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This article offers a new approach to analysing the medieval vaults of Norwich cathedral cloister, which at first appearance seem to be of a consistent design, yet detailed inspection and analysis reveals this not to be the case. Whilst previous scholars have recognised the presence of inconsistencies, their focus has been on chronology, patronage as well as the iconographic programme of the extraordinary range of sculpted bosses. Our approach is based on accurate digital surveying and analysis methods and comparison with similar data obtained from other sites. This enables us to understand the design of the cloister vaults in plan, including bay proportions and the nuances of the tierceron star arrangement of ribs. We then employ a representation technique termed the 'middle plan' to identify and analyse specific design runs and their breaks in a greater level of detail than previously achieved, including analysis of geometric data to explain different processes that were likely used to create the curvatures of individual ribs. In doing so, we have identified methods not previously described, which reveal the inventiveness of medieval masons faced with a series of complex constructional issues and enabling them to achieve a range of visual effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Just as Gothic cathedrals have long dominated the perception of medieval architecture, the spectacular drawings of the German lodges have shaped our view of the medieval design process. However, their towering importance has diverted scholarly attention from alternative drafting practices and reinforced the view of a homogeneous Gothic design practice based on quadrature. Historians generally accept that in the 16th century a new Renaissance graphic language challenged and ultimately replaced the Gothic tradition north of the Alps. However, this antagonistic narrative of one dominant practice superseding the other needs to be re-examined because hitherto neglected drawings for other types of buildings reveal that medieval drafting practice was more varied and open to new developments than is often believed. This paper will examine three rare sets of architectural drawings, together consisting of over thirty sheets, made for three stone sluices in the provinces of Utrecht and Holland between 1556 and 1563. They show that for technically demanding hydraulic works, drawings directed every step of the process, from enabling discussion of the most suitable design to guiding the stonemasons in the execution of the work. Moreover, they demonstrate that for such projects, Gothic masters did not adhere to tradition but engaged with new design methods, using scale, colour, and multiple views to convey all aspects of the project, thus indicating that changes in style and method were not always interrelated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Richard Fawcett, a renowned expert in Scottish medieval church architecture, passed away on October 31, 2023. Throughout his life, Richard had a deep passion for architecture and a keen eye for detail. He dedicated his career to the study and preservation of historic buildings, working for organizations such as Historic Scotland and the University of St Andrews. Richard's contributions include his magnum opus, "The Architecture of the Scottish Medieval Church, 1100–1560," and his work on the Corpus of Scottish Medieval Parish Churches. He will be remembered for his knowledge, enthusiasm, and dedication to his field. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Virtual Archaeology Review is the property of Virtual Archaeology Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Art-Sanat Journal / Art-Sanat is the property of Art-Sanat and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Robert Willis's writing in the nineteenth century was foundational to the development of the discipline of architectural history. Closely related to other Cambridge scientists, including William Farish and William Whewell, Willis deployed similar methods and forms of conceptualization in his writings about medieval architecture. He focused on five areas in particular: the isometric projection, the building as kit-of-parts, detailed technical forms of description using illustrations and specialized vocabularies, the machine tool, and new tools for measuring cogwheels and architectural profiles. Using an interdisciplinary approach and drawing upon contemporary ideas of political economy by Karl Marx and Charles Babbage, this article resituates Willis's writing in the context of the separation of manual from intellectual labor under industrial capitalism, arguing that the architectural historian was complicit both with the forms of abstraction required of professionalization and with the alienation of labor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late medieval women were able to promote highly sophisticated funerary ensembles, which included architecture, painting, sculpture, liturgy, textiles, lighting and other ephemeral elements, and to adapt them to their specific ideas and needs. These material and ephemeral elements were manipulated to create complex spaces so as to generate sensory experience. This article will focus on the Purification Chapel in the Cathedral of Burgos (Spain) built by the Countess of Haro, Mencía de Mendoza, at the end of the fifteenth century. We will use art historical analysis to understand the relation between gender and the senses, and the ways in which intersensorial interaction shapes experience and memory. The analysis of the construction and design of spaces by actors like Mencía de Mendoza shows that robust models of perception and cognition were tacitly operating in the medieval era in ways that are not adequately captured by textually-focused approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this text, the author analyzes the convergence between Christian culture and relevant films of Alfred Hitchcock's suspense filmography. Rather than focusing on Hitchcock's status as a Catholic director, he makes an empirical analysis that allows him to find certain visual analogies between the Christian imaginary and the frames of certain films of the master of suspense. This article understands cinema as a kind of mental, psychological, or spiritual cartography/geography, and this is how it connects to the theme of space, where cinema is not just as analogous to physical space but the experience of viewing as a space. The Christian iconography of death, understood as participation in an eternal time, helps to understand the projection of the concept of suspension of judgment in constructing suspense that is not only iconographic but also spatially ontological. The author also suggests an epistemological connection between the mysterious nature of space in medieval art and architecture and the aesthetics of perfect crime in films. The allegory of Christ's Passion will be seen as a recurring thread in Hitchcock's visual analogies. His cinema and his particular way of seeing reality through space continue to demonstrate the validity of his art in writing new episodes in Western culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Alexander Romance," known as "Pseudo-Callisthenes," is one of the most popular Late Antique works, mostly because of the figure of Alexander the Great, who had become a myth. Dating back to the third century AD, it was reworked many times during the Middle Ages, being translated into almost every vernacular language. The Slavic languages were not an exception, and several versions of the socalled "Aleksandrija" are attested among the South Slavic and East Slavic Medieval Literatures. That the "Alexander Romance" was quoted in the Epistle sent by the Metropolitan of the Kyivan Rus', Klim Smoljatič (1147--ca. 1154, 1158/1159) to the Presbyter Foma of Smolensk, as part of an intellectual polemics between them is clear proof of its popularity. Concretely, he quoted the passage referring to Alexander's flight through the air on the wings of huge birds or of legendary animals such as griffins, depending on the version of the story. In Western European Medieval works, it was shown as a symbol of human arrogance, the sin of "hubris." However, the motif is ambivalent, and its meaning among the Eastern Slavic lands is not that clear. Besides, the great popularity of this episode was not limited only to the written word, but it also attained the image. This way, the motif of Alexander's flight can be found in several Medieval Slavic works of art and architecture, like a relief on the façade of Saint Demetrius Cathedral in the Russian city of Vladimir or a gold enamel tiara that was found in the Ukrainian village of Sakhnivka, both dating from the second half of the twelfth century. In this presentation, we intend to show the different variants of their representations, while trying to trace their origin and meaning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridget Whearty's book, "Digital Codicology: Medieval Books and Modern Labor," explores the history of digitization and metadata associated with pre-modern manuscripts. Whearty presents case studies from her own career, highlighting the behind-the-scenes work of curators, catalogers, data managers, and imaging specialists who make digital access to manuscripts possible. She also addresses the privilege of access and the challenges of standardization and discoverability in digital cataloging. The book offers valuable insights into the digitization process and its implications for the study of medieval manuscripts. [Extracted from the article]

The book "Lateness and Modernity in Medieval Architecture" edited by Alice Isabella Sullivan and Kyle G. Sweeney explores the concept of late medieval and early modern architecture and the shifting meanings of the term "modern." The book consists of twelve chapters that address the categorization of late Gothic architecture and provide case studies to illustrate the complexities of the subject. The book is organized geographically, allowing for a nuanced understanding of different contexts. The essays in the book also examine the political implications of late Gothic architecture and its connection to imperialism. Overall, the book offers a comprehensive and accessible exploration of medieval and early modern architecture. [Extracted from the article]

The contribution aims to present the results obtained from the archaeological analysis of the architecture of the Cathedral of San Massimo in Forcona (AQ), which took place in 2021, focusing on the digital systems used for the documentation and valorization of the monument. The work is part of a broader research project developed by the University of L'Aquila and focused on the archaeological study of medieval architecture as a function of the creation of a database on a chronological-typological basis of the masonry construction techniques of the city and its territory. The first structure to be analyzed was the Cathedral of San Massimo in Forcona, which, although it is located at a significant distance from the city center, represented a power pole of fundamental importance for the political-economic administration of the territory, at least until the construction of the city of L'Aquila. The documentation carried out through integrated TLS/SfM digital surveys and archaeological analysis allowed first to establish a chronological sequence of the construction phases of the church, but also to hypothesize through 3D reconstructions the historical evolution of the entire architectural complex. These reconstructions then became the digital support for the creation of a series of immersive VR systems aimed at providing experiences of interactive storytelling and dissemination of research outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on assessing the defensiveness of medieval fortresses situated along the Mediterranean coast, including the Northern Algerian coast and Southeastern Spain. The proposed methodology involved a two-fold process comprising identification and evaluation. Initially, we identified and geolocated our case studies, deriving their locations from archival sources. We then seamlessly integrated them into a Geographic Information System (GIS) for precise georeferencing on a rasterized landscape. Subsequently, we conducted assessments of visibility, intervisibility, and elevation, which we consider pivotal in determining the degree of defensibility of the fortified sites. Specifically, the aim of this research was to investigate the intricate relationship between natural landscapes and architectural defensive features, with a focus on discerning the influence that the chosen location has on the strategic and defensive significance of the studied fortresses. Our findings reveal that the evolution of those defensive systems within our study context is intricately tied to the physical elements comprising the landscape. These natural constituents have served as a foundation for the architectural and defensive characteristics adopted by medieval builders. Furthermore, we delineated two distinct typologies: the isolated type, intentionally designed to obscure visibility, and the exposed type, characterized by a higher visibility index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the findings of a survey on the teaching of architectural history in universities worldwide. The survey compares the Italian teaching system to that of other countries and reveals that many modules in architecture schools focus on the history of architecture in relation to design theory. The article includes an interview with Professor Emerita Caroline Bruzelius from Duke University, who discusses the tradition of architectural history in the United States and the use of digital technologies in teaching. The author also highlights the importance of integrating historical research with visual technologies and engaging students in team-based and long-term research initiatives. They conclude by emphasizing the necessity of knowledge of history before engaging with theory in the field of architecture. [Extracted from the article]

For the first time in the literature, this study provides an analysis of the activities of two major architectural–archeological missions that investigated the architectural heritage of the Armenian Highlands: the Russian Ani Archaeological Expedition (1892–1893 and 1904–1917) and the Italian academic programs of the Universities of Rome and Venice and that of Milan Polytechnic (from 1966 to the 1980s). In this article, the results of the conducted research are compared, and their contribution to the development of the history of medieval architecture is evaluated. The differences in the results are related to the chronological distance between the missions, as well as the main focus of each work: the activities of the Russians are primarily archeological, while those of the Italian groups are architectural. The head of the Ani Institute, Nikolay Marr, set himself the task of exhibiting the original artifacts in the museum he had created in the medieval capital of Armenia, Ani, while the Italian professors relied on photography for both permanent and touring exhibitions. The second mission was in unspoken contact with the first, forming a kind of time-stretched dialog. Although, by the 1970s, almost none of the participants in Marr's expedition remained alive, his scientific works were periodically being published, with some still waiting their turn in the scientific archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As O. reminds us in the introduction, Krautheimer's and Mango's handbooks of Byzantine architecture are now rather out of date, and do not particularly attract readers to deepen their knowledge of Byzantium. However, in 1261, Michael VIII Palaiologos re-conquered Constantinople, and the city enjoyed its last Byzantine flourishing before falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 (Chapter 24). Tenth- and eleventh-century Armenian and Georgian architecture clearly demonstrates that innovation was not restricted to the Byzantine capital (Chapter 19): it is precisely in the Caucasus that certain forms flourished and then spread to other important centres, including Constantinople. Kievan urban buildings, in contrast, recalled the Byzantine capital, and even the building technique was sometimes the same as in Constantinople. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores the history of St Catherine's chapel at the abbey of Savigny, head of Normandy's only monastic congregation. Built in the twelfth century, the chapel was, at the time of its demolition in 1705, the oldest remaining part of the medieval monastic complex. It therefore appears fairly regularly in the written record and has attracted not an insignificant amount of attention as a result. That said, the near total destruction after 1789 of Savigny's buildings, and the often contradictory nature of those written sources by which antiquarians and academics have attempted, in the absence of sustained archaeological work, to reconstruct their medieval layout, mean that a great deal remains uncertain. St Catherine's is no exception to this rule. Its precise location and design have to date been matters of conjecture, while a great deal of what has been written about it is either inaccurate or inconsistent (or both). This article brings together for the first time all the available references to (and scholarly discussions of) the building. It combines the findings of recent archaeological work with a reassessment of the written sources to argue that the chapel's location within Savigny's monastic precinct was almost unique in the Cistercian world, with its closest parallels being found instead in the Cluniac one. These circumstances were born more of accident than design, but they nevertheless presented challenges for Savigny's medieval community, the consequences of which help shed light on wider issues relating to the use and reuse of Cistercian monastic spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Castle of Alcantarilla, also known as la Alcantarilla de Alocaz, or even Diego Corrientes after the eighteenth century bandit, is not in fact a castle but a Roman bridge fortified with two towers in the later Middle Ages. While the south tower survives in a lamentably degraded condition, the north tower has been entirely razed. Its history is well-studied by Fernando Bejines Rodríguez, and its general appearance is known from sixteenth and nineteenth century prints. Therefore, in light of this, what is presented here is new research that permits the reconstruction of the Medieval towers, informed by sketches by John Gardner Wilkinson from 1864, which also reveal previously unknown details. This is supported by accounts of other earlier British travellers. An architectural section through both towers is offered as a tool of inquiry to advance the understanding of their internal arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1408 Vienna's politics were traversed by violence. Dynastic conflict among the Habsburgs and internecine differences between residents culminated in executions and overthrows of the city's government. Concurrently, building work at the city's largest church – overseen by leading figures in its civic politics, also victims of one of the year's purges – slackened. It was a moment when high politics, architectural production and the everyday practice of urban life intersected in ways unusually visible to the historian. Historians have adopted different historiographical positions for positing medieval architecture as a socio-political phenomenon, based on unilateral acts of princes and churchmen, dynamics of class conflict, administrative techniques of project managers or shared 'imaginaries'. This article reflects on the events of 1408 using a new approach, taken from practice theory, to describe how the building site, reconceptualised as an open-ended bundle of doings and sayings, constituted and transformed the late medieval Viennese social. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses building contracts to understand late-medieval perceptions of quality in architecture. The focus of the paper is value judgements based on existing buildings, which were to be emulated or 'bettered'. The contracts for Magdalen College, Oxford are the central case study. This paper argues that 'good' in these contracts refers to the function of the building and the specifics of its design, and that other English and continental contracts also focus on the visible particulars of a structure. Such contracts make no reference to religious or political symbolism, rhetoric or iconography. It seems that, when closely engaged in the practice of building, medieval patrons and craftspeople showed aesthetic preferences of a precision not found in other sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Middle Ages, images had useful functions, particularly among illiterates. In holy places pictorial representations helped to instruct illiterates, making them understand the stories that were represented, recognize the Saints, and perceive the meaning of their attributes. The representation of a miniature model of a church associated with a saint often denotes that he had erected holy places as symbols of the 'building up' of the Church through the Doctrine and his own theological writings. A model of a town often refers to the town where the church holding the painting was located. A miniature model of a medieval town is usually offered to the Virgin by the patron saint of the city which is represented. This article intends to illustrate how the representation of an architectural miniature model, as the main attribute of a saint in medieval iconography, has influenced the process of remodeling lost architectures that have changed shape over the centuries due to reconstruction or restoration. Architectural miniature models, represented as an iconographic attribute of a saint, are shown in numerous 14th to 15th century paintings. The usefulness of a maquette, in remodeling both the aspect and the style of a structure, is underlined by impressively precise architectural details which characterize the suggestive and eloquent examples of maquette examined in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Octagonal layouts are widely used in medieval architecture. In Spain, the Cathedral of Valencia is an exceptional example because of its compositional arrangement and early date of construction. The study of this cathedral serves not only to propose the regulatory layout and geometric process to develop the transept, the ambulatory, and the dome but allows the empirical establishment of the complex properties and characteristics of the octagon. By surveying the planes with a 3D laser scanner, the graphic procedures used in the original design of the temple were verified, as were the geometric theories pertaining to the figure of the octagon in architecture, set by the golden ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nicosia Walled City, on the northern side of Cyprus, encapsulates historical imprints from various cultures and civilizations within its layered structure, despite being a divided city since 1974. Based on this beautiful Medieval sequence, this study investigates the implications of architectural design approaches aimed at incorporating contemporary architecture into this heterogeneous historic city to conserve its historical identity. While the threats facing this diverse built heritage composition are various, the changes brought about by design outcomes and development actions can be challenging. This is especially so when designers are obligated to adhere to conservation principles that clash with the city's character and that resort to design strategies that prohibit the addition of new layers. This study employed a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods and examined three case studies based on buildings that were erected during the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus period, spanning from 1983 to when the crossing began in 2003. This study's conclusions revealed that the design schemes negatively impacted the city's historical identity layers because the designers followed selective conservation principles that entirely concentrated on nostalgia rather than typological values. Rather than creating new layers, preferences energized this problem, and the designers' attitudes towards the place's heterogeneous character maintained the same context uniformity patterns. Efforts to add sequences of layers reflecting the identity of the present time and its perceptions were thwarted. These reductions in the historical layers, the subsequent transformations, and the current social–cultural necessities should stimulate individual determination and practical policy instruments. The tools proposed here will accommodate inclusive ideas that encourage fresh dialogues with the past, thus keeping the city's identity significant for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The IABSE Congress Ghent 2025, with the theme "The Essence of Structural Engineering for Society," highlights the significant role of structural engineers in creating reliable and sustainable structures that meet societal needs. The congress will focus on critical topics such as safety, reliability, serviceability, and sustainability, emphasizing the importance of designing structures that are innovative, understandable, and future-proof. Taking place in Ghent, a city known for its history of innovation and commitment to sustainability, the congress offers a platform for engineers to discuss how the construction industry can collaborate to address the climate emergency. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses the opening of the medieval lapidarium at the National History Museum of Transylvania in Cluj. The lapidarium showcases Renaissance frames and architectural elements that were arranged over a century ago. The article highlights the value of architectural heritage and the historical information that can be gleaned from these pieces. It also mentions the marginalization of lapidariums in museums throughout Europe and the importance of preserving and exhibiting these artifacts. The article concludes by noting the parallel between the lapidarium in Cluj and the one in Bucharest, as well as the significance of the exhibition in representing the history of the city. [Extracted from the article]

Encompassing harnessed spring water and drainage towards the river Vienne, and including the city’s fountains, Limoges is characterised by its vast underground water network which accompanied the growth of the city from antiquity and developed its ramifications during medieval and modern times. As well as its scale, this network is also remarkable for the rich documentation it has left, which is an invitation to examine its historic contours: data on regulations from consular archives, iconographical sources and maps from the modern period, but also archaeological evidence collated by the ArchéA association on Limoges’s underground networks. The confrontation of this different source material sheds light on problematics of hygiene in the medieval and the modern city and gives information about the material existence of public infrastructures such as aqueducts, fountains and drains. But it also gives information about private and domestic hygiene, based on evidence found in some of the city’s old buildings.

The present work focuses on the solid modeling of the church of Santa Sofia in Benevento, Italy, and is related to a multidisciplinary research project that involved methods typical to both the humanities and mathematical engineering. Starting from the history of the church and its current configuration, a twofold objective is pursued: to give a brief account of the methodology used to analyze and virtualize the main phases of Santa Sofia and to report on the problem of modeling the church vault complex. Indeed, the 3D modeling of the church presented different levels of difficulty with some parts very easy to draw and others calling for specific geometrical analysis. In particular, to reconstruct the complex system of vaults of the church, a home-made code based on remapping Coons patches was written. The resulting 3D models of the different archeological and architectural phases of Santa Sofia are an example of virtual heritage and, being a digital content, allow for immediate sharing both to the scientific community and to a general and nonexpert audience, keeping in mind that knowledge is the means used to ensure the enhancement and preservation of cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rosslyn Chapel, uncertainty, medieval history, heritage, precarity, doubt Some of these people were simply drawn by popular literature like I The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail i or I The Da Vinci Code i , and casually curious about Rosslyn Chapel as an alleged burial place for Templar treasures.[4] But some of these people were different. Keywords: Rosslyn Chapel; doubt; uncertainty; medieval history; heritage; precarity EN Rosslyn Chapel doubt uncertainty medieval history heritage precarity 327 331 5 08/02/23 20230801 NES 230801 Doubt is central to my work. [Extracted from the article]

The traditional architecture of any area embodies its true character, deeply rooted in the history, geography, and culture of that region. It does not only satisfy the functional requirements but also stems from local construction techniques and materials available. Traditional architecture faces the problem of its coexistence with modern technological development everywhere. The built heritage which stands in Lahore over centuries is encroached by modern and efficient techniques. The present paper specifically focuses on the development of Jharokha windows (Bay windows) in Lahore. The Jharokha window that was used in the Indian subcontinent during and after the Mughal period was the solution to the climatic conditions of the region. This research will investigate the old Jharokha window form and how with technology and advancement it starts losing its original form. The change in Jharokha form will be studied by the existing examples from different time periods available in the city of Lahore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks new perspectives on one of Central Europe's most important ensembles of late medieval art and architecture - the parish church of St. James in Levoča, where research on the furnishings as a system in sacred space has been hindered by the sparsity of written sources. By expanding the scope of enquiry to take in some unstudied sources from the Reformation period, it shows how a medieval topography and furnishings were retained and developed by a Lutheran congregation that proved unusually tolerant of traditional practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of TUBA-KED: Turkish Academy of Sciences, Journal of Cultural Inventory is the property of Turkish Academy of Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A study of the history of contacts between Novgorodian architecture and northern Europe in the late thirteenth to fifteenth centuries demonstrates that links in this sphere could hardly be described as constant. We can identify several impulses from outside, stages when western European architecture most strongly affected its early Russian counterpart (the 1290s–1310s and 1430s). This study shows that constructional and decorative elements imported from the architecture of northern Europe overlaid the local architectural tradition in Novgorodian buildings. Within a few decades, some of the new forms became customary, 'naturalized,' while others failed to gain the Novgorodians' acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article recounts the life and work of polymath and art historian Eric Schroeder. It highlights the contributions of Schroeder to the study of medieval Persian architecture and book painting in the 1930s and 1940s including his University Prints project which attempted to bring the core achievements of Islamic Art and architecture to college students, his publications about Islamic art, Islamic religion, culture and history, and research on Islamic and Persian paintings and architecture.

This article is a summary of two weeks of prospection in Armenia in June 2019. It aims not only to present the project and its objectives to a broad public but also to demonstrate the interest of a transdisciplinary approach to Armenian archaeology and paleography as well as the contribution of photogrammetry to research projects.