GOTHIC QUESTIONS!

1. How did social systems change in the Gothic period? 2. What’s happening with education in the Gothic period? 3. What influence did the Crusades have on the period? 4. Is there any hope for women in the Gothic period? 5. What’s the big deal about cathedrals? 6. How are Gothic churches different from the churches of the Romanesque? 7. What are the best Gothic cathedrals? 8. Are any other arts important in the Gothic era? 9. What are some big ideas to come out of the Gothic period? 10. How does Gothic change as it moves from Ile de France? 11. Who are the late Gothic artists of merit? 12. What’s so great about fresco? 13. What changes do we see in art now? 14. How does the plague affect late medieval culture? 15. What major ideas arrive later in the Gothic period? 16. Why is The Canterbury Tales such an important piece of literature?

THE GOTHIC PERIOD 1150 – 1400

1. How did social systems change in the Gothic period? • Feudalism in decline as peasants move to towns • Paris, population 150,000, is the first city of the Gothic age • Why the move to towns?

City charters Trade: peddlers --> merchants Merchant class Social mobility Guilds: regulate price and quality, “insurance” Independence/ power, social opportunities

• Urban life offers the stability needed for CATHEDRAL building - time, effort, money

2. What’s happening with education in the Gothic period? Only source of education until now is the _________________ UNIVERSITIES RISE! 79 Universities from 1100 to 1500 Bologna, Paris, Cambridge, Oxford, Padua, Heidelburg What did you study at University in the Gothic period?

Aristotle and Aquinas 1. Reconciles science with the church 2. Christianizes beauty 3. “There is no good use without art.” 3. What influence did Crusades have on the time period? Why were the Crusades undertaken? First Crusade is successful 1100 – 1200 Jerusalem is under Christian rule 1200 -- Saladin (ruler of Egypt and Syria) Results: 4. Is there any hope for women in the Gothic era? A. Mary B. Chivalry and Courtly Love C. Effects spread

“feminine” qualities are appreciated

5. What’s the big deal about Cathedrals? Gothic period = Ile de France Shift from abbey church to cathedral Shift from monasticism to community A city’s greatest product A city’s center A city’s participants: Construction takes generations despite 12 hour summer and 9 hour winter shifts A. Gothic floor plan

B. Interior and Exterior Walls Bundled piers Cross vaulting Triforium Gallery Buttresses Flying Buttresses

C. Stained Glass Leading Tracery Colors Enamel Rose window Lancet window Large rose windows Guild participation D. Spires Towers vs. spires Important Gothic element Complete set of 7 E. Portal

F. Sculpture In buttresses In portals In trumeau In gargoyles and grotesques G. Height wars Chartres 122 Amiens 140 Beauvais 157 6. How are Gothic cathedrals different from churches of the Romanesque? 7. What are “the coolest” Gothic structures in France? A. St. Denis 1136 part Romanesque and Gothic Abbot Suger 1st Gothic Cathedral/ 1st with stained glass B. Chartres 1260 “Best” Gothic cathedral Holy site, Sancta Camisia Numerology, labyrinth Stained glass windows C. Saint Chapelle 1243 reliquary for crown of thorns

D. Mont Saint Michel 1400, Merveille Island 1 km in diameter, 80 m. high Swing of 15 meters between high and low tides Quicksand fields, salt grass Causeway in 1879 E. Notre Dame 1250 Ile de la Cite in the Seine Bishop of Paris During Revolution, damaged and dedicated to “Reason”

8. Are any other arts important in the Gothic period? MUSIC!

• Ile de France also center of musical innovation • Polyphony and monophony • “Part” singing begins with ___________________ • Magnus Liber Organi, Leonin, 1168 • Brings polyphony together = ‘cyclical’ • Sacred melody = _________________ = cantus firmus • Other parts added on top of it • Tenor might be choir with soloists having other parts • Tenor might be organ with singers having the other parts • Most popular polyphony = counterpoint • Another popular form = three part motet • Vernacular enters music • Let’s learn a three part motet!

9. What are two big ideas to come out of the Gothic period? A. Gothic Dualism -- not the existence of two separate worlds

at once, but all mixed together-- merchant, noble, clergy; secular and liturgical music together, knowledge of the university and the power of faith.

B. Numerology -- see book! 10. How does Gothic change as it moves from Ile de France? A. England -- less sculpture, more architectural Blends with “Norman” to become “English” Salisbury Cathedral B. Germany -- spires and height Ulm Cathedral Cologne Cathedral Sculpture shows “distinctive, national character” C. Italy-- VERY DIFFERENT Gothic doesn’t “suit” Italy Not focused on buttresses, spires, stained glass Church of Saint Francis of Assisi Frescoes

11. Who are the late Gothic artists of merit? a. Nicola Pisano (1205-1278) Annunciation and Nativity reemergence of classical influence echoes Trajan’s column b. Giovanni Pisano (1250- 1317) Nativity and Annunciation to Shepherds son c. Cimabue (1240-1302) Madonna Enthroned renews art of painting established Florence’s reputation for art buried at the Duomo AND. . . d. Giotto! (1267-1336) Miracle of the Spring Pieta St. Francis Renouncing His Father Madonna Enthroned Joachim Returning to the Sheepfold Farmer’s son (Bondone) Cimabue’s apprentice Works in fresco Best of this group! In his work we see: Focus Balance Emotion Color/shade to begin to show depth Directness of stories / real v. symbolic Scene/ action in foreground

12. What’s so great about fresco? The Ancient Art of Fresco Video a. Vocabulary: Cartoon Intonaco Giornata / Day Section b. How is the cartoon transferred to the fresco surface? c. Why is fresco so permanent? d. How are mistakes corrected? e. What are some special difficulties in design that Giotto would not have struggled with? f. List special difficulties in undertaking fresco as an art form.

13. What changes do we see in art now? a. Christ as infant not as king b. Painting’s “break” from symbol c. Survival of classicism and the university influence 14. How does the plague affect late medieval culture? Black Plague begins in 1348 in Italy Methods of avoidance/ prevention In 1348, ¾ of Florence is dead! Across Europe, 20 million dead, deserted towns Two reactions: self denial or live it up! 15. JUST ONE MORE MAJOR IDEA. . . The Franciscan Movement! St. Francis of Assisi -- granted his order in 1210 Uncloistered Humanitarian = “We are all God’s creatures” Undoes feudalism, Undoes strict hierarchy Golden Rule Buried in Assisi, Basilica of St. Francis

16. Why is The Canterbury Tales such a famous work of literature? First! Gives status Shows scope of Gothic life Satirical Compiled 24 tales out of 30, out of 120 What’s Canterbury Cathedral look like?