Medieval Cathedrals: Their Significance in the Development of the Western World
 

I'm an american, we don't have many cathedrals, as such they naturally fascinate me. You Euro SYG boardies should have more to say then me..

As I have become a more devout Christian I am especially attracted to them, but as a historian I am beyond impressed with their significant impact on the development of the Western world..

(by the way, this is NOT A CUT AND PASTE THREAD, these are original responses)

for example:

Romanesque Era: 900-1100

-Cathedrals were initially built to support the large pilgrimage networks that criss-crossed Europe before the period of proto-urbanization (i.e, enormous public works projects)

-Pilgrimage networks interconnected the politics, cultures and economies of Europe spurring development, it was the tourism of the middle ages and like tourism today, was a particularly large source of income and commerce. The Crusades were not holy wars, they were commercial wars to control the pilgrimage sites of the 'holy lands' and also topple Byzantine superiority which is why during the 4th crusade they scrapped a plan for Jerusalem and instead pillaged and destroyed Constantinople, the major European rival to the West.

-Monasteries were also the major sources of patronage for this period of massive Cathedral building, as monasteries were the source of intellectual pursuits, economic development, and preservation of culture. Monasteries became the first Universities of Europe

-The work required to build these projects directly brought about proto-urbanization in Europe, as all workers and funding poured into the developing cities along the pilgrimage routes

Gothic Age: 1100-1400

-As the small towns became small cities, Cathedrals became civic centers of commerce, public festivities, politics and culture. The Cathedral was where children were baptized, holidays on the calendar were celebrated, the young were married, and the dead commemorated. From the cradle to the grave, the cathedral was the center of life in Europe. Further, its massive size and scale meant it was literally the physical center of the town and was a constantly visible symbol.

-Cathedrals were very democratic in the sense that they provided the common, poor and everyday people direct access to regal, elegant and truly beautiful public spaces previously reserved for the wealthy and elite. They were the museums of the middle ages.

-As public works projects, these contributed to urbanization, centralization and development of Europe as people mutually contributed labor, capital and resources to build and maintain Cathedrals.

-Cathedrals led to advancement in architecture which directly became the 'sky-scapers' and other large urban public buildings of the 16th and 17th centuries.

Discuss/Contribute:


Gothic Architecture

Romanesque Architecture



Chartes (France)



Leon (Spain)


Salisbury (England)



Cologne (Germany)

I retract, its not that Americans don't have cathedrals, we actually have a shitload of them.. but they do not have the same historical significance as the European cathedrals.. they are a recreation after-the-fact, and as such are a bit less inspiring. It is the difference between looking at the Pantheon and the Union Bank building on market street in San Francisco (which look identical, however one is 2000 years old and the direct inspiration of the other :) )


Washington, DC



Oakland



San Francisco

You mean like the Tower of Babel?

My parents are very fond of cathedrals, churches (much more than what occurs inside).
When I was a kid, they forced me to visit dozens of them, and now I hate them. It's not ugly really, but they're all the same. (except the sagrada familia in Barcelona, this one is cool!)

True and false. They are remarkable buildings in and of themselves, I admit many are a bit gaudy, I prefer the Romanesque to the Gothic, the difference in style and impact is like the difference between mushrooms and acid, one is mellow, simplistic, natural, the other can be a visual monstrosity of excess.

But I was also discussing the historical impact of these buildings as a major source of our modern life, aside from their aesthetics.

The Tower of Babel connections is extremely interesting.. the motif in the bible of this tower is the corrupting influence of modernization/urbanization. Essentially the Tower of Babel story is the Bible's version of the modernismo literary movement of South America with authors like Garcia-Marquez who criticised the negative effects of the urbanization of SA countries.. The Tower of Babel story attributes the rise of the city as the rise of moral, spiritual and cultural corruption and decadence.. interesting analogy with cathedrals in the sense of Cathedrals being a driving force behind Medieval urbanization..

I love Cathedrals. The gaudier, the better.

Canterbury Cathedral is nice.

they were also symbols of the spiritual corruption of the curch

love cathedrals/old churches

I'm not so keen on cathedrals, but some very old churches can be really interesting.

1100s



800s

Chaco Canyon:

A cathedral of the american desert, built during the 12th century it was one of the largest pilgrimage sites in all of the Americas, its hundreds of kivas could house tens of thousands of worshipers. Initially it was believed to be a trading center until they couldn't find any evidence of household refuse, so they realized it must have been a ceremonial center. The walls of the buildings are lined up perfectled with the both the solstices and the equinox, and they are also the ONLY monuments in the world discoverd to be also aligned with the moon.

yeah, I posted the Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia, but deleted it.

the 19th/20th century wasn't medieval.

I know it's not mideval. Didn't you see my disclaimer "This thread is perfect for my interior designer ass here is my favorite cathedral though it is Art Nouveau not mideval. " I took classes on this shit in college man.

Here are a few of the cathedrals of my town Jacksonville, FL. They are not mideval, but follow the tradition.


"Immaculate Conception" Church is in French Gothic style and the Episcopalian Church is English Gothic style

i love how the sagrada familia changes all the time. you can go back every year and it will always be different.







my house is just not in this picture, it's a little more to the left... this is antwerp cathedral, what i see from my bathroom window in the morning :) it was supposed to have two towers but they never finished it because it would get too heavy and sink into the ground like the pisa tower. it's quite reassuring to hear the bells from time to time.

^ that is just beautiful! I think I heard that story about the towers in design history class. All the churches were trying to outbuild each other or something so they kept adding more shit on.

i come from the town tht has this:

 

You mean Constantinople was a major power to the east.
Anyway, great thread. I love cathedrals despite being an atheist. Nothing being built nowadays comes close.