Selected topics on the architecture of the first Christian millennium in both the East and West focusing on Christian architecture from its beginnings down to the time of Abbot Suger and St Bernard. The course also examines the architecture of early Islam and some secular buildings. Relationships between style, function, and the social and political context receive special emphasis.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Class Meetings and Reading: The class sessions are the nucleus of the course and along with the reading they provide the material covered on the two exams. Obviously consistent attendance, completion of required reading, and active participation in class discussions are essential for successful completion of this course: 20%
  
• Short Paper: (3 pp typed, double-spaced) Formal analysis on a structure (TBA) Due Fri. 10 Feb.: 10%
  

• Mid-term Exam: plan and section analyses, slide identifications and comparisons (7 Mar): 20%
  
• Term Paper: (ca. 12 pp, typed, double spaced, plus notes and illustrations), on a topic to be determined in consultation with me. Due 5:00 PM the Friday of reading period (5 May): 20%

• Final Exam: (Tu 9 May, 9:00 AM to Noon) similar format to the mid-term with slide i.ds and comparisons etc. covering the material of the second half of the course along with an essay section covering the entire semester: 20%
  
• Misc. Short class reports on individual readings, etc.: 10%
  The first paper is designed to alleviate any fear or sense of inadequacy about writing and thinking about architecture in formal terms. The long paper is planned to let you focus in some depth on a topic of interest to you.Your written work should be finished products, showing some well considered ideas on the given subject and not a loose grouping of vaguely related thoughts; thus, give some consideration to how you organize your papers in order to fit the stipulated length. Use Sylvan Barnett, A Short Guide to Writing About Art 4th edition (on Art 100 Reserve) as a guide to writing your papers. Use his format for notes and bibliography. I also strongly suggest that you ask yourself the questions on the inside front cover of the book before you hand in your papers. Unexcused, late work will be severely penalized.

ALL WORK MUST BE COMPLETED TO PASS THE COURSE

Texts (at the Reed Bookstore):

• Kenneth J. Conant, Carolingian and Romanesque Architecture 1986 edtn.

• Richard Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture 1988 edtn.

There is also substantial reading from other sources, all on open art reserve in the basement of the library. Students are expected to have done the reading for a given day before coming to class. Please ask me for additional bibliography on any related subject that you would like to investigate in further depth. Concerning the readings or the lectures: Remember, the only dumb question is the one you do not ask; there may be times when I am distinctly unclear or have assumed, wrongly, that you know something that you do not and probably cannot possibly know. I ask that you engage yourself seriously in the topic, that is take an interest in the material outside of class; peruse the plates of the books on reserve; track down additional readings. Finally, I urge you to see me on a regular basis to keep in touch about your progress, interests and paper topic.

PROJECTED TOPICS, MONUMENTS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS:

Tu. Jan. 24 Introduction, Overview and The Earliest Christian Architecture

Dura Europos (Syria):
• Synagogue (ca. 200-245, destroyed 256)
• Christian Building (Domus ecclesiae) (ca 200-231, destroyed 256
  
Rome (Italy):
• Catacombs
• Tituli
• Shrine to St Peter on the Vatican, Rome (before AD 200)
• San Crisgono, early fourth century (?)

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 23-37
• C. McClendon, "Introductory Remarks, the Legacy of Dura, " Rome and the Provinces, New Haven, 1986: 3-7 and pls 1-10. (Xerox) Rec. Background:
  • Brown, World, 11-21, 49-68 (Hum 110 Reserve)
  Further:
  • Kostof, A History of Architecture: 3-19 (For an intro. to architectural history)

Th. Jan. 26 The Rome of Constantine

• Audience Hall, Trier (305-312)
• Basilica Nova (aka Basilica of Maxentius or of Constantine) 309-312, begun under Maxentius, but completed under Constantine
• Lateran Basilica, Rome (begun 312)
• Funerary Basilicas, Rome:
  • St Peter's (begun ca 320)
  • St Sebastiano (begun 312/313?)
  • St Lorenzo (compl. by ca. 330)

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 39-59
• Krautheimer, "The Constantinian Basilica," Dumbarton Oaks Papers 21 (1967): 117-131 (not entire article) (xerox)
• Davis-Weyer, 11-13

  Rec. Background:

  • Brown, World, 22-48, 82-94
  Further:
  • Krautheimer, Rome, 3-31; idem, Three Christian Capitals (1983), 7-40

Tu. Jan. 30 Constantine: The Holy Land & the Founding of Constantinople

• Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem (begun 325) cf. Mango: 11-14
• Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem (ca 330)
• Sant' Agnese and Sta Costanza, Rome (ca 350)
• Constantinople (Modern Istanbul): (Foundation, 312; New Walls ca 412)
  • Holy Apostles
  • Hagia Sophia

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 59-75
• Krautheimer , "The Constantinian Basilica," 131-40
• Robert Ousterhout, "The Temple, the Sepulchre and the
• Martyrion of the Savior, " Gesta 30 (1990): 44-53 (xerox)
• Cyril Mango, Art of the Byzantine Empire, 7-14
  Rec. Background:
  • Brown, World, 70-80, 96-112
  Further:
  • Krautheimer, Three Christian Caps., 41-67

Th. Feb. 2 The Milan of St Ambrose: Origins of an Iconography of Christian Architecture

• Cathedral, Milan (Mid 4th century)
• San Lorenzo, Milan (shortly before 378)
• Holy Apostles, Milan (ca 382)
• San Simpliciano, orig. to the Virgin, Milan (late 4th Century)
• Baptistery, Milan (2nd half of the 4th century)
• Orthodox Baptistery, Ravenna (ca 400, remodelled 450)

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 78-85, 176-77
• Krautheimer, "Intro. to an `Iconography of Medieval Archit,'" Studies in Early Christian, Medieval and Renaissance Art (1969), 115-50
  Further:
  • Krautheimer, Three Christian Capitals, 68-92

Tu. Feb. 7 Rome: The Sack of 410 and the Sistine "Renascence"

• St Paul's-outside-the-walls, Rome (begun 386)
• Sta Sabina, Rome (422-32)
• Sta Maria Maggiore, Rome (432-40)
• Lateran Baptistery, Rome (432-40)
• Sto Stefano Rotondo, Rome (468-83)

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 87-92, 167-74
• Krautheimer, Rome, 32-58
• Krautheimer, "Success and Failure in Late Antique Church Planning," Age of Spirituality: A Symposium, ed. K. Weitzmann (1980): 121-139
  Rec. Background:
  • Brown, World, 115-25
  Further:
  • Krautheimer, "The Architecture of Sixtus III: a 5th-Century Renascence?" Studies, 181-96

Th. Feb. 9 Ravenna: The New Capital of the West

• So-called Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna (ca 425)
• San Giovanni Evangelista, Ravenna (ca 425)
• Orthodox Baptistery, Ravenna Mid C5
• Sant' Apollinare Nuovo, Ravenna (ca 500)
• Tomb of Theodoric, Ravenna (died 526)

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 174-87, 269-73
• Annabel Wharton,"Ritual and reconstructed meaning: the Neonian Baptistery in Ravenna," Art Bulletin 69 (1987): 358-75 (xerox)
• Davis-Weyer, 15-17 and 49-52
  Further:
  • Spiro Kostof, The Orthodox Baptistry of Ravenna (1965)

Friday 10 Feb. Short Paper Due 5:00 PM

Tu. Feb. 14 "Solomon I have surpassed thee": Justinian's Hagia Sophia Part I

St John Studios, Constantinople (Istanbul) (463) SS Sergius and Bacchus, Constantinople (Istanbul) (before 536) Hagia Sophia, Constantinople (Istanbul) (532-37)

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 201-32
• Mango, The Art of the Byzantine Empire, 72-102
• Individual Reading assignments to be assigned
  Rec. Background:
  • Brown, World, 126-35, 150-87
  Further:
  • T. Mathews, Early Churches of Constantinople, 138-76
  • R. Mark & A. Çakmak, Hagia Sophia from the Age of Justinian to the Present (1992)
  • R. Mainstone, Hagia Sophia (1988)

Th. Feb. 16 Justinian's Hagia Sophia Part II

• Individual Reading assignments to be assigned
  Further:
  • Mainstone, Hagia Sophia, 145-235

Tu. Feb. 21 Domes and Decorative Schemes: The Legacy of Late Antiquity

• Rebuilding of St John, Ephesus (Finished by 565)
• Monastery of St Catherine, Mt Sinai, Egypt (ca 540)
• Sant' Apollinare in Classe, Classe (Seaport of Ravenna) (ca 532-40)
• San Vitale, Ravenna (540-48)

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 232-45, 259-60, 277-82
• von Simson, Sacred Fortress, 23-39
• Mango, The Art of the Byzantine Empire, 104-108

Th. Feb. 23 The Rise of Islam: The Origins of Religious Architecture and Dome of the Rock

• Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem (692)

• Oleg Grabar, The Formation of Islamic Art rev. edtn. (1987)(Chapts 3): 43-71
• Oleg Grabar, "The Meaning of the Dome of the Rock," The Medieval Mediterranean: Cross-Cultural Contacts, eds. M. J. Chiat and K. L. Reyerson(1988): 1-10
• Richard Ettinghausen & Oleg Grabar, The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250 (1987): 26-34
  Rec. Background:
  • Brown, World, 189-203
    Further :
    • K.A.C. Creswell, A Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture, rev. edtn. James W. Allan (1989): 18-42
    • Julian Raby and Jeremy Johns (eds), Bayt al-Maqdis: `Abd al-Malik's Jerusalem (1992), esp. Blair, 59-87; Elam," 33-58; and van Ess, 89-103

Tu. Feb. 27 The Mosque: Origins and Later Iconography in the West

• Great Mosque at Damascus, Syria (705-15)
• Great Mosque at Kairouan (a.k.a. Qairawan, Tunisia)
• Great Mosque at Cordoba, (a.k.a. Cordova, Spain (8th-10th centuries)

• Ettinghausen and Grabar, 35-45, 86-101, 127-137
• Grabar, Formation: Ch. 5: 99-131
• Jerrilyn D. Dodds, "The Great Mosque at Cordoba," Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain, ed, Jerrilyn D. Dodds (New York: 1992): 11-25
• Jonathan Bloom, "The Revival of Early Islamic Architecture by the Ummayyads of Spain," The Medieval Mediterranean: Cross-Cultural Contacts, eds. M. J. Chiat and K. L. Reyerson (1988): 35-41
  Further:
  • K.A.C. Creswell, A Short Account: Aqsa: 73-83; Damascus: 46-73; Kairouan: 315-30; and Cordoba: 291-303

Th. Mar. 2 Middle Byzantine Architecture

• Myrelaion Church (Budrum Camii), Constantinople (Istanbul) (ca 920)
• Hosios Lukas, Greece
• Theotokos Church (10th Century)
• Katholikon (1rst quarter 11th Century)
• Daphni, Greece, Monastery Church (ca 1080)
• Nea Moni (ca. 1050)

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 331-47, 354-93, esp. 354-69 & 379-93
• Otto Demus, Byzantine Mosaic Decoration, 3-39
• Robert Ousterhout, "Originality in Byzantine Architecture: The Case of Nea Moni," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 51 (1982): 48-60

Tu. Mar. 7 Mid-term Exam

Th. Mar. 9 Europe in the not so "Dark Ages"

• Crypt in St Peter's, Rome (ca 590)
• Crypt in St Paul's-Outside-the-walls, Rome (ca 590)
• Conversion on Pantheon into Sta Maria Rotunda ad Martyres (609)
• Sta Maria in Valle, Cividale (Italy) (762-76)
• St-Jean, Baptistery, Poitiers (France) (ca 700)
• Abbey Churches of Sts Peter & Paul, Monkwearmouth & Jarrow (Britain) (673-85)
• St John, Escomb (Britain) (ca 700)
• Skellig Michael (Ireland) (700-800)
• Gallarus Oratory (Ireland) (seventh century or later)
• San Pedro de la Nave, Zamora, (Spain)
• San Julián de los Prados, Oviedo (Spain) (ca 830)
• Sta María de Narenco (Spain) (ca 848)

• Wolfgang Braunfels, Monasteries of Western Europe (1983): 22-24
• Jean Hubert et al., Europe of the Invasions, 38-42, 84-93
• Conant, 69-72, 87-93, 100-102
• Krautheimer, Rome, 59-87
• E. Fernie, Architecture of the Anglo-Saxons, 47-63 (not at Reed, but hope to get a photocopy)
• Davis-Weyer, 72-75

Spring Break

Tu. Mar. 21The Carolingian Renaissance: Charlemagne, Theodulph and Einhard

• Abbey Church of St-Denis, Outside Paris (768-775)
• Gateway, Abbey of Lorsch (West Germany) (784-94)
• Imperial Palace Complex, Ingeleheim (West Germany) (787-807)
• Imperial Palace Complex, Aachen (West Germany) (792-805)
  • Palatine Chapel
  • Audience Hall
• Abbey Church, Fulda (West Germany) (791-819)
• Oratory of Theodulph, Germigny-des-Prés (France) (806)
• Einhard's Church, Steinbach (West Germany) (ca 820)
• Sts Marcellinus and Peter, Seligenstadt (West Germany) (ca 840)

• Krautheimer, "The Carolingian Revival of Early Christian Architecture," Studies, 203-56
• Conant, 31-55, esp. 43-45
• Davis-Weyer, 83-88, 107-108 Further:
• Jean Hubert et al., The Carolingian Renaissance, 1-49

Th. Mar. 23 The Monastic Realm: Ideal and Reality

• Lorsch Abbey Cloisters (774-800)
• Abbey of St Riquier, Centula (France) (ca 790-800)
• Plan of St Gall (820-30)

Conant, 55-62
• Braunfels, Monasteries of Western Europe, 31-46 and 232-38
• Davis-Weyer, 92-99, 103-105
• Rule of Saint Benedict (Multiple Copies)
• Price, Plan of St Gall in Brief, peruse for illustrations

Tu. Mar. 28 Innovations of Later Carolingian Architecture, The Millennium and the Rebirth of Monumental Architecture and Sculpture

• Abbey Church of St-Denis, Outer Crypt (832)
• Abbey Church, Corvey (West Germany), Outer Crypt (844-67) & Westwork (873-85)
• St-Philbert, Grandlieu (France) (814-9)
• St-Germain, Auxerre (France) (841-49)
• Cathedral, Chartres (France), Crypt (1020)
• St Cyriakus, Gernrode (961 onwards)
• St Pantaleon, Cologne (966)
• St Michael, Hildesheim (1001-33)
• Abbey Church, Hersfeld (1037-42)

• Conant, 63-68, 111-133, & 138-41
• Hubert, Carolingian Renaissance, 50-68
• Davis-Weyer, 124-25
  Further:
  • Focillon, pt I: 17-38

Th. Mar. 30 First Romanesque (Premier art roman aka PAR)

• Cathedral, Speyer (First Phase: 1030-61)
• St-Martin-de-Canigou, (Catalonia, France in Pyrenees near Spain) 6)
• San Pietro in Agliate (Italy) (ca 1000)
• Cardona, San Vicente (Catalonia, Spain) (1020-40)

• Walter Horn, "On the origins of the medieval bay system," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 17 (1958): 2-23
• Edson Armi, "Orders and Continuos Orders in Romanesque Architecture," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 34 (1975): 178-89
• Charles Radding & William Clark, Medieval Architecture & Medieval Thought (1992): 11-17 Futher:
  • Radding and Clark, 1-8

Tu. Apr. 4 Italy: Renaissance, Renewal and Innovation

• Abbey Church of St Benedict, Montecassino (1066-71)
• Baptistery, Florence (1059-1100)
• San Miniato, Florence (1062-90)
• Cathedral, Pisa (begun 1063, consecrated 1118)
• San Marco, Venice (begun 1063)
• Sant' Abbondio, Como (1063-95)
• Cathedral, Modena (begun 1099)
• Sant' Ambrogio, Milan (early 12th century)
• San Nazaro (formerly San Simpliciano), Milan

• Conant, 362-65, 373-80, 386-406
• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 406-11
• Davis-Weyer, 135-41

Th. Apr. 6 Spolia in Romanesque Rome: Dale Kinney, Bryn Mawr College Reading TBA

Tu. Apr. 11 Burgundy: Cluny and Related Churches

• Abbey of Sts Peter and Paul, Cluny (founded 910)
  • Cluny I
  • Cluny II (begun 981)
  • Marble Cloister under Abbot Odilo (by 1042)
  • Cluny III (1088-1133)
• Chapaize (first quarter 11th century)
• St-Bénigne, Dijon (1101-18)
• St-Philibert, Tournus (11th century)
• Paray-le-Monial (begun ca 1120)
• St-Lazare (later Cathedral), Autun (1120-35)
• Abbey Church of Ste Madeleine, Vézelay (1104-35)

• Conant, 146-53, 185-221, 243-50
• Davis-Weyer, 125-32
• Braunfels, Monasteries, 240-41
• Radding and Clark, 48-54
  Further:
  • Braunfels, Monasteries, 47-66
  • Issue of Gesta (27 (1988)) devoted to Cluny , esp. O. K. Werckmeister, 103-112

Th. Apr. 13 The Pilgrimage Roads

• St-Sernin, Toulouse (France) (begun 1080)
• Santiago di Compostella (Spain) (begun 1075)
• Ste-Foi, Conques (France) (ca 1100)
• Notre-Dame-du-Port, Clermont-Ferrand (France) (ca. 1150?)

• Radding and Clark, 34-54
• Thomas Lyman, "The Politics of Selective Eclecticism," Gesta (27 (1988): 83-93
• Conant, 133-37, 157-75, 293-95
• Davis-Weyer, 147-56
  Further:
  • The Art of Medieval Spain (1993), esp. 175-83

Tu. Apr. 18 The Cistercians and the Aesthetics of Ideology

• Cistercian Abbey, Fontenay (1139-47)

• Peter Fergusson, The Architecture of Solitude , 3-16
• Conant, 223-37
• Braunfels, Monasteries, 243-45
• François Bucher, "Cistercian Architecural Purism," Comparative Studies in Society and History 3 (1961): 89-105
• Conrad Rudolph, "Things of Greater Importance" (1990): 233-87 (only odd pages)
  Further:
  • Rudolph, "Things"

Th. Apr. 20 The Norman Achievement: At Home and Abroad

• Abbey at Jumièges
  • St-Pierre (10th century)
  • Notre-Dame (1037-66)
• Abbey Church, Mont-Saint-Michel (1059-84)
• Ste-Trinité, Caen (begun 1062)
• St-Etienne, Caen (1064-87)
• Cathedral, Durham (northern England) (1093-1133)
• Cathedral, Cefalù (Sicily) (begun 1131)
• Cathedrale, Monreale (Sicily) (1174-82)
• Martorana, Palermo (Sicily) (1143)

• Krautheimer, Early Christian, 403-405
• Conant, 439-54, 454-61, 352-62
  Further:
  • Focillon, pt I: 88-99

Tu. Apr. 25 Abbot Suger and the Birth of Gothic

• Abbey Church of St-Denis (rebuilt ca 1135-44)
  • West end (consecrated 1140)
  • East end (consecrated 1144)

• Conant, 462-64
• Panofsky, Abbot Suger on the Abbey Church of St-Denis, 1-37
• Crosby et al., The Royal Abbey of St-Denis, exhibition cat., 13-22
  Further:
  • Crosby, Sumner. The Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis from Its Beginnings ....
  • Peter Kidson, "Panofsky, Suger, and St-Denis," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 50 (1987): 1-17
  • Paula Gerson (ed.), Abbot Suger and Saint-Denis: A Symposium (1986)

Th. Apr. 27 Conclusions

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Last Modified: 27 Oct. '95