to reach new heights
and other buildings toreach great heights.
• To make it look light
• One important innovation was the use of pointed arches. Earlier Romanesque churches
had pointed arches, but builders didn't capitalize on the shape.

• During the Gothic era, builders discovered that pointed arches would give structures
amazing strength and stability.

• Builders turned from the semicircular, unbroken arch to the pointed arch.

Pointed Arch Gargoyles

• Looked lighter and pointed upward • The origins of the word 'gargoyle' are derived from the old French word 'gargouille'
meaning throat.
• Exert less thrust than semicircular arch of the same span.
• Gargoyles came into gothic architecture in the early 13th century and are defined as "a
• Solves geometric difficulty inherent in ribbed vaults waterspout, projecting from an upper part of a building to throw water clear of walls or
foundations.

• Gargoyles are frightening and intimidating sculptures - perfect for the likes of great
Lords and Kings who built elaborate fortresses and castles in order to crush and
intimidate the indigenous population.
Stained Glass Window Gothic Arch

• Since the walls themselves were no longer the primary supports, Gothic buildings could • The Medieval Gothic Arch was a major feature of the architecture of the Middle Ages.
include large areas of glass.
• The use of the Gothic arch gave the builders tremendous flexibility.The Gothic architects
• Huge stained glass windows and a profusion of smaller windows created the effect of and builders discovered the amazing strength and stability of using pointed arches.
lightness and space.
• The arch could not only support greater weights but could also could span greater
distances, allowing vaults to be taller and wider.

• The walls of Gothic buildings could be thinner because the weight of the roof was
supported by the arches rather than the walls.

• Thinner walls had wider window openings which encouraged the use of stained glass
and the magnificent Gothic Rose Windows.

The Rib Vaults

Gothic Vault
• Organic metaphor alluding to the role of ribs in anatomy as the body's skeletal structure
supporting tissues. • The reasons that the cathedrals had so many of these vaulted roofs is because the
medieval builders thought that they helped reduce the risk of fire.
• Arches, usually three pairs per rectangular bay, running diagonally.
• That was really good because fires often spread and there were no fire fighters to help
• Cross ribs act together with outer frame to create a complete armature of arches along extinguish the fire.
the edges and main folds of the vault.
• Also, it made the inside of the cathedral have a finished look.
• Earlier Romanesque churches relied on barrel vaulting.

• Gothic builders introduced the dramatic technique of ribbed vaulting.While barrel

vaulting carried weight on continuous solid walls, ribbed vaulting used columns to
support the weight.

• The ribs also delineated the vaults and gave a sense of unity to the structure.
 Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, A Romanesque Abbey
Flying Buttresses France (High) (Medieval)

• It serves to transmit the lateral forces pushing a wall outwards (which may arise from
stone vaulted ceilings or from wind loading on roofs) across an intervening space and
ultimately down to the ground.

• Another application of the flying buttress is to prop up a wall which may be leaning with
a danger of collapse.

Basilica of Saint-Denis,
Saint-Denis, France
(Early)

- In Medieval art, the term "Romanesque architecture" describes the European style of
building design which flourished during the late Medieval era (c.800-1200). It is
traditionally divided into three periods:
- (1) Pre-Romanesque: Carolingian & Ottonian architecture (c.800-1000).
- (2) Early Romanesque (11th century).
- (3) Mature Romanesque (c.1070-1170).

- The most important type of religious art produced during the Middle Ages,
Romanesque Romanesque design was influenced mainly by classical Roman architecture, as well as
elements of Byzantine art, and Islamic art.
Architecture
800-1200 CE - It was characterized by a new massiveness of scale, expressing the increasing stability
of the age and the re-emergence of European culture after four centuries of the Dark
Ages.

- The expansive building program of the Roman church and its monastic orders led to
the creation of three distinct structures of Romanesque architecture: the cathedral,
the monastery and the castle.
- Later, during the late 11th century, Papal confidence combined with secular military Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture
power to launch the Crusades to liberate the Holy Places in Palestine from the grip of
Islam. - The general impression given by both ecclesiastical and secular Romanesque
architecture is that of massive solidity and strength.
- The retrieval of Holy Relics from the Holy Land gave a further boost to the building of
new churches in western Europe, and to the development of the mature Romanesque - Romanesque architecture relies upon its walls, or sections of walls called piers, to bear
style. the load of the structure, rather than using arches, columns, vaults, and other systems
to manage the weight.
- One consequence of this sustained program of construction, was a huge demand for
architectural decoration, including statues (of gargoyles and monsters, as well as saints - Romanesque design is also characterized by the presence of arches and openings,
and angels), relief sculpture and stained glass, which in turn led to a huge growth in arcades, columns, vaults, and roofs.
the number of medieval artists and craftsmen.
- In spite of the general existence of these items, Romanesque architecture varies in
how these characteristics are presented. For example, walls may be made of different
materials or arches and openings may vary in shape.

- Later examples of Romanesque architecture may also possess features that earlier Santa Maria
forms do not. Some of the common features are: Arabona: Abbey
church of Santa
Maria Arabona,
1) Walls: Italy.

- The building material used in Romanesque architecture varies across Europe

depending on local stone and building traditions. In Italy, Poland, much of
Germany, and parts of the Netherlands, brick was customary. Other areas saw
extensive use of limestone , granite, and flint.

- The building stone was often used in small, irregular pieces bedded in thick mortar.

- Smooth ashlar masonry was not a distinguishing feature of the style in the earlier
part of the period, but occurred where easily worked limestone was available.

- Had massive supporting walls.

 Abbey Church of St. James, Lebeny, Hungary (1208): Characteristics of
Romanesque architecture include the ocular window and the pairing of
2) Arches and Openings: two arched windows or arcade openings within a larger arch, both visible
here at the Abbey Church of St. James.
- A characteristic feature of Romanesque architecture, both ecclesiastic and domestic, is
the pairing of two arched windows or arcade openings separated by a pillar or
colonette and often set within a larger arch.

- Ocular windows are common in Italy, particularly in the facade gable, and are also seen
in Germany.

- Most arches were semi-circular.

- Later Romanesque churches may have wheel windows or rose windows with plate
tracery.

- In a few Romanesque buildings , such as Autun Cathedral in France and Monreale

Cathedral in Sicily, pointed arches have been used extensively.

The Collegiate
Church of
Nivelles, Belgium
3) Arcades: uses fine shafts of
Belgian marble to
- The arcade of a cloister typically consists of a single stage (story), while the arcade that define alternating
blind openings
divides the nave and aisles in a church typically has two stages, with a third stage of and windows.
window openings known as the clerestory rising above. Upper windows
are similarly
separated into
- Arcades on a large scale generally fulfills a structural purpose, but they are also used two openings by
decoratively on a smaller scale both internally and externally. colonettes.

Notre Dame du
- External arcades are frequently called “blind arcades,” with only a wall or a narrow Puy France, has
a more complex
passage behind them. arrangement of
diversified
arches: doors of
varying widths,
blind arcading,
windows, and
open arcades.
4) Piers: 5) Columns
- Although basically rectangular, piers can often be highly complex, with half-segments
of large hollow-core columns on the inner surface supporting the arch and a clustered - Columns were often used in Romanesque architecture, but varied in building material
group of smaller shafts leading into the moldings of the arch. and decorative style.

- Piers that occur at the intersection of two large arches, such as those under the - In Italy, a great number of antique Roman columns were salvaged and reused in the
crossing of the nave and transept , are commonly cruciform in shape, each with its interiors and on the porticos of churches.
own supporting rectangular pier perpendicular to the other.
- In most parts of Europe, Romanesque columns were massive, supporting thick upper
walls with small windows and sometimes heavy vaults.

- Where massive columns were called for, such as those at Durham Cathedral, they
were constructed of ashlar masonry with a hollow core was filled with rubble.

- These huge untapered columns were sometimes ornamented with incised decorations.

Durham Cathedral,
England: has decorated
masonry columns
alternating with piers of 6) Vaults and Roofs:
clustered shafts - The majority of buildings have wooden roofs in a simple truss, tie beam, or king post
supporting the earliest form.
example of pointed high
ribs.
- In churches, typically the aisles are vaulted but the nave is roofed with timber.

- In Italy, open wooden roofs were common, tie beams frequently occurred in
conjunction with vaults, and the timbers were often decorated, as at San Miniato al
Monte, Florence.

- Vaults of stone or brick took on several different forms and showed marked
development during the period, evolving into the pointed, ribbed arch characteristic of
Gothic architecture.

Corinthian
style
capitals
 REFERENCES REFERENCES
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/architecture/romanesque.htm https://blog.kaarwan.com/byzantine-architecture-a-quick-overview-9de8f6dde467
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/romanesque-architecture/ https://buffaloah.com/a/archsty/byz/index.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2WNUWDoAM4