rrHISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE 1

What is Pre-Historic?
-West, Mediterranean & Near East Pre-historic period examples:
Stonehenge
Jericho
Catalhuyuk
Khirokitia

What are these periods?

North Saharan Greeks

1. Old Kingdom 1. Minoans
2. Middle Kingdom 2. Myceneans
3. New Kingdom 3. Classic
4. Ptolemic 4. Alexandrian & Hellenistic

Mesopotamian Roman
1. Sumerians/Akkadian 1. Etruscans
2. Babylonians 2. Roman Republic & Roman Empire
3. Assyrian
4. Persians

Pre-Historic Settlements

JERICHO (c. 9000 BCE) Palestine in present day

Materials: Architype:
- Clay & clay bricks - Pith dwellings w/ burial cells at lowest level
- Logs - Early dwellings were circular
- Stone
Key words: Builders:
Mesolithic settlement Natufians

CATAL HUYUK (7500-5400) Anatolia, Turkey in present day

Materials: Architype:
-Mudbricks -Angular dwellings
-Wood -Access through roofs
-Reeds - Roofs served as streets
- Burial pits were located beneath floors or under the hearth
Key words: Builders:
-Neolithic settlement - Early southern Anatolians/ early Hittites
KHIROKITIA (c. 6000 BCE) Cyprus in present day
Materials: Architype:
-Clay -Circular shaped dwellings, some w/ dome roofs
-Logs -Burial cells at lowest of dwellings
-Stone Stone rip-rap walls
Key words: Builders:
-Neolithic settlement Early settlers of Cyprus
-Corbel construction

STONEHENGE (c. 2000 BCE) Salisbury, Spain in present day

Materials: Architype:
-Stone (erected w/ the aid of -Post & lintel construction, similar with dolmens
timber or logs & vines or ropes) and menhir or stele
Key words: Builders:
-Corbel construction -Early settlers of Salisbury plains/Celts
-Monolith -Early Europeans for tumuli
-Dolmen,
-Menhir
-Cromlech
-Tumuli

TERMINOLOGIES:
Prehistoric age – the period that begins with the appearance of the human being
Paleolithic – also called Old Stone Age, is a period in human prehistory distinguished by the
original development of stone tools
Mesolithic – also called Middle Stone Age, is an archeological term describing specific cultures
that fall between the Paleolithic and Neolithic period
Neolithic – also called New Stone Age, the final division of the stone age, first development of
farming
Menhir – standing stone, man-made upright stone
Dolmen – type of single-chamber megalithic tomb
Cromlech – a megalithic tomb consisting of a large flat stone laid on upright ones
Tumulus – an ancient burial mound, a barrow
BRONZE AGE
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

Architectural Character:
 Platform temples built of mud brick on a raised clay platform base. Walls are ornamented
on outside surface with alternating buttresses (support) & recesses. Tripartite in form, its
long central sanctuary is flanked on two sides by subsidiary chambers, provided with at
altar at one end and a free-standing offering table

 Typical temples of Protoliterate period have interior wall ornaments consisting of

patterned mosaic of terra-cotta cones sunk in the wall, their exposed ends dipped in bright
colors or sheathed in bronze.

 Ground temple were rectangular sanctuaries, entered on the cross axis, with altar,
offerings table and pedestals for religious images

 Palaces like secular buildings were spartan and had circular brick columns and austerely
simplified facades have been found in Kish. Generally constructed with flat roofs,
supported on palm trunks. Corbelled vaulting and even dome construction were used.

Common Construction Materials:

 The alluvial plains of Mesopotamian region provided clay as major construction material
 Clay were sometimes baked particularly when used for exterior walls
 With clay and bricks, clay masonry inevitably became the most common construction
method
 Vaulting system was initially corbeled with voussoir tiles
 Reeds are sometimes mixed with clay as reinforcement
 Stones and wood were scarce

UBAIDIAN (5500 BCE) & SUMERIANS (3300 BCE)

 Earliest city is ERIDU
 Invented the first system writing, the Cuneiform
 Established the first known political system
 First to establish a system of governance headed by a priest-king
 Invented the wheel, sailboat and irrigation
 Established the cities of Uruk, Ur and Jemdet Nasr
 Became an empire when dominated by the Akkadians in 2270 BCE

AKKADIANS (2270 BCE)

 Old-Babylonian empire
 Seat of power located in the city of Akkad
  Excavations in the ruins Tel Brak yielded at least a temple complex, office structures,
courtyard and large ovens
 Sargon was a prominent ruler
 Kingship became as prominent as the Divine
 Palaces became more spectacular/less austre
 Drought and climate change appear to be the cause of decline of the Akkadian empire

OLD BABYLONIAN EMPIRE

 Established prior to the Akkadian empire, but remained a small settlement during this
time
 Established by the Amorites and their king Hammurabi
 Death of Hammurabi weakened the empire, enabling Hittites to conquer the city
 The decline of Old Babylonia paved way for the rise of Assyria

ASSYRIAN EMPIRE
 Roses in 16th century BCE
 Assyrian empire is divided into old, middle, bronze age collapse and neo-Assyrian
 The center of the Assyrian empire north of Euphrates where stone were not as scarce as
Mesopotamia
 Most prosperous period during the Sargonid dynasty, during development were centered
in Nimrud, Niniveh and Khorsabad
 Citadel: cities with palace complexes, elevated, surrounded with wall fortification
 Tel: a city with wall fortification
 Urartian region, where stone abundance made possible the use of trabeated system

INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION

 3300-1700 BCE
 Centered in Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (Pakistan in present)
 Exchanged communication, produce, money with Mesopotamians
 Residences constructed with baked bricks, supported by piped drainage and sewer
systems
 Public bath structures constructed with brick and stone masonry were center of social
activities
 Clay and stone were both abundant
 Clay brick making meant that there was enough fuel reserve for this kind of material
production
 Clay-brick making were standardized
 Water-management systems were quite advance
 Cities followed a grid pattern layout
 Cities were often destroyed by swelling of the rivers but reconstructed again following
the same pattern
  Some cities were citadel-like (elevated with fortifications)
 Structures also include granaries, bathing-platforms, burial grounds and dockyards
 Residences have own bathrooms and flush toilets

IRON AGE
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA

NEO BABYLONIAN EMPIRE

 Also known as the Chaldean Empire
 Walled city of Babylon with gate dedicated to the goddess Ishtar
 Most prosperous period was during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II, known for building
that hanging gardens of the city
 Tar was a common mortar material
 Lapiz lazuli, used to color glazed oven baked bricks
 Wall fortification surround the city with watch corner towers and decks
 Use of burnt brick
 Heavily fortified with distinct bronze gates
 City had an inner and outer parts
 Inner town:
 Square in plan
 Contains the principal building, the Euphrates river in the west side
 Main streets intersected at right angles terminating in tower
 Between the main streets tiered dwellings, business houses, temples, chapels and shrines
jostled in lively disorder

PERSIAN/ACHAEMENID EMPIRE
 Established by multiple tribes such as the Medes and Pasargadae
 Empire was established by Cyrus the Great (Cyrus III) from the Achaemenid clan of the
Pasargadae. He also annexed Babylon and Egypt
 Center of power during Cyrus II reign was Pasargadae and Persepolis
 Cyrus II was succeeded by Cambyses II for a short period then by Darius who conquered
the Indus Valley, established common currency for all territories and built the city of
Susa
 Persian adapted structures in all conquered territories such as citadels, temples, palaces
 Palaces such as the one in Persepolis used a combination of masonry and post & lintel
 Hall of the Hundred Columns is the throne hall of the Palace in Persepolis by Xerxes and
Artaxerxes
 Apadana – a large hypostyle audience hall in a Persian palace
 Tripylon – a hall that serves as a gate with 3 entrances/doorways
 Double bull and unicorn capitals serve as termination points for columns
 Reliefs depicting battles/victories decorate walls
TERMINOLOGIES:
Chalcolithic – characterized by the use of copper and stone tools
Corbelled arch/vault – is an arch-like construction method the uses the architectural technique of
corbeling to span a space or void in a structure
Dado – is the lower part of the wall
Hypostyle hall – a roof supported by pillars
Peristyle – a row of columns surrounding a space within a building
Portcullis – a strong, heavy grating that can be lowered down grooves on each side of a gateway
to block it
Pylon – monumental gateway of Egyptian temple
Rampart – is a length of bank or wall forming part of the defensive boundary of a castle or other
fortified site
Stele – stone or wooden slab, often used for funerary or commemorative purposes
Tar/Bitumen – a dark, thick, flammable liquid distilled from wood or coal
Trabeated – refers to the use of horizontal beams or lintels
Tripartite hall – consisting of three parts
True arch – composed of wedge-shaped blocks called vuossoirs with a key stone in the center
Voussoir – a wedge-shaped or tapered stone used to construct an arch
Ziggurat – type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia, it has the form of a terraced
compound
BRONZE AGE
ANCIENT EGYPT

Architectural Character:
 Pit graves for commoners
 Mastaba for priests and nobilities
 Pyramids for kings
 Temples were mainly used for funerary and mortuary activities
 Funerary temple for dead pharaohs, cult temple for gods
Architectural Character & Construction Materials:
 Columns with palm, papyrus, campaniform/bell motifs
 Gorge molding, wall reliefs depicting life doing the Nile, hieroglyphics on the wall
 Stone masonry to advance post & lintel construction
 Timber roof frames with stone slab roofing (flat roofs)
 Nilometer – pool structure along the bank river used to measure water line & water
clarity
 Hypostyle hall:
 Clerestory – window openings high above the temple walls for illumination & ventilation
 Colossus – exceptionally large statues, popularly used in New Kingdom Egypt temple
 Pylon – gateway wall to the inner sections of the temple
 Dromos – avenue of sphynx

OLD KINGDOM EGYPT

 Drought around 2150 BCE and rise in power of provincial monarchs contributed to the
decline of the Old Kingdom
 Pyramid complex built for the Pharoah

MIDDLE KINGDOM EGYPT

 Characterized by the center of power the Therbes and later in El-Lisht
 Few structures survived from this period, the most intact is the ruins of the funerary
temple of Mentuthetep II, located near cliff at Deir el-Bahri on the west bank of Therbes.
Structure displayed advance use of column construction
 Shift to wider use of trabeated systems and Peristyles in temples
 Thebes has more stones that the alluvial Memphis

NEW KINGDOM EGYPT & PRE-PERSIAN INVASION

 Temple of Amon at Karnak is among the largest temple complexes initiated by Sensusret
I of the Middle Kingdom
 Considered the most prosperous period in ancient Egyptian civilization
 Karnak temple is among the periods notable structure
  Queen/Pharoah Hatshepsut was among the periods most successful builders whose reign
saw the construction of her Mortuary temple designed by Senemut later known as the
“valley of kings”
 Abu Simbel became the site of 2 significant temple of the new kingdom, the Great
Temple of Rameses II and Small Temple of Hathor & Nefertari, both decorated with
colossi at the entrances and main hall
 Luxor Temple (Thebes), original structures were built by Amenhotep III other structures
were later built by the Tutankhamun and by Roman conquerors
 Mortuary Temple of Rameses III at the Medinet Habu is a huge complex of stone and
mudbrick ramparts on the we bank of the Nile at Luxor/Thebes
 The new kingdom ended when Egypt got engaged in several wars with Libyan-sea people
and used up a lot of its resources
 Dynasties after Rameses III saw decline in development
 Dark age in the Mediterranean region was observed prior to Iron age

IRON AGE
ANCIENT-CLASSICAL EGYPT

PTOLEMAIC EGYPT
 Period when classical Greek architecture spread in Egypt as it was annexed by Alexander
the Great and Ruled by Ptolemy
 Stone masonry and carving were still a primary construction method together with timber
construction
 The temple of Isis at Philae is one example of the period that was built true to ancient
Egyptian architecture
 Other prominent structures were built in the city of Alexandria, such as the Lighthouse of
Alexandria and the Library of Alexandria
 Mammisi Temple is an example of Greek influence religious structure

TERMINOLOGIES:
Atlantid – is a support sculpted in the form of a man which may take the place of column
Barque – a sailing ship, typically with three masts
Campaniform – a type of column usually took the shape of floral column
Clerestory – the upper part of the nave, choir and transepts of a large church, series of windows
Obelisk – a stone pillar, typically having a square or rectangular cross section
Portcullis – a strong, heavy grating that can be lowered down grooves on each side of a gateway
to block it
BRONZE AGE
ANCIENT GREECE

Architectural Character:
ARCHAIC PERIOD
 Houses of the affluent have megarons: a throne hall with a portico and illuminated with
an oculus (roof opening)
 Palace plan was complex with multiple halls, labyrinth-lie chambers, light-wells
 Construction materials were mainly of wood, limestone, marble and clay
 Building construction systems included both stone masonry, post & lintel, trabeated
system and pottery for roof tiles & sanitary pipes
MINOANS
 Early Minoans were believed to have come from the Cycladic culture originating from
southern Turkey
 Late Minoans were boat builders and traders, trading olive oil w/ Egypt and other
products w/ Turkey, Phoenicians and Philistines
 Minoans are known to have great regard for cows
 They were skilled in pottery
 Roofs were made of clay tiles
 Frescoes adorned walls
 Palace of King Minos was the site of the legend of Minotaur in a labyrinth
 The palace was found to have integrated a drainage system with clay pipe drainage lines
 Wall frescoes are typical ornamentation
MYCENEANS:
 Skilled stone masons and most likely were using simple machines to lift large rocks for
wall masonry
 Cyclopean wall was named for its large rock assembly thought to be built by cyclops
(one-eyed giants)
 Known to be skilled boat-builders, their territory encompassed the Aegean Sea
 Center of population during this period were the cities of Mycenae, Tiryns, Athens and
Thebes
 Their ruler lived in a palace with throne hall (megaron)
 Citadel of Mycenae, with fortifications
 Tomb of Agamemnon (Treasury of Atreus) was the largest circular vaulted structure at
14.5 m in diameter and 13.5m high, until the Temple of Hermes at Baiae was constructed
PRE-CLASSICAL CIVILIZATIONS:
ANCIENT ROME OF THE ETRUSCANS
Architectural Character & Materials:
 Rome was established mainly by the Estruscans, migrants from the northeast of the
Italian Peninsula, even though Romans were its native dwellers.
 Pumice was used as a construction material, later o used as gravel for concrete
construction
 Clay/terracotta tiles were used as roofing over timber roof frame
 Construction systems were brought into Rome by different slaves taken from conquered
territories
 Pozzolana was discovered during the Roman Empire in the south of Rome, and with it,
concrete was invented
ETRUSCANS:
 Built the maxima cloaca
 Originated the Tuscan order and archway that inspired triumphal arches
 Established the temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill
 Introduced the Tuscan Order
 Introduced the STONE arch
 Contemporaries with Classical/Athenian Greece
 Burial structures such as tumulus/tumuli, columbarium, well tombs, ditch, tholos, cist,
aedicula, cube and capuccina
 Well tombs: for cremated remains, usually built with a well two meters deep where the
urn with ashes of the deceased was placed. In some case the burial also included objects,
especially in bronze, belonging to the deceased.
 Ditch tombs: were built to bury bodies, replacing well tombs for the cremated deceased.
Pebbles, stone slabs, tiles etc., were used to define the ditch. Inside and outside the pit
there would be placed several ritual objects and funerary ornaments.
 Tumulus tombs: for the affluent, replicating the house of the deceased
 Tholos tombs: domes, for the affluent, built on a hillside by overlapping concentric
circles of stones until the complete closure of the vault, simulating a natural hill
 Chamber tombs: built w/ dromos and were dug in the earth into layers of tuff
 Chamber tombs when built below the grade were then called CATACOMBS
 Cist tombs: were boxes made with tuff stones particularly heavy (Nenfro or Peperino
stones, typical volcanic rocks) where the deceased lies with his personal belongings and
closed with a convex cover
 Aedicula tombs: were small temple-like structures, constructed above the ground. These
were constructed with stone, with a single burial chamber
 Cube tombs: were aligned alongside other cube tombs to form a Necropolis. These
reflectedr change in society towards a non-aristocratic civilization
  Columbarium: were large rooms with squared compartments between twenty to thirty
centimeters diameter compartments for ashes.
 Late Etruscan Well tombs: made with shafts about ten meters deep down to the burial
chamber or the leading tunnels
 Capuccina tombs: were so-called because of its shape w/c resembles a cap or roof. They
cover the body of the deceased with slabs of stone placed at the sides of the corpse and
joined at the top. Generally used by the poor social class.
ETRUSCAN LEGACY TO ROMANS (ETRUSCANS AND ROMANS)
 Tuscan/Etruscan apteral temple
 Cloaca Maxima

BRONZE AGE
CLASSICAL GREECE
ATHENS:
 Classical Greece started around 510 BCE, the time when Athens adopted a
democratic system of government
 Development in Athens was fueled by the discovery of a large silver reserve after the
first Persian invasion, which enabled the Athenians to rebuild Athens
 Doric: the oldest order, has column capital and a column that rests directly on the
stylobate of temple without a base. The Doric entablature includes a frieze composed
of triglyphs and metopes (w/ reliefs)
 Ionic Order: came from Ionia and initially used as interior order. When the
Erechtheon was constructed in the Acropolis of Athens, the order was used as an
exterior order.
 Corinthian order: came from city-state of Corinth.
o Based on Vitrivius 10 books of Architecture, “The sculptor Callimachus drew
a set of acanthus leaves surrounding a votive basket” to serve as a column
capital for the said order
o This order became the most popular order for the Romans
 The burning of Athens by the Persian paved way for large construction projects
centered on the Acropolis
 Temple layout differ either according to the number of porticos or number of pronaos,
layers of column, number of columns between antis
ACROPOLIS
 Construction started under the guidance of Pericles, a military general
 Largest temple, the Parthenon, was dedicated to the goddess Athena
 Builders include Callicrates, Mnesikles, Iktinos and the sculptor Phidias
 OLYMPIA:
 The Olympics started around 7th century BCE
 Site of the ancient Olympic games
 Built by the Skiloudians around 600 BCE in the city of Olympia in Peloponnesus
 The first stadium was constructed around 560 BC, it consisted of just a simple track.
The stadium was remodeled around 500 BC with sloping sides for spectators and
shifted slightly to the east
PUBLIC/CIVIC STRUCTURES
 Agora: an open air for commercial, civic, social and religious activities
 Stoa: a long building free-standing with a colonnade, generally a public place
 Bouleuterion: is a council house in democratic Greece
 Theatre: constructed on a hillside for plays
 Odeon: constructed on a hillside for musical performances

SPREAD OF GREEK ARCHITECTURE

HELLENISTIC PERIOD
 Started around 323 BCE, around the time of the death of Alexander the Great, up to 31
BCE when Rome conquered the Lagid kingdom in Egypt
 Greek structures spread throughout east Mediterranean and northern Sahara
 The Greek Macedonian empire of Alexander the Great was divided by his generals:
1. Ptolemy: Egypt and the Middle East
2. Seleucus: Syria and the remnants of the Persian Empire
3. Antigonus and son Demetrius: Macedonia, Thrace, and parts of northern Asia Minor

ROMANS AND EARLY CHRISTIANS:

 The (Holy Roman) empire was split by Emperor Diocletian around 200 CE, with Rome
as the western capital and Nicomedia as the eastern capital
 The eastern capital was later moved to Byzantium, later named Constantinople.
 The split-government rendered Rome as the weaker half of the empire, more vulnerable
to invasions by Goths and Norse bandits.
 A fifth century invasion of the Goths sunk Rome into a period of dark ages which
prompted early-Christian Romans to rely on the Franks feudal lords for defense
ROMAN ARCHITECTURE:
 ROMAN FORUM: area for civic/public discourses, speeches and commerce, surrounded
by colonnades on one part and structures (typically basilicas) and temples on another.
 Typically surrounded by colonnades on one or two-storeys typically have Basilica (law
courts with money exchanges) treasuries, record offices, and comitium (assembly places)
Residences:
 Villa urbana or country houses of the affluent, with atrium, compluvium (a large room
with rectangular opening in the middle of its roof) and impluvium (a shallow rectangular
basin set in the floor immediately beneath, which the train water ran into a vaulted
underground cistern)
 Villa rustica: house for farm workers and farm activities
 Roman Domus or Mansions of the affluent in the city. Somewhat similar to the villa, the
domus contains the following spaces:
o Atrium: or hall
o Peristylium: a large room with columns at the peripheries & w/ rectangular
opening in the middle of its roof
o Impluvium: a shallow rectangular basin set in the floor immediately beneath,
which the rain water ran into a vaulted underground cistern
o Vestibulum/Fauces: entrance passage
o Tabernae: shop
o Cubicula: can serve as a bedroom or as a library
o Triclinium: dining area
o Culina: kitchen
 Block residences or INSULAE: are typically on the second or third storey or above.
These are mostly for commoners
o Block is divided by a corridor into two halves and in each half are two entirely
self-contained housing units back to back: six outside staircases lead to upper
floor.
o Entrance to atrium using a passage (Fausces/vestibulum)
o Some with shops on the ground floor (tiendos)
o Courts were unroofed serving as gardens surrounded by colonnades known as
peristyle, a range of columns surrounding a court or a temple.
 Residences: Insula or Roman residential blocks with living spaces are typically on the
second or third storey or above
o Atrium or hall
o A block is generally composed of several dwelling units. An insula is divided by
a corridor into two halves and in each half are two entirely self-contain housing
units back to back: six outside staircases lead to upper floor.
 Temples
o Dedicated to Roman Gods and Goddesses, typically raised on a high podium,
emphasis was given to the facade and often set either singly or in groups inside
colonnaded enclosures.
o Entrances are mostly for ceremonial use only and were not open for worshippers
 Temples: Pantheon
o A temple built for “all gods”, construction of which was initiated during the reign
of Augustus (by Marcus Agrippa), with the current design completed during the
reign of Hadrian. It is now used as a catholic church.
o considered a structural leap in construction for the period since it has the largest
dome until Hagia Sofia was built
 Public Structures: Basilica
o law courts (with money exchanges), treasuries, record buildings, offices and
comitium (or assembly places)
o In the latter part of the first century AD, when Christianity started to spread &
become more acceptable in Rome, some basilica was converted into worship
halls, and became the precursor to the Christian basilica
 Public structures: Aqueducts
o Channels constructed with cement and bricks and used for gravitational
conveyance of domestic water from sources to roman cities
 Public structures: Triumphal Arches
o Constructed to commemorate significant victories of the expanding empire
o usually dedicated to the emperor or members of the imperial family, but
sometimes to towns, municipalities or to divinities.
o Etruscan in origin
 Public structures: Theatre
o Composed of three elements:
- Cavea (public seats)
- Orchestra (private seats)
- Scaena (stage)
o Amphitheatre: an elliptical with an oval arena in the center use either for
gladiatorial games or vena
o The Colosseum was built on the spot of Nero’s man-mad lake, hence its
submereged under-floors
 Public structures: Circus
o similar to the ancient Greek hippodromes, but served varying purposes and
differed in design and construction
o Along with theatres and amphitheaters, circuses were among the major
entertainment sites in ancient Rome
o venues for chariot races, horse races, and performances that commemorated
important events of the empire
 Public structures: Baths
o Balneum or private bath or small bath houses. Spaces include:
1. Frigidarium: cold bath
2. Calidarium/caldarium: hot bath
3. Tepidarium: warm bath
  Public structures: Bath
Other features:
o Men’s entrance was separated from women’s
o Sudatorium: sweating room in Roman Baths
o Apodyterium: a room for dressing/undressing in Roman Bath house
Thermae or Public baths, which typically have the following features/spaces:
o Apodyterium: dressing room
o Palaestra: gym
o Sudatoria: sweating room
o Caldarium: hot bath
o Tepidarium: warm bath
o Frigidarium: cold bath
o Natatio: Swimming pool

MIDDLE AGES AND BYZANTINE

 The period between the Classical age and Modernism (11th -15th century)
 (33 CE) Spread of Christianity from eastern Mediterranean
 (293 CE) Split of Roman Empire
 312 CE) Legalization of Christianity
 (324-1475CE) Rise of Byzantine Empire
 (376 CE and earlier) Fall of the Holy Roman empire, invasion of barbarians (Germanic,
Norse/Vikings, Huns, etc) resulting to reliance towards local feudal lords
 (527-565 CE) Reign of Justinian I (and Theodora, spearheaded the reconstruction of
Hagia Sofia) in the Byzantine
 (630 CE) Rise and spread of Islam
 (751-1124) Carolingian empire on Charles (576-751) Rise and fall of Merovingian
dynasty (Holy Roman Empire)
 Feudal-lord castle construction in around 9th century in western Europe (Feudalism in
Europe after the fall of the Holy Roman Empire)
 Martel campaign against Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, sultan of Al-Andaluz (southern
Spain) to deter the advancement of Islam in western Europe
 (1095 CE) Crusades of western Europeans to Jerusalem
 (1144 CE) Restoration of the church of St. Denis (Onset of Gothic period)
 (1453 CE) End of the Byzantine Empire (rise of the Ottoman Empire)
ARCHES AND VAULTS
ARCHES VAULT
 Depressed arch Barrel Vault (Romanesque)
 Tudor arch Groin vault (Late Romanesque)
 Horseshoe arch Rib vault (late Romanesque & early Gothic)
 Equilateral arch Fan vault (Gothic)
 Segmental arch
 Ogee arch
 Stilted arch
 Lancet arch
 Anse de Panier

EARLY CHRISTIAN:
 The old Sta. Peter’s Basilica was constructed under the order of Constantin I on the spot
where the Circus of Nero stood, where St. Peter was martyred.
 Basilicas by nature followed the Latin cross plan
 Early Christians’ likewise constructed circular structures like the Santa Costanza, Rome.
However, this was intended as a mausoleum (for the daughter of Constantin I) which
later converted to a church.
Byzantine Architectural Character:
 Greek cross plans for churches/basilica
 Mosaic tiles can be made of clay, special ones were made of glass with metal coats
Byzantine:
 Haigia Sofia, Istanbul
 St. Mark’s Basilica, Venice
 Hanging Church, Cairo
 Theodosian wall, constructed to war of attacks from the Huns

ANGLO SAXON AND NORMAN ARCHITECTURE:

 Residences were constructed with timber and thatch, churches with stonemasonry and
timber
 Round-tower church where the tower was added later as a defensive structure
 Turriform church or Tower-Nave church served both as a religious building as well as a
look-out tower
  In 420 CE, the weakened Roman government withdrew from Britain, feudal lords
became defacto government
 In the early 9th century, the House of Wessex was considered the first Monarch of
England, with King Egbert, an Anglo Saxon as the first king
 Motte and Bailey: fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised
earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded
by a protective ditch and palisade. Precursor to stone castles
FEUDAL EUROPE AND CASTLE ARCHITECTURE:
 Castles are fortified medieval structure with functional battlements made essential during
the middle ages due to barbarian looting and attacks, and the establishment of feudal
system
ROMANESQUE or HIGH MIDDLE AGES: ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER:
 11th -14th century
 First pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman Architecture
 Stonework became more intricate
 Profuse use of reliefs with images of angles of saints, biblical scenes
 Arcaded cloisters, nave, galleries
 Atriums were arcaded
 Churches connected to monasteries/convent with arcaded cloister
 Portal church entrances with sculptures of the apostles
 Nebules evolved from faux machicolations
 Adaptation of defensive structures ornamentation
 Transition from vault to groin to rib vaulting
Terminologies:
 Vault – an arched structure of masonry forming a ceiling or canopy
 Ocular/rose window – circular opening without tracery, found in many Italian churches
 Blind arcade – series of arches often used in Romanesque and Gothic buildings with no
actual openings and no load-bearing function, simply serving as a decorative element
 The tympanum – wall above the lintel, typically decorated with the imagery of Christ in
Majesty with symbols of the four evangelists drawn directly from the gilt covers of
medieval gospel books
 Piers – an upright support for a structure or superstructure such as an arch or bridge
SANTA MARIA DEL NARANCO, SPAIN
 Constructed around 9th century, early Romanesque
 Barrel vaulted
 With pilasters, small windows, thick walls
 Churches generally followed the Latin cross plan
PISA CATHEDRAL OF TOWER
 The entire building is faced with marble striped in white and gray. Façade is decorated
with blind arcading below tiers of dwarf galleries. The 3 portals became increasingly
common.
ROMANESQUE OR HIGH MIDDLE AGES
Examples:
 Cathedral of Coimbra, Portugal
 San Francesco, Lucera, Italy
 Mont Saint Michael, a monastery built in 8th century in Normandy, France (community
existed on the island)

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER:
 Started with the renovation of the Church St. Denis, France
 Profuse use of lancet arches and arcades
 Use of rib-vaulting
 Required masterful stone-craftsmanship to produce traceries, rib vaults, triforium;
craftsman developed during Romanesque and non-conformance to iconoclasm
 Windows made larger/taller, allowing for more sunlit interior, suitable to cool climate
regions
 Development of flying buttresses to support towering structure, less-thick walls
 Rib/fan on groin vaulted roofs
 Walls became more open with windows as structures became lighter with lighter vault
systems
 Plans become more open
 Stonework designs were often used in windows, which look as if they are filled with
beautiful stone lace called “tracery”
 Certain arched windows took flame-like openings: flamboyant arches
 Use of flying buttresses
Gothic Architecture
Example:
 Church of St. Denis, 12th century restoration/repair under Abbot Suger, known as the first
gothic church. Ambulatory was made open separate from apse only by circular
arrangement of columns
 Reims Cathedral, reconstructed from an early Christian church destroyed by fire in 1211
(aka Notre Dame Cathedral at Reims)
  St. Stephen’s Cathedral (1339-1365), Vienna, Austria

AL ANDALUS:
 In 711 CE, Islamic warriors from the Ummayad group conquered the Iberian Peninsula
form the northern tip of Africa
 The Islamic Caliphate of Cordova lasted until around 1236 CE
 The Islamic period brought development in astronomy, medicine, and mathematics and
the establishment of learning institutions
 Alhambra place and the City of Cordoba were among the most progressive spots in the
region
Example:
 Alhambra Palace built starting 1238 CE by the Nasrid Dynasty headed by Muhammad
ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr
 The Great mosque of Cordoba, built 786 and enlarged until the 10th century

TERMINOLOGIES
Apse – a large semi-circular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with domed room
Arcade – a covered passageway with arches along one or both sides
Arrow slit – a narrow vertical slit in a wall for shooting or looking through or to admit light & air
Battlement – a parapet at the top of a wall, especially of a fort or castle
Bema – raised or elevated platform seat,
Boss – a knob or prostrusion of stone or wood
Buttress – a projecting support of stone or brick built against a wall
Barbican – the outer defense of a castle or walled city
Chevette – eastern end of a church
Chevron molding – a zigzag molding
Choir – also called quire, the area of a church or cathedral that provides seating for the clergy
Clestory – wall with windows exposed above the roof of the side aisle
Crenellation – the battlement of a castle or other building
Croquete – is a hook-shaped decorative element common in gothic architecture
Crossing – is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform
Fan vault – used in gothic style, in which the ribs are all of the same curve and spaced equally
Finial – the decorative upper termination of a pinnacle, gable end, buttress or canopy
Gargoyle – is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed
Groin vault – also called double barrel vault, produced by the intersection at right angles of two-
barrel vaults
Hoarding – was a temporary wooded shed-like construction that was placed on the exterior of the
ramparts of a castle
Jettying – is a building technique used in medieval timber-frame buildings
Lancet – an arch with an acutely pointed head
Machicolation – an opening between the supporting corbels of a projecting parapet or the vault
of a gate
Madrasah – Islamic college
Merlon – is the solid upright section of a battlement
Mequarnas – Islamic word for stalactite vault. Type of wall or ceiling decoration
Narthex – an antechamber, porch or distinct area at the western entrance of some early Christian
churches
Nave – central and principal part of a Christian church
Nebule molding – a characteristic Norman molding with an undulating lower edge
Pendentive – a curved triangle of vaulting formed by the intersection of a dome with supporting
arches
Pier – is an upright support for a structure or superstructure such as an arch or bridge
Tympanum – is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance
Pinnacle – is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress
Portal – is an opening in a wall of a building, gate or fortification
Rib vault – is an architectural feature used to cover a large interior space in a building
Rope molding – a molding in a pattern twisted like the strands of a rope
Transept – in a cross-shaped church, either of the two parts forming the arms of the cross shape
Triforium – a gallery or arcade above the arches of the nave
Wagon/barrel vault – a vault forming half cylinderrr