Early English style
Early English is an art-historical term for style and epoch for the early phase of Gothic architecture in England from approx. 1170 to approx. 1240.
particularities
General
As is often the case with art historical epochs, the dating varies depending on the author. Sir Nikolaus Pevsner dates Early English from 1190 to 1250. Thomas Rickman , who first created this term in An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of Architecture in England (1812–1815), dates from 1189–1307.
Early English followed the Norman-Romanesque epoch (see Norman Style ) and was in turn followed by the Decorated Style . The name Early English belies the fact that the origins of this new architecture in the Paris area began around 1130. In England this style was initially called the French style .
The beginning of Gothic architecture in England is generally assumed with the east end of Canterbury Cathedral in 1175 - under the direction of William of Sens - but the actual English Gothic, Early English, continues with the construction of Wells Cathedral in 1180 and Lincoln in 1192 a. England is now going its own way, especially in vaulting. Although it took over its own invention of the ribbed vault from France , it hardly ever used it in its simple, original form, instead developing forms that were either not imitated on the mainland or only found late (end of the 14th century). However, this only applies to the cathedral. The parish churches keep the open Norman roof structure.
The Durham Cathedral , begun in 1093, was the first church in the history of art, a ribbed vault in the nave (vaulting the eastern parts in 1104, the nave approx 1130).
The simple rib system did not correspond to the emphasized horizontal structure of the room. The rib network and the entire vault construction are transformed towards this goal. Parietal ribs and braided ribs ( animal cerons : side ribs rising from the fighter ) enrich the previous system of belts and diagonal ribs and thus loosen its rigid structure. The apex rib emphasizes the longitudinal direction of the rooms, while the animal cerons, which rise between the diagonal and shield ribs and meet in pairs at the apex rib, help to suppress the yoke division .
Your additional technical and constructive advantage lies in the further reduction in size of the individual vault caps, which can now be built even more easily. Parapet ribs not only run in the direction of the central nave, but can also connect opposite stitch caps at right angles to it (second form of the crown rib or transverse crown rib), whereby the vault no longer appears to be divided into individual yokes, but into compartments formed by the rectangle of the crown ribs that surround laying around a pillar.
Early English architecture is typical of many Cistercian buildings, both in England and France, such as Whitby Abbey and Rievaulx Abbey in Yorkshire. The Salisbury Cathedral is a wonderful example of this style. Because it was built in a relatively short period of time (between 1200 and 1275), there is hardly any influence from other styles here - with the exception of the facade and the tower from the 14th century. Other significant examples of Early English are the Galilee entrance gate at Ely , the main and transepts of Wells (1225–1240), the west facade of Peterborough and finally the south transept of Beverley Minster .
West facade
Like much in the early English Gothic, the west facade , here called the umbrella facade , is derived from the Norman architecture of the previous era. The umbrella facades in England, e.g. B. in Salisbury, however, stand in contrast to the richly decorated imposing double tower facades common in the French Gothic ( Reims and Amiens ). The lower towers in England are either on the side, as in Salisbury, or behind the facade. Furthermore, the west facade of Salisbury appears balanced with its horizontal and vertical directional forces.
In contrast to French buildings, there is also no concentration of an image program in the portal area. In France, sculpture takes on the function of architectural elements of order, but this is suppressed in England. Here the sculptures seem literally crowded into the niches assigned to them. The ornamental archivolts and tympana from France are missing . The reduction in size of the portals down to human dimensions has also resulted in the plastic being banned from the umbrella facade. Some art historians like John Ruskin even refer to the portals as “pigeon holes”.
Instead, the umbrella facades, which were interspersed with walkways, were part of the liturgical procession. They were located above the portal zone and could be reached through walkways in the corner towers. In Wells, a second passage was even built in the lower tier of the central gable. It is possible that these corridors appeared as singing and music stands in the great Palm Sunday processions.
See also
literature
- HJ Böker: English sacred architecture of the Middle Ages . Darmstadt 1984.
- B. Chichy: Special forms of interior design of early Gothic cathedral architecture in England . Dissertation, Tübingen 1952
- L. Grodecki: Gothic architecture . Stuttgart 1976
- Susanne Schünke: Developments in the choir forms of English churches from the 11th to the 13th century . phil. Diss., University of Cologne, Cologne 1987
- Otto von Simson: The Middle Ages II . (= Propylaen art history vol. 6. Frankfurt am Main - Berlin [1972] 1990). In it: TSR Boase: English Art (Architecture)
- GB Webb: Architecture in Britain: The Middle Ages (= Pelican History of Art). Harmondsworth 1956
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See: Günter Kowa: Early English. In: English Gothic Architecture. DuMont, Cologne 1990; Ute Engel: Gothic architecture in England. In: Rolf Toman (Ed.): Gotik - Architektur. Sculpture. Painting. Tandem Verlag, 2004, pp. 118-136