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ARCHITECURAL CHARACTER AND THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE, GEORGE SALVAN

INFLUENCES

GEOGRAPHICAL

In Northern Europe, remote from Rome, development depended largely upon a common

concern with sea and river routes. The geographical similarities of political divisions of

Scandinavia are sufficient to give the whole region a unity which was emphasized by the greater

ease of sailing across the narrow waters within the region than of crossing the mountains

toward the rest of Europe.

Skill in navigation during the early middle ages .led to the Nordic colonization of Iceland and

Greenland and to cultural and commercial contact with Ireland and Britain.

Natural resources in Scandinavia provided tor principally agrarian products in the south and East

and for forestry and fur-trading in the North. The export of copper and iron ores led to strong

mercantile connections with the continent. The deep Norwegian valleus dictated both an

independent and generally slower rate of evolution, and a wider variety of local building

techniques.



GEOLOGICAL

Geological formation of Great Britain was varied. The English hardwood forests, particularly in

the North-western and South-eastern countries, provided roof-framing material for the more

important buildings, and for lesser buildings which were-entirely timber framed. Most of the

indigenous building stones contributed to the materials of the more mature military andreligious buildings and local characteristics in masonry developed at an early stage.

CLIMATIC

The generally low northern light tended to encourage the development of ways of producing

larger or multiple openings in walls. Massive masonry construction and steeply-pitched roofs

were customary devices for dealing with the more severe Northern European climate, though in

those parts of Scandinavia where snow could normally be expected to persist for some time,

roof pitches were often reduced in order that it should assist in retaining heat within buildings.

HISTORICAL, SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS

THE BRITISH ISLES

The Roman conquest of Britain was preceded by the landings of Julius Caesar in 55 and 54 B.C.

During the military occupation following the Claudian invasion of A.D. 43 progress was made in

developing natural resources such as tin, iron and lead; orderly government was ensured by the

Roman legions, and improved methods in agriculture stabilized society. Roman dress and

language were adopted by those in contact with the new rulers. The building of towns and later

of the large country settlements called villas was necessary to support the civil administration

and to propagate the Roman way of life.

Christianity first made its way into Britain during the Roman occupation, but during the years of

the Anglo-Saxon settlements, after the middle of the fifth century, church building was of

historical importance only in Ireland. The conversion to Christianity of the Anglo-Saxon kings and

their people is evidenced by numerous surviving churches, towers and crosses of the 7th and

8th centuries.

In 1042, Edward, son of the English Ethelred, acceded to the throne. He assured the Normaninfluence of England before the conquest. He begun in 1045 the building of Westminster Abbey,

the church planned in the current Norman Benedictine fashion, and the comentual buildings

based largely upon the Cluniac pattern.

The Norman conquest of 1066 linked England to the continent and introduced a fully developed

feudal system. Yet all land was held from the king, who established the most efficient and



centralized government in Europe. Castles were built to strengthen the position of the

conquerors. Towns which grew up around abbeys and castles, became trading centres, and

through their merchant guilds laid the foundations of urban government. Settled government

prompted the pursuit of learning, based in the 12th and 13th centuries upon monastic schools

and upon the two English universities. French was the language commonly used in court circles

until the 13th century, when, owing to resentment cause by the introduction of Angevin

stangers, English gradually supplanted it, and the final fusion of Norman and English occurred.

The crusades gave impetus to the progress of learning and in the foundation of the military

orders which influenced some aspects of church-building later in the middle ages.

SCANDINAVIA:

The Kingdoms were first in Denmark and Norway, and that by about the year 1000 Sweden was

united as part of the Svear kingdom. The Viking expansion of the 9th century, which included in

the early Danish settlement in North-East England, the colonization of Normandy and the

establishment of Svear colonies in Latvia, all brought Northern influences to bear upon

European development. The earliest domestic building customs were based upon timber

techniques allied to forms probably derived from ancient Greek cultures.

The most distinctive building development of the period in Scandinavia followed the conversion

of the Northern races, which was started by the Frankish missionary Angar at Hedeby in

Denmark in 826. The Norse church itself was established from Britain, and Christianity was

legally maintained in Norway, Greenland and Iceland by the end of the 10th century. In 980 the

Danish King Harold made his people Christians, English bishops were introduced, and the Empire

was spread into England.

The earliest Christian Scandinavian buildings those of Frankish missionaries, were certainly,

Timber-built, and particularly in Norway, the development of timber techniques continued well

into the 13th century. Subsequent building in stone reflects predominantly German and cluniac

influences in Denmark.

The monastic orders played an important part in reinforcing Scandinavian links with Europe and

the Benedictine Church Architecture of Denmark and Norway followed very closely much of the

custom of the order, though with some cluniac modifications, and in both Denmark and Sweden

were established several examples

ARCHITECURAL CHARACTER

1. THE BRITISH ISLES

a. ROMAN PERIOD



Examples of Mosaic Flooring, pottery and sculptures indicate the cave which the Romans

bestowed on dwellings houses and public buildings. The characteristics of Roman

Architecture were so virile that they inevitably influenced subsequent Anglo-Saxon and

Romanesque architecture in Britain.

The Form of the Christian Church in Britain before the end of the Roman occupation is

exemplified at Silchester.

This was a small church, with a Basilican plan, built early in the 4th century. It had a western

apse, for the vitual at this time required that the celebrant face east from beyond the altar.

b. ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

Domestic building was largely dependent upon the use of Timber, but little evidenceremains of methods of construction. The masonry of church buildings from about the

middle of the 7th century shows signs of dependence on Timber prototypes, as in the 'long

and short work in groins.



Pilaster strips derived from the 'Liesenen' of the Carolingian Rhineland and blind arcading.



Before the period of-the Heptarchy, architecture of any pretension free from direct Roman

influence was in framed timber. But 'a link 'with earlier stone-built forms was expressed in

some permanent post Carolingian building in Ireland where in spite of remoteness from

Rome, there were strong early connections with the coptic church in Egypt.

The Olatory of Gallerus, near Dingle in Kerry is a Monastic cell of the 6th or 7th century,rectangular in plan, in the form of a corbel vault, smooth worked internally, and with a

pointed extrados.



It also occurred transept apses ('absidoles') introduced by Archibishop Lanfranc at Canterburry in 1065. It

was common in both secular and monastery churches, to find a central lantern tower over the choir

crossing. The municipality of apsidal chapels in monastic churches was necessitated by the growing

demand for facilities for the individual offices of a Benedectine community. Grained aisle vaults were built

in the nave at Ely after 1087, but no high groin vault was even attempted in Norman England. The earliest

great church designed initially and entirely with a rib-vaulting system is Durham cathedral, where workwas began in 1093; the choir aisle vaults, with depressed Segmental diagonal ribs, were finished in 1096,

the-high vault of the eastern arm in 1107 and the nave by about 1132. The significant difference between

these and the quadripartite vaults of Durham is that the English version combines the ribbed vault with

single nave bays, having alternating cylindrical and compound piers from the shafts of which spring heavy

transverse pointed arches.

Mouldings are generally enriched by comentional carving with increased vigour through the late 11th and

12th centuries. Doorways and windows have jambs in square recesses or 'orders' enclosing nook-shafts.

These 'orders' are frequently carved with zigzag and beak-head ornament.

Windows are small and the internal jambs are deeply splayed.

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