Normans - Durham section B: architecture Flashcards
(18 cards)
What style is Durham heavily influenced by?
By buildings William st calais saw in France on his journey to Rome/ and Norman architecture
Name a building Durham’s design is based from?
St Peter’s Basilica in Ro (nave and length are almost the same)
What made building Durham more artistic?
Easier travel in the second half of 11th century
How did easier travel make building Durham more artistic?
increasing mobility among master craftsmen allowed exchange of artistic and technological ideas
What would have been used to plan Durham from the start?
A master plan
What was the aisles nave for?
Vast space, bigger than in other citie / place of justice / assembly / commerce / entertainment / refugee / worship
What were Durham’s flanking transepts for?
For special chapels to provide light
What was to the further east of Durham?
Sacred spaces were clergy would celebrate the mysteries of the mass
What did St Calais want to include that many other earlier cathedrals had?
Shrines to saints, so would house St Cuthbert and venerable bede
What would shrines to saints do for the cathedral?
Bring people to the cathedral for purpose of pilgrimage and would raise church funds
What could the intersecting aisles been inspired by?
Architecture of Islamic Spain
Why is there a revival of a more Anglo-Saxon style of decoration in Durham?
Because the first generation of Norman buildings were discarded for more elaborate carvings
How did those returning first crusades inspire craftsmen?
They brought back stories of eastern church with it’s huge buildings and decorative mosaics
Where was technical innovation possibly brought back from?
By returning masons who’d worked on great fortresses of the crusader kingdoms
What is the architecture in the 12th century called?
Transitional - providing link between Romanesque of the conquest and the gothic styles of the thirteenth century
Why did builders use a pointed arch?
To span the roof of the nave so the cathedral could be really tall - allowing larger windows to bring more light into the building (soaring upwards to the heavens)
Why does Durham have stone ribs?
To give extra support, allow roofing between them to be thinner and lighter yet still helped to transfer the weight of the stone roof down through the walls
What does a combination of light and height in Durham allow?
For builders to create an astonishing monument to the greater glory of god that soared into the sky and was visible for miles around
