AcharyaChanakya/simple-wikipedia huggingface dataset:
King Harold's army took up a position on an east-west ridge north of Hastings. The ridge itself was called Senlay Hill. They found the Norman army marching up the valley in front of them. While Harold had more soldiers, they were tired from the forced march from London. William formed his lines at the base of the hill facing the shield wall of the English. He sent his archers halfway up the slope to attack the English. He sent his mounted knights to the left and right to find any weak spots. At first William's knights tried to break through the shield wall with the weight of their horses. But they were attacking uphill and could not gain any speed. Harold's front line simply stood fast and was able to fend off any attacks. William's army began to fall back with rumors of Duke William's death. William removed his helmet so his men could see he was still alive. When William saw that many of Harold's men were following his knights back down the hill he used a trick he had learned years before. He turned suddenly and charged the oncoming English foot soldiers who had no chance against mounted knights.
This tactic worked at least two more times during the battle and made Harold's shield wall weaker. Now William used something new. Where his attacks by knights and soldiers had been separate movements he now used them together. Where his archers had not succeeded against the shield wall he had them shoot high into the air so the arrows came down on top of the English. This may be where king Harold was killed by an arrow through his eye. The shield wall finally broke and the Normans were on top of them. By nightfall the English were either dead on the field or being hunted down by William's troops. William called his troops back and they all spent the night camped on the battlefield.
The battle was won but the English still had smaller armies which had not joined King Harold at Hastings. They had lost their king but were still trying to reorganize. William rested his army for five days before moving towards London. His line of march took him through several towns he either captured or destroyed. When William reached London the English resisted for a short time but in the end surrendered. On Christmas day in 1066 William was crowned King of England. His victory at Hastings gave Duke William the nickname he has been known by ever since: 'William the Conqueror'.
William chose to be crowned at Christmas. This was partly because he thought the English would be less likely to riot at this high feast day. It was also a good choice because he believed it was God's will he be king. Now the king, William spent a few months in England. He then returned to Normandy leaving England in the hands of two capable men. These were his half-brother Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux and William FitzOsbern. Odo was made the Earl of Kent while FitzOsbern became the earl of Hereford. The remaining three English earls were left in place. When William sailed back to Normandy with him were many of his followers. Many of his soldiers who had been paid and others he wished to keep track of. In particular these were the English Archbishop Stigand and Edgar Atheling. He also brought his remaining three English earls, Edwin, Morcar and Waltheof. This was so none of them could start a revolt while he was away. William had his duties at home to take care of. Also many of his soldiers needed to come back to keep the duchy safe.
When William returned to London in December of 1067 he began to find out what problems had come up while he was gone. Hertfordshire had been raided by Mercians. Then Exeter had not accepted the rule of the new king. William raised money from all those parts of England that would pay. He also called out English levies. Exeter surrendered after one of its hostages was blinded. After he subdued Devon and Cornwall all seemed quiet. At Winchester William sent for his wife Matilda who was crowned Queen of England there at Pentecost.
By summer more rebellions had broken out. At the same time others were fleeing England. Edgar Atheling along with his mother and sisters left for Scotland where they were welcomed. In the North strong anti-Norman groups were gathering around York. Earl Edwin and his brother Morcar left William's court to join the rebels in the north. William then built a castle at Warwick. This caused the Earls and others to give in to William. Other castles followed. William then entered York where others came to him and submitted. He then negotiated with the king of Scots to prevent any invasions of England from the north. But his campaign in the North was not as effective as he thought. In 1069 a second uprising developed into a war. The men William left in charge had been killed. A small Norman force was holding out in York when William came to their aid. After building another castle William left Earl William FitzOsbern in charge. For the next five months the north was quiet. But the northern English leaders had sent word to King Swein in Denmark offering him the crown if he could defeat the Normans. Swein sent a Danish fleet to England.
In the summer of 1069 the Danish fleet appeared off the coast of Kent. It moved up the coast towards the north, raiding as it went. William and his army were in the south guarding against any incursions. Finally the fleet joined the English rebels on the banks of the River Humber. The remaining English earls all deserted William and joined the combined English-Danish forces. They moved against the Norman garrison at York and killed all but a few women and children. William Malet, a Norman who had lived in England before 1066 was also spared.
William's northern army was wiped out and York was in ruins. At the same time smaller rebellions were breaking out in Wales and southwest England. William knew he was in trouble. He began by calling in all his commanders and troops to combine his forces. The king knew that with a smaller army he had to deal with one group of rebels at a time. He sent William FitzOsbern and Brian of Brittany to deal with Exeter. William himself fought an army moving in from the east. In both cases the Norman armies were victorious. He now moved on the northern armies that had destroyed York. But he was unable to get any farther north than Pontefract. After trying for several weeks William bribed the Danish Fleet to withdraw from York for the winter. They agreed and returned to the mouth of the Humber to winter there. William was now able to move up to York. He rebuilt the castles there. He then had his forces spread out and destroy everything useful for the English and Danish army to feed itself. The result was widespread famine and the people of the area either left or starved to death. This was William's infamous harrying of the North. The result of all this was the surrender of his English Earls and most of the rebels in England. The few remaining groups were quickly crushed by William's army. But one group proved more stubborn. This was at Chester and after a forced march during Winter, William surprised them before they were ready. After their surrender he built two more castles there then returned to Winchester.
William never again had to lay waste to a county as he did to Yorkshire. He had dealt with the main threats to his rule but some had only been solved in part. The Danish fleet came back in 1070 this time led by King Swen. They joined a small group of rebels on the Isle of Ely led by Hereward the Wake. Again William bribed the Danes to leave and then dealt with the rebels. Hereward was never heard from again.
William now had to rule both England and Normandy. He found he had to be present to keep things under control. When he was in Normandy trouble often broke out in England. When in England, though, Normandy was being ruled by his wife Matilda. But Fulk Rechin, the new count of Anjou, had taken Maine from William's control. William had to take it back in 1073.
In 1082 William arrested his half-brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent. The reasons are uncertain but Odo was trying to raise an army to march on Rome. His plan was to become the next Pope. William put him on trial on the Isle of Wight. In addition to other crimes was that of trying to raise an army among William's soldiers. As William pointed out, they were needed for the defense of England. Odo protested that not even a king could judge him. As a bishop only the Pope could. William replied that he wasn't seizing a bishop, he was seizing his earl who he left in charge during his absence. Odo was imprisoned in Normandy for the rest of his life.
In 1083 Queen Matilda died and was buried in Caen. The two had been very close and only disagreed over their son Robert Curthose. Robert had repeatedly rebelled against his father yet kept in contact with his mother. This caused a rift between them. Philip I of France had found it difficult for his vassal to become a king like himself and so resented William. Not strong enough to fight William himself, when Robert Curthose rebelled against his father, King Philip helped him.
In the summer of 1085 William learned that Canute IV of Denmark was getting a fleet ready to sail against England. William came back to England in the Autumn with many soldiers. He had to pay them and feed them, at great cost. It may have been at this time he realized he had no records of what was owed him as king. He didn't know if he was collecting all the taxes that were due.
At his Christmas court at Gloucester in 1085 William asked that a great survey be taken in every part of England. The king wanted to know how many people lived in his realm. He wanted to know the size of every property, what each was worth, and how much income it brought in. No such survey had ever been made in England before. It was unique in its details and its contribution to English history. The Domesday Book was the first public record in England.
The text of the book fit into two volumes. The first covered thirty-one counties. It was called 'Great Domesday' because of its size. The second covered the counties of Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk and was called 'Little Domesday'. The facts were recorded by several panels made up of bishops and earls. Each panel collected information on several counties. William was presented with a large collection of written records on 1 August 1086. This became the Domesday Book, though it wouldn't be bound into books for almost another century.
William died when he was in Rouen, France from injuries he had received from falling off a horse he owned.
William and his wife Matilda of Flanders had at least nine children.
Matilda of Flanders
Matilda of Flanders (c. 1031 - November 2, 1083) was the wife of William I of England. She was Duchess of Normandy and Queen of England.
Matilda was the daughter of Baldwin V of Flanders and Adela of France, who was the daughter of king Robert II of France. Historians think she was born about 1031. Care was given to her education so she would become known for her learning as much as for her great beauty. Matilda, like other princesses of her day, was very skilled at fine needlework. Matilda was well respected because she was a part of a large Royal family. She was related to many kings in Europe including Charlemagne. Matilda was a very small woman in size, some reports said she was only four feet two inches high (129.5 Centimeters).
Matilda was married to William probably between 1051 and 1052 while she was still a teenager. Ever since he became duke of Normandy as a boy, William had to fight to keep Normandy. When William was born his mother and father were not married so he had the stigma of being a bastard. By marrying Matilda, who was the niece of the king of France, William gained respect in Europe.
When William was getting ready to attack England, Matilda had a ship built for him called the "Mora". While William was in England and after he became King of England in 1066, Matilda stayed behind to rule Normandy while William was away.
A year later, in 1067, Matilda was able to join her husband in England and she was crowned Queen of England. It helped William that Matilda was related to an earlier English king, Alfred the Great. This was important to the English people to think Matilda was herself part English. Matilda died on 3 Nov 1083 when she was about 52 years old.
Together they had ten children, including:
Robert II of France
Robert II of France (March 27, 972 - July 20, 1031) was born in Orleans, France. He was the son of Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine. He was married to Constance of Arles.
Robert was succeeded by his son Henry I of France. Robert is buried in the Saint Denis Basilica.
Adelaide of Aquitaine
William III of Aquitaine
William III of Aquitaine (c. 915 – April 3, 963) became the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitiers in 935. He was the son of Ebalus of Aquitaine.
William's nickname was "Towhead".
William was married to Adela of Normandy. He was the father of Adelaide of Aquitaine, who became Queen of France when she married Hugh Capet. He was succeeded by his son, William IV of Aquitaine.
Basilica of Saint-Denis
The Basilica of Saint Denis is a basilica near Paris, France. It is famous for its architecture and as the burial place for many Kings of France. It is in the suburb of Saint Denis, which is in the north of Paris. Since 1966, it is the cathedral of the diocese of Saint-Denis. It is located in the Greater Paris area, about from Paris.
The Basilica is named after Saint Denis. Saint Denis is the patron saint of France. He was also the first Bishop of Paris.
The Basilica was a Romanesque building. In 1136 the Abbot Suger (1081 - 1155) began replacing the building, bit by bit, beginning with the west front and then with a new east end. The east end is said to be the first building in the Gothic style. It was not completed until the 13th century.
The current organ of the basilica is the first organ built by Aristide Cavaille-Coll. With 4200 pipes, it contains a lot of innovations, opening the romantic area. The French organist Pierre Pincemaille, titular between 1987 and 2018, set up lots of recitals and recorded 8 CDs with this instrument.
Gothic architecture is a way of planning and designing buildings that developed in Western Europe in the Late Middle Ages. Gothic architecture grew out of Romanesque architecture, in France in the 12th century. Gothic architecture spread across Europe and lasted until the 16th century when Renaissance architecture became popular.
The important single feature of Gothic architecture is the pointed arch, which is the main difference from Romanesque architecture which had rounded arches. Other important features are the ribbed vault, flying buttress, and windows with patterns of stone lace called tracery.
Many of the great cathedrals, abbeys and churches of Europe are Gothic architecture. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, universities, and also some houses.
Many church buildings still remain from this period. Even the smallest Gothic churches are often very beautiful, while many of the larger Gothic churches and cathedrals are thought to be priceless works of art. Many are listed with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as World Heritage Sites.
In the 19th century, the Gothic style became popular again, particularly for building churches and universities. This style is called Gothic Revival architecture.
Gothic architecture was at first called "the French Style" ("").
The word ""Gothic"" was used later during the Renaissance as an insult, relating to the uncivilized ancient Goths.
An Italian writer named Giorgio Vasari used the word "Gothic" in the 1530s, because he thought buildings from the Middle Ages were not carefully planned and measured like Renaissance buildings or the buildings of ancient Rome. He said that, as the barbaric Goths had destroyed the classical world, so this "modern art" had destroyed the architecture of the twelfth century. After Vasari, many other people used the word "Gothic" to describe architecture with pointed arches.
At the end of the 12th century, Western Europe was divided into different states. Many of these were beginning to become the countries that exist today.
The Holy Roman Empire ruled a big part of Europe including the modern countries of Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, eastern France and much of northern Italy, apart from Venice. Emperor Charlemagne began the Holy Roman Empire in 800 AD.
The modern countries of France and Spain were each divided into different kingdoms. England was ruled by a king whose family also had a lot of land in France. Norway was influenced by England, while the other Scandinavian countries and Poland were influenced by German states.
Trade between towns and states began to make the towns grow larger. Germany, Holland and Belgium had many big towns that grew peacefully, often trading with each other. Because of the peace and wealth of these towns, they showed their pride by building huge town halls, often with very tall towers.
In England and France, most people did not live in towns. They lived on farms. Rich nobleman or lord owned these farms. The house of the lord was called a manor house. Italy was mostly split up into small city states which often fought each other. Cities often had high walls and many of the houses built at this time were tall, high towers.
In Western Europe, in the Middle Ages, almost everyone belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church has one head - the Pope. During the Middle Ages, one language was used in churches all across Europe - Ecclesiastical Latin, sometimes called Church Latin, which had developed from ancient Latin.
The churches of each area had a local bishop who came under the Pope. . Each Bishop had a throne where he could sit when priests and people came to him. A church which has a Bishop's throne is called a "cathedral". Cathedrals were usually the biggest and most beautiful churches.
In the early Middle Ages, many monasteries were built all over Europe. A group of holy men lived and worked and prayed there. Monks belonged to different "orders" which had different rules. The biggest number of monasteries were homes to the monks of the Benedictine Order. Their monasteries were generally in towns and they often built very big churches called "Abbeys" for the monks and the townspeople to worship in. Other orders of monks, like the Cistercians, did not live near towns. Nowadays their abbeys are seen as beautiful ruins in the English countryside.
In France, there were also Benedictines, as well as Cluniac Orders. The great monastery at Cluny, built in the Romanesque style, was the biggest in Europe. The abbey and other buildings were very well planned so for hundreds of years other monasteries were influenced by that plan.
In the 13th century St. Francis of Assisi started the Franciscans, who were often called the "Grey Friars" because of their grey-brown robes. The Dominicans were founded by St. Dominic in Toulouse and Bologna. The Dominicans built many of Italy's Gothic churches.
Abbot Suger was the head of a large monastery just north of Paris in France. The monastery had a large church, the Abbey of Saint-Denis. There was also a royal palace where the French kings sometimes stayed. Abbot Suger was a close friend to two kings, Louis VI and Louis VII.
In 1127 Suger decided to rebuild the great abbey Church of Saint-Denis. He began by changing the "West Front" or facade This side of the church was about 200 years old and had only one small door. Suger planned for three big doors like the arches on the Arch of Constantine in Rome. These large entrances let in all the crowds on special Holy Days. The facade also had a big round window in the centre, called a rose window, which was the first one in France.
Abbot Suger did not rebuild the church inside the west doors where most of the ordinary people stood. Next, he rebuilt the eastern end. Suger wanted the east facade to make people think of Heaven. He wanted it to be very light and bright, with very big windows of beautifully coloured glass. He looked at all the most modern designs, and all the clever things that other architects had done. He put all the new ideas together in one building. It was the first building of the new "Gothic" style. It was not yet called Gothic at this time. It was called "the French Style".
The new East End was dedicated or "given to God" on June 11, 1144. Other architects soon copied the design for other big churches and cathedrals in northern France. After Abbot Suger's death, the rest of the church was also rebuilt in the new style, and got two more much larger and more decorated rose windows, one on either side.
The style soon spread to England and through France, the Low Countries, Germany, Spain and northern of Italy and Sicily.
Note:- The architectural vocabulary words are written in bold type and are explained and/or shown on the plan and cross-section.
"Romanesque" was the style of architecture in Europe before the "Gothic" style. Gothic architecture grew out of Romanesque architecture. There was not a clean break between the two styles. Many of the features of Gothic architecture did not begin in the Gothic period. They were already there in Romanesque architecture, and slowly changed to become Gothic. The main changes were the pointed arch and the flying buttress. These two developments allowed many other changes to happen.
Romanesque buildings had thick walls, small windows, round arches and flat buttresses. Gothic buildings had thinner walls, larger windows, pointed arches and large buttresses.
All the types of buildings, and the general shape of the buildings were already there in the Romanesque period. The types of buildings were:- the cathedral church, the parish church, the monastery, the castle, the palace, the great hall and the gatehouse.
Before the 20th century, the landmark building in almost every town was a church, cathedral, abbey, or town hall with its tall tower or spire rising high above all the houses. Many of these buildings were from the Middle Ages and were Romanesque or Gothic in style.
The groundplan of most Gothic churches is shaped like a cross. The long nave makes the body of the church and, crossing it, the arms are called the transept. On the other side of the "transept" is the chancel which is often called the choir because that is where the priest and the choir sing the services.
The "nave" usually has a passageway or aisle on either side. Sometimes there are two "aisles" on each side. The "nave" is usually a lot taller than the "aisles", and has high windows which light up the central space. The upper part of the building, where these windows are, is called the clerestory (or clear storey). (It is pronounced "clair-rest-tree")
Some Gothic churches in Germany and Austria and also Milan Cathedral (which was built in the German style) often have "nave" and "aisles" of almost the same height and are called "hallenkirke" (hall church). The Cathedral of St. Stephen of Vienna is an example.
In some churches with double aisles, like Notre Dame, Paris, the transept does not stick out beyond the aisles. In English cathedrals the "transepts" always stick out a long way and sometimes there are two transepts as at Salisbury Cathedral.
It is at the eastern end that Gothic churches are the most different from each other.
In England the eastern end it is usually long and often has two parts. It is usually square or has a "Lady Chapel", a place to pray to the Virgin Mary.
In France the eastern end is often polygonal and has by a passage for walking called an ambulatory. Often French churches have a ring of chapels called a chevette. German churches are often like those of France at the eastern end.
In Italy, there is no long "chancel" jutting out beyond the transept. There is usually just a semicircular chapel as at Florence Cathedral.
The "facade" or West Front of a large church or cathedral is designed to make a big impression on the worshippers. One of the best known is Notre Dame de Paris.
In the centre of the facade is the main door or portal, often with two side doors as well. In the arch of the middle door is often an important piece of sculpture, usually "Christ in Majesty". Sometimes there is a stone post in the middle of the doorway where there is a statue of the "Madonna and Child". There are many other carved figures in niches set all around the portals. Sometimes there are hundreds of stone figures carved all across the front of the building.
Above the middle door there is a large window, which is usually a rose window like that at Reims Cathedral, but not in England, Scotland, Belgium or Scandinavia where there will nearly always be a very large pointed window to let in lots of light.
In Italy, the facade is often decorated with coloured marble and mosaic made of little coloured tiles, and not so many statues, as at Orvieto Cathedral
The "facade" of a French cathedral and many English, Spanish and German cathedrals usually has two towers.
Large Gothic churches and cathedrals are often very tall. On the inside, the "nave" is usually at least twice as high as it is wide, which gives the church a very tall narrow look. Some of the churches in France and Germany have naves that are three times as high as they are wide. Cologne Cathedral is an example. The tallest nave is at Beauvais Cathedral which is 157.5 feet high. Westminster Abbey is 102 feet high.
On the outside most Gothic churches, both big and small, have at least one tower. In Italy there are domes on the churches, and the tower stands to one side. But in most other countries, cathedrals generally have two towers and quite often have three. Some have even more. Laon Cathedral was planned to have seven, but they were not all built.
Sometimes there is just one tower with a huge spire as at Salisbury. Lincoln Cathedral had the tallest spire of the Middle Ages at 527 feet (160 metres).
Because a pointed arch points upwards, it makes people look upwards. In Gothic architecture, the whole building is designed to make people look up. There are long narrow columns, long narrow windows and high pointed roofs. On the inside the arches of the roof rise up like branches. On the outside, there are often lots of fancy bits along the edge of the roof and on the tops of buttresses and above the windows. These are called " pinnacles". Milan Cathedral has hundreds of them.
Gothic architecture usually has a lot of windows. Sainte Chapelle is a famous example. At Gloucester Cathedral in England, the East window is as big as a tennis court. Milan Cathedral also has windows of about the same size.
The flying buttresses which arch across the roof of the aisle were used to support the roof above the windows, so the walls did not have to be so thick.
The columns of the inside, the ribs of the vault (or roof) and the flying buttresses, made a strong stone skeleton. in between these parts, the walls and the filling of the vaults could be of lighter thinner material. Between the narrow buttresses, the walls could be opened up into large windows.
Through the Gothic period, because of the pointed arch, Gothic windows were able to change from simple openings to very rich designs. The windows were very often filled with stained glass which made coloured light in the building, and was used for story-telling pictures.
Pointed arches were used in Persian architecture, and from 641 AD onwards, they were a feature of Islamic architecture. Knowledge of the pointed arch spread into Europe through the Crusaders who travelled to the Middle East from 1096 onwards. Also, Islamic forces had taken over parts of Spain, where they built cities and Mosques with pointed arches.
Architectural historians think that the pointed arch was also used by some European architects because it was a very strong way of making an arch.
In Gothic Architecture, the pointed arch is used in every place where an arch is needed, both for strength and for decoration. Gothic openings such as doorways, windows, arcades and galleries have pointed arches. A row of arches is called an arcade. A row of arches that is up high on a building is a gallery.
Rows of pointed arches were used to decorate walls. This is known as blind arcading. Often walls were made with tall narrow arched openings in them that could be used to stand statues in. An opening like this is called a niche which is pronounced "neesh".
An arched roof built of bricks or stone is called a vault. In the Romanesque period before the Gothic, some churches had vaulted roofs. They were always based on perfectly semi-circular shapes. There were two main ways to make a nave vault in the Romanesque period. A vault could be long like a tunnel. Churches with this type of vault were always rather dark. Or it could be square, like two tunnels crossing each other. This meant that the columns that carried the vault always had to be placed on a perfectly square ground plan, which was not always possible.
One of the good things about pointed arches was that they could be narrow and tall, or flattened and wide. Using pointed arches, architects could make vaults of very different shapes. They did not even have to be rectangular. A Gothic architect could make a vault with one side narrow, two sides wide and the last side even wider. They could make a vault with three sides or five sides quite easily, by using pointed arches.
The vaults were made of ribs which met each other at the highest part of the vault. In between the ribs were sloping surfaces of stone or brick that could be much thinner and lighter than the ribs. At first the pattern made by the ribs was quite plain, like Romanesque vaults, but architects, particularly in England, soon started adding small ribs in between the main ones and making different patterns. Some vaults like this can also be seen in Spain and Germany, but not usually in France or Italy.
In the Gothic period the shape and style of pointed arches changed. But the changes were not the same in every country.
With pointed arches, windows could be made very large. Architects made many designs of pointed arches crossing each other in different ways. These designs were often used in windows, which look as if they are filled with beautiful stone lace. This is called "tracery". The stone tracery was used to hold the glass in place. An Architectural Historian can often tell just how old a part of a building is by looking at the window tracery design.
The simplest Gothic arch is a long opening with a pointed arch known in England as the lancet. A "lancet" is a sharp knife, so these windows are knife-shaped. Very often lancet windows are put together in a group of three or five.
Salisbury Cathedral is famous for the beauty of its Lancet Gothic Architecture. In England the style is called "Early English Gothic". York Cathedral in England has a group of five lancet windows that are 50 feet high and are still full of ancient glass. They are called the Five Sisters.
These simple windows are also found at Chartres Cathedral and Laon Cathedral in France. They are the most usual sort of Gothic windows in Italy.
Many Gothic openings have tops that are based upon an equilateral triangle. The Equilateral Arch has a very pleasing look and gives a wide opening useful for doorways, arcades and big windows.
These arches are often filled with tracery in circular designs. In England this style is called Geometric Decorated Gothic. It can be seen at many English and French Cathedrals, for example Lincoln cathedral in England and Notre Dame in Paris.
Some Gothic windows have designs in the tracery, or even in the top of the window itself, that rises up like a flame. This is called Flamboyant Gothic. Tracery like this makes a very rich and lively effect.
Some of the most beautiful and famous windows of Europe have this type of tracery. It can be seen at St Stephen's Vienna, Sainte Chapelle in Paris, at the Cathedrals of Limoges and Rouen in France, and at Milan Cathedral in Italy. In England the most famous windows like this are the West Window of York Minster with its design based on the Sacred Heart, the East Window at Carlisle Cathedral and the East window of Selby Abbey. Architectural Historians sometimes argue about which of these is the most beautiful.
Flame-shaped arches are not as strong as ordinary pointed arches. It is never used for making a vaulted roof. If this shape is used to make a doorway, there is generally another stronger arch around it. Another way is to make a square topped door that has Flamboyant decoration over the top. In France there are many doorways, both in churches and in houses, that are like this. They are rare in England but there is one at Rochester Cathedral.
In England the Flamboyant style was used wall arcading and niches. The most famous examples in are in the Lady Chapel at Ely, the Screen at Lincoln and the facade of Exeter Cathedral. In German and Spanish Gothic architecture the Flamboyant style is often used for opnwork stone screens. The famous "pulpit" in Vienna Cathedral is made like this.
The Depressed arch is wide and looks as if it has been pushed almost flat. When arches like this are used to make great big windows they need to be supported by many tall thin vertical shafts and horizontal transoms, so that the window looks as if it has been divided up into a grid (lots of rectangles). This sort of decoration is used on walls as well. In England the style is called Perpendicular Gothic style.
At Gloucester Cathedral the Perpendicular East Window is said to be as large as a tennis court. There are three very famous large chapels in this style- King's College Chapel, Cambridge; St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle; Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster Abbey. The other famous example is Bath Abbey.
A Gothic cathedral was designed to be like a model of the universe. Everything about the building was designed to tell a message about God.
The statues, the decoration, stained glass windows and wall paintings told Bible stories such as how God created the world and how he rules over everything that is in the universe, the seasons of the year and the stars in the sky.
Carvings near the door often show the signs of the Zodiac because the patterns of stars in the sky were very important to farming people who did not have calendars to tell them when to plant and when to harvest.
Above the main door is often a sculpture of Jesus on a throne, judging the people of the Earth. Many pictures and sculptures are there to remind people to live good lives because they never know what will happen next.
Many churches were very richly decorated, both inside and out. the statues were often painted in bright colours but nowadays only tiny bits remain at Chartres cathedral and some other places. Wooden ceilings were usually brightly coloured. Sometimes the stone columns were painted as well.
Even though some things about Gothic architecture stay the same, other things look different in different countries.
Different building materials were found in different parts of Europe. This is one of the differences in the architecture between different places.
In France, there was limestone. It was good for building because it was soft to cut, but got much harder when the air and rain got on it. It was usually a pale grey colour. France also had beautiful white limestone from Caen which was perfect for making very fine carvings.
England had coarse limestone, red sandstone and dark green Purbeck marble which was often used for architectural decorations like thin columns.
In Northern Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Baltic countries and northern Poland there was no good building stone, but there was clay for making bricks and tiles. So many of these countries have Brick Gothic churches and even Brick Gothic castles.
In Italy, limestone was used for city walls and castles, but brick was used for other buildings. Because Italy had lots of beautiful marble in many different colours, many buildings have fronts or "facades" decorated in coloured marble. Some churches have very rough brick "facades" because the marble was never put on. Florence Cathedral, for example, did not get its marble "facade" until the 1800s.
In some parts of Europe, there were many tall straight trees that were good for making very large roofs. But in England, by the 1400s, the long straight trees were running out. Many of the trees were used for building ships. The architects had to think of a new way to make a wide roof from short pieces of timber. That is how they invented the hammer-beam roofs which are one of the beautiful features seen in many old English churches.
French cathedrals, and those in Germany and Belgium are often very high, both inside and outside. "The transepts" do not stick out far. The "facades" in France nearly always have three doors, a rose window and two towers. There are often "facades" with doors on the transepts as well as the front.
The thing that makes English cathedrals different from the others is that they are long, and look horizontal, like big ocean liners.
English cathedrals nearly all took hundreds of years to build, and every part is in a style that is quite different to the next part. (Only Salisbury Cathedral was not built in lots of styles.)
The West window is very large and is never a rose window. The west front may have two towers like a French Cathedral, or none. There is nearly always a tower at the middle of the building, which may have a big spire.
In Germany the towers and spires are often enormously large. Sometimes they are so big that it was impossible to finish them until modern times. The spires are quite different to English spires because they are made of lacy "openwork".
There are also many "hallenkirke" (or hall-churches) which have no "clerestorey" windows. The nave and the aisles are about the same height.
Like an English Cathedral, a Spanish or Portuguese Gothic Cathedral is often built in many different styles. They are often wide. Spanish cathedrals often have chapels all around them. The roof often has many different types of towers and spires. Often the central towers are polygonal.
Italian Gothic cathedrals use lots of colour, both outside and inside. On the outside, the "facade" is often decorated with marble. On the inside, the walls are often painted plaster. The columns and arches are often decorated with bright coloured paint. There are also mosaics with gold backgrounds and beautifully tiled floors is geometric patterns.
The facades often have an open porch with a wheel windows above it. There is often a dome at the centre of the building. The bell tower is hardly ever attached to the building, because Italy has quite a few earthquakes. The windows are not as large as in northern Europe and, although stained glass windows are often found, the favorite way of decorating the churches is fresco (wall painting).
A cathedral is a Christian church that is the seat of a Bishop. As cathedrals are the seat of a bishop, they are central church of a diocese. Only those Christian denominations that have bishops have cathedrals. Cathedrals can be found in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican as well as some Lutheran churches.
In the Greek Orthodox Church, the terms "kathedrikos naos" (literally: "cathedral shrine") and "metropolis" (literally "mother city") are both used to describe the same thing. "Metropolis" is more common, but both terms are officially used.
There are variations on the use of the term "cathedral"; for example, some pre-Reformation cathedrals in Scotland now within the Church of Scotland still retain the term cathedral, despite the Church's Presbyterian polity which does not have bishops. As cathedrals are often particularly impressive buildings, the term is often used incorrectly to refer to any large important church. Some diocese, however, have other churches that are bigger than the cathedral.
Several cathedrals in Europe, such as Strasbourg, and in England at York, Lincoln and Southwell, are referred to as "Minster" (German: "Münster") churches, from Latin "monasterium", because the establishments were served by canons living in community or may have been an abbey, prior to the Reformation. The other kind of great church in Western Europe is the abbey.
The word cathedral is derived from the Latin noun "cathedra" ("seat" or "chair"), and refers to the presence of the bishop's or archbishop's chair or throne. In the ancient world, the chair was the symbol of a teacher and thus of the bishop's role as teacher, and also of an official presiding as a magistrate and thus of the bishop's role in governing a diocese.
The word cathedral, though now grammatically used as a noun, is originally the adjective in the phrase "cathedral church", from the Latin "ecclesia cathedralis". The seat marks the place set aside in the prominent church of the diocese for the head of that diocese and is therefore a major symbol of authority.
Many cathedrals are very old.
Some churches are called "cathedral", but they are not the seat of a bishop. This may be because the way the church is organised changed over time. This is the case for Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Poprad, in Slovakia, for example. In Slovak language, this church is called "cathedral". It is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Spiš. This diocese was re-organised several times. Currently, the cathedral of the diocese is St. Martin's Cathedral (Spišská Kapitula). Churches that formerly were a diocesan seat may be called concathedral, co-cathedral, or pro-cathedral.
Patron saint
A patron saint is someone who has devoted their whole life to something greater than themselves. They are someone who worked hard to make the world a better place. Catholics traditionally take a name of a patron saint to help them throughout their life.
Here is a list of patron saints and the things that they are the patron saint of:
Saint David (c. 512 - 587) is the patron saint of Wales. He was a Welsh bishop in the 6th century.
Saint George (c. 275/280 – April 23, 303) is the patron saint of England and some other countries. There is no reliable history about St. George yet. On St George's day some people in England wear a red rose, or put an English flag in their window. The Saint George's Cross is the flag of England: white with a red cross.
According to a legend, Saint George of Lydda killed a dragon and saved the lives of many people.
A city called Silene had a large lake, where a plague-bearing dragon who breathed fire and disease lived. The dragon poisoned all the countryside. To please the dragon, the people of Silene gave it a sheep every day, for food, and when there were no more sheep, they gave their children to the dragon. The children were chosen by a lottery.
One year the lottery chose the King's daughter. The King, sad and desperate, asked the people to take all his gold and silver, and half of his empire - but only if his daughter could be saved. The people refused. The daughter was sent out to the lake, dressed in white as a bride, to be a fine meal for the dragon.
Not knowing this, Saint George was riding past the lake on the same day. The princess, terrified and trembling, tried to send him away, but George said he would stay and protect her.
The dragon came suddenly out of the lake while they were speaking. George made the Sign of the Cross gesture, jumped on his horse and advanced toward the dragon. He used his long spear to hurt the dragon badly. Then he asked the princess to throw her long pretty belt to him. He put the silk belt around the dragon's neck.
Now, the dragon followed the girl like a humble pet follows its master.
The Princess and Saint George took the dragon back to the city of Silene, where the people were terrified to see the dragon enter. But Saint George told them not to be scared. He said that if the people became Christians and went to Church to be baptized, he would kill the dragon immediately.
The king and the people of Silene converted to Christianity, George killed the dragon with his sword, 'Ascalon', and its body was taken out of the city on carts.
Fifteen thousand men were baptized, not counting women and children.
On the site where the dragon died, the king built a Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint George. From the altar in the church came a fountain of holy water. The water cured any disease.
The story of Saint George and the Dragon symbolizes good winning over evil. Compare Book of Revelation chapters 12-13.
It is the subject of a lot of art through many centuries. In Sweden, the Princess symbolizes the nation of Sweden, and the dragon represents a foreign army of enemies. The story was passed from parent to child through songs in Russia. It was also made into the story 'The Reluctant Dragon' by Ken Ransom, which was made into a Disney film.
St. George's Day is also England's National Day, April 23, but this is not a holiday in the UK. He is the patron saint of many other countries, too - including Greece, Palestine, Georgia, Portugal and Russia. Moscow has 41 Churches with the name of Saint George, and the Moscow city Coat of Arms, or symbol, is of Saint George on a horse killing the dragon. Saint George is the patron saint of the Boy Scouts of America.
Saint Andrew
Saint Andrew is one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and the patron saint of Scotland, Romania, Ukraine and several other countries. He was crucified on a cross that was turned sideways to look like an "X". The Saint Andrew's flag is the official flag of Scotland.
On St Andrew's Day, many people in Scotland wear a thistle.
Saint Patrick (about 402 - March 17, probably 491 or 493) is the patron saint of Ireland. He was born in a village in Roman Britain. Saint Patrick came from a Christian family. He was the son of Calpornius, who was a deacon. According to the autobiographical Confessio of Patrick, when he was about sixteen years old, he was captured by Irish pirates. They took him from his home in Britain and sold him as a slave in Ireland. His work was to take care of animals. He lived there for six years and learned the local language. He then escaped and returned to his family.
After becoming a cleric, he returned to northern and western Ireland as a missionary. Because he knew the language he could preach to the people. He also married couples when the king prohibited it.
He brought Christianity to Ireland. He converted many pagans to Christianity. He also challenged many of their leaders and druids such as Aodhan the Brave also known as Chief Aodhan. St.Patrick eventually converted Chief Aodhan and they worked together to convert many other pagans.
St. Patrick's Day is celebrated every year on March 17 in his honour.
There is a bell in the National Museum of Ireland that was made around the time of Saint Patrick's life. There is no evidence that Saint Patrick owned the bell but the Irish have believed for 1400 years that the bell belonged to Saint Patrick. One of the kings of Ulster who was the high king of Ireland at the time had a beautiful cover made out of gold and gems to preserve the bell. The names of the bishops of Ireland were engraved on the cover. The style of the letters on the cover were used to make the first typewriters. It is believed that the bell was rung by Saint Patrick to let people know it was time for church.
There are no snakes in Ireland but there is a legend that at the time of Saint Patrick there were lots of snakes and he chased them all into the Irish Sea. Some say that this legend came to be because pagans had tattoos of snakes and Saint Patrick got rid of the pagans by teaching Christianity and therefore drove out the snakes from Ireland.
402 is a year in the Common Era. It started on a Wednesday. It was known as year 1155 in some places in the Ab urbe condita.
Somerset is a county in South West England.
The main town of Somerset was Somerton, but it is now Taunton. There are two cities in Somerset. They are Bath and Wells.
The name "Somerset" comes from the Anglo-Saxon phrase "Sumorsaete," which was used to describe people from Somerton.
In the past, the northern border of Somerset was the River Avon. However, as the city of Bristol has grown, the border moved south.
In 1974 parts of north Somerset, the city of Bristol and parts of south Gloucestershire were joined into a new county. This county was named Avon. In 1996 Avon was split into 4 parts, which are now unitary authorities. People usually say that 2 of these parts (named North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset) are part of Somerset, even though they have their own councils.