#010 - Church Architecture Assignment

As you watch this Recorded Lesson about various Churches in Unit 3, answer the questions below

Santa Sabina
1. How was Santa Sabina connected to the architecture of the Forum of Trajan?
The architecture of the Forum of Trajan and the Santa Sabina is connected because both
buildings were basilicas, which is a type of building that has a long hall with entrances on either
end that were apses, which typically had altars in them. The Santa Sabina is an example of this,
and so is the Basilica Ulpia at the Forum of Trajan.

2. Define Spolia and explain how it relates to Santa Sabina (use HW notes or check HERE)
Spolia is when elements like stones or other decorative pieces that were used in older works of
architecture are re-used in newer architectural works, because it is cheaper to re-use materials
than to get new materials. This is seen in the columns of the Santa Sabina, which were re-used
from an earlier Roman building.

St. Foy
3. Clearly explain the difference between the terms ROMAN and ROMANESQUE? Which is St. Foy
considered?
If a work is Roman, it means it was actually created in Rome, for example, the Forum of Trajan.
However, if a work is Romanesque, it means that it was not actually created in Rome, but is similar
to other Roman works in style. St. Foy would be considered Romanesque because it is in France,
but is inspired by aspects of Roman architectural style.

4. Describe where you would find each of the following places in a church such as St. Foy. You will be
expected to locate all 5 of these terms on a building plan.
Narthex: This is the hall at the entrance of the church.
Nave: This is the long central aisle that is lined with pews.
Transept: This is the section that cuts through perpendicular to the rest of the church, making it
the shape of a cross.
Ambulatory: This is the semi-circle crossing that leads to the opposite side of the church and has
the radiating chapels attached to it.
Apse: The apse is the semi-circle area in front of the ambulatory that had shrines of saints and the
sanctuary of St. Foy.

5. What caused pilgrims to make such a difficult journey (pilgrimage) to St. Foy? What was contained
inside the Reliquary of St. Foy?
Even though the walk the Pilgrims made was extremely long and tiring, the Reliquary of St. Foy
was very precious and was worth the trip. The Reliquary held the remains of a popular and
admired saint, Saint Foy.
Chartres Cathedral
6. Where in Europe would you find GOTHIC-style cathedrals? What are several important
characteristics of Gothic cathedrals such as Chartres?
You would find Gothic style cathedrals in the northern areas of Europe. Gothic cathedrals
typically had very large windows and used sexparteid vaulting techniques

7. How did the vaulting techniques and flying buttresses allow architects to build such high ceilings and
more windows in Chartres cathedral?
The vaulting techniques and flying buttresses allowed architects to transfer the weight of the
building onto the ground so that the top of the building would be more stable and structurally
sound.

8. Which two churches in the 250 are considered cruciform (with a transept)
The two churches considered cruciform are the Church of St. Foy and the Chartres Cathedral.

St Foy (again)
9. Describe the scene being portrayed above the Tympanum above the main entrances to St. Foy
(looks like a pediment, but it is a half-circle and only over the entrances). Who is depicted at the
center, the left, the right?
In the scene above the Tympanum, Jesus is shown in the center, and to the right of Jesus is Mary,
Peter, and many saints. On the left side is a chaotic depiction of hell, with many people in graves.
Jesus has one hand pointed up toward the saints, and one pointed down toward hell.

Mosque of Cordoba
10. As Mr. Gunnin described the Mosque of Cordoba (20:00-21:45), summarize what you found most
interesting about this building?
It was very interesting to see how the church was planted directly in the middle of the mosque,
almost as if two buildings were merged together. To see how the church connects to the interior
of the mosque was interesting. It is also interesting to know that this church has still lasted and is
still being used, like the example Mr. Gunnin gave of a religious procession occuring there just
last year.

11. From 22:16-24:06, Mr. Gunnin walks through a number of building plans. As we have not studied
many of the later buildings, this was probably challenging… no worries. When the AP Test comes,
how difficult do you think it will be to identify or talk about a building by looking at its building plan?
Although this was challenging now, I think that once we have studied all of the buildings it will not
be too difficult, because many of them have very different shapes, for example, some were
octagonal, some were cross-shaped, and some were rectangular. In addition, I could notice some
stylistic differences, such as in the gothic and romanesque churches, where romanesque
churches mostly had plans with straight lines, while gothic plans had overlapping lines.

12. Which buildings discussed in this video did you find the most interesting? Explain
I found the Mosque of Cordoba most interesting because of the way that the church is planted in
the center of the mosque, and the intricate architectural properties of the mosque. The arches as
well were so grand, and the ceiling above them was so intricate.
** You may stop the video at 24:06 if you would like. After this is a bit of practice using buildings that we will
study in later units.

13. FINAL QUESTION: Develop a thesis statement that could be used to answer the following prompt:
Analyze the architectural similarities and differences between Romanesque and Gothic churches,
using examples from the APAH set to support your answer. ** You are not writing the essay, but be
sure your thesis addresses both specific similarities and differences, and that you specify which is
which.
When considering the styles of Romanesque and Gothic, Romanesque buildings were much
different in their dark lighting, short stature, and barrel vaults, while Gothic buildings used lots of
nature light, were tall, and used sexparteid vaults, but the two styles are also similar in their use of
apse, radiating chapels, and ambulatories.