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Age of Cathedrals

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HomeArts and HumanitiesHistory

Age of Cathedrals

Yale University

About this course: An introduction to some of the most astonishing architectural monuments the world has ever known—Gothic cathedrals. We shall study the art, literature, intellectual life, economics, and new social arrangements that arose in the shadow of the cathedrals and that were such an important part of the revival of cities in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The goal of the course is a better appreciation of the High Middle Ages, a world that is still recognizably our own.

Who is this class for: This is a course for those who are interested in the Middle Ages, in religion, in history, in architecture and art history, in cities, and in philosophy and literature.


Created by:  Yale University
Yale University

  • Howard Bloch

    Taught by:  Howard Bloch, Sterling Professor of French

    French
LevelBeginner
Language
English
How To PassPass all graded assignments to complete the course.
User Ratings
4.6 stars
Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Introduction & Saint-Denis I
An introduction to the history of Paris in the centuries of chaos following the death of Charlemagne in 814 and the building of the first Gothic cathedral at Saint-Denis, just north of Paris. The old abbey church, where the kings of France were buried, was inadequate, and so a new building project was undertaken by Abbot Suger, who financed the new building through efficient land management and the commercial Fair of Lendit along a trade route between northern and southern Europe.
7 videos, 1 reading
  1. Video: 1.1 Introduction
  2. Video: 1.2 Paris
  3. Video: 1.3 Notre Dame de Paris and the Wave of Cathedral Building
  4. Video: 1.4 What We'll Study
  5. Reading: Pre-Course Survey
  6. Video: 2.1 The Old Church
  7. Video: 2.2 Royalty Reposed
  8. Video: 2.3 The Fair of Lendit
WEEK 2
Saint-Denis
Here we encounter the portrait of Abbot Suger via his account of how and why he built Saint-Denis, what is portrayed on the West façade of the cathedral, and how the doctrine of God as light, encountered in a book which had come from Byzantium to the abbey centuries earlier, was translated into architectural form. We see some of the objects that are part of the treasury of Saint-Denis and discuss the Abbot’s notion of “anagogical uplift” as a way of moving—via stained glass—between the Old and New Testaments and from the material to the spiritual plane.
8 videos, 3 readings
  1. Video: 3.1 Suger, the Producer
  2. Video: 3.2 Reasons, Spiritual and Worldly
  3. Reading: On What was Done in his Administration by Abbot Suger
  4. Reading: Life of Saint Denis by James of Voragine
  5. Video: 4.1 The Central Portal, Saint-Denis
  6. Video: 4.2 The North and South Portals, Saint-Denis
  7. Reading: The Celestial Hierarchy by The Pseudo-Dionysius
  8. Video: 5.1 God is Light
  9. Video: 5.2 Saint-Denis, a Storehouse of Treasure
  10. Video: 5.3 The Uplifting Church
  11. Video: 5.4 The Anagogical and Moses Windows
Graded: Saint-Denis
Graded: Study of the past/Promise of the future.
WEEK 3
Architectural Innovation
Filling in the background of Romanesque churches that preceded Gothic buildings, we discuss the origins and engineering innovations of the new style of religious architecture. These include ribbed vaults, reinforced pillars, pointed arches, flying buttresses, and a modular system of bay construction; all of which permits the construction of higher and lighter, thinner walls filled with stained glass.
4 videos
  1. Video: 6.1 Romanesque
  2. Video: 6.2 Gothic Origins
  3. Video: 6.3 Gothic
  4. Video: 7.1 Architectural Innovations
Graded: Gothic vs. Romanesque
WEEK 4
Notre Dame de Paris
Moving to the heart of Paris, we explore the initial construction of Notre-Dame and the innovations that were undertaken almost as soon as the building began. We discuss the sculptural programs of Notre-Dame’s West façade, including the portal which depicts the life of Saint Anne, Christ’s grandmother, and Mary, his mother and the central portal of the Last Judgment. Along the south side, we discover the story of the stoning of Saint Stephen; and, along the North, the miracle of Theophilus and the Virgin. Moving inside the cathedral, we encounter the stunning rose windows of Notre-Dame.
10 videos, 3 readings
  1. Video: 8.1 The Role and Initial Construction of Notre Dame
  2. Video: 8.2 Renovations
  3. Video: 9.1 Influences and Innovations
  4. Reading: The Nativity of Mary by James of Voragine
  5. Reading: The Assumption of Mary by James of Voragine
  6. Video: 9.2 St. Anne’s Portal
  7. Video: 9.3 Coronation Portal
  8. Video: 10.1 Central Portal: The Last Judgment
  9. Video: 10.2 Notre Dame’s Roses
  10. Video: 11.1 St. Stephen’s Portal
  11. Video: 11.2 Theophilus and the Virgin
  12. Video: 11.3 Truth Set in Stone
  13. Reading: The Miracle of Theophilus by Rutebeuf
Graded: Notre Dame de Paris
WEEK 5
Intellectual and Everyday Life
Here we examine the cathedral in terms of surrounding intellectual and everyday life. A reading of Peter Abelard’s autobiography, The Story of my Misfortunes, testifies to the growth of the scholastic method in the context of the earliest university culture; and two verse comic tales, “The Crucified Priest” and “The Peekaboo Priest” introduce the new mentality of the inhabitant of towns with emphasis on cleverness, quick thinking, and timing along with an anti-clerical spirit.
5 videos, 3 readings
  1. Video: 12.1 From Mars to Minerva
  2. Video: 12.2 Introducing Faith into Reason
  3. Video: 12.3 The Story of Abelard’s Misfortunes
  4. Reading: Historia calamitatum (The Story of My Misfortunes) by Peter Abelard
  5. Reading: The Crucified Priest
  6. Video: 14.1 “The Crucified Priest”
  7. Reading: The Peekaboo Priest
  8. Video: 14.2 “The Peekaboo Priest”
Graded: Urban Phenomena
WEEK 6
Our Lady of Chartres
In Module 6 we move West of Paris to the cathedral of Chartres where Gothic architecture hits its stride. We explore the history of Chartres, its unique and mysterious architectural features, and its miraculous relic—the Holy Tunic. We discuss the financing of Chartres as seen in the windows donated by merchant which depict the various urban trades alongside the sculpture of the West façade, the rose and lancet stained glass windows, and the secular Zodiac and Charlemagne windows, the latter of which is linked to important literary works of the period.
10 videos, 1 reading
  1. Reading: Miracles of Our Lady of Chartres by Jehan le Marchant
  2. Video: 15.1 Dizzying Heights
  3. Video: 15.2 The History of Chartres
  4. Video: 15.3 The Holy Tunic
  5. Video: 16.1 Merchant Donors
  6. Video: 16.2 The West Façade
  7. Video: 16.3 The North and South Transepts
  8. Video: 17.1 Chartres’ Lancets
  9. Video: 17.2 Chartres’ Roses
  10. Video: 18.1 The Zodiac Window
  11. Video: 18.2 Charlemagne in Glass
Graded: Daily Life and Chartres
WEEK 7
Cathedrals and Crusades
In Module 7 we examine in some detail The Song of Roland, portions of which are depicted in the stained glass of Chartres, and we explore the relationship of relics from the Middle East to cathedral building.
7 videos, 1 reading
  1. Video: 19.1 Lords and Vassals
  2. Video: 19.2 Plunder
  3. Video: 19.3 Roland’s Reliquary Sword
  4. Video: 19.4 Vengeance or Treason?
  5. Reading: The Song of Roland
  6. Video: 20.1 Church and State
  7. Video: 20.2 Amassing of Relics
  8. Video: 20.3 A New Holy Land
Graded: The Bible of the Poor
WEEK 8
Saints and Kings
In Module 8 we explore Saint Louis’s building of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris as a house of glass, a new Ark of the Covenant, to house the relics he had amassed. Using Jean de Joinville’s Life of Saint-Louis as our source, we encounter the Saint King’s life as a crusader, his death, canonization, and the miracles performed by his body on his way to sainthood.
12 videos, 1 reading
  1. Video: 21.1 A Radiating Chapel
  2. Video: 21.2 Total Work of Art
  3. Video: 22.1 The House of Glass
  4. Video: 22.2 Apse
  5. Video: 22.3 North Program
  6. Video: 22.4 South Program
  7. Reading: The Memories of the Lord of Joinville (The Life of Saint-Louis) by Joinville
  8. Video: 23.1 Building a Case for Canonization
  9. Video: 23.2 Confessor or Martyr?
  10. Video: 23.3 Louis’ Virtues
  11. Video: 24.1 Louis the Crusader
  12. Video: 24.2 The Almost Martyr
  13. Video: 24.3 The King Becomes a Relic
Graded: Saints, Kings and Crusades
WEEK 9
Conclusion
By way of conclusion, we explore the history of Gothic cathedrals from the Middle Ages to the present.
1 video, 1 reading
  1. Video: 25.1 Cathedrals from the Middle Ages to the Present
  2. Reading: Post-Course Survey

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Yale University
For more than 300 years, Yale University has inspired the minds that inspire the world. Based in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale brings people and ideas together for positive impact around the globe. A research university that focuses on students and encourages learning as an essential way of life, Yale is a place for connection, creativity, and innovation among cultures and across disciplines.
Ratings and Reviews
Rated 4.6 out of 5 of 86 ratings
jordi olaria jane

learnt a lot of things about medieval cathedrals, specially from saint Louis life.

EC

This course was excellent! I highly recommend it!

CS

A little heavy on French history, but very interesting. I’m not a fan of peer reviews, and this has plenty of them, but at least the grades were a combination of quizzes and peer reviews.

MB

Wonderful if you are interested in Gothic Art!



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