Cathedrals+and+Castles+Architecture

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Castles and Cathedrals __ Lindsay Nathanson The Middle Ages was an interesting time. It was a time of kings, queens, knights, castles and cathedrals. Castles were the center of attention in the village or town. In the Middle Ages, lords and lady’s lived in castles. A lord in the Middle Ages needed to provide protection for his castle and his peasants who farmed and lived on the lord’s land. Castles were built on high cliffs, steep mountains, or on islands in the ocean. They were located in these places so it would be hard to attack. The greatest era of castle building was in the twelfth century. Castles could be made out of anything sturdy enough to hold up against and attack. Stone and wood were often used with bronze or iron doors. William the Conqueror built stone castles all over England. Stone castles first appeared in France in the tenth century. Dungeons were invented by the French, and used to imprison people. There were nine parts of a castle: the outer bailey, middle bailey, inner bailey, chapel, great hall, kitchen, gatehouse, moat, and drawbridge. Drawbridges were used to keep people out of the castle. The drawbridge was put over a moat. A moat was water surrounding the castle. It was filled with sharp objects as well, to prevent intruders. A gate house was a tall skinny building that housed the guards, who decided when to lower the drawbridge. The kitchen was usually on the other side of the castle in the courtyard. Since it was so far away from the castle, and the castle was cold and drafty, meals would always arrive slightly warm, or cold. The great hall was where all the parties or celebrations were. The inner, outer, and middle baileys were for protection. They were big, stone walls that were outside of the castle. The chapel was put in the courtyard so the king and queen could be with God alone. Many castles had a private chapel. Lots of architecture from the Middle Ages are usually related to religion because religion was a very important thing in this time period. The architecture that is related to it was called a cathedral. A cathedral is a church that’s presided over by a bishop. The first few cathedrals arose in Western Europe to symbolize that the people wanted to be close to God. Cathedrals were only open to Christians. In this time period, Europe was filled with cathedrals and it still is. Cathedrals could be any size, shape, or color. Some cathedrals were taller than skyscrapers! Cathedrals usually had stained glass which represented a god, saint, or religious story. Sometimes cathedrals were completely made out of wood on the inside. Beautiful gems were placed into the wood to make it not so plain. Cathedrals had gorgeous gardens surrounding them. France is home to some of the most exquisite cathedrals. The Middle Ages was a wonderful period of the world. Hopefully it's history can be carried on for hundreds, and hundreds years more! Resourses: “Middle Ages.” __Britannica Online School Edition. __2008 __http://school.eb.com/elementary/article?articleId=353464&query=middle%20ages&ct=__________ “Castles” World Book Online. 23 April 2008 http://www.worldbookonline.com/wb/Article?id=ar099200&st=castles “Medieval Cathedrals” Kidipede. 6 November 2007 http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/architecture/cathedral.htm **  Cathedral Architecture    ** By     Jake Phillips The term **cathedral** comes from the Latin for **chair**. It was a bishop’s church and a bishop’s chair. In the early Middle Ages construction of the cathedrals began. In the beginning cathedrals had many different styles. Cathedrals had numerous styles that included Gothic and Romanesque. The sheer mass of them is usually eye opening. So many people are captivated by awesomeness of these structures. Cathedrals were just gigantic, glorified churches. In the early middle ages, the main style of the cathedral was known as Romanesque. This style first developed in the 10th century. It incorporated domed roofs and round arches that were copied from Roman buildings. Romanesque cathedrals were usually very dark. In the 11th century, the common round arch was replaced by the revolutionary pointed arch. Pointed arches could support more weight by spreading the weight around evenly. That change developed into a style that made cathedrals resemble enormous temples in the 12th century. An example of this style of arch can be found in San Apollinaire Cathedral in Ravenna, Italy. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the cathedrals began to transform into the Gothic style. This was popular in the 15th century. Gothic had utilized the flying buttress. The flying buttress became associated with the Gothic style. The flying buttress was a support shaped in an arc. It supported the cathedral from the outside. That allowed the cathedral to have huge glass windows. It did that by taking some of the pressure off the walls. Also, sometimes the buttress connected two structures. An example of this is the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. In the 16th century the Gothic style became less popular and a new style was on the rise, Baroque. In the 17th century Baroque was very popular. Baroque had huge roofs of various dimensions. Those domes were graceful and seemed to spiral into the air. The spiraling came from the many curves in the Baroque styles very distinctive. The curves were actually part of the graceful Baroque style. However, the one drawback was the massive, expensive ground work. This was why it isn’t very well known. An example of a baroque cathedral is Saint Andrea al Quirinale in Italy. In the 18th century the Gothic revival occurred. The whole thing started because some architects thought that the Gothic style was the best style. However, the movement floundered because the architects failed to note one thing. Because the economy could not support the building of cathedrals at this time, this style became too expensive to build. In the 19th century architects and builders began to merge all the styles from the past. Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City began to take shape in the mid-18th century. It was copied after the medieval cathedrals of Europe. It was built in the style of Gothic Revival. Gothic Revival began in the 1830’s and 1840’s. The cathedral has had a profound impact on society. They are so revered that people will line up for blocks and wait hours to see them. All existing cathedrals are treasures that draw people even today. The work that some builders put into them for people to view was monumental. Hopefully their beauty and splendor will last for eons. Works Cited Cathedrals. New York: MetroBooks Oggins, Robin S.   The World of Castles and Forts. New York: Peter Bedrick Books Day, Malcolm  Gothic Architecture: The Cathedral. 1999. May 6 2008 < [|http://members.tripod.com/gothic_architecture/index.html> style="mso-spacerun: yes">  “Elements of Design.”