Main entry:

Bandmann, Günter.

Title & Author:

Early medieval architecture as bearer of meaning / Günter Bandmann ; translated, with an introduction, by Kendall Wallis ; afterword by Hans Josef Böker.

Publication:

Description:

xii, 354 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Notes:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 307-341) and index.
[Table of Contents] -- Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Bearing Bandmann's Meaning: A Translator's Introduction / Kendall Wallis -- 1. The Problem of Meaning in Architecture -- The Essence of Meaning -- The Medieval Work of Art -- Aesthetic Meaning -- The Current State of Research on Symbolic and Historical Meaning in Architecture -- Sources and Methods: The Sources -- Sources and Methods: The Methods -- 2. The Symbolic Meaning of Buildings According to Written and Visual Sources -- The Written Sources -- The Role of the Bauherr -- The Medieval Copy -- Historical Consciousness in the Middle Ages -- The Standards of Medieval Architectural Theorists -- The Intended Purpose -- The Allegorical Meaning -- The Church as Heavenly City -- The Visual Sources -- The Formal Consequences of Allegorical Meaning -- The Meaning of the Keystone -- The Column as Tree -- The Column as Figure -- City and Castle as Model of the Church -- The Two-Towered City Gate -- The City Wall -- The Three-Tower Group -- The Niche-Portal -- The Three-Arched Opening -- Summary -- 3. Historical Meaning -- Tradition and Habit -- Turning Toward Historicity -- State, Religion, and Law -- Sacred Kingship -- Writing -- Portaiture -- Images of Events -- The Demarcated Area -- Dwelling, Tomb, Temple -- Building in Stone -- The Holy Place -- Spolia -- Axial Arrangement Within a Structured Area -- Axial Arrangement Within a Building -- The Effects of Historical Meaning -- The Emperor and Architecture -- The Transept as Throne Hall -- The Cruciform Tomb -- The Three-Chambered Layout -- The Architectural Baldachin -- The Transept Basilica and Cruciform Basilica of the Franks Before Charlemagne -- The Central-Plan Building -- The Westwork -- Tendencies of the Western Imperium -- The Beginnings of Norman Architecture in Relation to the Architecture of the Empire -- The Roman Idiom of the Western Imperium -- The Double Choir -- Architectural Ornament -- The Emperor's Rivals -- The Roman Curia -- The Monastic Orders -- The Italian Cities -- Bishops and Regional Lords -- The "Nations" -- 4. The Decline of Symbolic and Historical Meaning -- Reform and Secularization -- The Predominance of Artistic Tendencies -- The New Awareness of Space -- Summary -- Afterword / Hans Josef Böker -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index.
Translation of: Mittelalterliche Architektur als Bedeutungsträger.

Summary:

"First published in Germany in 1951, and now finally available in English, Günter Bandmann's classic Early Architecture as Bearer of Meaning has had tremendous influence on architectural and medieval historians. Breaking away from the positivistic approaches dominant at the time, Bandmann moved beyond purely aesthetic interpretations to consider the religious, political, and sociological factors that shaped the development and reception of medieval architecture. He pays close attention to how various architectural forms took on certain political, spiritual, and aesthetic meanings and how these meanings were transmitted and codified. The result is a work that continues to open up new ways of understanding medieval architecture and the society from which it arose. Bandmann analyzes the architecture of those societies in Western Europe up to the twelfth century that aspired to be the heirs to the Roman Empire. He examines the occurrence and recurrence of basic architectural forms not as stylistic evolutions, but as choices made by patrons. Those responsible for the buildings' existence - be they lords, monastic orders, cities, or other individual or collective patrons - chose architectural forms based on their meanings and the values these patrons wished to promote. Looking at a range of buildings and churches throughout Europe and offering detailed analyses, Bandmann discusses sources for structural elements and forms and follows their development, combinations, flowerings, and fading. In considering the evolution of an architectural iconography, he explores a variety of questions: To what degree did the meanings of architectural types change during the Middle Ages? How did the forms developed during Antiquity change after the rise of Christianity? In what ways did religious and political leaders make different choices? What was the relationship of local aesthetic traditions to international architectural types?

Resources:
E-book - Full text from EBL

ISBN:

0231127049 (cloth ; alk. paper)
9780231127042 (cloth ; alk. paper)
0231127057
9780231127059
9780231501729
0231501722

Subject:

Architecture, Medieval.
Symbolism in architecture Europe.
Christian art and symbolism Medieval, 500-1500.
Decoration and ornament, Architectural Europe.
Decoration and ornament, Medieval.
Architecture médiévale.
Symbolisme en architecture Europe.
Art chrétien 500-1500 (Moyen Âge)
Décoration et ornement architecturaux Europe.
Décoration et ornement médiévaux.
Christian art and symbolism Medieval
Decoration and ornament, Architectural
Symbolism in architecture
Europe

Holdings:

Location: Library main 242539
Call No.: BIB 172342
Status: Available