History of Architecture

Unit II. Early Midieval Period

 EARLY MIDIEVAL PERIOD
CONTENTS:
• The Carolingian renaissance
• Feudalism and rural manorial life
• Papacy
• Monasticism-craft and merchant guilds.
• Medieval domestic architecture-medieval monasteries
• Monastery of clunny III,
• Clunny Romanesque churches
• Development of vaulting

EXAMPLES:
• Pisa group
• Abbaye aux homes
• Durham cathedral
 INTRODUCTION
After the fall of Rome, Western Europe entered a period known as the Middle
Ages, also known as The Medieval Period, which lasted from 400 – 1400 A.D.

The Middle Ages or

Medieval Period
400-1400

500 B.C – 476 A.D The Renaissance (Rebirth)

The Roman Empire Begins around 1400

The ‘Dark Ages’ is a term often used synonymously with the “Middle Ages”. It
refers to the period of time between the fall of the Roman Empire and the
beginning of the Italian Renaissance.
 The Middle Ages Defined

• In general, the Middle Ages are defined by a

lack of central government, decline of trade,
population shift to rural areas, decrease in
learning, and a rise in the power of The
Roman Catholic Church.
POST ROMAN MESS
• After the breakup of the Roman empire in the late 5th century , its eastern Byzantine half flourished
while the western region disintegrated into a collection of fragmented kingdoms without any
central authority.
• Europe was entering its fourth century of the Dark Ages” when Charlemagne was born in
A.D.742.
• Charlemagne became one of those kingdoms in Germany in A.D. 768 and immediately set about
expanding his territory. Through the course of more than 50 battles, he’d conquered almost all of
mainland Europe.

Charlemagne
• Charlemagne’s desire to promote learning led to what has been called the
Carolingian Renaissance(rebirth)

• There was renewed interest in latin culture and classical works- works of the
greeks and Romans.

• Charlemagne imposed christianity, sometimes brutally, throughout his

territory.

• For spreading christianity across europe and to recognize his achievements

as the territory’s wide- reaching ruler, charlemagne
was crowned
by Pope Leo III on Christmas day in a.d.800.

• Charlemagne as the Emperor needed the loyalty of the people in his

territories to preserve the empire and make it strong.

• He started a system of feudality bonds to guarantee the loyalty of his

subjects.
 The Rise of Feudalism – Political and Social
Organization of Medieval Europe
The Problem: You are one of many kings ruling various kingdoms in Western
Europe during the Middle Ages. You are also the proud owner of large
landholdings in your area. However, you are struggling to control the nobles in
your kingdom who are fighting each other to expand their landholdings and
increase their power (in turn, threatening yours). In addition, you are concerned
about increasing barbarian attacks from the east. What can you do to create
structure in your kingdom and ensure order?

Your Solution:
 THE CAROLINGIAN RENAISSANCE
Charlemagne: Carolingian Renaissance
Charlemagne's reign was characterized not just with warfare, but also with his political
achievements. He also made a significant improvement in literacy and culture of the
Frankish Empire. Because of the tendency to the ideals of the Ancient Rome, and the
very idea of restitution of literacy, culture and art, this period is called the Carolingian
Renaissance

• After a period of stagnation and certain decadence in the development of intellectual

awareness and art which marked the Middle Ages, in the second half of the 8th
century there is a new uplift in these fields.
• Charlemagne brings the greatest scholars(specialist) of his time to his court, in
a desire to revive the level of artistic creation and nourishment of literacy from the
time of the ancient Rome.
• Rome becomes an ideal in the recovery of art, architecture, and philosophical
writings.
• The centers of this new scholarship were monasteries.
• They incorporated scriptoria where the transcriptions were made; the architecture
was improved on their structures, and the interior was used for decorative art
development.
 charles’ court

• In desire to revive scholarship and art, Charles starts gathering in his

court the most eminent scholars of that time.
• Already in his father’s time there were teachers who educated young
noblemen.
• Teachers come to the court from all parts of the world: English, Irish,
Italian, Spanish, Franks from Gaul and Germania.
• They visited abbeys and dioceses where they organized local schools,
founded libraries, ordered transcriptions of old writings, standardized
liturgy, and raised quality of church music.
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

• The practices of Carolingian schools were organized according to the

principle of seven Liberal arts.
• They are divided in two degrees: the Trivium (grammar, rhetoric and
logic) and the Quadrivium (arithmetic, astronomy, geometry and music).
• The most important things students could’ve learned were reading and
writing.
• Greek philosophy and science, apart from only a few works, were entirely
unknown to them, so they less studied the practices of the Quadrivium.
• Mathematics and music were studied less as well.

Art

• The most representative monumental building of the Carolingian

renaissance is the Palatin Chapel in Aachen.
• It was built between the years 792 and 805, and was the spiritual center
of Charlemagne’s court and the crowning hall of German rulers for
the next 600 years.
Germanic invaders raided the western half of the Roman
Empire

1. Constant fighting

2. Disruptions in trade
 Cities no longer economic centers

3. Downfall of cities
 Governments collapsed
 Nobles retreat to rural areas

URBAN people move to RURAL areas

 consequences of population shift to
rural areas

literacy declined loss of common

language
 Germanic invaders mixed with the Romans

only way to be educated was

through Catholic Church different languages evolved from Latin
-French
-Spanish

breakup of unified empire

 kings couldn’t defend lands
 people loyal to local leaders with armies
 king

Noble Church
Official

Knights

Peasants/Serfs
 The Rise of Feudalism – Political and Social
Organization of Medieval Europe

Oath of loyalty/military support King Grant Fief (land)

Vassal (Lord),
Loyalty/military Church officials
Shelter/food
Knights

Labor, rent Serfs and Peasants (90% of Shelter/food

population) And protection
 The Manorial life
• The parcel of land leased to a lord by the King was
known as a manor.
• Under the Feudal System, the lord had complete control of
the running of the manor provided he met certain obligations
set by the King.
 A Typical Manor

• In return for being able to work the land, the peasants gave the lord some of
their crops (taxes) and helped to farm his land.
• Most of manor’s land occupied by fields for crops, pastures for animals
• Middle Ages farmers learned that leaving field empty for year improved soil
• In time, practice developed into three-field crop rotation system

Rotation Small Village

• One field planted in spring for fall
harvest
• Another field planted in winter for
spring harvest
• Third field remained unplanted for
year
• Each manor included fortified
house (castle) for noble family,
village for peasants, serfs
• Goal to make manor self-sufficient
• Typical manor also included
church, mill, blacksmith
 Daily Life in the Middle Ages

Life in a Castle
• Life in Middle Ages not easy, did not have comforts we have today
• Early castles built for defense not comfort
• Few windows, stuffy in summer, cold in winter, dark always

Space
• Nobles had to share space with others, including soldiers, servants
• Private rooms very rare
• Main room the hall, large room for dining, entertaining

Bedrooms
• In early castles, noble family bedrooms separated from main area by sheets
• Later castles had separate bedrooms; latrines near bedrooms
• Wooden bathtub outside in warm weather, inside near fireplace in winter
Castles
• In the early Middle Ages,
castles were simple
structures made from earth
and wood, later they were
made from stone.
• Castles were usually built on
hills or other landforms that
would prevent easy attack.
• If a castle was on flat land
(difficult to defend) a moat
and drawbridge were built
• A castle's rooms had thick
walls and small windows with
no glass so they were usually
dark and chilly.
 BUILDING A MOTTE AND BAILEY CASTLE:

The Normans had invented a way of After digging a ditch, they raised a great
building castles quickly. It was a bit like mound in the middle. This was called a
making sandcastles but on a much bigger “motte” which is French for “mound”.
scale.

On top of the mound they built a tower Below the motte there was another enclosure
and surrounded it with a wooden fence. surrounded by a fence. This was called the
This was the strongest point of the castle. “bailey’. The Normans built motte and bailey
castles all over England
 PAPACY

• Papacy, the office and jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome,

the pope who presides over the central government of the
Roman Catholic Church, the largest of the three major
branches of Christianity.
• The history of the papacy, the office held by the Pope as
head of the Catholic Church, spans from the time of Saint
Peter to present day. Ex: Vatican city
• During the Early Church, the bishops of Rome enjoyed no
temporal power until the time of Constantine.
 MONASTICISM

• The Word derived from Greek monos, alone ,is a

religious way of life characterized by the practice of
renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to
spiritual work. Ex: Monks, Nuns
 Merchant Guilds in the middle
Ages
• There were two main kinds of Medieval guilds –
 Merchant Guilds
 Craft Guilds
• The word “guild” is from the Saxon “gilden” meaning "to pay" and refers to the
subscription paid to the Guilds by their members.
• The system of Feudalism during the Middle Ages allowed the lords and owners of
the land to tax the people and their trades.
• As trade increased in the Middle Ages the taxes became excessive.
• A single person had no chance of making any objections to the rate and amount of
tax that the lord demanded.
• The idea of Merchant Guilds was born. A Merchant Guild was an association of
traders.
• The Merchant Guild was able to negotiate with the lord and the trade levy became
regulated.
• The regulations agreed between the Merchant Guild and the lord resulted in a
Merchant Guild charter.
• The Merchant Guild charter allowed the merchants to pay an annual payment,
or fixed sum, to the lord who owned the land where the town was based.
 Craft Guilds in the middle Ages
• Craft Guilds in the Middle Ages
• The Craft Guilds were formed in a similar way to the Merchant Guilds.
• A group of tradesmen or craftsmen engaged in the same occupation joined together.
• There were Craft Guilds for every trade or craft performed within a Medieval city or
town.
• These trades or crafts included:
 Masons
 Carpenters
 Painters
 Cloth Makers
 Tanners
 Bakers
 Shoemakers, or cobblers
 Apothecaries
 Candle makers
• The Craft Guilds, like the Merchant Guilds, formed organizations for protection and
mutual aid.
• The Craft Guilds ensured that their members had similar rules to the Merchant
Guilds.