Great Cathedrals 9780810932975

Citation preview

I

I

I Great Cathedrals

I -

~

Great Cathedrals Bernhard Schutz with photogmphs by

Albert Rinner, Florian Manheim, J oseph Martin

I -

II III IIIIII II IIIIII II IIIII Ill llll llllll llll IIIII 3 0843 9870 4

Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers

Contents p. p.

I

Ch:1rm.:s C:1Ll1cdr:1I, rose window in the west front

2

Cologne Cathcdr:11, view into the upper choir

pp. 4-; Florence C:nhcclral and campanile, from the south Seville Cathedral, bell tower (La Giralda), formerly the minaret p. 6

I

3

Introductio n

of the Atuslim mosque

p. 8

Bourges Catheclr:.11, view of the choir

p. 9 p. 10 p. 11

;\miens C:uhedral, facade from the southwest Rcims Cad1edrnl, ,\ngcl of the Annunciation from the central west portal

p.

Bamberg Cathcclrnl, the so-called Bamberg Knight on the north pier of the cast

2I

choir (sec also Plates 89, 94)

34

Architectura l I listory Arni ens

44

Beauvais

York Cathedral, vault of the Chapter I louse

Project manager, English-language edition: Kate Norment Editor, English-language edition: Alexandra Bonfonte-\ Varrcn Jacket design, English-lanE:,rt1age edition: Judy l luclson Design Coordin:nors, English-language edition: judy I ludson, Arlene Lee Tfanshncd from the Gcrm;1n by Translate-A-Book, Oxford, E.nghind

Plfltes

Architecn1ral I Iistory Canterbmy

234

Sa lisbury

246

\Veils

60

258

Paris

So

Chartres

Plates

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Great cathedrals/ Bernhard Schiitz.

96

p.cm.

Peterborough

276

Lincoln

I06

ISBN 0-8109-3'97-o 1. Cathcclr:1ls-Europc. 2. Architecrurc, Aledieval. 3. Architecture, Gothic. I. Title. NA;4;i .S39 ,002 726.6'09'oz--clc, I

I lirmcr Verlag, i\ lunich English translation copyright © 2002 1larry N. Abrams, Inc.

12 3 1H

Architectura l I listory Basel (Switzerland )

140

Speyer

Seville

Plfltes 246-250 Pl11tes 25 1-2 57

Architectural 1listory Venice

322

,'v!ilan

332

1\ lodena

Pl111es 16.;-172 Plfltes 173-177 Plates 178-182

Plfltes 63-68

Nlainz

162

Cologne

HO

176

Bamberg

New York, N.Y. 10011 www.:1brnmsbooks.co111

188

Naumburg

35 2

Plnres 95-103 Plnres 10-1-11 0

Florence

Pl111es 190- 199 37°

Siena

384

Orvicto

394

Monrealc

Pl11tes 200-2. 10 Plmes 2. 11-2. 1 7

Plnres86-9-1

200 Prague (Czech Republic)

Pisa

Plates 183-189

Plfltes 75-85 1larry ~·. '\brams 1 Inc. 100 Fifth \ venue

Appendix

Italy

Plfltes 60-62

156

L\ \l,_\lrl1\f~llf

454

Durham

299 3IO

Plfltes 69-71

f

Toledo

Plates 157-163

Plfltes 72-74

Abrams 1s :t subsidiary of

446

Pl111es 1 50-1 56 286

Germany and Neighboring Countries (The 17ormer l lo l)' Roma n Empire)

150 \\forms

109876;4321

Burgos

Plntes 239-245

Plfltes -19-59

reproduced without the wrinen pennission of the publishe;. Primed and bound in Italy

Plntes 23-1-2 38 4 36

Strasbourg

2002

Published in 2002 by I larry N. Abrams, Incorpor:ncd, New York All right$ reserved. No part of the contents of Lhis book mav be

Platl's 227-133

Plfltes 1.;5-149

Plntes 43--18

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Ely

268 25-31

Bourgcs

Leon

Plfltes 138-1-1-1

Pl111es 32--12

Schi.ir1., Bernhard.

428

Plfltes 129-137

Plfltes 18-2-1 70

Architectural History Santiago de Compostcla

Pl111es 120-1 28

11-1 7

Rcims

4o9 418

Plfltes 111-119

1-7

Laon

Pintes

1)1)cser by Organ Graphic, Abingdon, England

Copyright©

222

2 13

Plntes 8-1 o 50

Spain

England

France

Plates 2.18-2.2.6

466

Architectural Terms ( Illustration)

467 468 4 72

Select Bibliography Index Photograph Credits

Introduction

T

his book provides an overview and an appreciation of the great medieval cathedra ls of Eu rope: those of

shrine. T he epitome of th is is the high c hoir of the cathedra l

F rance and England, Spain and Italy, as well as Germany ,rnd adjoining countries, the former IIoly Roman Empire. The cathedral is the greatest ach ievement of medieva l European architecture, a work in which architecture and fine arts are

drawings of the early 19th cenrury from the engravings of

united in a comprehensive whole, a purpose-built ecclesiastical building. \ \'hat is a cathedraP

in

Cologne,

ideally represented

in

the cross-sectional

Sulpiz Boisseree (see ill. page 14). This is, perhaps, the most accurate reproduction of a cathedral ever, because it captu res not on ly the building and its typica l Gothi c cathedral construction, but also the spiritw1 l sou l, indeed t he very idea of the cathedra l. Here, we can sec what every Gothi c cathedral re,1lly is: a phenomenal achi evement, always over-

Undoubted ly, most people think first of the French Gothi c cathed rals: Notre-Da me in Paris, Chartres, or Reims.

whelming, and never quite ,ltta in ab le. T he Gothi c cathedrals of France soon inspired e mula tors

For ma ny, "cathedral" is syno nymous with "Gothi c," and logically "Gothi c" is first and foremost "cathed ral Goth ic."

in neighboring co untri es, first in E ng la nd , then in Spain, and fina ll y in all of Central E urope, a nd north as far as

T hi s view is bound up with mental images of extremely rich and finely decorative architecture, with interiors comprising

Italy, still dominated by C lassica l antiquity, yet the re, too, the

pillars, arc hes, stained-glass wind ows, and rib l'au lts, and exteriors characterized by exposed buttressing and pointed

Scm1dinavia. A certain resistance eme rged on ly o n the part of

the pointed arc h, the rounded shaft, and tracery.

Gothic-style cathedral fou nd fol lowe rs, for exam ple in iVIilan and F lorence, tho ugh adm itted ly in an Italian adaptation. Nel'ertheless, by no means a ll cathedra ls were Gothi c. The word "cathed ral" actu,1 ll y has nothing to do with

In their construction, the Gothi c cathedrals are mere frameworks, in co mpari son to the massive stone-wa ll heav-

Gothic, but simpl y describes the m ain churc h o f a bishopric. That is why there are also cathedral s in the R o manesque,

iness typical of the preceding R oma nesque sryle. They represent, from a technical viewpo int, bold, at times ri sky a rchi tectural e ng in eering, in which t he wa ll fabric is reduced to

Renaissance, Baroque, ,i nd eve ry othe r style, in c luding contempo rary, up to the prese nt. In the Iloly Ro man Empire, the Romanesque cathedra ls were hi g hly valued ; they were

what is strictly necessa1-y; this gives an impression a lm ost of weightlessness, as if the laws o f gravity, bearing, and load,

built by the g reatest men in the e mpire, and were proudly erected with many towers, often with a defiant appearance,

in som e in expli cable a nd miraculous way, do not apply

for archi tecture was effectively used to convey a n image of power. In England, the naked, sometimes threatening, attirude of power adopted by the Norman rul ing class was more pronounced; in co ntrast, the hi g hly cultu red inhe ri -

pinnacles and gables. The motifs that recur el'erywhere are

here. This not o nly makes the building as light as it ca n be, but sometimes even gives th e impression of a titanic upward su rge. P erh aps the most profound impression we receive from cathedral s in their original co nditi o n, like C hartres, is the surrea l power of the illuminatio n, fro m the colo red be,1 ms ema nating throug h g lass windows that twinkle like precious stones; these a re surely inte nd ed to g ive the o bse rver a n id ea of the sp lendo r of the lig ht of heaven, the divine li g ht. T he arc hitectura l sn·ucrure and the windows together crea te an aura that has something mysterious and numinous about it, and is also an expressio n of the transcendental. T hus, even today's cultivated visitors detect with the same powe rful immediacy as th e Romanti cs before them , when they rediscovered th e Gothic cathedrals and praised them in hymns, that this is the house of God. It is a holy place, to which revere nce is due. Never before o r after has the vision of sacredn ess so magically affected the mind. Step by step the cathedral becomes a towering house of glass with fra g ile, thinly partitioned lattices; at tl1is point th e Hig h Gothic cathedral looks like an enormously oversized

tance of the C lassica l pe rio d li ved o n in the Ro manesqu e cathedral s in Italy. Here, the aesthetic was co ncern ed less with th e demonstration of might than o f po mp. A cathedral , regard less o f country o r ,1ge, is th e seat of a bishop or arc hbishop, and of the clergy attached to this church, the chapter, whi ch is made up of canons. The origin of the word "cathed ral" is the Latin cr1thedm, the thronelike seat of the pontificate, which is a symbo l of both the bisho p's teaching role and pastorate. The bishop's church is called a "cathedral " in France, England, and Spain; in Germany and in Ital y it is known as a Oo1JJ and D1101JJ0 respective ly. These terms are de rived from do11111s episcopalis and do11111s ca11onicor11111 (house of th e bishop or house of th e ca nons), comprising the livin g areas of the bishop and the c hapter, as well as the church. During the iVIiddl e Ages, the word do1JJ11s was ca rri ed over in its o ld German fo rm , th1101JJ, to the church buildings fo rmerly ca ll ed th e ecc/esia 1JJflior (main church), mater ecdesia (mothe r church), or ecdesia episcopalis (bishop's ch urch). 13

Cross-section throug h the choir of Cologne Cathedral. Plate VI from an etching by Sulpiz Boisseree, 1809

A term for a bishop's church t hat is o nl y used in t he southern part of the area where German is spoken, fo r example, in Basel, Consta nce, and Strasbourg, is 11lii11ste1: Etymologicall y, this derives from the Latin 111onasterim11 (monastery), and it expresses the fact that the cathed ral concerns th e who le chapter, not just th e bishop. onethel ess, severa l large cathedral -like churches count as a 1Hii11ster. Although th ese were onl y pari sh churches when they were established , th ey had a clergy with an especiall y strong membership, equi va lent to a ca th edral chapter. T he most famous exa mpl es of thi s are the 1Vlii11ster of F reiburg (a bishop's church since 182 7) and t hat of U lm. In oth er regio ns, a city church with numerous clergy would be ca lled Dom, even if it was not, and is not, the seat of a bisho p, for example, in Erfurt o r Brnnswick. It has become the no rm in everyda y speech to glo ri fy as Dom o r Nliinster a church that is si mply an important structure of a certain size, even if it is a monastery church. Al ten berger Dom near Cologne, formerly a Cistercian church, or \i\Teinga rten iVWnster, a Baroque Benedictine church, belong in this category. I n this expanded sense, the two words impl y nothin g more than structu ral r4

lntrod11ctio11

rank, the artistic quality of the church without rega rd to its function. T he misnomer is a way to upg-rade a ch urch, usually for reasons of loca l partisan pride. A para llel to JV!ii11ster in Engla nd is the word "m inster." Among Engl ish cathedrals, it is used o nly in York, the lesser of the two archbishopri cs in medieval England. As in Germany, several collegiate churches, fo r example, Beverl ey and Southwell , are also referred to as minsters. In the case ofli\Tes011inster Abbey, the word is incorpo rated into the name. The chapter of a cathed ral no t in frequently had the considerable strength of 40 to So canons as well as a great number of assista nt clergy: the deacons and subdeacons. T he ca no ns, also call ed prebenders, li ved togetl1er according to set rules and privileges ("cano n"), which inclu ded prayer in the choir and the use of the refectory and the dormitory. This communa l life, the vita co1111111111is, differed from a monk's life in tl1at it was not subj ect to the stri cter rules of a monastic order. Inside the cathedral, usua ll y at tl1 e east end, tl1 e choir was separated from the rest of tl1e church for cho ral prayer and other activities of tl1e cha pter during divine service. Barriers were erected o n tl1e long sides, and a rood screen or other barrier was placed facing th e aisle. During choral prayer tl1e canons sat in their places in th e cho ir stalls, whi ch stood in front of the screens o n t he lo ng sides, as a rul e in two rows, just as in the mo nastery churches. Laypeople were excluded from acts of worship in the choir. T he nave was tl1e place for the people, and that is why t he pulpit was placed tl1ere. In cathed rals with two cho irs, a style that spread in tl1e Iloly Roman Empire, mostly before tl1e high Midd le Ages, there logica ll y could be two rood screens and two cho ir stalls. Such a double arrangement survives only in Na umburg. Today, o nl y t he E ng lish and Spanish cathedra ls still boast nea rly unadulterated views o f m edieval canons' choirs and the ir liturgica l fixtures, wh ich mainly ori ginated in the Lare Gothic. E lsewhere, especiall y in France, the rood screens at least were later removed beca use tl1ey were d isrupti ve. This opened the ca non ical choir to t he people, b ut it also detracted disce rnibl y from tl1 e origi nal concept of the catl1edra ls. T he living area of tl1e chapter correspo nded to that of a monastery witl1 cloisters, utility rooms, and communal halls, whi ch were grouped arou nd the cloisters, including, especially in E ngland, the very lavish Chapter House. T he cathedral precinct, bo und ed by a wa ll , was often in tl, e outlying areas of medieva l cities. Both these factors protected tl1e cath edral clergy from the recurring rebellions of tl,e urban population. In add itio n, the surrounding wa ll was an expression of " immuni ty," that is, tl1e special status that the

law granted a cathedral precinct, which was under its own jurisdiction. T he overa ll layout of such a cathedral precinct can best be studi ed today in E ng land and Spain, and here and the re in Germany. In France and Italy, the buildings adjacen t to the cathed ral have For the most part not been preserved , althoug h in I ta ly one of these was especi,1 lly pri zed For relig io us purposes: the baptiste ry. T he most im po rtant exa mpl es a re in Florence, P isa, and Parma. These baptisteries are bu il d ings that sta nd next to o r in fro nt of the church, a nd wh ich may display even g reater a rchitectura l me ri t than the cathedral itself. In these, a Late C lassical-Ea rly C hri stian tradition li ved o n, which had d ied o u t in ocher countries. Over the course of ti me, the c hapte r's vita co1111111111is was o bserved less stri ctly. The ca no ns, who were often fro m the nobility, moved o ut of die communal rooms, and had tli eir own palaces e rected arou nd the cathedral , like word ly nobles around a rul e r's pa lace. Ma ny bishops had their own palaces, just like temporal princes. The palace, whic h could have its own chapel of co nsiderable size, as in Re ims, was by pre ference laid o u t on the o the r side of the cathedral fro m die chapter buildings. It was disti nguished by a magnifi cent hall, like the 5111/e sy11od11/e, For exa mpl e, that is preserved in Sens. The bishops were, not infrequently, dete rmin ed people of g rea t powe r, as we ll as th e spiritual sh epherds of the ir bishoprics. At the sa me time, as vassa ls of the c rown, or as peers, sometim es eve n dukes, they had the positions of tempora l re ig ning princes. They often suppo rted roya l power in terri toria l confli cts with o clier rulers. v\llieth er in the Hol y Roman Empire or in Norman E ng land , in the crown lands of France or in th e di vided doma ins of Spain, without the bis hops, royal power could be asserted, and maintained, o nl y wi th g rea t difficulty, if at all.

regal O ld Testament prefiguraci o ns of C hrist's Passion and die R edempti on, or F renc h kings, o r pe rhaps both at the sa me t ime. T hey look F rench, whi ch may have prompted their popular identification as French kings, such as Philip Augusn1s in die north ern tra nsept in R eims. T he west facade of die ca thedral in \ Velis, E ng land , also has a sequ ence o f kings. In di e clerestory windows of t he Cologne Cathedral choi r, tli ere is a seq ue nce o f 48 ki ngs with crowns, scepte rs, and o rbs, but here, too, it is not c lear who tliey are supposed

of the Hol y Roman E m pire, accord ing to the inscriptions (see Plate 56). The most famo us king of ca tlied ral sculpture, the kni gh t in Bamberg Ca thedral (see ill . page 11), could be o ne of chem. T he bishops were the sole au tho rity in the c ities where they had th eir residence, and, from the lace i\llidd le Ages, the peop le of t he cities frequently tried to free themse lves from their rul e t hroug h bloody upri sings and wars. Sometimes these succeed ed , For exa mpl e, in Co logne, but not in ocher citi es li ke Ma in z or \ V iirzburg. In Italy, the position of th e bis hops within the ir cit ies o f resid ence was much weaker. Here, from as ea rly as the 12th and 13th centuries, citizens' councils increasingly esta blished d emocrati c o r guild styles of government in the citi es, whi ch mig ht be taken over by the vio le nce o f individua l fam ili es, a sequence of eve nts that beca m e typica l of the Itali an city-states. T he bisho ps, wh o eve n in th e ea rly days in Italy usually had the city governme nt in t he ir o wn hands, we re now disempowered and

to be. T he kings in die g lass window seque nce in Strasbourg, despite the haloes to which only sa ints are en titl ed , are rulers

po litically unimportant. In con trast, the bishops of die Holy R o man E mpire we re in creasing ly te mpora l lords of th eir

T his close connecti o n to royalty is mani fest in the cathedral s' fixnires and in the roya l ga lleries o f the fa cades; whole series of roya l statues are parti cularly com mo n in France. H e re, it is ha rd to d ecid e if di e Focus is inte nded to be

lntrod11ctio11

r5

Royal figure (traditiona lly identified as Philip Augustu s) on th e facade of th e north transept, Reims Cath edra l

From the site log of Villard de Honnecourt, around 1220-40: Ecclesia triumphans (the Church

Triumphant); west tower of Laon Cathedral, perspectival view; unexecuted plans for th e nave elevation at Reims Cathedral. (Paris, Bibliotheq ue Nationale ms.fr 19093)

own territory, independent of the empire, 111 effect, bishopprinces; three of them, the bishops of ;\Iainz, Cologne, and Trier, even became Electors. The importa nce of the bishoprics depended, o n the one ha nd , o n their loc,1tion and , o n the other, o n their size. A favorable locatio n was at the hea rt of a kingdom, for exa mpl e, in t he crown lands of France, or in an economically prosperous regio n, such as northern Ital y o r o n the Rhine. Less favorable locati o ns were in the o utl ying areas, perha ps o n the easte rn fro ntier of t he H oly Roman E mpire. The size of the bisho prics, which was just as impo rtant to their in com es, differed considerably in the vario us E uropea n countri es, because the bishoprics were un evenl y distributed through them. Italy, with r70, had by far t he m ost. In France, which was much larger, there were o nly 75, ,i ncl in Sp,1in close to 50. T he German-speaki ng a reas had about 40, and E ngland , excluding Scotl and and \Vales, just 20. The numbe r changed co nsta ntly, for bishoprics were abando ned or combined with others, and new bisho prics were created . Nevertheless, t he number stayed consistent eno ug h to show that the Itali,111 bisho prics o n average were the small est, and the E nglish were the largest; yet within countri es, whether according to area or to the number of inhabitants, the size of the bishoprics va ri ed conside rably. The financial might of a bishopri c was an importa nt preconditi o n fo r the building of a new cathedral. The sponsors, at least in th e Gothi c period, were not o nly the bishop, but the whole chapter, who put their fo rtunes and in com es behind him. T he city, o n t he othe r hand , was responsible not for the cathedral , but fo r tl1 e parish churches. Bishop and chapter had to rely on other sources of m o ney, for exa mple, r6

httrod11ctio11

donations. \ \Then a cathedral such as Santiago, C hartres, Cologne, o r a number of ca tl1ed rals in E ngland was a wellvisited site of pilgrim,1ge, the do nations from the pilgrims could be used fo r building work. Otherwise, the usual pract ice was to take the reliquaries owned by tl1 e cathedral in procession through the co untry to disph1y them, offering their hea lin g properties for m o ney; sometimes processions from several cathed rals got in each others' way. Last but not least, the city guilds were also don o rs; th ey preferred to endow the expensive glass windows, keeping the memory o f the donors alive by depicting in tl1e window their symbol, for exa mpl e, a tailor's scissors. The genera l population contributed witl1 unpaid tasks, such as being wheelbarrow men. At C hartres, fo r exa mpl e, t he inspiration of piety was such that even the no bility jo ined in . A few cathedra ls in E ngland were fin anced by Norman bishops, wh o were both tax collectors an d tl1e king's governors. iVIonarchs all over Europe ene rgetica lly supported tl1e construction of cathedral s, in some insta nces by monetary contributi o ns and privileges, as in Spain and France, and in o tl1e rs by taking over the entire finan cial burden, like tl1e emperor of the H o ly R o man E mpire with the Kl1iserdome11 (imperial cathedra ls) in Magdeburg, Bamberg, and Speyer. Otl1er exa mpl es were the Norman king v\Tilliam II in Monreale and the Late Gothic emperor C harles IV and his house in Prague. Dukes also sponsored cathed rals, notably H enry the Lion in Saxony, who fin anced the construction of three cathedrals, and, later, the duke of Nlilan with Milan Cathedra l. In Italy the situation was gene rally different from the rest o f Europe. H ere, as a rul e, it was neither the bishop nor the

chapter, but the city that pressed on with building the cathedrals, after the government had come into the hands of the citizens. In Pisa, the city used the immense plunder from the mw,11 victory against the Saracens. In Florence, on the ocher hand, the responsibility for cathedral building lay not with the entire city, but with a single guild, which had become rich enough through the wool trade to finance such an enormous work. The works were urged on and carried out by the masons' lodge. The arch itect, the 111agister operis or m11gister fabrime (master of something skillfully produced), is seldom named in sources from the Romanesque period. Sometimes this overseer was a cleric, ,is in Speyer, although it remains unclear if this person was responsible for the fin,rnces of the building site o r for the acrnal building work. The names of the arch itects are lll ore frequently known in Italy, and definitely through laudatory inscriptions, for ex,1lllple, in Pisa and ,\Iod ena . During the Gothic period, the picrnrc of die maste r becollles increasingly clear. In Chartres, Rei Ills, and .\miens, the names arc preserved in ,1 labyrinth set into the floor. Other architects' nallles appear in archival sources. The Late Gothic record is nearly complete. The two lll0St illlporrant sources fo r both the building activities and the architects' appointments for the period around 1200 are the report by Gervase of Canterbury about the construction of the cathedra l choir th ere, ,rnd the site logbook, dating from 12 20-+o, by the French architect Vill,Hd de I fonnecoun. IIe was very well traveled, and knew Reims especia ll y well. Iris book is an instructive annotated collection of salllple drawings, from which we learn that the architect was responsible for all the tasks that ,1rose on the site. These included the building work, the construction machinery, and th e fixtures and fittings, from the sculptures to the choir stalls. There are also several pictorial reprod uctio ns of medieva l building activities, primarily in book illustrations and sta inedglass windows. Apparently the arch itect was, in many cases,

also the hea d of the sculprnre workshop, as with the west choir in Naumburg and demonstrably in the case of Peter Parler in Prague (see ill. page 200). The basis for the architects' plans was geometry, not just for the floor plan and building shapes, but also for the graphic arts. Even the God of Creation depicted at the world's beginning is presented as an architect with a compass. Statics did not )'Ct ex.ist; trusting to experience, the ,irchitects became ever bolder. Drawn phrns arc not known until 12 11, when " ·indow tracery was invented in Rcims. This made precision in the individual p,1rts so necess,iry that it was no longer possi ble to work without a plan drawing or even a template ,it a scale of 1: 1. \\'ith the development of tracery, the plans, often drawn like documents on parchment, were also refined mo re and more, ,rnd became correspondingly larger, until with th e design of the cathedra l focade in Cologne, they reached a heig ht of 13 ft. (+ m). Not infrequently, the plans " ·ere also scratched into the wa lls or stone floors. Several architects mig ht oversee different building sites at the same time. In the 13th cenrnry, isolated complai nts su rfa ced that the architects were not pitching in, but only standing around deep in thought and giving instructions. 1""evertheless, some renowned architects had intern,nional reputations and were ca lled abroad, for example, to ,\lilan or, in many cases, to Spain. \ '"iewed as a whole, the mediev,11 Europcm1 cathed rals of the Romanesque period offer an extreme ly v,1ri,1ble picture of strongly imprinted ch,1racters v,irying From region to region and from realm to rea lm. The scene unifies with the Gothic cathedrals of France. The new architecture extend ed into the other European countries, making the Gothic, despite regional specialties, an "international style." The overwhe lming ly powerful effect of the cathedrals was so grea t that, for the first time and of its own Free wi ll , Europe was united from Norway to Andalusia-at least in its ,1 rchitecturc.

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\\'S of I z g1ganuc: opcn111gs, their arches symmctnc:all) aligned beneath the clercstof) ,11ndm,s. In this ,,a) the horinmt:il st0f) d1, 1s1ons of prcnous columned bastl1c.1s became :1 ugh ti) organ11ecl comb111auon of stories,, 1th a \'Crtical emphasis. The open111gs, rem1111scent of ancient Roman aqueducts, turn the elc\'ation into a s111glc, ,·c~ high arcaded wall. The na,·c itself \\';JS nat-roofccl, hm, e, er. Its atmosphere \\'as thnt of a r·u, tn11mpha/Js lined ,, 1th g1ganuc arcades, and in its si,c and m:ignific:cnce had a ch:irac:tcr that was unmistakably related to the imperial style of the ancient Romans. l n the ne.\t phase of building (Speyer II), the 11:1,·c was also ,·aultcd ,, ith slight!) domed cross-\'aults, each of which joined two ,,all openings to a double ba). The ,·attfting ,,as a pioneering technical feat of the highest order. The \\'alls and the openings were altered, ,, ith e\'Cf)' other pier being strengthened ,1itl1 a sturdr engaged column that supported the trans\'crsc arch and the barrel ,·atilt. \Vith the help of the double bays, which take up the same space as t\l o smaller bays in the side aisles, a perfect ground plan and elevation scheme were achieved right away, the so-called intersecting system, which was LO be vef)' innuential in the I [olr Roman Empire.

ver) primitive, nnd was then improved nt this building's successor, the cathedral at \ \'orms. The crossing at Speyer would also go beyond com·entional designs. I lcrc, the nrchitccts erected an octagonal dome over an inner drum with openings, mounted on pendcmivcs. The exterior was given a ckarf gallery. This proved a model for Inter Rhenish crossing domes. ' lakcn as n whole, the exterior of the cast end at Speyer ha, an npsc, protruding transepts, a domed crossing to,,cr, and t,,o mil square w,1crs that together convey the image of ,111 optimistic, proud sensibility, confidem in its po,, er. f Tcrc, the Sali:111 rnling house demonstrated, a fc,1 ycnrs after the pilgrimnge to Canossa, not only its devotion to the Church, but, even more, n visible sign of the continuity of imperial sovereignty. \ \Thocvcr built in such a manner would surely prevail. Until the former three-towered western facade \\'as destroyed, the counterpart to the cast end \\'as a rather cold block, set crosswnys to the nave :incl surmounted in the middle by nn octagonnl dome similar to that over the crossing. Behind the main block stood t\10 square towers,

\lso during this phase the cast and ,,·est ends were redcs1gnccl. The choir \\';JS gi,·cn :in :ipsc with interior and c,tcrior blind arcading and the nc,1 motif of a cl\\'arf gallery under the caves. This form of apse was widely adopted, for example, immediately aftcr\\'arcl at ,\lainz Cathedral. Both transept arms were ncwlv built as monumental cubic: blocks with especially thick ,,all~ and deeply recessed intrndos in the \\indows. The broad lcscncs, or pilaster strips, used on the \\'alls look like firm pier columns, and increase the impression of monumentality to something even more colossal. At the same time, the stonemasons from Lombardy working on the exterior were responsible for the very rich decorative effects and the air of imperial splendor. The ambitiousness of this architecture ,,as as great as the nge could conceive. The same is true of the vaulting in the interior. 1lcrc, the concept was changed during the building process, so thnt the first plan for cross-vaults was not carried out. lnstend, the hip was underlaid with simple box-sh:ipcd ribs to increase the vnult's stability in vie,, of its size. The art of rib-vaulting in the Rhineland started with these ribs, which were still technically

Spqcr r40

Gcrm1111y

141

Left: Transept and crossing dome looking north Below: Schematic wall section

Right: "Speyer I" Left: "Speyer II"

placed on each flank , and set back like sentinels. This gave the cathedra l a group of three towers in the \\'est as 11·ell , \\'hich balanced \\'ith the other grou p. The west front lllust h,ive conveyed a lllessage of pride simil ar to th,1t of its counterpart in the east. The interior of the tra nsverse block \\'as given an entran ce hall \\'ith a ga ll ery abo\·e, \\'hich had a large round-arched arcade opening on to the nave. \ Vh ether the ga ll ery served as a chapel o r as the elllperor's loge (box), o r both, is not clear. Since its rebuilding in the 19th century in the ~eoRoma nesque style, the \1·est front corn·eys onl y a faint impression of its o ri gin al state, as this \1·as reco rd ed in old views, parti cularly in a dra\\'ing by \\'enzel Iloll ,ir of about 1635. The defiant mass iveness o f its ,1 ppearan ce could not be recaptu red. But the cath edral as a \\'hol e has reacqu ired its l"\l'O three-to\\'er grou ps, giving it six in al l, ,rnd Fulfills the hi gh ambitions of the Salians, as it sta nds, \·isible from afar, looking over the Rhin eland plain .

142

Gen11r111y

Plates 63- 68

63 64 65 66 67 68

View from the east View from the south South side aisle looking west Central nave looking east Burial relief of King Rudolf of Habsburg (d. 1291) View through the crypt

Worms

T

he bishopric of \\'orms, situated between Speyer and :\fainz on the Rhine, was one of the oldest, but also one of the smallest, bishoprics in the ITol) Roman Empire. In contrast, the largest bishopric in the empire, Consrnnce, \\'as ten times larger. ln an earlier period, \\'orms was, for a short time, capital of the kingdom of Burgund) and thus the scene of the 1"ibelungen saga. The city achieved greater historical significance in the early :'I liddle ,\ ges as the seat of the duchy that produced Conrad the Red, a son-in-la,, of Otto the Great. Conrad fell at Lechfeld in 955 in the \'ictorious battle against Ilungaf), 1111d \\'as buried in \\'orms Cathedral. Ire \\'as the progenitor of the later imperial house of the Salians. They derived their claim to the title of emperor from Conrad's connection to the Ottonians. In \\'orms, the conflict over investiture 11·as ended in 1122 by the Concordat of \ \'orms, which struck a compromise bet\\'een the claims of the pope and the emperor. The city's constant support of the emperor was rc\\'arded in , 181, when the IIohenstaufcn emperor Frederick Barbarossa exempted \ \'orms from all taxes, a pri, ilege that \\'as announced in the cathedral on a bronze tablet. This made \\'orms one of the se\'en free imperial cities in the Tiohcnstaufen period. \\'orms also received great historical glof)' through the more than 40 imperial and court assemblies that ,, ere held there, the most famous of these being the Diet of \ \'orms of 1521, which in practice sealed the splitting of the Church into two camps: Catholic and Evangelical. \\'orms \\'as already the scat of a bishop in late antiquit), but there is no c,·idence of cathedral buildings until the :'llcrO\;ngian and Carolingian periods. After IOOO a large building appeared that \\'as typical of the Ottoni:111 era. This was consecrated in 1018 under Bishop Burchard, one of the most important religious politicians of the late Ottonian epoch, who in the end collaborated significantly with the Salians when they took over the monarchy. The present cathedral has exactl) the same dimensions as the Burchard cathedral, except for the west apse, which ,,·as adch!d later. Like other Ottonian cathedrals, the Burchard catheclral \\'as a basilica with a double choir, and had a transept in the east. Four round to,1 ers, positioned on either side of the east and west apses, gave it its particular character. The west towers have been preserved up to a certain height, and incorporated in the present building. The four round to,,·ers were then kept as the symbo l of \Vorm s when the Burchard cathedra l was replaced by the present one. This happened in the Late Romanesque period, and for that reason the question of elating is especially important. The year r 18 r offers a clue, for a service of con150

Gel7mmy

secration took place then. But ,, hen ,,·as the ne,1 cathedral started? In contrast to Speyer C:nhcclral, ,, h,ch \\'as certainh almost completed b) the time of the death of Empero.r lienry IY in 1106, the formal 1·ocabulaf) and the stonework at \\'orms are so much more advanced that research has nm1 moved for\\'arcl the date ,,hen building began to around 1 r 70. The \\'es tern apse at \ \'orms ,1·oulcl then ha,·e been built around 122 0- 30, at the same time as the western apse of ,\ lain, Cathedral. Tn fact, hm,c,·er, \\'orms Cathedral is half a ccntuf) older. This \\'as not established until 1979 through the dendrochronological daung of old scaffold111g poles. Building began in the eastern part around 112 0- 25, onl) a few years after Speyer Cathedral ,,·as completed. By the t1111c n 11·as consecrated in Ir 81, the cast encl and na, c ,1 ere c:0111plctccl and the ,rcstern apse ,,as ,,ell ,1ckanccd, if not alread) finished . These d1sco1·cries caused a sensauon, and threw much needed light on the dc,elopmcntal hrstor) of Romanesque archnccturc from the Lppcr Rhine to the \lrddle Rhmc . Speyer C,1theclral acted as a measuring sttLk for \ \'onm, even though \ \ 'o rms rs not as large. \ \ 'itl1 th LOL1I length of some 35-+ fr. (1 08 111) it is about 85 ft. (16 111) shorter than Speyer, and the height of the central na1 e 1s .1hnut 20 ft. (6 111) shorter at about 90 ft. (27 111). It rs clear from a long distance a\\'a), ho\\'e1·er, that \\ 'orms as ,1ell as \1;11111., 111th their groups of three to\\'crs, ,1cre measuring themseh-es against Speyer. Th,s relauonshrp to Speyer rs the reason 1, hy \\ 'orms Cathedral bc;1rs the utlc "imperial cathedral," cn:n though no emperor made hrs presence felt there. But at least the progenitor of an 1111pcrial house, Conrad the Red, ,,·as buried there. The dcc:1s11·c factor that \\'Oil \ \ 'orms tb proud designation as an imperial cathedral \\':JS that tts m·erall appearance \\'as no less 1mpcnal than that of Speyer. Unlike Speyer, 11 here small pieces of hammered undressed stone 11ere used in places, the c:xtenor :md rntenor of the ne,1 \\'orms Cathedral ,1 ere both built ,11th clean I) cut blocks of housmg stone ,111d prccrscl) shaped structures such as pilaster strips, friezes for round arcades, and blind arches. Romanesque ,irchitccture had 110,1 adopted a purer form of stoncmasonf)·, and as a result the corners of structures arc lavishh adorned \\'ith torus molcl111gs, grooves, and ogin1I forms. This improves their sculptural force, which is further strengthened by their c.lcep brownish-red sandstone colors. This rounded sculptural effect is carried over from the structural elements to the larger constructional shape and from there to the ,1 hole cathedral. The physical and sculptural quality of the archncc:ture at \\'orms has a strong inc.Ii, idual character, which has progressed

beyond the cubic blockiness of earlier buildings, particularly 011 the exterior. The cast encl faces the city 11 ith a panel-like, massively framed gable front with a three-storied window group and dwarf gallery, nankecl hr round towers. ,\l assiveness, scvcrit"), and pride characterize this front, reflecting a highminded, sovereign sense of sccurit)· that has an imperial ring about rt. Strangely, though, the two towers arc asymmetrical 111 the treatment of the stones, ,,hid, is typical of the cathedral as a ,1 hole. The ,,cstern apse prescrns an altcrnntive program. I lcrc, 111stcad of the apse of the Burchard c:Hhcclral, a choir block 111th an oct.1gonal domed tm1 er was set between the round tm1ers, rnoclelccl on the eastern apse at \l ail17., and beyond it a polygonal apse consisung of five sides of another octagon. Th,s creates the impression of two graduated octagons with to11ers boldly ranged behind one another, both with stone roofs and sturcl) cl11·arf g.1llcnes. (The apse \\'as taken clown 111 , 906 i , the stones ,1 ere nurnhcrccl, and the apse was rebuilt.) F,·c11 thing 111 this ,1cstcrn scctton 1s packed with great richness, espec1all) 111 the apse ,11th its blind arcading ,111d s111gular group of three rosettes and a rose windm1. The whole section seems full of stored-up encrg), a pressing, forceful mass that has alw:iys been an object of fascination. ·1he ,,est choir at \\'orms ranks as highly in terms of inno,·ativc ach,cn:mcnt as the most modern design of that time

Left: Detail from the eastern choir with animal sculptures on the window ledges Below:

Cross-section of the cathedral from the south

in l~uropcan architecture: the French cathedra l choir with ambulatory and radiating chapels. The interior of the c:nhcclral is a three-aisled basilica using the intersecting vault system discovered in Speyer with cross-vaults in the side aisles and cross-rib vaults in the eastern apse, transept, and in the double bays of the central nave. The strong influence of Speyer can also be seen in the dome over the crossing, which is a second version of the one at Speyer, :rncl in the wall system of the central nave, where the distinctive motif of Speyer-the large openings-determine the elevation. The Speyer wall system is almost exactly repeated on the north side, though sli ghtly simplified as well,

Il'or111s

15 t

but not o n the south side. Ile re, the e levation is two-storied,

Plates 69-71

the o pe nin gs beginning above the dividing arca d es. This solution co rres ponds to th e o riginal co ncept at Speyer,

69 View from the northeast

which was late r rejected there. In \ Vorms it was taken up again. In addition, the wa ll was embellish ed be neath t he

70 West choir

71 View through the nave to the west choir

clerestory window with recessed blind a rcad ing. Thus, th e no rth side of the ce ntral na ve is substantially different from the south side . Furtherm o re, t he wall sectio ns are not compl etely uniform , es pecia ll y o n the south side, wh e re each bay is different. That m ay see m displeasing in

,1

bu ilding of such

ambitiousness, a nd th e building's plan n e rs have been accused o f unce rtainty, because c le,1 rl y they chan ged th e plan many times. In fa ct, h owever, this lack of uniformity in the w,1 lls, also evident in the easte rn towers, must ha ve bee n inte ntional. Faced with the mon oto nous uniformity of Speyer, in \Vorms they set o ut to achi eve the exact opposite: co nsta nt v,iriatio n and with it a live ly varieL·y. Compared with others in the Ro 1m111esqu e pe riod , th e masons' lodge at \Vorms was more or less the o nl)' one to imple m e nt this co n ce pt.

I

69'

r52

Germany

Mainz

Bronze door from 1he time

of Archbishop Willigis in the cathedral's markel

penal. about 1000

T

he cathedral :lt 1\lain z is lhc second largest of the socalled imperi:11 c:n hed rals on the Rhin e. In terms of ecclcsi;istical history, it r:rnks supreme :11110 11g the cathedrals or th e I Joly Roman Empire. The bishopric or,\ lainz had 13 suffrng:rn bisho ps, for :1 short t ime 16, "·hicl1 w:is for more than any o ther in th e e mpire . In :1Clclition, the nrchbishop of ,\l ainz had the rig ht to crown the king, :rn d also from 965 held the r:mk of impe rial clrnnccllor; th e n, from th e 14th cenniry, he was the highest-ranking of the elccwral princes.

Archbishop \\'illigis (975- 1011), one of the mainstays of Ottonian politics, h,1el a large c:nhcclral beg un sho rtly after

975 but this burned down on lh e day of ils consecration in 1

1009. It was rebuilt soon afterward under Archbishop Bardo :111d consecrated in 1036. The \Villigis-Bardo cathedral \\·:1s a b:1silica with two choirs, :1 brgc projecting west transept on the Ro m:1n m o del, and :1 transverse block in the east, to each side of which towers with s t:1ircases were :1ddccl. These towers still srn nd today. :\frcr a fire in 1081, Emperor I lenry IV co mmissioned the rebuilding of the affcCLed p:1ns; he :1lso c:1 rri ccl om the rebuilding of Speyer Cathedral :n the same time. Before 1le nry's denh in 1 106 only the easte rn section w:1s com pleted. On the exterior, Li1is consisted of :1 tr:111sverse block with :1 magnificent :1pse, with :111 older Lower on either sid e. Like Speyer, the :1psc has blind :1rcading :rnd a dwarf gallery, s urmounted by an octagonal tower. Unlike Speyer, the tower was no t ove r the crossing, but over the squ:1re eastern choir, \,-hicl1 connects to the apse a nd has g:11le ries o n each side. The na ve was bid o ut, like Speyer, :1s :1 columned b:1sili c:1 us ing the intersecting sys tem. The wall openings of Speyer were again adopted here; howeve r, they did not continu e up and around the cle res to ry windows, but ended :1 good d eal lower cl own by their led ges, beside the position of the imposts for the va ultin g. The openings arc no t the great, governing motif here, but just a smaller wall s trucnire with a s hallow profile. As the o peni ngs did no t encompass the clerestory windows, the architects were ab le ta group t he windows in pairs in the w:1ll, and place the feet of the vaulting lowe r clown than had bee n done at Speyer. Compared with Speyer, this is a simplified and Oa uencd ty pe of w:111 1 jus t as th e nave is som e 16 ft. (5 111) lower. The soa ring ve rticality

of Speyer, and its powerful, almost excessive character is here replaced by sp:1cious ncss, a babnced unity, and a calm, m easured scale. \\ rhcn the central nave

\\';15

built, the vaulting origina ll y

planned, with cross-rib \·atilts, was no longer used. Ins tead , the na ve was g iven rib \·au Its in about 1 200. 156

Germany

In

the firs t half

of the 13th century, a new west section w:1s added, with a transept, a tall oct:1gonal crossing tower, and :1 s9uare choir

separate buildi ng. This was the old church of the archbishop's palace, built as a two-storied doub le chapel in the

Oanked by smaller towers, which \\':lS e.\lc nded br three apses. These parts of the building were consecrated 1~ 12 , 39 and with their , ·aricd blind arcading, friezes, and galleries

form of two su pe rposed rooms with an ope ning connecti ng them in the middle bay. The design is si milar to thc oldcr doublc chapel built in 1080 on the south side of Speycr Cathedral. Double chapels such as thest.: go back to thc \Wried western sections of Carolingian churches, divided into upper and lower churches, and werc built from around 1000 in episcopal, royal, ;111d ducal palaces. The double chapel :n i\la in z, which has piers in rhc lowcr church and columns in the upper chu rch, is one of the bcsl-prcscrvecl examples.

represem a decorat1\·e peak in Rhenish Late Rom:111esque archiu;:cturc. Despite their l:ne date-by thi.., time purch Gothic buildings were being Started, for example, in ·rnc.r and ,\l arburg-li1c rounded Romanesque :i rch defiallllr still held sway. The o pule nt rich ness o f its forms clearly indicates the builders' desire to o utshine all pre\·ious ln1ild ings. The Gothic style did nOL appe:1r :n 1\ l:1 in z Cathedral until the co nsecra tion of 1239 wht.:n :1 choir screen wa.., added to the front of th e we.t wec..t structure in a w:iy unkno" n until then 111 ilali:111 architectu re. l~arlicr versions arc found in the Fre nch pilgrim churches (for example, St. Rem, 111 Reims), b ut the closest parallels ore in the Early C:hmti:111 archneeturc of S1ria :ind \ sia ,\ Iino r, such as, Oal'at Samon, or the Ecclesia (Juodrifida in Shechem, whi~h is kno\\n only fro m litera r) sources. In buildings of th is type, four multi.iisled h.i..,il icri :1rms were rirrringcd in 3 cruciform sh:ipc, gi,·ing :1 central sp.ice th:1t was sometimes ocrngon:il. Buscheto may we ll have been conversant with this Eastern tradition, because he came from Constantino ple. The central aisle o f the tn1nvcrsc arms, which tcr111i n.1tc in an apse on the no rth a nd south faces, is 26 ft. (8 111) wide, clearly smaller and also lower than the nave and c hoir of the east-west nave. The crossing, therefore, does not h:1vc a square noor plan , but fo rms an elongated rec tangle. Vaulted fro m the begi nning, its elongated oval dome has a steep profile and was erec ted over squinchcs. The re is nothing comparable to this cupo la shape in the ea rlie r European arch itecture.

stand ing on one corner, and this is repeated throughout the cathedral.

LO

T he idea to partitio n off the transverse arms fro m the crossing is also high ly origi nal. Buschero achieved this by allowing the inne r side aisles and gallery t0 run thro ugh to the cho,r like a mul tistoried bridge. Thus, a rh ythmica l three- part

arcaded wall rose over two stories focing the crossing, corresponding to the three :iisles of the tra nsverse arms. O n th e ground noor, it is a grad uated triple arcade wi t h four paired arches o n the galle rv level, each e nclosed by a la rger arch. Above the arcade wali , the clerestoq ' also contin ues to the choir· Bec:iuse tI1ey :ire parnnoned ·· o ff t I1e transverse I

According to Buscheto's initial plan, the cathedral was actuall y supposed LO have bee n shorter. Rainaldus gave the nave its final length by extending the aisles westward by t h ree arc:idcs, and outside-as can easily be seen from the pattern of the walls-by five units. Rai nald us's facade iterates the cross-section of the church. T he seven- pan blind a,-cading on the g ro und Ooor is aligned with the aisles lying behind it, t h e three central arcades corresponding to the central nave a nd the othe rs to each of the side aisles. Rairntldus had a passion for m ult iple-columned arcades set closely together. Above the arcade is a single four-storied series of arcades, a trellis of sma ll colu mns and ,trches tha t extends for a sequence of , 9 '1rches, a nd then narrows so sha r ply wi t h the pitch of the roof that at the top, beneath the ga ble o f the central nave, o nly eigh t arches remain. T hese repeating arcades a rc the p ride of the building's exterio r, significantly increasing the decor;nive magnificence of the cathedral ,111d crc:iting a n impression of immeasurable weal th. The choi r apse, too, acts as a counterpart to the facad e as it closes the cathedral at the cast e nd and takes up t he moti f of the a rcaded gallery. T he fo nrn1I l,rnguage employed appea rs to be so similar that it is just ifiable to attribute the apse to Rainaldus, too. Perhaps, tho ugh, Buscheto left beh ind a plan for both parts of the building, which Rainaldus later adhe red to. T he columned gallery was the key design feature of the campa nile, a ro und rower with a cylindrical core surrounded by open galleries for six stories obove the ground floor. ,\s the art historian Vasa ri reported in the 16th ccnn1ry the rowe r was started in 1 173, apparently to plans by the ;~u lptor and bronzesmith Bo nanus (Bonanno Pisa no), who would later be buried in the tower. The works h:id to be suspended as earl\' os, 185, even before the third ga llery was comp leted, beca us~

ftfli)'

Pis11

3-+'

Bronze door by Bonanus in the east portal of 1he south side aisle

(Porta S. Ranieri) wit h reliefs representing scenes from the New Testamen1 and Prophets, around 1180

the tower, which st::mds o n soft alluvial soil, had alread)' started to lean southwa rd. Construction did not begin again until 1275 with G iovanni di Simone, who met his end in the naval banle off i\1lelo ria in 128+ l lc had tried to compensate for the existi ng inclination of the tower by placing the columns on the new stories vertically, and making those on the overhangi ng south side longer than chose on the north side. This is why, when viewed from the east, the outline of the tower now describes a slight curve. The belfry, by Tommaso Pisano, the son of the sculptor, is much smaller in diameter and was added in 13501 only after the pbtform above the gall eries had been brought back to the horizontal. \•\Then completed, the tower, which is 184 ft. high (56 m), overhung by nearly 5 ft. (1.5 111); it stayed more or less as it w,1s until the 19th century. Then, following earthworks undertaken in 1838, the grou ndwater table fe ll, and the tower began to ti lt even more. In the 1930s, as the inclination increased to 16 ft. (5 111), it seemed only a matter of time before the tower fell. Instead, it was successfully underpinned

with concrete, with the result that the inclination increased by only 4"100 of an inch(, mm) per yea r. The latest safetv measures, completed in 2001, managed to reverse th~ incli nation by about 1. 3 ft. (40 cm). Since then the tower has o nce more been accessible to visitors. Bonanus, the campanile's first architect, also created a bronze door for the cathedral's west portal. ln the inscription on the portal, he proudly noted that because of his skill he had completed the door in a year-which was, apparently, record time. The door was ruined in 1595 in a fire at the cathedr:11, but a second door by Bonanus has been presen,cd. It sta nds in d1e cast portal of the south transept, opposite the campanile in which he is buried. The double doors are made from individu::d ly cast relief panels with broad, Aat frames mou nted on a wooden backing. The panels depict scenes from the lives of the Virgin iVlary and Christ in a terse, simple, but by no means primitive style of narration that reveals Byzantine influence, its design concentrating solely on the fundamentals. The figures stand out so strongly from the background that the themes are instantly recognizable, even without the aid of the explanatory inscriptions, which in their extreme cbrity provide further evidence of Bonanus's skill at creating reliefs. ln 1 153, two decades before building started on the campanile, and while the works on the west part of the cathedral were in full swing, the architect Diotisalvi, who had just erected the octagon of S. Sepolcro in Pisa, was commissioned to build a new baptistery to the west of the cathedral. I le designed a ci rcular strucrure, whose diameter, at 12 5 ft. (38 m), was sli ghtly larger than the total width of the cacl1cdral's nave. Evidently the round building was conceived, as were many other churches in this style, as a loose imitation of the Church of the I loly Sepulcher in J e rusalem. The interior with its ambu latory, gallery, and an unusual conical dome, which o nce opened to the sky by means of an oculus, like the Roman Pantheon, was simple, cha racte rized architecnirally by a double alte rnation of suppor ts, with the piers and columns running in a sequence of a-b-b-a. Five of the columns were brought from Elba and Sardinia. The Norman kings of Sicil y, Roger II and \~r, lliam I, gave financia l support to the building. The exterior of the baptistery has blind arcading on the ground floor, corresponding to diat o n the west facade of the cathed ral. The columned galleiy above it was probably built around 1265 by the sculptor Nicola Pisano, and crowned :l little later by his son Giovanni with Goth ic gables and pinnacles, and further embellished by a cycle of figures, statuettes, and busts in relief. The Gochie gables and

342

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The pulpit in the cathedral, created a gener:1tion i:.ltcr by Nicola's son Gim•anni Pisano from 1302 to 1310-11, is even more extravagant than the baptistery pulpit. It replaced an older rectangubr pulpit by .\ laster Guilielmus elating fro m 1 158-62, which was presented by the people of Pisa to Caglia ri, and can be found there in the cathedrnl.

pinnacles appear to be the earliest in I taly; they were a French import. The fina l story was added only after 1358, when an attempt was made to roof over the old dome, wh ich rose like a cone with the top cut off. But the uppe rmost part of the old dome remained visible, and this now sics on the roof of the cupola like an ill-fitting cap. The open oculus was closed in 1394 wi th a flat vault. Only then was the b:tptistery completed. At 180 ft. (55 111), it is nearly as mil as the campanile. The piece de rCsistance of the baptistery is the pulpit, which according to an inscription was completed by N icola Pisano in 1260. No lo nger rectangular, as had been customary until then, the body of the pulpit is a hexagon mou nted o n columns, with large marble reliefs on the balcony and more figu res in the area of the arches. The reliefs were the basis of Nicola's claim to be not just the best but also the most revolutionary sc,ulptor in Ita ly of his time. Referring clearly to ancient Roman sarcophagi, he created a sequence of reliefs in wh ich the figures :ire packed tightly over the surface area but at the same time arr:inged behind one another and frequently overlapping. I n this way, the scene is clarified spatially without depth o f perspective. In his treatment of the human figure, Nicob sought to unify the Gothic style seamlessly with the ancient Ro m:111 tradition and chercb,, create a new style, a ren:1issa nce o f the Gothi~. ] lis enth ~siasm fo r the Classical style is repeatedly expressed in the emotio nless cool

The Ca mpos:mto, or cemetery, was t he fourth and last building in the Pisa cathedral precinct. ~lo build it, 53 shiploads of earth were delivered from Golgotha in 1 202. Giovanni di Simone, who was also occupied o n the c:11npanile, laid it Olll in 12 78 in the form of :1 monumental cloister, which was strucrur:11ly completed in , 350. An ..::.,tensive serii.::s of w:11\ frescoes (no,\ removed to :1 museum), begun before

faces with their Junoesque harmony, and also in their athletic poses, which reflect a precise sn1dy of anatomy, dr:1wn e ither from living models or antique sculprure.

the plague of 1348, includes the famous Trionfo de/111 . \ !o,u, a Y:111it:1s that portrays d1e tr:msitory narurc of all earrhlv things. The fresco, by :111 unknown artist, was associ:tted wich

Giov:mni's pulpit w:1s pulled down in 1599, and reassembled in 1926 fro m those parts of the original that had been preserved. U nlike the work of his father, Nicol:i, the scenes of Giov:111n i's late reliefs reflect human sensitivities and emotions, creating an impassioned e~citc mcnt rh:1t imbues the entire panel with its unrestrained o utbreaks of feeling. Giovanni's intense, barely controlled temperament made him a born dr:1111atist, the opposite of0-ricola, who was a quiet epic poet. \\'ith Giovanni, every scene is full of rurbulent, emotionally ch:1rged activity. The basis for his arr was his new, psychological way of looking at humankind. In this, Giovanni Pisano " ·as the spirin1al equal of his two gre:n co11tempor:1rics, Dante :rnd Giotto.

Pisa

343

Representation of the Birth of Christ on the pulpit of the baptistery by Nicola Pisano (leh) and on the pulpit of the cathedral by Giovanni Pisano (right)

Francesco Traini, and also with Buonamico Buffalmacco. The latter was praised by Boccaccio as ,1 particularly witty artist, who had long been believed to be a literary fiction because of his curious name, which in itself was held to be cl joke (b1tflr, means "funny"). The cycle of frescoes was finished in the r 5th century by Benozzo Gozzoli from Florence. Out of gratitude, the city of Pisa granted him the right to be buried in the Camposanto . To lie there, within the Campo dei miracoli, was indeed a great honor.

Plates 183- 189

183 Aerial view of the Campo dei miracoli with cathedral, campanile (Leaning Tower). baptistery, and Camposanto 184 View from the west of the facade, transept, and campanile 185 South transept and Leaning Tower 186 Nave and north transept from the south transept 187 View through the nave looking east 188 The pulpit in the baptistery by Nicola Pisano, completed in 1259-60 189 The cathedral pulpit by Giovanni Pisano, 1302-10/11 (see Plates 186, 187)

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">·L end was planned ,1s a coumerpan to the ,,·est. facade. This was to be very much steeper, with three portals leading into lhe baplistery, and a magnificent Gothic rose ,, indc)\\ corresponding to the one in the ,,·est. A plan of the east facade, ,, hich remained incomplete at the top, is preser\'ed in the Cathedral ,\luseum at Siena. In its orig-inal condition before the east\\'ard extension, the cathedral was ,1 crucifon~, three-aisled basilica with a Aar east end with two bays and a projecting transept, which, unusuallv, was laid out with two aisles. The flat encl to th e choir co~ld date back to the previous building, but ma}' have originated with the Cistercians. The key idea, \\'hich makes the concept unique, was to have a hexagonal central strllcrure instead of a conventional crossing. Two sides of its obruse corners face each of the transverse arms, but it does nor extend completely across the width of their three aisles. To carry it across to the transverse arms, triangular spa nclrels were added. Of the six pier arcades chat connect the cent~al structure to the adjoining areas, those on the easr-weSC_ axis, which lead to the central nave and choir, are clearly higher th and narrower than the others. Despite the hexagon, ~ · 1s · preservecI· The centra · o f t I,e Iong1tu · d"ma 1 axis emp I1as1s . . vau Ite cl with . an irregular r2-s1·c1 ecl cup ala'' wh1c11 structure 1s uses squinches to adjust from the hexagon of the subScruc111 ture to the cupola. The idea of installing a central strucrure the basilica stemmed from the wish to create a sancruaf)' 1

turning and twisting bodies, in their looks and gestures, and dedicated to i\Iary that would include not only the high in their emphatically open momhs. To a large extent, they are altar- from 13 11 Duccio's 11lacstr1- bul also the stalls of the canons' choir. Liturgically, the central structure served as the "talking" figures, demonstrating what it means to body ,rnd choir for divine office. Facing it, the nave and eastern part are soul to be gripped by vision,iry prophecy. simply designed with round-arched arcades or piers, which ln 1339, the council decided LO build a new cathedral on the north side of the old cathedral and at right angles to it; one could imagine being surmoumed by a n,u ceiling, as in Orvieto Cathedral. The most enduring spatial impression is the old cathedral was co serve as a transept. The proposed of the repealed alternation between lighl and dark stone choir would have pointed north. Two plans for this project, layers, \\'hich is quite penetrming, and reminds the modern probably by Lando di Pietro, arc preserved in the Cathedral i\luseum, ,1 richer version with a choir ambulatory and radiobserver of zebra stripes. The cathedral is famous for its west fac,1de, one of the ating chapels ,rncl a more modest version with a simple choir grc,n masterpieces of tl1e an of proportion and balance. l Iere, apse. The hexagonal centrnl structure w,1s to be retained. The Cio"anni Pisano created a work that \\'as not only imcndcd to nave of rhe new cathedral was started, but, because of the comain a series of sculptures by him, bul also, in tl,c strength plague of 1348, work came to a standstill and was abanand continuity of its organization, has its own sculptural doned in 1355. The new cathedral remained no more than a character. The facade is perhaps the most striking ex:1mple of torso, evidence of high-flying aspirations that Siena could no sculptural architecture. fl has three main motifs: on the longer sustain. ground floor a triple group of rouncl-archecl ponals all the Unlike tl,e cathedral in Florence, the one in Siena is richly same size, ancl crowned will, Gothic gables; above this a furnished throughout. The floor, made of priceless inlay gradu ~llcd group of tl1rec poimed gables; and, finally, the work, on \\'hich more than 40 artists worked from r 369 until cemral molif of lhe large, rectangular frnmc comaining rhe it was completed in 1562, embodies a sweeping pictorial circular window in the cemer. The whole is enclosed on the world chronicle of heathen antiquity and the Old Testament. sides by n.11-rels, and in the center by rnll pinnacles on a Vasari praised the work as the finest and gre,itest floor ever gig,111tic scale. created. The width of tl1c pon,ils bears no relationship Lo tl1c width The pulpit by Nicola Pisano is :mother masterpiece. Ile of lhe aisles behind, just as in the upper story the frame does made the piece before r 268 \\'ith contributions from Arnolfo not Slane! vertically in line with the piers of the portals, but is di Cambia, his son Giovanni Pisano, and others. Ilere, the pushed outward. This distribution is cenainly not canonical; mag11ificence of his pulpit in Pisa is raised to a still more in fact, it goes against every visual principle. Bm it allows the opulem level. No longer as stylistically tied to the ancient portals the rhythm of being the same size, and in the upper reliefs, Nicola gives the scenes-each according to its substory with the circular window creates a format that counter- ject-an animated new drama that supplants his earlier balances the portals and gables. In the relation of the parts to Classical coolness and indicates early signs of Giovanni's one another, the facade achieves a pleasing and complete relief style. harmony. As the earliest Gothic church facade in lrnly, it The greatesl sculptors conitnued to work on the catheprovides an answer to French cathedral facades with their drnl's fixtures. Donatello, Ghiberti, and Jacopo della Quercia figured portals and rose windows. Giovanni Pisano succeeded cook part in designing the font in the baptistery (1414-3-+). here with a work that is entirely independem, despite its \Vith his Salome relief, Donatello achieved sensational success French background. in the new perspectival style as well as creating a thrilling For the facade, he created a sequence of larger-than-life drama. Ghiberti, in total contr,1st, portrayed the baptism of Slatues or Old Testament patriarchs and prophets, ancient Christ so calmly and timelessly, and with such dignity, that philosophers, and a sibyl (the original of which is in the the very act of baptism conveys a sacramental quality. Cathedral Museum). The cycle was conceived in a singular The Libreria Piccolomini has become the most popular fashion for its time, not onlv because of its raised site which of the pictorial fixtures on the cathedral's premises. The allowed the figures to be vi;wed from a distance, but because libral")' was built in 1-+95 for the permanent collection of of their interactions. The subject is not the individual the hum,1nist Enea Silvio Piccolomini, later Pope Pius II ~)rophets, but prophecy itself. All the figures are filled with an (1458-64); between 1502 and 1509, it \\'as clecornted with a inn~r passionate excilement, which they express in the way series or frescoes comprising ro pictures executed bv the their postures lean outward, in the movements of their Umbrian painter Pinturicchio. They were commission~d by Sic/I{,

371

Francesco Piccolomini, the nephew of Pius II, who became pope himself in 1503 (Pius III), but died just IO days after his coronation . The theme of the series is the li fe of Enea Silvio Piccolomini, as diplomat, poet, humanist, and finally pope. Pinturicchio reveals himself here as a lovable, friendly narrator of expansive stories, rich in detai l. The ir peaceful demeanor suits Siena well, for the art of this city always tends to be in a similar vein .

Plates 200-210 200 General view from the southeast; on the left, the walls surrounding the new cathedral 201 Statues by Giovanni Pisano from the west facade, about 1284/5-1296/7: Simeon; Sibyl (Cathedral Museum) 202 West facade 203 Floor mosaic in the central nave (see Plate 204) 204 View through the central nave looking east 205 Pulpit by Nicola Pisano 206 Facade of the Libreria Piccolomini on the south side aisle; the fresco depicts the coronation of its founder, Pope Pius Ill 207, 208 The Libreria Piccolomini with the fresco series by Pinturicchio, 1502-8: view south to the wall with the entrance; Plate 207, detail with view of Siena Cathedral 209 Baptism of Christ, bronze panel by Lorenzo Ghiberti on the font in the baptistery, around 1424-27 210 Herod's Banquet, bronze panel by Donatello on the font in the baptistery, around 1425

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Orvieto

T

he name of the city of Orviero derives from urbs vetus

large number of other master masons, including a Fleming,

nave). They form a uniformly regular pauern of zebra stripes

(old city). The city is spread over a spectacular location

a Spaniard, a German, a Scot or Irishman, a Frenchman, six

that cover the cathedral, with the exception of the facade. In

treatment. The three-gable design is by Lorenzo 7'Iaitani.

a height of 656

masons from Como, and a Roman: an international group

110

ocher building is the zebra-stripe pattern, also much loved

The facade of the cathedral in Siena provided the starting

on the plateau of a ruff cliff, which climbs

tO

builders because of certain differences in the perspectival

ft. (200 m) above the Paglia valley. The city, originally an

of craftsmen. Because Paganelli was paid more than his col-

elsewhere, adhered to as rigidly and monotonously as it is

point for the designs; it is different from Orvieto in that

Etruscan settlement, has been the seat of a bishop since 590,

leagues, he may have been head of the masons' lodge. It is

here. The broad spans of the round-arched pier arcades in

the sto1y with the rose window is much wider than the

and in the r 2th century became a community of free citizens.

not clear whether the overall design of the cathedral was his.

the nave arc very simple and use large columns from older

middle portal beneath it. In O1·vieto, the builders took care to

In the second half of the 13th century, from the time of

Another artist, Lorenzo 1\tlaitani, who also hailed from

keep all the elements exactly perpendicular to each other

Urban IV (r 261-6.+), the popes and the Curia repeatedly

Siena, was promoted to overseer (ClljJllt J/1(/gister ,miversalis)

basilicas; Lhese columns arc cirndar except at the crossing, where Lhey arc octagonal. An additional characteristic feature

stayed here; they resided in the southeast corner of the

around r 300, and was finally contracted to Orvieto in 131 0 ,

of the nave ,,·a5 created by the five small apsidiolcs (apsidal

a geometrically defined grid that gives the facade an impres-

cathedral in a monumental two-winged palace, specifically

when he was granted freedom from taxes and ocher such

chapels) on Lhe ouLcr side of the side aisles; these project

sion of precise order, but also of rigid severity. The grid,

built for this purpose. The papal sojourns ended abrupt!)

privileges. Ile died in , 330. The concept for the facade is

outward and leave a space free !"or windows between them.

compared with Siena, was a correction. As a result, the facade

with the fall of Boniface VIII in 1303.

generally attributed to i\laitani, and the portals with their

This motif may have been copied, at the request of the pope,

has a greater clarity about it, which, however, came at the

during

sculptural decoration ,,ere built under his leadership. Con-

from the LaLcrano Palace in Rome, which originated in

expense of variety and, particularly, visual excitement. Above

On,iero's papal period. The new building of the cathedral

struction continued (with interruptions) umil 1532, when the main gable, begun in r 5 13, was completed. The right corner

Carolingi ,111 Limes. The desire for sumptuousness was realized only on Lhe

all, the correction worked against the rose window which-

proceeded from the miracle of the mass at Bolsena, which is famous in part because of Raphael's representation of it

tower was roofed over in , 590 and the left one in the 17th

facade,,, hich is one or the shining cx,1mples of Italian facade

no longer has the centralizing power of the one in Siena

in the Stanze (the suite of rooms decorated by Raphael in

century. The most notable master builders after ,\ laitani \\'ere

an, and has been praif

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111011s n:galis, or Royal i\ lountain, directly ;1djaccnt to Palermo, the

onreale is located on hig h ground, the 1

capital of Sicily. Despite this proximity, there arc archbishops' cathedrals in both places. The arch bishopric of Palermo is the older of the two. It dates from the Late Classical period, and was subordinate ro the patriarchs of Constantinople, and thus followed the Greek fo rm of worship, not the Latin one. It continued under Saracen rule. The archbishops were still following the Greek form of worship when Palermo was conquered by the Normans in 1072, and became capital of the ,\!onarchia Sicula under Roger JI (1 101- 11 54; king from 11 30). Around 1170, Archbishop Gualtiero Offomilio (1 169-90) started to build a new cathedral, a magnificent strucnire of substantial dimensions that was consecrated as early as 11 85. This replaced an o lder basilica from the sixth ccntu')', which had been converted to a mosque by the i\Iuslims, and later returned to C hristi:111 worship. The cathedral of i\lonreale was built at the same time. In 1174, the young \\'illiam TI, the last of the Norman ki ngs of southern [raly, founded a Benedictine abbey o n this site. Ile granted it rich endowmen ts and privileges, and declared it exempt from the rule of the archbishop of Palermo; instead, the abbacy was directly subordinate to the pope. Construction on the church, conceived as a burial place for the royal house, was started immediately, and completed in a suprisingly shore time. As early as 1 176, two years after the foundation of the abbacy, o ne hundred monks from t he C \uniac clo ister of La Cava near Salerno moved in to the monastery. In 11 83, at the king 1s req uest, Pope Lucius ill raised i\1Ionreale to an archbishopric with the suffragan bishoprics of Catania and Syracuse. The 111onastery remained as it was1 and the monks were not replaced by canons, which was unusual for Italy although it was customary in E ngland. In the deed of elevation the pope praised King \ Villiam, the new church, and the other buildings, and particularly emphasized that since the Classical period, no king had achieved a compa rable work. In that same vear, 1183, \Villiam 's mother was interred in the church. It seems that the church, cloisters, and fixtures had been more or less completed by the time \ ,Villiam died in 1189. The remains of the king, as well as those of his father, \Villiam 11 were brought here. In the following period the church and cloisters remained virrually untouched. Not until the Renaissance was the whole complex enclosed bv new buildings, including a royal palace. The church was ·almost certainly left unchanged because it was very famous; it was praised as unique, and sometimes even as the most magnificent undertaking in the world. 394

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Structura~I!', the caLl1edral is composed of rwo conflicting parts: a cruciform e:1stern part :111d a three-aisled nave. The eastern part co nsists of a long, rectangular, very high crossing, the sanctuary, and two transverse arms that are wider than the sancniary. AJI of these areas have wooden ceilings. The crossing even has a particularly pronounced 11 wooden "scnlactite ceiling in the Islamic style. l n contrast to the nae Romanesque ceilings1 these rise up toward the center, like a IO\\"-pitched roof. The basic organization of the eastern part was developed from a Greek cross with what is ultimatclr a Byzantine centra l structure, to which another building typ~ was added. The sanctuary is 0anked by cross-vaulted ancillary choirs. The cast terminations of these three rooms form a group of three graduated npses, with a short barrel-vaulted bay placed in front of t he 111:1in apse. T he subsidinry choirs and the three graduated apses conform much more to the trad ition of \ Vestern Benedictine monastic churches than to the Byzantine t)1le of central strucn,re. Overall, !~astern and \ Vestern bui lding styles were brought together here, and merge in a ne,, 1 individual solution.

extremely rich but express somethi ng foreign-Islamic, in fact-as though the king had wa nted to outperform the master builders and dccorat0rs of Islam, who were the greatest exponents of rich orn;1mentation. The old Saracen tradition of the country lived o n, now allied to the Norma n love of decorntion to make someth ing new and singular. The nave is a three-aisled columned basilica, with n central nave three times as wide as each of the side aisles. This makes the central nave stand out as a broad, grand roya l hall enclosed on the sides by narrow corridors that lack the independence of real " nisles." The spatial relationshi ps of the central nave recall early Christian basilicas. Prominent features are the open roof timbers, and the salvaged Classical columns. I lowever, in Lheir proportio ns the arcndes seem entirely unclassical, because they reach up lO more than half the heiglll of the centra l na ve- this height in rela tion to Li1e clerestory is more of a mcdiev:11 feature. i\ lorcover, t he arcade arches and the \ Vestern :1rch of the crossing arc pointed, which is, :1gain 1 not Classical but expresses once more the influence of Islamic architecture. 1\ lany styles come together

The formal language of the detail seems to be verr plain, for all the wa lls have smooth surfaces, while the arcades, which have pointed arches, are simple incisions in the wall without moldings on the uprights. There arc no subdivisions. The simplicity and flatness of the architccn1ra l surfaces sho" that from the ouLc;cL the eastern part was meant to be covered with mosaics, which were indeed applied subsequently to the walls in all parts of the building. As bare as the internal structures are in the east part, the outsides of the three :1pses arc very rich ly decorated. Once, before the area around the cathedral was built up, these were visible from a distance, and in their raised position faced coward Palermo, which lies within sight on the plain on the edge of the Conca d'oro. Appreciating the chu rch's exposed location, the king mounted a truly roya l d isplay of magnificence that has no equal anywhere. This takes the form of colored inlays, set in an orn:1111ental pattern of bands and rosettes1 and projecting blind arcades with small columns. The blind arcades are two-storied on the side apses and three-storied on the central apse. The unique overall appearance of the cast section is achieved with a special kind of motif: the pointed blind arches in tersect with each ocher and thus form more pointed arches, like steep lancet arches. The entire decoration is made up of these intersecting arches placed closely together. Together with the inlay work the)' make a magnificent spectacle of the east apses. Again5r the historical background of European Romanesque architecture, which is much more austere, they not only seem

in this nave. On either side of t he west facade arc square towers in the shape of sturdy low blocks projecting out from the li nes of the aisles, with a late Renaissance portico in between-a typica l i':orman strucn,rc, li ke that of Cefalu Cathedral cast of Palermo (sec ill. page 303). The porch, which replaces an older one, screens a m:1in portal that is distinguished not just br a variety of graduated, vol uptuously rich decorative borders, but also by a door with bronze reliefs. According to an inscription, this was made in 1185 by Bonanus o f Pisa, the same Bonanus who a little earlier hnd also delivered a door, which has nor been preserved, for the main portal of the cathedral in Pisa. Given his door at i\ilonreale, the unsigned east door in Pisa (ill. page 342) can be ascribed to Bonanus. The 1\lonreale door is 1 1 ft. (3.4 111) wide and about , 3 ft. (7 m) high, and is the largest medieval bronze door to have come down to us. It consists of a grid like frame with 40 small reliefs with Old Testament and New Testament scenes and patriarchs and prophets. At the very top are two large panels with the enth roned Nl:lry and Christ Panrocrator. These arc the only panels to be cut into b)' the door arch; :1pparently the measurements that hnd been passed to Bonanus in Pisa were not exact. There is a second, clcarl}' smaller bronze door in the portal of the north side aisle. This is from the same period, and is signed Barisanus of Trani, a bronze artist who also created doors for the cathedrals in Ravello and Trani. I Iowever, it is above all the mosaics that really esrnblished

Double capital with dedication relief in the cloister

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the worldwide fame of 1.\ lonreale. They cover all the interior walls with :1 golden ground, occupying an area of about 38,751 sq. ft. (3,600 sq. m). The extensive cycles, with scenes from the Old Testament and the Life of Ch rist as well as the lives of Peter and Paul, furthe r enriched by numerous figures of sain ts, arc descended from the hi g hly sophisticated Byzantine mosaic art; app ro priately, the inscriptions :ire partly in Greek. Stylistic:1\ly1 the mosaics relate to contemporary Byzantine painting. The cycle culminates in the ma in apse with the oversized half-figure of Christ Pantocrator. l lis stern gaze, which misses nothing and from which no one can pull away, seems to fill the enti re space of the church. This is one of the most fo rcible pictures of Christ's far-reach ing power and omnipresence th.it has ever been created, com parable to the Christ Pantocrator in the main apse at Cefo li, (see ill. page 303), but even more spell binding. King \,Villiam hnd himself portrayed on the two cast: crossing piers in front of the main apse with Christ P:1n rocrator. On the north side of the sanctuary, above the royal lion throne thnt is a reference to the throne of Solo mo n, \Villiam is crowned by the enthroned Christ. Opposite, on the south side, above where the ,1rchbishop's throne forme rly stood (it has not been preserved), \ Villiam hands the finished church to the enthroned ,\ fory. This dedication and the coronation :1re there to indicate that \ Villiam's pious foundation is pleasing to God, :1nd that his rule is God's wish. At the s:1mc time, they ensured his posthumous fame. Finally, the famous cloister also demonstrated that no expense w:1s too grc;1t fo r the king. \ Vith sides nearly 154 ft. lo ng (47 111), and the almost endless seq uences of 26 arches on each of t he four sides, it is the largest cloister from medieval Italy. lt is also one of the most magniricent, for the pointed arc:1des are decorated on the shafts of the double columns and on the stepped fro nts of the arches with mosaic encrustations of tesser:1e made fro m lava and gbss. The capitals, roo are decorated with extrao rdinary v:.1 riety; figures include a relief representation of the dedication of the church to i\ lary by the 1

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king. It appears that Five different studios worked o n the capitals at the sa me time. T he grandest impression of the cloisters is provided by the south side, to which the rhy thmi c, even ly shaped, and continuo us sequence of tall blind arcades o n the ruins of the mo nastery dormito ry make a monumental backdrop. The dormitory, with its severe monastic architecture, fo rms the greatest conn-ast imaginable to the splendo r of the cloisters, especially to the fo untain house in the southwest corner, which has its own tiny, intimate arcaded courtyard encl osed on all sides. One would prefer to imagi ne this fine jewel, Filled with Eastern magic, in a roya l Norman pleasure palace rather than in the cloisters of a Benedictine monasteryin Monreale, 1i\Tilliam was evidently more important than Benedict.

Plates 218-226 218 General view from the northwest 219 View of the apses from the north 220 Fountain house in the cloister 221, 222 West portal with the bronze door by Bonanus of Pisa, 1185; Plate 221, detail of the left side of the door 223 Part of the north wall of the nave with Old Testament mosaic cycle 224 Choir and apse with the picture of Christ Pantocrator 225 Creation of the Animals, mosaic on the south wall of th e nave 226 Dedication of the church to the Virgin by King William II , mosaic on the southern choir arch

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