Lecture 30: Cathedrals and Chapters
• Much like the earlier basilicas that were adapted from the Roman
royal halls, the basic floor plan of medieval cathedrals was simple
and allowed for many variations.
o The front entrance (usually with multiple doors through a
highly ornamented façade) gave access to the long rectangular
nave (from navis, “ship”), where the people gathered. Gazing
upward at the ceiling of such a cathedral gives the unmistakable
sense of being in an upside-down ship. Thus, the architecture
supports the allegorical reflections on the church as the ship
of salvation.o The nave, in turn, leads to the apse or chancel, which was the
area for the performance of the Mass—the sanctuary. Here was
located the great chair of the bishop and the high altar; from
the pulpit on the edge of the sanctuary, Scripture was read and
sermons were preached.o The nave and the apse increasingly were separated, much in
the manner of the iconostasis in the East, by the rood screen, on
which was the representation of the Cross of Christ, as well as
images of saints.o Perpendicular to the nave were the transepts, wings to the
right and left that gave the cathedral its typical cruciform
appearance. In the transepts were often ambos containing side
altars; altars were found also in the crypts of cathedrals.• The Gothic cathedrals in particular display a range of plastic and
decorative arts.
o The stonemasonry attests to both exquisite craftsmanship and
sophisticated engineering to raise edifices of stone to such
great heights.o The famous rose windows and other forms of stained-glass
windows often elaborated realistic representations of biblical
scenes, creating a “Bible for the illiterate.” Every scene of
Christ’s life was depicted in glorious color, together with rich