W12 L1 Romanesque and Gothic Architecture Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key Romanesque and Gothic architectural sites, figures, and structural innovations discussed in the lecture transcript.

Autun Cathedral (Cathedral of Saint-Lazare)

A Romanesque church in Autun, France, built between $1120-1135/40$ that was inspired by the Benedictine Abbey at Cluny.

Gislebertus

The individual who signed the sculpture of Christ in judgment at the Cathedral of Saint-Lazare with the inscription "Gislebertus made this."

Historiated capitals

Sculpted column capitals featuring narrative scenes, such as the Flight into Egypt and the Dream of the Magi found at the Cathedral of Saint-Lazare.

Mystic Mill

A historiated capital at the Church of Ste. Madeleine in Vézelay showing Moses and Paul grinding grain, serving as an allegory for the reconciliation of the Old and New Testaments through Christ.

Hrabanus Maurus

A writer from the Carolingian Period (c. $840$) who provided symbolic interpretations of architecture, likening the door of the Temple to the Lord and column tops to the minds of teachers.

Theophilus

Author of "On Divers Arts" (ca. $1100$) who argued that the embellishment of the material House of God is inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Cistercian Order

A monastic order that followed a strict observance of the Benedictine Rule, located monasteries away from settlements, and utilized orderly plans based on a square module while rejecting elaborate decoration.

Bernard of Clairvaux

A Cistercian leader who criticized the elaborate and "deformed" decorations of Cluniac cloisters, arguing they distracted monks from meditating on the law of God.

St. Etienne (Caen, France)

A Norman Romanesque church founded in $1063$ by William, Duke of Normandy ("William the Conqueror"), featuring stone ribbed groin vaults added to the nave between $1115-1120$.

Durham Cathedral (Cathedral of St. Cuthbert)

An Anglo-Norman Romanesque cathedral in England ($1093-1133$) that foreshadowed the Gothic style with innovations like pointed arches and rib vaulting.

Quadrant vault

A structural feature at Durham Cathedral located above the aisles that acted as a precursor to the "flying buttress."

Abbey Church of St. Denis

The burial place of the patron saint of French royalty and the site where Gothic architecture developed in the Ile-de-France area under Abbot Suger.

Abbot Suger

The leader who oversaw the remodeling of St. Denis ($1137-1140$), emphasizing the use of light and describing the church as a "noble edifice which is pervaded by the new light."

Cephalophoros

A term for a martyr who carries their own head, associated with St. Denis, the first bishop of Paris who died in the $3^{rd}$ century.

Lux Nova

A Latin term meaning "new light," used by Abbot Suger to describe the spiritual effect of light entering the church through stained glass windows.

Pointed arch

A Gothic structural element that allows for larger windows and ensures less load is carried by the walls compared to rounded arches.

Flying buttress

A Gothic structural system consisting of a buttress pier and a flyer that supports the walls, allowing for the inclusion of large tracery windows.

Ribbed vaults

A Gothic roofing system composed of vaulting ribs and webbing that carries the weight of the structure to the columns.