The Divine Comedy

1
The Divine Comedy

• Divided into three parts
• Inferno (hell)
• Purgatorio (purgatory)
• Paradiso (heaven)
• In each realm, the narrator is escorted through a
  hierarchy of levels
• In hell, a hierarchy of crimes and punishments
• In purgatory, a hierarchy of sins and purgatives
• In heaven, a hierarchy of the blessed

2
The Divine Comedy

• In summary, a complete picture of the ordering of
  medieval society.
• An attempt to achieve the medieval synthesis of
  Christian belief with Classical ideals.
• Classical reason (Virgil) and Christian faith
  (Beatrice)
• A spiritual odyssey

3
Architecture during the High Middle Ages

• In about 1000 the Romanesque style emerged (the
  First Romanesque 1000-1080 and the Second
  Romanesque 1080-1200). By 1150 the Gothic style
  was developing out of the Romanesque. It was the
  dominant style of the remainder of the Middle
  Ages, succumbing finally to Renaissance fashion
  in about 1500. Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is
  an example of the Early Gothic style. Amiens
  Cathedral is an example of the High Gothic style.

4
Romanesque style

• Buildings based on Roman basilica model
• Heavy-looking, squat, fortress-type buildings
• Use of Roman arches
• Division into bays
• Innovation of vaulted interior ceilings
• Groin vault
• Use of columns for support and decoration
• Church of Sainte Marie-Madeleine (Vezelay,
  France, 1089-1206).

5
Architecture during the High Middle Ages

• Romanesque
• Named for the inherited Roman style buildings
• Style dominates 1000s-1100s

• Gothic
• The term was coined by later scholars who thought
  the style primitive and graceless
• Style originates in mid-1100s and lasts until
  1400s

6
Gothic style

• Evolves out of Romanesque
• Evolves out of a desire to create more dramatic,
  heavenly buildings, that would focus the faithful
  on higher things.
• height and light
• Despite the cost of building, citizens in the
  towns wanted the prestige of having a cathedral
  in their city.

7
Gothic Style

• The Romanesque groin vault is transformed into a
  ribbed vault
• The Roman arch is transformed into a pointed arch
• The weight of higher walls is supported and
  directed outward by flying buttresses.
• Development of the apse and emphasis on the
  choir, where most of the rituals took place.
• Development of highly ornate stained glass.

8
Early Gothic Style

• Choir as long as nave
• Best example Notre Dame in Paris (begun 1163

9
High Gothic Style

• Taller buildings
• More extensive use of flying buttresses, which
  allows for larger windows.
• Generally, far more ornately decorated.
• Best example Amiens Cathedral (Amiens, France,
  begun 1220)

10
Amiens Cathedral
11
Amiens Cathedral
12
Notre Dame
13
Notre Dame