The genius of the Middle Ages found its highest expression, not in books, but in buildings. For several hundred years after the barbarian invasions architecture had made little progress in western Europe, outside of Italy, which was subject to Byzantine influence, [8] and Spain, which was a center of Mohammedan culture. [9] Beginning about 800 A.D. came a revival, and the adoption of an architectural style called Romanesque, because it went back to Roman principles of construction. Romanesque architecture arose in northern Italy and southern France and gradually spread to other European countries. It was followed about 1100 A D. by the Gothic style of architecture, which prevailed during the next four centuries.
[Illustration: PLAN OF SALISBURY CATHEDRAL, ENGLAND
Note the double transepts.]
THE ROMANESQUE CHURCH
The church of the early Christians seems to have been modeled upon the Roman basilica, with its arrangement of nave and aisles, its circular arched recess (apse) at one end, and its flat, wooden ceiling supported by columns. [10] The Romanesque church departed from the basilican plan by the introduction of transepts, thus giving the building the form of a Latin cross. A dome, which might be covered by a pointed roof, was generally raised over the junction of the nave and transepts. At the same time the apse was enlarged so as to form the choir, a place reserved for the clergy.
[Illustration: REIMS CATHEDRAL The cathedral of Notre Dame at Reims in northwestern France stands on the site where Clovis was baptized by St Remi. Here most of the French kings were consecrated with holy oil by the archbishops of Reims. Except the west front, which was built in the fourteenth century, the cathedral was completed by the end of the thirteenth century. The towers, 267 feet high, were originally designed to reach 394 feet. The facade, with its three arched portals exquisite rose window, and "gallery of the kings," is justly celebrated. The cathedral—walls, roof, statues, and windows—has been terribly damaged by the German bombardment during the late war.]
[Illustration: COLOGNE CATHEDRAL The Cathedral, or Dom, one of the finest monuments of Gothic architecture in Europe, was begun in the thirteenth century. The work of building proceeded slowly and at the time of the Reformation it ceased altogether. The structure was finally completed during the nineteenth century, and in 1880 AD it was opened in the presence of the emperor, William I. The Cathedral, which is in the form of a cross, measures 480 feet in length and 282 feet in breadth. Each of the towers reaches the height of 511 feet. The very numerous and richly-colored windows add greatly to the imposing effect of the interior.]
VAULTING AND THE ROUND ARCH
The Romanesque church also differed from a basilica in the use of vaulting to take the place of a flat ceiling. The old Romans had constructed their vaulted roofs and domes in concrete, which forms a rigid mass and rests securely upon the walls like the lid of a box. [11] Medieval architects, however, built in stone, which exerts an outward thrust and tends to force the walls apart. Consequently they found it necessary to make the walls very thick and to strengthen them by piers, or buttresses, on the outside of the edifice. It was also necessary to reduce the width of the vaulted spaces. The vaulting, windows, and doorways had the form of the round arch, that is, a semicircle, as in the ancient Roman monuments. [12]
THE GOTHIC STYLE
Gothic architecture arose in France in the country around Paris, at a time when the French kingdom was taking the lead in European affairs. Later it spread to England, Germany, the Netherlands, and even to southern Europe. As an old chronicler wrote, "It was as if the whole world had thrown off the rags of its ancient time, and had arrayed itself in the white robes of the churches." The term Gothic was applied contemptuously to this architectural style by writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, who regarded everything non-classical as barbarous. They believed it to be an invention of the barbarian Goths, and so they called it Gothic. The name has stuck, as bad names have a habit of doing, but nowadays every one recognizes the greatness of this medieval art. The most beautiful buildings of the Middle Ages are of Gothic architecture.