To begin with, visually the Chartres Cathedral has a grandiose design that continually captivates viewer’s attentions. The impressive Cathedral holds true virtue of it’s architectural design. Styled with slender towers that have intricate carvings as well as pointed arches and ribbed vaulted, the Chartres Cathedral holds true to Gothic virtues and displays them at the height of their grandeur. Also, the Cathedral corresponds with the Romanesque period, utilizing ornate windows and a floor plan that helped enable pilgrimages.…
Throughout this story, the narrator is portrayed as an arrogant, self-obsessed man who is really only willing to see the world through his own judgmental, warped point of view. This type of person being a common character in many of Carvers writings, as pointed out by Carol Stern in her paper, “Cathedral: Overview” (Stern). Readers can see this in his behavior and the way he speaks depicted in the very opening paragraph of the story. The narrator describes his thoughts on this visitor coming to stay by saying, “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit. He was no one I knew.…
Michael Camille, Image on the Edge (Chapter Three: In the Margins of the Cathedral), (Harvard University Press Ann Arbor: University of Michigan University Library, Scholarly Pub. Office 1992), 77-98. In his chapter on “margins” within a Gothic Cathedral, Michael Camille examines architectural features that act as symbols of marginalization and hierarchy.…
This integrated, “pointed arches, ribbed vault, and flying buttresses” (Doc. 14). These innovations of construction allowed architects to make cathedrals both more open, and brighter. This helped to reflect the Catholic Church in its message, but also represents the time period:…
Additionally, the buildings themselves are impressive. Although architectural styles different from place to place, building to building, there are some basic features that were universal in monumental churches built in the Middle Ages. The prototype for that…
However compared with typical Gothic style that characterizes high pointed roof and heavy volume, this church presents a relatively light expression without placing a sacred stress on people. The four columns extend upward appear to elevate vertically to higher prominence,enhancing the height visually and the heavily volumetric roof rests on them,emphasizing the grandness of the church. Every single component contributes to the overall design of the church and are carefully proportioned to form a whole. The strictly symmetrical geometry of the structure renders the building to be solemn and harmonious. The rigidity of the plan allows accommodation of up to 450 to…
In “Cathedral”, the imagery being portrayed is very light, as if it didn't exist. Readers have to carefully read the material in order to obtain a sense of imagery. With that being said, the narrator questions himself, “How could I even begin to describe [a cathedral]?” The narrator has only seen cathedrals on “late night television”; therefore, he only has a mental image of what it looks like. The narrator is extremely frustrated trying to draw a Cathedral when Robert asks him, but he just cannot do it.…
It represented an early, mature, and typical gothic style. The major change during this period was pointed arches and exterior flying buttresses. These changes allowed for a three story building. It also included a triforium. This cathedral used ribbed groin vaults, which are crossed barrel vaults.…
Comparing and Contrasting: The Basilica of Saint Sernin and Cathedral of Chartres Centuries have passed and to this day churches tower above France, marking the astonishing legacy of the Romanesque and Gothic styles designed in the Middle Ages. A Romanesque church example is the Basilica of St. Sernin in Toulouse, France 1080-1120 (fig.1) and an example of a Gothic church is the Cathedrale de Notre Dame de Chartres in Chartres, France 1194-1260 (fig.2). Much like their periods, the Basilica of Saint Sernin and the Cathedral of Chartres have many similarities regarding their styles, function, and context; however also have many differences. The Basilica and the Cathedral both had radiating chapels and apse; vaults, arches; vault supports;…
From Raymond Carver’s “Cathedral,” the feelings conveyed by the narrator, his wife and Robert, gave an interesting impression towards the theme of the story. The narrator’s actions towards Robert flowed from beginning to end leading to the narrator’s realization of his newfound feelings of what Robert, as a blind man, had been going through. His blindness and loss didn’t hinder his way of life, yet allowed him to teach the narrator something important. Robert’s visit and stay at the narrator’s home with him and his wife, lead to the narrator achieving this realization. Even though the narrator’s feelings towards Robert were initially negative, Robert’s guidance helps the narrator see himself from another person’s point of view.…
Brunelleschi’s Dome Once upon a time in the year 1294, the city of Florence, Italy decided to build a new church. A design was created and an artist’s rendering was made of what they envisioned their glorious new cathedral to be. They were an ambitious, competitive lot and wanted the world to notice them. They decided that their cathedral would have a dome like the great Pantheon in Rome. But their dome would not be any old dome.…
But, in fact it is actually made up of several open spaces combined altogether to make up the tremendous open spacing that resembles structures from that era. Similar to structures in the past, other structural considerations with this cathedral would be the statues mounted to walls, the Stations of the Cross, relics, crosses, carved figures, and wall imagery which is unique to its display at St Raphael. Other locations of interest that are present at this church is the Sacristry and the Reconciliation Chapel which is placed prominently within the spacious layout and design of the church. Once again, unique and varies from location to location based on overall design of the structure.…
With the intent to get better acquainted with Germany, we took a day to explore Schwerin before entering Berlin. Schwerin is by all accounts the smallest city we visited and the only one we did not stay in overnight, however it had some of the oldest sites to see. With a limited amount of time, we were only able to see the Schwerin Cathedral and the Schwerin Palace. Both are breathtaking in their own way. The cathedral is the oldest building in the city buily in 1260 and houses beautiful stained glass windows and the palace, nicknamed the "Neuschwanstein of the North", is beautifully kept, ornate, and sits on its own island.…
It is an example of Norman Architecture. Ranulf Flambard, the bishop of Durham, is the first documented prisoner to get imprisoned in the white tower…
Medieval Church: Gothic Cathedral The architecture of the medieval Gothic cathedrals is one of the greatest glories of European culture. Since the twelfth century, Gothic art and literature in Europe had become very popular, and were soon brought to perfection in the thirteenth century. The first Gothic cathedral was the abbey of Saint-Denis (built around 1140 and 1150 ce); it was inspired by the famous Abbot Suger. This cathedral was burned down twice and without the reconstruction of it, Notre Dame, and all the cathedrals in the future would not have been established the way they were. Saint-Denis started a revolution of cathedrals in the Gothic style.…