thumb|12th-century Romanesque [[nave of Durham Cathedral with rib vaulting.]]Medieval architecture was the art and science of designing and constructing buildings in the Middle Ages. The major styles of the period included pre-Romanesque, Romanesque, and Gothic. In the fifteenth century, architects began to favour classical forms again, in the Renaissance style, marking the end of the medieval period. Many examples of religious, civic, and military architecture from the Middle Ages survive throughout Europe.

Styles

Pre-Romanesque

thumb|The church of [[Santa María del Naranco, originally a palace, built in the pre-Romanesque Asturian style.]]

The pre-Romanesque period lasted from the beginning of the Middle Ages (around 500 AD) to the emergence of the Romanesque style (from the 10th century). Much of the notable architecture from the period comes from France and Germany, under the Merovingians and the Carolingians and the Ottonians. Other regions also have examples of architecture from this period, including Croatia, England and Iberia (especially in Asturias and León). In Lombardy, the pre-Romanesque style included many Romanesque features and is therefore known as the First Romanesque.

Romanesque

thumb|[[Pisa Cathedral and the Leaning Tower in the Pisan Romanesque style.]]

The Romanesque style was predominant across Europe during the 11th and 12th centuries. It is characterized by rounded arches, by barrel or groin vaulting and by thick walls. The first and greatest patrons of Romanesque architecture came from the Church, especially monastic traditions such as Cluniacs and the Cistercians, but examples of Romanesque civic and military buildings survive.

The term 'Romanesque' (literally meaning 'in the manner of the Romans') was first used to describe the style in 1819. Although the style did draw on ancient Roman architecture, it was ultimately an original style and had a wider range of influences than the name suggests.

The term 'Gothic' (literally meaning 'in the manner of the Goths') was first used in the 16th century by Giorgio Vasari. However, the Goths, an ancient Germanic people, had no influence on the Gothic style. The Gothic style actually evolved from Romanesque architecture in France. A number of other factors and styles may have influenced early Gothic architecture. Architecture that combines elements of both the Romanesque and Gothic styles is sometimes referred to as Romano-Gothic. Churches often had reliquaries to display precious relics. Their design often had religious symbolism, such as Sunday Christ paintings and biblical narratives in stained glass. The surviving churches are almost entirely made out of stone.

Military architecture

thumb|[[Zvolen Castle in Slovakia strongly inspired by Italian castles of the fourteenth century]]

thumb|A diagram of a [[Motte-and-bailey castle|Motte and Bailey Castle ]]

Surviving examples of medieval secular architecture mainly served for defense, these include forts, castles, tower houses, and fortified walls. Fortifications were built during the Middle Ages to display the power of the lords of the land and reassure common folk in their protection of property and livelihood. In the early Middle Ages, fortifications were made from wood and earth, these were called Motte and bailey castles. These consist of a stockade or palisade surrounding an enclosed courtyard and man-made mound. This fortification acted as a passive obstacle that potential enemies would have to face to attack the civilization. However, this method of fortification had its downside including being vulnerable to fires so more methods of fortification were created.

Military architecture began to start being created with stone in the 11th century, it was also used to indicate wealth and power of the area protected with it. Stone was much more durable and was fireproof. They also began to adopt the use of cylindrical ground plans. There were many benefits to a cylindrical shape, it reduced blindspots, they were more resistant. Some examples of cylindrical fortifications are the gate towers at Harlech Castle and the Tour des Pénitents.

Medieval Fortifications also displayed many different defensive elements including, hoardings, loopholes or crosslets, and moats. Hoarding and loopholes were both beneficial for the archers or missile throwers, allowing them to see their targets better. Windows gained a cross-shape for more than decorative purposes, they provided a perfect fit for a crossbowman to shoot invaders from inside safely. Moats were used as a defensive mechanism for keeping attackers further away from the fort, while most were kept dry, moats were much more effective when wet.

Civic architecture

While much of the surviving medieval architecture is either religious or military, examples of civic and even domestic architecture can be found throughout Europe. Examples include manor houses, town halls, almshouses and bridges, but also residential houses. Walled towns were constructed across Europe, including in Austria.

The Civic landscape of Europe was built up of the crown, the church, guilds, mayors, and the elite. It was also largely running off of ceremonies that connected these relationships. The examples of the civic architecture mentioned in the last paragraph were mostly owned by the elite or government buildings. For example, manor houses were owned by bishops and located closely in relation to churches. These buildings, due to their higher class ownership, were more large in scale with elements that displayed wealth. They also provide an insight into the social history of the area it sits in through its architecture due to them adapting throughout the years to accommodate what the owner needed most. Majority of these buildings were made of stone while some were also wood framed.

See also

  • Ad Quadratum: The Practical Application of Geometry in Medieval Architecture
  • Architecture of Kievan Rus'
  • Architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School
  • Byzantine architecture
  • Medieval Scandinavian architecture
  • Medieval Serbian architecture
  • List of medieval stone bridges in Germany
  • List of medieval bridges in France

References

Further reading

  • Braun, Hugh, An Introduction to English Mediaeval Architecture, London: Faber and Faber, 1951.
  • "Building the House of God: Architectural Metaphor and The Mystic Ark," Codex Aquilarensis: Revista de arte medieval (2016)
  • Fletcher, Banister; Cruickshank, Dan, Sir Banister Fletcher's a History of Architecture, Architectural Press, 20th edition, 1996 (first published 1896). . Cf. Part Two, Chapter 13.
  • Hillson, J., Buchanan, A., Webb, N, Digital Analysis of Vaults in English Medieval Architecture, London: Taylor & Francis (2021).
  • Rudolph, Conrad, "Building-Miracles as Artistic Justification in the Early and Mid-Twelfth Century," Radical Art History: Internationale Anthologie, ed. Wolfgang Kersten (1997) 398–410.
  • Rudolph, Conrad, "The Architectural Metaphor in Western Medieval Artistic Culture: From the Cornerstone to The Mystic Ark," The Cambridge History of Religious Architecture, ed. Stephen Murray (2016).
  • Rudolph, Conrad, "Medieval Architectural Theory, the Sacred Economy, and the Public Presentation of Monastic Architecture: The Classic Cistercian Plan," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 78 (2019) 259–275.
  • The stave churches in Norway
  • Photographs and Plans of Crusader, Armenian and Byzantine Architecture in Turkey