Hmmmm…the film, not quite what I was expecting, especially the circa 1972 cartoon animation—that was a wee bit of a surprise (read: creepy). But, I guess his budget did not allow for the History Channel like reenactments that we’ve all come to know and love.
Despite my criticisms, I feel the film explained clearly the role of organized religion, the power of the local bishops, and the great importance of the local church/cathedral and the relics they housed, plus the intertwined nature of the church and the lay people who so generously supported the church.
At the beginning of Christianity, the churches were built by the kings and rulers of countries. These churches would demonstrate his political power along with his divine ordained leadership of the church (as God’s empowered representative on earth). As the population grew and scattered, the kings and rulers appointed holy men to manage the masses, their religious worship, education, pilgrimages, and regular donations to the church. Early on, the Church was the epicenter, it served as the religious, intellectual and judicial seats. Bishops were assigned at the local/regional level to manage the king’s/church’s interests; as well as to oversee the lives of the laity.
As we saw in the movie, the church soon came to rely upon individual “donations” in the form of indulgences (“pay now for forgiveness later”) for its existence and to fund its expansive building efforts!
In the movie, we learned that not all bishops worked for the good of the people or the church. As in modern times, the bishops (were fallible) could be seduced and consumed by greed and misappropriation of funds is not a 21st century phenomenon. For example, the cave-in while building the new cathedral was due to the Bishop’s demand that the builder use inferior stones; stones which could not withstand the immense pressure and heights to which they were needed.
The film supported our text’s emphasis upon relics as we saw in the first cartoon scenes when Pierre, the lowly scribe, rescued the cloak of the virgin from the burning rumble of the first church. So elated were the clergy, that it was immediately determined that this act was a “sign” from above and required them to rebuild on this same spot in honor of God—but bigger and grander than ever seen before.
The film also highlighted that building a cathedral was a costly and lengthy process and required engineering and mathematical genius, not to mention shear brute strength. Yes, they devised clever and convenient hoists, frames, scaffolding, etc. but in the end, someone had to lay the bricks, quarry the stones, build the scaffolding, etc., etc.
The film clarified why building a massive cathedral was necessary: for the most part, religion was the center of the community and as the population grew and migrated, it became necessary to build on a large scale to accommodate the ever growing masses.
These cathedrals were considered monuments and symbols of devotion to God, not to mention repositories for holy and venerated relics. They were places of worship. Places of education. Places of political power. And even consider the “city of God.”
Now to our Chapter: Gothic Art
What an amazing time of growth and human development not to mention world altering events: the Hundred Years’ War (were France and England both tried unsuccessfully to erase the other from the face of the earth). Followed by the great plague known, as the Black Death, which picked up where the French and English left off and did succeed in depleted the world’s population by 25%. And then there were the fighting holy men. Opposing Popes, one in France and the other in Italy, each fighting for supremacy. Each claiming my gold throne is the ONLY holy seat---this dramatics period was known as the Great Schism. It’s a wonder with all this drama going on that anything could get created, but create they did!
During this age, religious and intellectual life shifted from the monastery, to rapidly expanding secular cities, new Gothic urban centers filled with prosperous merchants and guild with scholars founding the first universities (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sorbonne_17thc.jpg).
Papacy power as at the height of its power during the crusades against the Muslims.
The word Gothic was given to us by the “father of art history” Giorgio Vasari who originally used the term as a derogatory description of late medieval art and architecture which he attributed to the Goths; were regarded as monstrous and barbarians.
The term French Gothic first appeared around 1140 CE and was also known as “opus francigenum (French work)”. It is divided into three time periods; Early, High and Late. The birthplace of Gothic architecture is Saint-Denis just north of Paris. Built in the 9th century by monks, Saint-Denis served as France’s royal church, was in itself a symbol of the monarchy, and was the burial place of the German rulers of the Holy Roman Empire.
It was Abbot Suger who spearheaded the rebuilding of Saint-Denis. From humble beginnings, he served as the right hand man to both Louis the VI and Louis VII. In fact, he served as Regent when Louis VII went on Crusade. He set out to rebuild the basilica to increase the prestige of his abbey and of the monarchy by rebuilding the basilica in royal fashion.
New to the basilica was the west façade with its sculptured portals. Never before had a church been built with this level of detailed sculpture on the exterior. And he planned for, but never saw the completion of the East end with its innovative plan including the lightweight rib vaults which enabled he elimination of walls between the radiating chapels. He pioneered the ogival arches and he is crediting with saying of the new design that it provided “wonderful and uninterrupted light”. He coined the phrase, lux nova, new light, which poured through the most sacred of windows: the new stained class windows.
The hallmarks of French gothic then are the new vaulting and the use of stained glass, but also the advanced me and detail of the portal sculpture and later, the elaborate tracery.
French Gothic couldn’t be contained to the just France. Architects, engineers, clergy, and laypeople took the knowledge of this newfound building and sculpturing to other parts of Europe including England.
Following the Norman conquest of 1066 Gothic building took off, but English churches maintain their uniqueness.
Take for instance, Salisbury Cathedral. It clearly shows regional features of English Gothic building; namely the squat façade (wider than the nave) and the sparing use of flying buttresses, whereas the French used them and over used them. In England, height was not a decisive factor in building and the English did not embrace the structural logic or emphasis in height of the French gothic.
When the Holy Roman Empire got into the Gothic building craze we got the largest church built in Europe, the Cologne Cathedral (please pressure wash me!). Breaking with French Gothic tradition, the Germans, when building the Saint Elizabeth Cathedral made the aisles the same height as the nave—from which we get the term, Hallenkirche (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_church)
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/cologne-cathedral.htm
[The immensity of the Cologne Cathedral is something that must be experienced first hand, but here is an image of it following the bombings of WW II. One cannot help but think, “Did the Nazis really mean to miss? Were they that bad of shots? Or did the Cathedral emanate some power to repel the onslaught and barrage of bombs?]
Cult of the Virgin
I searched our text for this term, and damned if I can find it so, forgive me if what I’m about to write is all wrong.
It was apparent by the middle ages, that Mary was no longer playing second fiddle. As we saw on the tympanum portals and in the statuary, Mary was taking on a new role of comforter, guider; mother to us all. Not only was she the mother to Christ, but, she was queen of heaven. By humanizing her pain, say in the anguished portrayal in the Pieta, the church gave the laypeople something to think about when they were complaining about their lumbago or naughty goats. “What is your suffering compared to this?” The Pieta exudes. Suddenly, Mary became a focal point in daily religious life. Suddenly, praying to Mary, to get to Christ, “Our Father in Heaven” seemed like the natural path to religious expression and worship. Here is a link I found at the Met about the Virgin Cult, I hope I’m on the right track.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/virg/hd_virg.htm
Gothic Architecture in America
If you travel to NYC, please stop by my home town cathedral: St. Patrick’s
http://www.saintpatrickscathedral.org/about.html
or
Trinity Church in NYC
http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/fa267/19th/trin_ny_st.jpg
Some more to read just in case I’ve not given you enough. J
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