Art History: Early Islamic Architecture and the Umayyad Dynasty, Carolingian Empire: another "New Rome", Romanesque Architecture, Medival Ethiopia, Gothic Architecture

Dome of the Rock, c.690, Jerusalem, present-day Israel, interior decoration includes marble, mosaics gold

Great Mosque of Damascus, c.715, Damascus, present-day Syria, stoneconstruction decorated with marble revetment and mosaics, columns reused from the earlier Christian Church on the site

Caliph

political and religious leader, considered a successor to Muhammad

Corvée system

required artisans and other skilled laborers from many conqured areas to work on major state projects

Foundation Stone

The Foundation Stone or the Noble Rock is the rock at the center of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, a stone in the foundation of a building

Inscription

words inscribed, as on a monument or in a book.

Mihrab

a niche in the wall of a mosque, at the point nearest to Mecca, toward which the congregation faces to pray.

Minaret

a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer.

Minbar

a short flight of steps used as a platform by a preacher in a mosque.

Mosque

1. a Muslim place of worship.

Qibla wall

the wall in a mosque that faces Mecca. The mihrab is a niche in the qibla wall indicating the direction of Mecca; usually the most ornate part of a mosque, highly decorated and often embellished with inscriptions from the Qur'an

Temple Mount

a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a holy site for thousands of years, including in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. contains dome of the rock

Umayyad Caliphate

capital at Damascus, overthrown by Abbasid Caliphate in 750 continues in Spain, coexisted with christians, Jews, and others in conquered areas required corvée system

Charlemagne’s Palace Chapel, c. 800, Aachen present-day Germany, materials: marble, mosaic, brass

Charlemagne

r. 768-814, King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and Emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 800, Charlemagne succeeded in uniting the majority of Western Central Europe, and was the first recognized emperor to rule in the west

Odo of Metz

fl.(flourished-active in field) 790-810, an architect of Armenian origin who lived during Charlemagne's reign in the Carolingian Empire. He is the earliest known architect born north of the Alps

Renovatio Romani imperii

"renewal of the empire of the Romans") was a formula declaring an intention to restore or revive the Roman Empire.

Abbey of St Gilles du Gard, west façade, c 1150, st-gilles, present-day france, limestone and white marble

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, 12th century (1078-1188), Compostela, present-day Spain, granite

Tympanum at the Abbey of Ste Foy, c. 1100, Conques, present-day France, Limestone and traces of paint

ambulatory

a place for walking, especially an aisle around the apse or a cloister in a church or monastery

arcade

a series of arches supported by columns (round vertical supports) or piers (squared vertical supports)

Ashlar masonry/dressed stone

a type of stone construction where all stones are dressed or cut to a uniform shape, size, and surface appearance

barrel vault

a vault forming a half cylinder, series of arches

bay

area between two piers, usually geometrically proportional to the crossing

classism

using forms of classical architecture as a starting point

compound pier

support structure with a central core surrounded by engaged elements

crossing

intersection of nave and transept (the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church)

cult of saints

Veneration of saints in Christian tradition, involving prayers, relics, and pilgrimages to their shrines for intercession and blessings.

gallery

any covered passage that is open at one side, such as a portico or a colonnade

groin vault

produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vault

lantern tower

a tall construction above the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church, with openings through which light from outside can shine down to the crossing

pilgrimage

A journey to visit the shrine of a saint or places associated with their earthly life

portal

A portal is an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification, especially a grand entrance to an important structure

radiating chapels

Small, semi-circular chapels arranged around the apse of large church

round arch

an arch formed in a continuous curve(more than half a circle), weight from stones goes to more down on piers instead of out

tranverse arch

Supporting arch which runs across the vault from side to side, dividing the bays. it usually projects down from the surface of the vault.

Tympanum

a vertical recessed triangular or semicircle space forming the center of a pediment, typically decorated.

Bete Gyorgis (church of St George), 12th or 13th century, Lalibela, present-day Ethiopia, carved from the “living rock”

Bete Maryam (church of St Mary), 12th or 13th century, Lalibela, present-day Ethiopia, carved from the “living rock” and painted

Gebre Mesqel Lalibela

r. 1181-1221, a king of the Zagwe dynasty, developed city Lalibela, venerated as a saint by the Orthodox Tewwahedo Churches, credited with creation of rock-hewn chuches (supposedly modeled them after Jerusalem)

Rock-hewn church

carved from living rock

Zagwe Dynasty

c. 1140-1270, capital lalibela, developed and named for King Gerbre Mesqel Lalibela (venerated saint)

Minaret, Minbar, Mihrab, Qibla Wall, courtyard, prayer room

Minaret, Minbar, Mihrab, Qibla Wall, courtyard, prayer room

A=Capitals, B=Frieze, C=Tympanum, D=Columns, E=Portal

Abbey Church of St-Denis, choir, c.1140, Paris, present-day France, limestone, stained glass

Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Chartres, c. 1200 and later, Chartres, present-day France, limestone, stained glass

West Portal Jamb Figures at Chartres Cathedral, c. 1150, Chartres, present-day France, limestone

South Transept Portal Jamb Figures at Chartres Cathedral, c 1230, Chartres, present-day France limestone

Abbey church

church that's part of a monastery or convent with monks or nuns living, working, and worshiping there

Abbot Suger, d 1151

responsible for major rebuilding campaign of late 1130s to early 1140s, r. 1122-1151 as regent, friend and counselor to kings Louis 6th and Louis 7th, write account of his rebuilding and redecorating of the east end (chevet, choir) of the church, Need to justify massive expense and change to an internal (monastic) audience, Seems to have intended some degree of harmony with the existing building

Capetian dynasty

Late 10th -mid-12th centuries: Kings of France but limited power, 1137-1223: Kings Louis 7th and Philip Augustus increase and consolidate the power of the monarch

Cathedral

the central church of a diocese, where the Bishop has his seat

Chevet

the apsidal eastern termination of a church choir typically having a surrounding ambulatory that opens onto a number of radiating apses or chapels

Choir

the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy and church choir. between the nave and the sanctuary, which houses the altar and Church tabernacle

Collegiate Gothic

an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings

Contrapposto

an asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure in which the line of the arms and shoulders contrasts with, while balancing, those of the hips and legs.

Flying Buttress

a buttress (projecting support of building) slanting from a separate pier, typically forming an arch with the wall it supports.

Gargoyle

a grotesque carved human or animal face or figure projecting from the gutter of a building, typically acting as a spout to carry water clear of a wall.

Ile de France

a region in north-central France. It surrounds the nation’s famed capital, Paris

Jamb figure

is a figure carved on the jambs of a doorway or window. saints, including martyrs, apostles and confessors, Jambs are usually a part of a portal

Lancet window

a high and narrow window with an acutely pointed head

Mullion

a vertical bar between the panes of glass in a window

Pointed Arches

an arch with a pointed crown, characteristic of Gothic architecture, intersection of two circles

Ribbed groin vault

an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs

Rose window

a circular window with mullions or tracery radiating in a form suggestive of a rose

stained glass

colored glass used to form decorative or pictorial designs (lancet, rose window)

string course

a raised horizontal band or course of bricks on a building

tracery

architectural device by which windows are divided into sections of various proportions by stone bars or ribs of moulding

webbing (in a vault)

The vault surface between the ribs of a rib vault