Elective Course
Credits: 3-0-3 (3 semester hours)
Type of Course: Lecture
Instructors: Robert M. Craig
Prerequisites: None
Course Overview
Investigations of the architecture of medieval Europe with selected inquiries in Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic eras. The major emphasis of the course is the history of Romanesque and Gothic church architecture in France and England.
Learning Objectives
The course seeks:
a) to develop a knowledge of major monuments, their stylistic (formal, structural, and ornamental) features, in the historic evolu¬tion of medieval architecture from Early Christian through regional expression of Romanesque to Goth¬ic with an emphasis on architecture in France and England;
b) to develop an awareness of the effect of materials and a know¬ledge of structural / technological advances in the evolution of medieval design;
c) to develop a connoisseurship in the history of stained glass;
d) to portray examples of architectural sculpture, wall paintings, and stained glass to encourage student's understanding of the medieval building's role as a didactic instrument of religious teaching.
Individual slide lectures are paired with assigned readings, primarily from three texts by Robert Calkins, Whitney Stoddard, and Alec Clifton-Taylor. Students are expected to attend all lectures and to read complementary assigned readings.
Course Content:
A study of architecture and related arts during the Middle Ages as follows:
-Early Christian and Byzantine basilican and centralized traditions
-Merovingian, Carolingian, Ottonian, and Anglo Saxon traditions
-The monastery, pilgrimage routes, and pilgrimage churches
-Romanesque architecture and its regional styles in France
-English Norman
-Romanesque wall paintings and sculpture
-Early Gothic in France
-Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular in England
-Late Gothic in France
-Gothic Sculpture and Stained Glass
-Medieval Architecture in Spain, Italy, and Germany
Course Requirements
Grades are based on student performance on exams and class participation as follows: Periodic quizzes as needed and attendance/participation (10%Graduate, 20%Undergraduate), a major examination [35%] (to and including Romanesque), and a comprehensive final examination [45%]. Graduate students are required to write a short paper on a topic approved by professor [10%].
Required Texts:
Robert Calkins, Medieval Architecture in Western Europe, From AD300 to 1500
Whitney Stoddard, Art and Architecture in Medieval France
Alec Clifton Taylor, The Cathedrals of England