THE IMAGERY OF THE GOTHIC CATHEDRAL: A HIEROTOPIC APPROACH
This paper studies the iconicity of Gothic cathedrals using the hierotopic methodology developed by Alexei Lidov. The genesis of early Gothic church architecture is viewed as a newly emergent type of a sacred space, distinct from that of the preceding Romanesque period. Hierotopy analyzes the creation of sacred spaces in terms of “image-paradigms”, or guiding imagevisions, which both give form to the sacral ensemble as a whole and encapsulate its central meaning. The image-paradigm of Heavenly Jerusalem, as often associated with medieval cathedrals, occupies the central focus of the paper. I examine three principal sources of influence at work in the Gothic re-vision of this paradigmatic iconic image: the development of an urban way of life, the emerging notion of historical progress and the onset of secularization. I argue that the renewed architectural icon of the Holy City epitomized both the external features and the very spirit of the medieval city. Its rhythmic linear structure embodied the march of historical time (which continued to be viewed as sacred history and a way to salvation), and its composite make-up gave shape to the urban motto, “unity in diversity”, a de-facto foundational principle of Western civilization. By focusing in particular on the Gothic hierotopic project of the Saint-Denis cathedral, I discuss the motivations of those championing the new architectural style, and, more broadly, I compare Byzantine and Western visions of iconicity in order to bring to light characteristic features of the Gothic aesthetic.
Keywords: Gothic architecture, Heavenly Jerusalem, hierotopy, iconicity, image-paradigm
References:
Averintsev 2004 –Averintsev S. S. Gold in the symbolic systi of early Byzantine culture. Averintsev S. S. Poetics of early Byzantine literature. Saint Petersburg, 2004. P. 404–425. In Russian.
Bauer 2009 – Bauer R. De ontvoering van God. De betekenis van de gotische kerkarchitectuur. Leuven: Davidsfonds, 2009.
Bauer 2010 – Bauer D. The design of space in Gothic architecture. URL: https://www.acadiia.edu/1698848/The_Design_of_Space_in_Gothic_Architecture
Constable 2010 – Constable G. The Abbey of Cluny: A collection of essays to mark the eleven-hundredth anniversary of its foundation. Berlin: Verlag Dr. W. Hopf, 2010.
Jestice 1977 – Jestice P. G. Wayward monks and the religious revolution of the eleventh century. Leyden: Koninklijke Bril, 1997.
Klein 2013 – Klein B. The beginning of Gothic architecture in France and its neighbors. Gothic. Architecture; sculpture; painting. Potsdam: H. F. Ullmann, 2013. P. 28–115.
Le Goff 1981 – Le Goff J. La naissance du Purgatoire. Paris: Gallimard, 1981.
Lidov 2006 – Lidov A. M. Hierotopy. The creation of sacred spaces as a form of creativity and subject of cultural history. Hierotopy. The Creation of Sacred Spaces in Byzantium and Medieval Russia. Ed. by A. M. Lidov. Moscow, 2006. P. 9–31. In Russian.
Lidov 2009 – Lidov A. M. Hierotopy. Spatial Icons and Image-Paradigms in Byzantine Culture. Moscow, 2009. In Russian.
Lidov 2014 – Lidov A. M. Icon. World of sacred images in Byzantium and Medieval Russia. Moscow, 2014. In Russian.
Ohotsimsky 2016 – Ohotsimsky A. D. Image-paradigms in religious culture. Voprosy Culturologii (Questions of Cultural Studies). 2016. 8. P. 36–44. In Russian.
Panofsky 1957 – Panofsky E. Gothic architecture and scholasticism. N. Y., 1957.
Panofsky 1992 – Panofsiky E. Abbot Suger of St.-Denis. Translation into Russian. Theology in the culture of the Middle Ages. Kiev, 1992. P. 79–117.
Prache 1993 – Prache A. Notre Dame de Chartres. L'image de Jerusali celeste. Paris: CNRS Editions, 1993.
Recht 2008 – Recht R. Believing and seeing. The art of Gothic cathedrals. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
Sedlmayr 1951 – Sedlmayr H. Die Entstehung der Kathedrale. Zurich, 1950.
Stookey 1969 – Stookey L. H. The Gothic Cathedral as the Heavenly Jerusali: Liturgical and Theological Sources. Gesta. 1969. Vol. 8. No. 1. P. 35–41.
Wilson 1990 – Wilson C. The Gothic cathedral. London: Thames and Hudson, 1990.
( 6.13 MB ) 
( 6.09 MB )
Issue: 3, 2016
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: ARTICLES
Pages: 9 — 24
Downloads: 1349