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Hagia Sophia

During medieval times, the Catholic Church ruled all, and was a constant presence in the lives of every European. To show their power, cathedrals had to be huge and extravagant, for "the Gothic church... stood for the Heavenly City of Jerusalem...and was a monument that seems to dwarf the man who enters it" (Roth 301) . Especially during gothic times, it was a race to see who could get the most height. The taller the building, the closer it was to heaven. The invention of the pendentive also helped create a more glorious presence inside the churches. By putting a dome on top of a groined vault, you could now structurally support windows for more light. Light, being the most important of all "delights," helps inspire awe and a deep sense of holiness to these massive cathedrals.

Christian Catacomb

The precedent of every Western church is the basilica, because "the Christians required not only buildings that would accommodate large numbers of converts, but also enclosed spaces that would facilitate hearing the spoken word and chanted psalms." (Roth 279).. The basilica was designed by Romans originally as a law court, and later used in buildings that entertained large groups, such as public baths. Studying these cathedrals it is obvious "from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the end of the middle ages, two international styles of art had the greatest import for medieval western Europe: Romanesque and Gothic."(Blakemore 68) But Christianity was considered taboo when it first came on the scene, especially in the Romans' polygomous society. So Christians had to hide their worship services by gathering underground in the catacombs. Around the turn of the century churches were described as Romanesque because they had borrowed the use of arches, surface columns, and the idea of "telling stories" on the front of the building. Italian churches had an especially classical leaning being so close to Rome. But Rome was not the only place that cathedrals go their inspiration from. The use of the pendentive, the "greek cross," mosaics, and geometric patterns was borrowed from the architecture in the Roman Empire's new middle eastern capital, current day Istanbul. The Hagia Sophia is one of the finest and most thorough examples.

St. Madeleine

With the millennium approaching, the general consensus of the populous was the world was going to descend into hell. This belief is captured in small moments on the surface decoration of churches. Since illiteracy was rampant during these dark ages, most churches focused on the art of "visual literacy" instead of using words. These sculptures would show biblical stories, and often they were very grim, showing apocalyptic fantasies of demons and death. But the church itself was supposed to represent a physical moment of heaven on earth through “images of stylized reality, captured in the glittering mosaics, evoke a spiritual presence in an otherworldly atmosphere of resplended grandeur.” (Roth) Most churches had a series of affluent family-sponsored chapels (whose charity was inspired by indulgences) that each were ornately decorated as well.

San Vitale

Despite the name the "dark ages," medieval architecture was fond of incorporating a lot of light and experimenting with structure and surfaces. Deconstructing walls to make room for huge stained glass windows was both innovative and priority. Medieval cathedrals also show duality by incorporating the building styles of the east and west. Basing the archetype of the church off of the pagan roman basilica is also an interesting twist. And even the churches themselves are double sided because although the micro detail has a lot of movement, the buildings also represent solidity.

Baths of the Diocletian

The metric system was standard system the Greeks and Romans used to build all their great architecture. This system "was designed to serve the needs of the body in its pools and exercising gardens, to feed the mind in its libraries, and to reward the eye in its vast molded spaces." (Roth 275) The 32 acres of Baths of the Diocletian was dissected into 10 parts : baths, libraries, a gymnasium, etc...that brought people together as a whole.

SUMMARY

although the precedent for the church was inspired by the Roman basilica, they borrow a lot from the East as well. The invention of the pendentive helps give the cathedral presence, since this new architectural design allows the installation of windows to allow massive light into the building. The cathedrals were built using the metric system, and using geometry to create perfect proportions within the basilica. Visual literacy was the way to go since most of the population could not read, and the cathedrals were decorated with elaborate mosaics and biblical stories. The Christian Church was supposed to represent a moment of heaven on earth, and the duality of heaven and earth was further played upon by trying to make the cathedrals touch as high in the sky as humanly possible. This was not only to reach the heavens, but to assert the power of the Church as the real ruling party in Europe.