A
thousand years ago as the world approached the year 1000 there
were dire predictions that the millennial year would mark
the end of the world. But the year 1000 came and the world
did not end. Something else began -- the greatest advance
in the building of centers of worship that the world has even
seen.
Notre
Dame, Paris, one of the world's best-known Cathedrals
Cathedrals began to arise across Europe that stand majestically
till this day. It would be fascinating to know what percentage
of the economy of their time that church building represented.
Beyond doubt, it would be staggering to compare what it would
mean if a similar percentage of our economy were devoted to
the honor and worship of God. Between 1050 and 1350 in France
alone, over 500 large churches were built and 1,000 parish
churches, so that there was a church or chapel for every 200
people. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, more
stone was quarried in France for building churches than had
been used in all the buildings of ancient Egypt.
In
style the earliest of these churches later came to be known
as Romanesque. Descended in form from the ancient Roman basilica,
which was a large meeting hall or law court; an altar was
placed at the rounded apse at one end, where the raised platform
for the presiding magistrate once was. The walls of the Romanesque
churches were heavy and thick with few windows. Such churches
created a feeling of solidity and repose. Bright tapestries
along the walls with gilding and jewels on statues and chalices
attempted to brighten the dark interiors.
The
New Style Disdaine:
By the middle of the twelfth century, a new style of church
came into prominence which men of the Renaissance looked down
upon and labeled "Gothic" -- a nice way of saying"barbarian."
Many of the European cathedrals flocked to by tourists today
are Gothic in style. In an age when the vast majority of the
people were illiterate, the Gothic cathedrals and churches
became a kind of Bible, opening a spiritual world to the masses.
As soon as one walks into a Gothic cathedral, the soaring
architecture draws the eye upward to heaven, for the church's
purpose was to draw the soul away from the things of earth.
The walls of the Gothic cathedrals were thinner and lighter
than Romanesque structures. External "flying buttresses"
supported the walls, and the stonework seemed to lose its
massive weightiness. Stained glass windows, which began to
be manufactured in the twelfth century, allowed colored light
to illuminate the interior. The style of pointed arched windows
was adopted from Arabia. Some said the point was to keep the
demons from finding a resting-place in the church.
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How High Can You Go?
The building of the cathedral was a community affair and a
matter of civic pride. Cities competed with each other for
which could have the tallest spire. When Notre Dame de Paris
soared to 114 feet, Chartres built to 123 feet and Amiens
followed with 138 feet. Beauvois tried for 157 feet, but the
vault collapsed and the people ran out of money trying to
build. Each church had its wealthy patrons, but ordinary citizens
too contributed sheep, poultry, cheeses, animal skins and
vegetables to the building of their cathedral. While the cathedral
was under construction an entire village of workmen would
be established at the site. Roads would be constructed to
quarries, and even rivers were diverted to provide transportation
for the heavy materials.
It
Took Generations to Build!
Most cathedrals took over a century to build, with several
generations becoming part of the building. Salisbury Cathedral
is unusual in that it was completed in less than 50 years,
though the famous spire was added later. The Cologne Cathedral,
considered by some the most perfect specimen of Gothic architecture,
undoubtedly took the longest to build. The foundation stone
was laid in 1248. By 1437 one of its towers was finished to
one-third of its present height, but at the time of the Reformation
its roof was still covered with boards. When the original
plans of the cathedral were discovered in the nineteenth century,
the completion of the cathedral became a national undertaking.
The cathedral was completed in 1880, over 640 years after
construction first began!
The
Center of Town:
Not
only the building of the cathedrals, but the cathedrals themselves
became a focal point of community life. The market was usually
near the cathedral and townspeople often conducted business
inside the church. At Chartres, the labor exchange was in
the transepts while the crypt sheltered pilgrims and the sick.
Plays were often staged on the cathedral steps. Yet the primary
purpose of the cathedral was worship. Historian Philip Schaff
wrote that "The great cathedrals became a daily sermon,
bearing testimony to the presence of God and the resurrection
of Jesus Christ." It lifted the people's thoughts to
spiritual things. The ample spaces filled with sunlight through
the stained glass "reminded them of the glory of the
life beyond. . . . The strong foundations and massive columns
and buttresses typified the stability of God's throne, and
that He hath made all things through the Word of His power."
William Durand in the thirteenth century, in a book summing
up medieval liturgical lore, wrote that "Pictures and
ornaments in churches are the lessons and Scripture of the
laity."
 The
very form of the cathedral, with its long nave crossed by
the transept before the altar, was in the shape of a cross.
The Church was the Body of Christ and the physical church
building could be a reminder of that spiritual truth, with
the altar as the head, the transept the arms and hands, and
the nave and aisle as the rest of the body. The long length
of the nave was a reminder of longsuffering, which endures
adversity; the breadth was Christian love; and the height
was a hope of future reward. Durand even found a lesson in
the church's mortar, composed of lime (fervent love), sand
(earthly toil), and water (the Spirit, which unites the other
two ingredients): "As stones of the wall would have no
stability without mortar, so man cannot be set in the walls
of the heavenly Jerusalem without love, which the Holy Spirit
brings."
The
Bible in Pictures:
The
altar of the church usually faced east, towards Jerusalem
and the rising sun. The main entrance was thus on the west
side, the numerous carvings at the west entrance all had symbolic
import. The statues of saints, both Biblical and local, meaningfully
decorated the church. Often a vivid portrayal of Christ at
the Last Judgment warned of the eternal Hell that awaited
those outside the Church. Inside the cathedral, the stained
glass windows were the divine Scriptures "which repel
wind and rain but admit the light of the true sun." The
stained glass windows, sculptures, frescoes, and paintings
all contained instructive scenes from Scripture and church
history. Symbols were often used in these portrayals. Fire
referred to martyrdom or religious fervor; a lily symbolized
chastity; the owl, a bird of darkness, was Satan's emissary;
and the lamb was Christ our Sacrifice. Sometimes the allegories
might be quite complex, such as parallel windows of types
and anti-type. A window depicting Adam leaving paradise might
be opposite one of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Reflection
should draw the analogy between the man going down from Jerusalem
to Adam leaving Paradise. The man fell among thieves, which
were analogous to the seven deadly sins. The priest and the
Levite, analogous to the Old Testament law, provided no help,
while the Samaritan was a type of Christ bringing healing
and redemption. The very ornateness of the cathedrals spoke
of the wealth of God's grace and foreshadowed the glories
of the New Jerusalem.
The
Center of Life:
All the important events of life took place in the medieval
church -- from baptism, confirmation, and marriage to the
burial in the church grounds. Yet, worship was ceremonial
and the common people could only watch, not participate. The
priest performed the ceremony of the Mass at the altar, which
was elevated and separated from the people standing in the
nave. A rood screen often separated the priest and the altar
from the congregation. A professional choir sang the Gregorian
chants and polyphonic music. The people largely watched the
rituals of the increasingly powerful and wealthy clergy. The
Reformation arose in part in protest to the worship of the
medieval cathedral and church. Not content with an allegorical
and symbolical Bible in stone, the Reformers sought to return
the written Bible and worship itself to the people. Many hundreds
of cathedrals remain in Europe today, however, as a reminder
of a day when the church was the most powerful authority and
the house of God was the most important building.
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