During the Gothic era of the late Middle Ages, from about 1100, architectural inventions made it possible to construct massive cathedrals which went up in the cities; taller than buildings of previous centuries, they were supported by flying buttresses and vaulted ceilings which could support and distribute the tremendous building weight. The height from floor to ceiling in the Paris Notre Dame is 110 feet.
Classical Concepts are overlaid with massive decoration and size.
Outside, decorations cover the walls. Gargoyles lean out over the edges, sometimes serving as water spouts. Between the supports there are many stained glass windows. The large round windows are either mostly blue or mostly rose. White pieces and strips of glass illuminate the interior. The colors from blue and rose windows cross, reflect from the interior stones, columns, creating a blend is a honey-like amber shade. This creates a restful atmosphere for prayer and reflection. This new, blended light, which doesn't seem to have any source, bathes all with its warm mystery: The pure light of Gods love.
A bit of Classicism:
The facades have two outer sections that are mirrored in construction with a center section that contains a huge stained glass window. The Abbot Suger wrote of his experience on first entering the new abbey church of Saint-Denis, which was built to his own specifications , and completed in 1144. The colored glass windows seemed to transform the interior space into something otherworldly. " It seems to me that I see myself dwelling, as it were, in some strange region of the universe which neither exists entirely in the slime of the earth nor entirely in the purity of heaven; and that, by the grace of God, I can be transported from this inferior world to that of a higher world."
The Romance of Light
The interiors are flooded from colored glass and plain windows with light that reflects from stone pillars, walls and floors, transforming the many colors into a new hue of amber warmth that bathes all of the interior. Colored (stained) glass windows are suspended between floor and vault as if between heaven and earth.
GOTHIC CATHEDRALS
In design, all of the Gothic Cathedrals have much the same appearance inside and out. Many are named NOTRE DAME to honor and elevate the importance of the Virgin Mary. Perhaps most visited is the Notre Dames in Paris, on the bank of the Seine. NOTRE DAMES DE PARIS
The Universe is Manifested in The Form of Every Rose Window
Concentric layers echo the spheres containing sun, moon, planets and stars. The West Rose window of the Paris Notre Dame contains the months of the year, the vices and virtues of the prohets, all surrounding the Virgin Mary. She symbolizes all time and space - the history of the universe, which becomes known in the present by the cycles of the seasons. The concentric circles of design reflect the structure of a rose and petals.
In Paris, two monks at the cathedral of Notre Dame began to compose Chant with a second melody, and this is called Polyphony (many sounds played or sung at the same time). This new form of chant matches the splendor and beauty of Notre Dame, and celebrates the main feasts of the liturgical year. These compositions are collected in a book known as Magnus Liber Organi, (Great Book of Polyphany). In class we will listen to one of the most famous pieces from this collection, Viderunt Omnes, a chant for four voices sung in the middle of the mass on Christmas. It is based on a monophonic chant, which is embedded within this new form.
VIDERUNT OMNES
Q? This piece has several sections. Which sections are polyphonic and which are monophonic? Is there a choir?
Q? Besides being polyphonic, what else is new in this piece - the most striking new thing?
Q? Listen to the "layers" of voices. Which voice is most elaborate - melismatic? Which voice is the most plain, least elaborate? LISTENING MAP: VIDERUNT OMNES
From the Middle Ages to The Renaissance
The Bubonic Plague which began in the mid 14th C. wiped out about half of the population of Europe: 8 million died within a few years. The rebirth of the population within the next hundred years created a demand for goods and services, supporting a new 'middle' class of workers.
In the late Middle Ages, at the end of the Gothic period, some writers thought about life by considering the past and envisioning the present and future in a new way. Two writers whose thought remains vital are Bocaccio and Petrarch: as with everyone else in the Western world, they were effected by the Black Plague. The years of the 14th C.are the dawn of the Renaissance: the Rebirth of interest in Classical traditions and values, now looked at in a new way. The Renaissance is explored in the next section.
Following the Middle Ages, from about 1400-1600, Renaissance philosophy separated the church out of (secular) social and economic life, placing its responsibilities only with spiritual (sacred) concerns. For the Renaissance Humanists wealth made it possible to do fine and noble deeds. A good citizen, as with the Greeks and Romans, should be well rounded, educated, to deal with moral and ethical issues.