Architecture. Зайцева И.В. - 44 стр.

         The construction of feudal castles first started in earnest, however,
with the Norman conquest. To keep the Anglo-Saxons in subjection, the
Norman built castles both for symbolic (like the Durham castle commanding
a view of the burnt up villages of the North) and practical purposes (like the
Tower of London meant to be William’s own fortified residence).
         The thick-walled castles of the feudal nobility, with round or square
towers rising the whole length of the building, pierced by narrow windows
that served as shooting apertures, formed a conspicuous feature of the times.
Christian ideology was predominant in feudal Europe, and England was no
exception to the rule. The feudal establishment was vitally interested in
instilling a belief in the infallibility of the faith, in the greatness of the church.
Architecture flourished after the conquest became churchbuilding also. The
majority of the cathedrals and monasteries were built late in the 11th and early
in 12th cc. Primarily by French architects and craftsmen in the so-called
Romanesque style. They were vast affairs, usually with a tall central part. The
arches were round, with a lot of brickwork decoration, beak-head edges and
chevron design. The building seemed to be weighed down to the ground by
the solidity of its round-arched shape, though powerful-looking, as the
cathedrals were meant to be by the abbots and bishops who organized the
construction. They evoked mixed feelings, however, for one couldn’t help
wondering at the might of human genius that went into the building.
         Later on Gothic architecture was introduced, again from Romanic
countries, France first of all. It was a style harmoniously blending
architecture, sculpture and pictorial art. The western facade of the cathedral
buildings was in fact a sculptured surface, mostly with symbolic biblical
figures and later on realistic folk-lore features.
         Art historians usually distinguish three periods of Gothic architecture
in England. Early English, with pointed arches and arrow-like windows and
tall tapering turrets and steeples and pinnacles that seem to uplift the whole
structure. An early English cathedral produces an impression of soaring into
the air; it seems to be ready to take off and leave the sinful earth bellow.
Salisbury cathedral is usually shown as an example of pure Early English
Gothic.
         Later into 13th c. the so-called Perpendicular Gothic was introduced,
with a lot of parallel-placed tall perpendicular shapes and lines emphasizing
the upward-directed movement of the structural rhythm; King’s College
Chapel in Cambridge is often taken as a typical instance. The 14th c. brought a
deterioration of the Gothic style, the so-called “Decorated Gothic” where the
purity of the Gothic outline is marred, or in any case obscured, by numerous
decorations making the whole somewhat gaudy or at least florid. Stained glass
with religious themes was an important ingredient of Gothic church
architecture.
         In the long run, the Norman kings did much to centralize power and
unite England into a state. There were great changes in the material life of the
population.
         Life was already safer and consequently could be made more
comfortable for the rich than in the early Norman period when the wealthy