medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
i am more than delighted to see parts of my hasty, incomplete and partially
faulty (yes, *Spalato* --thanks, John) response to the question at hand
subsumed within a much more comprehensive and authoritative one by Professor
Kleinbauer.
and also am particularly pleased to take this opportunity to welcome him to
the list.
listmembers with questions about a whole range of topics dealing with 1500+
years of art and archeology should know that they will no longer have to put
up with quite so many of my own, far too often
off-the-top-of-my-[pointed]-head responses to suchlike questions.
and we will all be better off for that, Dog nose.
"Kleinbauer, W. Eugene" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>studies since World War II have brought to light in transalpine Europe
all-purpose buildings, barns, and even royal halls, which qualify as basilicas
in layout.
and barns (for horses, mostly) of this type can be frequently seen in the
rolling hills of Southern Indiana, as well.
there is also a very large, splendid example (c.1900) of it to be found at the
Indiana Fairgrounds up in Indianoplace.
http://www.in.gov/statefair/images/buildings/westpav_pic.jpg
almost a "five aisled" basilica, complete with an attempt at a tiny aedicula
--at the wrong end-- on the right in this plan
http://www.in.gov/statefair/images/buildings/westpav_layout.jpg
From: Cecil T Ault <[log in to unmask]>
> When Sir Bannister Fletcher (q.v. _A History of Architecture_,
you want to be careful relying on this source too much, Tom, especially for
synthetic ideas.
certainly very influential and useful in its own day (1896) --and still quite
useful as a handy source for thousands of plans, elevations, decorative
elements, etc.,-- many of Fletcher's synthetic ideas (which are mostly
derivative themselves) are no longer _au courant_, if, indeed, they ever
were.
the history of medieval architecture as we now understand it is considerably
more complex than Fletcher's interesting "method" would have it.
criminy, i am constantly shocked nowadaze to find that it is also considerably
more complicated than it was when i actually knew a bit about it a few decades
ago at the time when i, somehow, passed my qualifying exams. (i'm *still*
trying to figure out how i pulled *that* off.)
a case in point, re Fletcher, is :
>...Elaboration of this style led to the Romanesque, particlularly in France
(e.g.Autun) which then was further elaborated into the Gothic, which makes its
first appearance at St. Denis (1144) under the abbot Suger.
this is a perfect example of how an "evolutionary" (if not downright
*teleological*) predisposition can lead to quite nasty Tyrannical Constructs
("Romanesque" and "Gothic").
these latter may be, perhaps, helpful for pedeogogic purposes (albeit only at
the lowest levels), but are positively catastrophic if adhered to when one
actually confronts the problems envolved in analysing and trying to understand
complex phenomena.
and the "evolution" (damned hard *not* to think of it in those terms, isn't
it?) of medieval architecture is nothing if not a complex phenomenon.
also worth noting, in the context of this question of "basilica" that Suger's
work at St. Denny consisted of building a large "westwork"
twin-towered facade and rebuilding(?) the choir over the ancient crypt.
out of respect (or lack of funding) he left the Carolingian nave intact, save
for some relatively minor refurbishings. this nave (the present one) was
rebuilt in the mid-13th c. in, of course, the Style of the Day.
we may assume that the Carolingian nave was of a "basilican" type, more or
less.
or at least i can, until i am corrected.
best to all from here,
christopher
From: "Kleinbauer, W. Eugene" <[log in to unmask]>
> Roman basilicas served a variety of functions: mainly market place
> buildings, but also judicial halls, imperial audience halls, reception
> rooms in aristocratic mansions or villas, riding grounds for horsemen.
> When Roman authors mention basilicas they refer to their function, not
> their design. As to their layout they can be aisleless or aisled, with
> a nave and two or four or six or in one case in North Africa 8 side
> aisles. They are either single-storied or double-storied (galleries
> above the side aisles, as in, e.g., the huge Basilica Ulpia of the
> emperor Trajan in Rome (beautifully published by James Packer). Their
> plans and sizes vary immensely.
>
> When today we use the term basilica we refer to the design: a
> rectangular (not centralized) layout, with nave only or nave and any
> number of aisles, with or without galleries, with one or three apses.
> In the early Christian period they are wooden roofed. (Some Roman
> aisleless basilicas, such as the Aula Palatina at Trier built by the
> emperor Constantine, were wooden roofed as well.) In the Middle Ages
> these basilicas become vaulted in masonry. Post-Roman basilicas are
> usually identified as churches only, but studies since World War II have
> brought to light in transalpine Europe all-purpose buildings, barns, and
> even royal halls, which qualify as basilicas in layout
> .
> The earliest Christians met in houses, as the Bible informs us. The
> earliest preserved house church (=domus ecclesiae) that is dated is
> located at Dura Europos, near the Euphrates in modern Syria, pre 256
> (probably 240s, as Carl Kraeling established in his monograph years
> ago). Some houses in the city or Rome became churches, or house
> churches (usually called tituli), though their dates are sometimes hard
> to pin down. An excellent survey of the archaeological evidence for
> these Roman house churches (usually a single hall, or aisle) can be
> found in Ross Holloway, Constantine and Rome (2004).
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Christopher
> Crockett
> Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 2:22 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: [M-R] churches as houses
>
> medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and
> culture
>
> From: Charles Giguere <[log in to unmask]>
>
> > Sorry to betray my ignorance, but for what did the Romans use
> > basilicas, or
> basilica-like buildings, before Christians adopted the architectural
> style?
>
>
> to "house" their _basileus_ (when he was holding court) --like
> everything else Roman (except for the vault and cement) they stole the
> name and the idea from the Greeks.
>
> there's a nice late Roman _basilica_ still surviving at Spolato on the
> Adriatic.
>
> it has an aisled arcade and a semicircular nich ("apse)) at the Business
End, but otherwise doesn't look too much like a Constantinian basilica.
>
> c
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