byzantine syria & the centralised church - miles...

Byzantine Syria & the Centralised ChurchByzantine Syria & the Centralised Church

THE BASILICATHE BASILICAScala 7622 (©1972)

Santa Maria Maggiore

planmodern view

reconstruction

James Fergusson, The Illustrated Handbook of

Architecture (2 vols, London 1855), II, p 490

Scala 7622 (©1972)Richard Krautheimer, Rome: Profile of a City, 312-1308

(Princeton [New Jersey] 1980), p 48

St John Studios, Istanbul, 463: view & plan

Miles Lewis; Stewart, Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque, p 33

Metropolitan Church, Nessebar, Bulgaria, C5th-6th

Miles Lewis

Metropolitan Church, Nessebar

plan, apse exterior, synthronon

Velizar Velkov, Nessebur (Sofia 1995 [1989]), p 39

Miles Lewis

Hagios Demetrios, Salonika, late C5thEdition Photo Lykides, Thessaloniki, no 1

the Latin & Greek basilicasMiles Lewis

St Peter’s, Rome (Latin)H Studios, Constantinople (Hellenistic)

in the Latin basilica:

1. the plan is (at first) occidented, to the west, rather than oriented to the east

2. the atrium contains a fountain or cantharus for ritual ablutions before entering the building

3. there is a porch, formed usually by one side of the atrium, whereas in the Greek basilica there is a narthex, more open to the interior than the exterior

in the Latin basilica

4. the lighting is through the gable end, which may be square or pitched, and usually through three windows

St Peter’s, Rome, reconstruction (note the atrium,

cantharus and porch)MUAS 15,439

Sta Maria Maggiore, Rome(Latin)

Hagios Demetrios, Salonika(Hellenistic)

in the Latin basilica

5. there is commonly a colonnade dividing off the aisles, whereas in the east it is always

(except in the Studios basilica) an arcade.

6. there is a triumphal archbetween the nave and the apse

7. there is a raised platform or bema for the officiating clergy

St John Lateran, foundationsSt Peter’s, Rome, reconstruction

Sta Maria Maggiore(Latin basilicas)

in the Latin basiilica:8. there might be some sort of transverse

space at the sanctuary end, but never (until much later) a true transept: nor

was there in the Greek basilica

9. the altar was commonly portable -probably set up in the nave at first, but later it retreated to the apse, and was fenced off with a marble chancel rail

10. beneath the altar was commonly a confessio, or repository for holy relics.

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 11 MUAS 10,278

James Fergusson, The Illustrated Handbook of Architecture (2 vols, London 1855), II, p 490

early altarlocation

chancel rail

later altarlocation

(confessio below)

trans

vers

e sp

ace

in the Latin basilica11. at the back of the apse was the Bishop's throne, or cathedra (hence the word

cathedral): the Hellenistic basilica had a curved seat for the clergy, or synthronon, with the cathedra at the centre.

12. the apse was semicircular and domed. The Greek one was semicircular internally but polygonal externally, and was timber roofed

13. the whole plan was long rather than square in proportion

Latin & Greek basilicas

Miles Lewis

NORTHERN SYRIANORTHERN SYRIA

the limestone massif and

the two hundred dead

cities

Qirkbize, Northern SyriaMiles Lewis

Qirkbize, Northern Syria: bema & lecternMiles Lewis

Church, QirkbizeJean Lassus, The Early Christian and Byzantine World, p 12

Basilica A, Resafe, C5th: the bemaMiles Lewis

Northern Syriasouth courtyard; cistern or fountain; two south doors; central bema; iconostasis

Church and villa at Qirkbizé, isometric view, with the adjoining villa, and cutaway

view of the church

Georges Tchalenko, Villages Antiques de la Syrie du Nord : le Massif du Belus à l'Époque Romaine(3 vols,

Paris 1953), II, pl civ; pl x, 1

Cathedral of S. Thomé, Madras, India, C16thJ F Butler, 'India and the Far East', in Gervis Frere-Cook [ed], The Art and

Architecture of Christianity (Cleveland [Ohio] 1972 ) p 256, fig 2

JUDEA & JORDANJUDEA & JORDAN

ROME

JERUSALEM

BETHLEHEM

eastern Christian sites, C4th-C6th, with the locations of the great Constantinian basilicas

indicated MUAS 15,417

Church of the Nativity at Bethlehem, Jordan, 325-333 and laterinterior view & isometric reconstruction

Peter Bamm, The Kingdoms of Christ: the Story of the Early Church (London 1959), p 165Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, p 37

Church at Eleona, founded by Helena, C4th, as restored by Père L H VincentJ W Crowfoot, Early Churches in Palestine (London 1941), p 33

Ridge Church, Petra, allegedly late C5th, from aboveJane Taylor, Petra and the Lost Kingdom of the Nabateans (London 2001), p 206

Ridge Church, Petraallegedly late C5th

view west

atrium & cistern

Miles Lewis

Madaba: Church of the Virgin Mary, C6th, & Church of the Prophet Elias, 607

Michele Piccirillo et al, Byzantinische Mosaiken aus Jordanien (Vienna 1986), p 63

Madaba: Church of the Virgin Mary, C6th,& Church of the Prophet Elias, 607

Michele Piccirillo et al, Byzantinische Mosaiken aus Jordanien (Vienna 1986), p 65

Church of the Virgin Mary, Madaba, C6th: two sides of the ring cryptMiles Lewis

St Peters Basilica, Rome

isometric reconstruction & plan the west (liturgical east)

end as rearranged c 594

Toynbee & Perkins, The Shrine of St Peter, p 215

James Lees-Milne, Saint Peter's: the Story of Saint Peter's Basilica in

Rome (London 1967), p 80

St Peter's Basilica, cutaway perspective of the crypt area after c 594Krautheimer, Rome, p 86

Santa Prassede, Rome, c 817isometric drawing, showing the ring crypt

Krautheimer, Rome, p 123

Church of the Virgin Mary, Madaba, C6th, central mosaic AD 767: planMichele Piccirillo et al, Byzantinische Mosaiken aus Jordanien (Vienna 1986), p 140

Church of the Virgin Mary, Madaba: central mosaic AD 767Miles Lewis

CENTRALISED PLANS: THE BAPTISTERYCENTRALISED PLANS: THE BAPTISTERY

octagonal & similar baptisteries in

northern Italy & southern France

AlbengaNeversComoMilan

Ravenna (Orthodox)Ravenna (Arian)

LomelloNovara

S W Kostof, The Orthodox Baptistery of Ravenna (New

Haven [Connecticut] 1965), fig 12

Baptistery at Qalat Siman, c 476-90, and associated church, c 500, from southMiles Lewis

the Baptistery at Qalat Siman

Georges Tchalenko, Villages Antiques de la

Syrie du Nord: le Massif du Belus à

l'Époque Romaine (3 vols, Paris 1953), II, pl

lxxvi

font in the Baptistery at Qalat SimanMiles Lewis

THE MARTYRIUMTHE MARTYRIUM

a heroumMausoleum of Diocletian at Spalato or Split, 284: plan & elevation

Robert Adam, Ruins of the Palace of the emperor Diocletian at Spalatro in Dalmatia (London 1764)

a heroum / martyriumBasilica of SS Marcellinus and Petrus, with the mausoleum of St Helena (mother of

Constantine) originally intended for Constantine himself

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 40

a herooum /martyrium

Coemeterium Agnetis(cemetery of Sant' Agnese), with the

mausoleum of Santa Costanza, c 338-350,

and the church of Sant' Agnese fuori le

Mura, c 625-38

Mancinelli, Catacombs and Basilicas, p 50

Santa Costanza, interiorLassus, Early Christian and Byzantine World, pl 16

cruciform cruciform martyriamartyria

Martyrium of St Babylas, Antioch-Kaiuissie, c 378: plan

Richard Krautheimer & Spencer Corbett, 'The Constantinian Basilica of the Lateran', in Richard Krautheimer,

Studies in Early Christian, Medieval, and Renaissance Art (London 1971 [New

York 1969]), p 28

stylite saint, from an inscription at Qalbloze

Georges Tchalenko, Villages Antiques de la Syrie du Nord: le Massif du Belus à l'Époque

Romaine(3 vols, Paris 1953), III, fig 18

Martyrium church of St Simeon Stylites, Qalat Seman, Syria, c 460-80

view through north arm of the church reconstruction of the complex

Miles LewisLassus, Early Christian and Byzantine World, p 46

St Simeon Stylitesplan of church

plan of church complex

Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, p 112

St Simeon Stylitestwo reconstructions of the

church

Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, p 112

William Macdonald, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture (London 1968 [New

York 1962]), p 45

MadresehHalawaya,

Aleppo

Miles Lewis

the remains of a possible C5th martyrium church, later the Cathedral of St Helen, incorporated in the Madreseh Halawaya, Aleppo

reconstruction plan from S Guyer, 'La Madrasa al-Halâwiyya Alep', Bulletin de l'Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale de Caire, XI, 1914.

sketch plan of existing structures: Miles Lewis

Madreseh Halawaya, Aleppo: detail at impost levelMiles Lewis

wind-blown capitalsthe Madreseh Halaweyeh, Aleppo

Qalat Siman, c 476-490H Demetrios, Salonika, 500-550

Miles LewisKrautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, pl 45 B

Stewart, Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture, p 56

THE TETRACONCHTHE TETRACONCH

a Roman tetraconchthe Piazza d'Oro of Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli, 124, reconstruction

MUAS 13,933

San Lorenzo,Milan, c 370

front colonnade

plan

Miles LewisWilliam MacDonald, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture (London 1968

[New York 1962]), pl 37

S Lorenzo, Milanalternative reconstructions

planmodern view

Fritz Baumgart, A History of Architectural Styles (London 1970 [1969]), p 57

Paolo Verzone, From Theodoric to Charlemagne (London 1968 [1967]), p 35

MacDonald, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, pl 37Hubert, Europe in the Dark Ages, pl 8

S Lorenzo, Milaninterior as remodelled by Martino

Bassi, 1574-88view, ambulatory, plan

Lassus, Early Christian and Byzantine World, p 89Miles Lewis

MacDonald, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, pl 37

more tetraconch double shell(or nearly) plans

church or audience hall in the library of Hadrian, Athens, early C5th

probable Martyrium at Seleucia-Pieria (Samandag), late C5th

MacDonald, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, pl 38

Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, p 105

Resafe

Photo Horst Fiedler Sena Lobo

Resafe

Resafe, from the northMiles Lewis

Resafe: aerial view from the north-east

Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, pl 96

Martyrium or tetraconch church, Resafe, before 553

view from the east & plan

Miles LewisSoubhi Saouaf, Six Tours in the Vicinity of Aleppo (Aleppo 1957), fig 93

martyrium church, Resafe

interior view of the apse with vestigial synthronon &

cathedra

Miles Lewis

martyrium church, Resafe

nave seen through south conch

Miles Lewis

tetraconch plans

Martyrium, Resafe, before 553. Audience hall or library in

Hadrian's Stoa, Athens, early C5th.

San Lorenzo Maggiore, Milan, c 460.

Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture p 188.

MacDonald, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, pls 38, 37

SOUTHERN SYRIASOUTHERN SYRIA

the Hauran(basalt)

Secular Basilica at Shaqqa, AD C2nd

view & reconstruction by De Vogüé & Duthost

Miles LewisRobertson, Greek and Roman Architecture, p 238

Secular Basilica at Shaqqaplan & cross-section

H C Butler, Early Churches in Syria (Princeton [New Jersey]), pp 16, 17

Palace complex, Shaqqa,. AD C2nd: west or entrance front

Palace, Shaqqa

corner span in first court

the Western Tomb, AmmanC R Conder, The Survey of Eastern Palestine. Memoirs of the Topography,

Orography, Hydrography, Archaeology, Etc. Volume 1. – The 'Adwân Country(London 1889), p 44 & facing

Palace, Shaqqa: first hall

Palace, Shaqqa

the bluestone slab roofing system

fortified house, Shaqqa

doorway of ?mausoleum

fortified house, Shaqqa

mausoleum door & pivot detail

bluestone door in the

Archaeological Musem, Gadara, Jordan

Miles Lewis

chamber in the Southern Baths,

Bosra

J W Crowfoot, Churches at Bosra and

Samaria-Sebaste[British School of Archaeology in

Jerusalem Supplementary Paper 4]

(London 1937), pl 11

Flavian Palace or Domus Augustana, Rome, inaugurated AD 92: octagonal hall

Axel Boëthius & J B Ward-Perkins, Etruscan and Roman Architecture (Harmondsworth [Middlesex] 1970), 252

cloister vault of the Military Baths, BosraMiles Lewis

THE BOSRAN PARADIGMTHE BOSRAN PARADIGM

Cathedral at Bosra, plan as published by FergussonJames Fergusson, History of Architecture (2 vols, London 1867), II, p 307,

from E G Rey, Voyage dans le Harouan, 1863, pl iv

Cathedral at Bosra: Crowfoot’s excavation of 1935J W Crowfoot, Churches at Bosra and Samaria-Sebaste [British School of

Archaeology in Jerusalem Supplementary Paper 4] (London 1937), p 7

Cathedral at Bosra: plan with tetraconchCrowfoot, Bosra and Samaria-Sebaste, pl 2

St Hripsime, Vagarshapat, Armenia, 618: planHamilton, Byzantine Architecture, p 144

St Hripsime, Vagarshapat: Miles Lewis

Church at Garni, Armenia, AD C6th-7thview of partly reconstructed foundations

Miles Lewis

Cathedral Church of the Vigilant Powers, Zwartnots Armenia, AD 641-666Miles Lewis

Cathedral Zwartnots : reconstruction & plan

Christina Maranci, 'The Architect Trdat',Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, LXII, 3 (September 2003), p 299

Cathedral at Bosra

photograph taken by an American

expedition in 1875

sketch by de Vogüé in 1862

Crowfoot, Bosraand Samaria-Sebaste, pl 1

Cathedral at Bosra

sketch by de Vogüé in 1862

Detweiler’sreconstruction

1935

Crowfoot, Bosraand Samaria-Sebaste, pl 1

Cathedral at Bosra, plan and

reconstruction by Detweiler

Crowfoot, Bosra and Samaria-Sebaste, pl 2

Cathedral at Bosra: interior looking eastMiles Lewis

Cathedral at Bosraplan

Crowfoot, Churches at Bosra and Samaria-[?Seraste]

detail of the south wall(marked orange on plan)

Miles Lewis

Cathedral at Bosra

existing plan and possible prior form

Cathedral at Bosra

existing planprevious plan

probable original plan

Miles Lewis

Cathedral, Bosra

detail of a column

Miles Lewis

Church at Apamea,. Syria: apse detailMiles Lewis

Ch

Churches at Gerasa [Jerash]J W Crowfoot,

Early Churches in Palestine (London

1941), p 97

churches at Bosra and

Gerasa

church at Gadara. JordanMiles Lewis

St George, Ezraa, Syria, c 515

south-west viewapse

interior

Miles Lewis

St George, Ezraa

plan & section

Cecil Stewart, Early Christian, Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture (London

1954 [1905/8]), p 63, after De Vogué

St George, Ezraa

roofing of the ambulatory

HH Sergios & Bakchos, Constantinople, 527-36

front viewplan

south-east view

Miles LewisG Dehio & G von Bezold, Die Kirkliche Baukunstdes Abendlandes (2 vols, atlas in 5 vols, Stuttgart

1887-1901)MUAS 15,451

HH Sergios & Bakchos

plansouth flank

Swift, Roman Sources, p 46Miles Lewis

HH Sergios & Bakchos: interior© Paradoxplace.com.

from HH Sergius & Bakchos to Hagia Sophia Miles Lewis

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, AD 532-7Miles Lewis

Resafe, from the north

Miles Lewis

Qirkbize, Northern SyriaMiles Lewis

Qirkbize, Northern SyriaMiles Lewis