The Influence of Charlemagne

Carolingianc. 750 – 900AD Romanesquec. 900 – early 12 th century Gothic: FrenchEarly, 1140 – 1180AD High, c – 1350AD Late (Flamboyant), c – 1500AD EnglishEarly (Lancet), 1175 – 1250 AD Decorated, 1225 – 1350AD Late (Perpendicular), 1350 – 1500 AD ItalyEarly, 1200 – 1250AD (also Spain, Germany) High, 1250 – 1350AD Late, 1350 – 1450AD

Vocabulary Terms GalleryPinnacle AmbulatoryLierne ChevetTierceron JambBar Tracery TympanumPlate Tracery VaultRidge Rib Rib VaultSexpartite Vault Stained glassPseudo Sexpartite Vault Fan VaultQuadripartite Vault TriforiumLancet Window Flying Buttress Chapter House Transept Boss Gargoyle

Charlemagne Almost mythical in his reputation, Charlemagne (grandson of Charles Martel, or Charles the Hammer) was the savior of most of Western Europe; he drove the Saracens out of Italy and fought against the Basques in Spain. In the Pyrenees at the Battle of Roncevalles, in 778AD, his rear guard was ambushed and nearly all were killed, but Charlemagne escaped with a few men. The story was recorded 300 years afterwards as Le Chanson de Roland. In the 34 th year of his reign (he was 63) Charlemagne settled down to a peaceful rule in his native Aachen; Charlemagne is considered the father of both France and Germany. Wished (like Constantine, whom he consciously imitated) to create a visibly unified Christian world, was crowned by Pope Leo III in Rome on Christmas Day 800 AD as head of the Holy Roman Empire. (HRE) The HRE continued until Napoleon abolished it in Charlemagne had the Palatine Chapel built at Aachen in Germany.

Baptistry de St. Jean, oldest extant Christian building in France, a Merovingian church, begun c. 360 atop Roman ruins. Contained baptismal tank by 6 th c. Poitiers, France c. 6 th c. restored by Clovis I

Until 1857 Poitiers contained the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre more extensive than that of Nimes; remains of Roman baths, constructed in the 1st and demolished in the 3rd century, were laid bare in 1877; and in 1879 a burial-place and the tombs of a number of Christian martyrs were discovered on the heights to the south-east — the names of some of the Christians being preserved in paintings and inscriptions. Not far from these tombs is a huge dolmen (the "Pierre Levée"), 22 feet long, 16 feet broad and 6 or 7 feet high, around which used to be held the great fair of St. Luke.1857 amphitheatreNimesdolmen The first decisive Christian victory over Muslims — Battle of Tours — was fought by Charles Martel's men in the proximity of Poitiers on October 10, 732.ChristianMuslimsBattle of ToursCharles MartelOctober 10732

Construction d'Aix-la- Chapelle. Pépin le Bossu spent many times at the spas at Aquis Villa, the old Roman name for Aix- la-Chappelle L'empereur Charlemagne visite un chantier, vraisemblablement celui du palais d'Aix- la-Chapelle. Après avoir découvert le complot de son fils naturel Pépin le Bossu, Charlemagne assiste à son entrée dans les ordres. Paris, BnF, département des Manuscrits, Français 6465, fol. 96 (Troisième Livre de Charlemagne) Grandes Chroniques de France, enluminées par Jean Fouquet, Tours, vers

Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne at Aachen, Germany 796 – 805 AD (Note that Charlemagne returned to the southern construction principles of Ancient Rome and Ravenna.)

Cathedral at Aachen, Germany For 600 years the coronation chapel of the kings of the HRE, the Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne is small in comparison to the many additions and enlargements made to the cathedral over the centuries, but at the time of its construction it was the largest dome north of the Alps.

In order to bear the enormous flow of pilgrims in the Gothic period a choir hall was built: a two-part Capella Vitrea (glass chapel) which was consecrated on the 600th anniversary of Charlemagne's death. In 1978 it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The 13 windows are each 100 feet high and on the pillars between them stand fourteen statues (the Mother of God, the Twelve Apostles, and Charlemagne) that date from the 15th century. Escaping the Bombing from Allied Forces during WWI, the chapel remains, the only structure left from Charlemagne’s time.

The 8th-century Torhalle (gatehouse), at Lorsch Abbey, in Germany, is a unique survival of the Carolingian era. It curiously combines some elements of the Roman triumphal arch (arch-shaped passageways, half-columns) with the vernacular Teutonic heritage (baseless triangles of the blind arcade, polychromatic masonry).

Plan for the Monastery of St. Gall, c. 820, shows an ideal monastic layout, arranged in a rectilinear manner, with provisions for every activity.

San Miniato al Monte Florence, Italy Length of church is divided by piers of quatrefoil section and transverse diaphragm arches into three compartments. Between the compound piers the nave arcade is carried on pairs of columns. The Italian builders have not lost an awareness of the classical language of architecture.

San Miniato al Monte Divided along its length into three aisles by piers of quatrefoil section and transverse diaphragm arches. Pairs of columns between quatrefoil piers are different colored marble (spolio) Eastern end raised above the burial vault Wooden truss open to roof, painted with religious symbols

Romanesque Arches Desire for larger structures Greater proficiency in masonry construction and stone cutting techniques Need for acoustical effects (Gregorian chants) Elliptical arches cannot support much weight because they do not require that the blocks be trapezoidal in shape – no way to lock them together with a keystone. The diagonal ribs must be higher than the laterals, resulting in an undulating ceiling height within the aisle length. Circular arches later developed in to sexpartite vaults

Sant Ambrogio, Milan, Italy 1080 – 1128 possibly first to use groin vault (quadripartite rib)

St. Philibert c. 960 – 1120 introduction of ambulatory and chapels (chavet) to apse

Chavet - A French term used to describe the developed east end of a church, usually a French Gothic Cathedral, with its apse, ambulatory (a semicircular polygonal passageway around the apse of a church) and radiating chapels.

St. Sernin, 1080 – 1120, Toulouse, France

Abbaye-Aux Dames La Trinite) 1032 – 18 th c. use of pseudo-sexpartite vaulting

Abbaye-Aux Hommes (St. Etienne) 1068 – 18 th c. Caen, France use of true sexpartite vaulting. Note the façade of this church will become the standard organization for Gothic facades. Founded by William the Conqueror ; additions in the 18th c.

Liernes and vaulting A Lierne (from the French lier - to bind) in Gothic rib vaulting is an architectural term for a tertiary rib spanning between two other ribs, instead of from a springer, or to the centralboss. The type of vault that utilizes liernes is called a lierne vault or stellar vault (named after the star shape generated by connecting liernes). In England, the lierne came into use during the 14 th c. Decorated period. A good example of lierne vaulting is at Gloucester Cathedral. In France, examples can be seen in Flamboyant architecture, such as at Saint- Pierre in Caen, France.

Tiercerons The vault plan diagram of Ely Choir shows the ribs as a double line, where the main longitudinal ridge rib (green vertical lines) and transverse ridge ribs (green horizontal lines) intersect each other at the central bosses (large circles). The longitudinal ridge rib runs down the centre of the Choir, and the transverse ridge ribs span from the apex of each window at the sides of the Choir. Arched diagonal ribs span from piers between the windows, from springers to the central bosses, and arched transverse ribs (alternate horizontal lines) span from the springers to the main longitudinal ridge rib. Secondary arched diagonal ribs, called tiercerons, span from the springers to the transverse ridge ribs. Liernes (shaded black) span between the other ribs forming intricate patterning. Note: In French terminology relating to architecture, a lierne is a ridge rib, and hence has a different meaning.

St-Etienne was built by William the Conqueror from local Caen stone (also used for Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, and the Tower of London) in the 11th century. During the height of the Allied invasion, residents of Caen flocked to St-Etienne for protection.

1066 – Battle of Hastings William the Conqueror and his wife Matilda both founded the Abbaye aux Dames and the Abbaye aux Hommes. Both abbeys are located in Caen, in Northwestern France. L'Abbaye aux Hommes was dedicated to Saint Stephen and was an all male abbey. Bayeux Tapestry

Durham Cathedral, Durham, England 1093 – possibly the first use of groin vaulting (about the same time as Sant Ambrogio)

Durham Cathedral, romanesque apsidal end (east)

St. Front Perigeux, France mid 12 th century based on the plan of St. Marks in Venice, it was built by Byzantine traders, hence its unique characteristics for a French church.