Part 2: Building The Great Cathedrals

After the opulence of the Greek and roman structures there was a period where the architecture took a backburner in the minds of men. Yet in the late Middle Ages rising cathedrals became a popular way of worshiping god. However, these cathedrals held engineering secrets that made it possible to achieve the tall stained-glass walls that are common in gothic cathedrals today. All Gothic Cathedrals share common features such as arched ceilings, stain glass walls, flying buttresses, and sculped statues decorating the exteriors. In the NOVA documentary ‘Building the Great Cathedrals’ architects and engineers unlock the ancient secrets of how these colossal structures were built. In a castle site called Guedelon archaeologists are “building to understand” … Guedelon… “it’s an experimental archaeological site, and the idea is to get as close as [they] can to the reality of the medieval construction work.” (citation). With the insights gleamed out of this archaeological some of the secrets of how they moved the large stones used in medieval gothic cathedrals becomes known. What is most impressive is how these cathedrals are steeped in the mystic legend of the temple of Solomon from the Christian bible. Each follows the dimension depicted in the bible of “thirty Royal feet for the lower level, and thirty Royal feet for the higher level” (citation). This is a significant finding because it means the great cathedrals were model after more ancient structures like the temple of Solomon, that doesn’t remain today, but may have in the past.

References:

Tiffany, S., & Glassman, G. (2010, October 9). Building the Great Cathedrals. PBS.Org. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/building-the-great-cathedrals/