READING COMPREHENSION 3

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 AMIENS CATHEDRAL                    V.S.                    SALISBURY CATHEDRAL


Both of the cathedrals being based on gothic style architecture, Amiens cathedral being the tallest completed cathedral in France. Amiens cathedral contains the largest medieval interior in Western Europe, supported by 126 pillars. Both the nave and the chancel  are vast but extremely light, with considerable amounts of stained glass surviving, despite the depredations of war. The ambulatory surrounding the choir is richly decorated with polychrome sculpture and flanked by numerous chapels. One of the most sumptuous is the Drapers' chapel. The cloth industry was the most dynamic component of the medieval economy, especially in northern France, and the cloth merchants were keen to display their wealth and civic pride. The interior contains works of art and decoration from every period since the building of the cathedral.
The main body of the Salisbury Cathedral was completed in only 38 years, from 1220 to 1258. The cathedral has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom 404 ft. The Salisbury cathedral clock is the oldest working modern clock in the world. The clock has no face because all clocks of that date rang out the hours on a bell. It was originally located in a bell tower that was demolished in 1792. Following this demolition, the clock was moved to the Cathedral Tower where it was in operation until 1884. The clock was then placed in storage and forgotten until it was discovered in 1929, in an attic of the cathedral. It was repaired and restored to working conditions. Although nearly as long as Amiens Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral is only 78 feet wide. Its nave is 37 feet wide with vaults 81 feet high, so the ratio of width to height is just 1 to 2.2, much less than Amiens Cathedral. 

                                                      

AMIENS CATHEDRAL                  V.S.                     COLOGNE CATHEDRAL

For these cathedrals I compared the floor plans and they both looked very similar, both cathedrals are based on gothic architecture.  The Cologne cathedral is one of the world's largest churches and the largest gothic church in Northern Europe. For four years, 1880-84, it was the tallest structure in the world until the completion of the Washington Monument,  It has the second tallest church spires surpassed by the Amiens Cathedral (404) ft. 

The great twin spires are said to have been used as an easily recognizable navigational landmark by Allied aircraft raiding deeper into Germany in the later years of the war (World War II), which may be a reason that the cathedral was not destroyed. It has been claimed that in June 1945 American troops used the cathedral as a rifle range.

 


AMIENS CATHEDRAL                      V.S.                FLORENCE CATHEDRAL 


This particular cathedral integrated more sophisticated features and techniques that english and french cathedrals did not have. The Florence cathedral incorporated various features of the renaissance period and was not based on gothic architecture, but based on mathematical principles and numerical relationship to make buildings more symmetrical. Florence Cathedral is built as a basilica, having a wide central nave of four square bays, with an aisle on either side. The chancel and transepts are of identical polygonal plan, separated by two smaller polygonal chapels. The whole plan forms a Latin cross. The nave and aisles are separated by wide pointed Gothic arches resting on composite piers. The cathedral most distinguished among the two because of its innovated dome and the science that domes contained as well as the frescoes painted on the ceiling. Above the main door is the colossal clock face with fresco portraits of four Prophets or Evangelists by Paolo Uccello 1443. This one-handed liturgical clock shows the 24 hours of the "hora italica" which means italian time,  a period of time ending with sunset at 24 hours. This timetable was used till the 18th century. This is one of the few clocks from that time that still exist and are in working order. The church is particularly notable for its 44 stained glass windows, the largest undertaking of this kind in Italy in the 14th and 15th century. The windows in the aisles and in the transept depict saints from the Old and the New Testament, while the circular windows in the drum of the dome or above the entrance depict Christ and Mary. They are the work of the greatest Florentine artists of their times, such as Donatello, Lorenzo Ghiberti, Paolo Uccello and Andrea del Castagno.


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The ancient arrangement of domestic Medieval Architecture Interior with one large chamber or hall is preserved in most of the buildings from the Medieval Period. The hall was a prominent feature in every building, even in farm houses. It usually occupied the whole of the central part of the house, sometimes from the ground to the roof; in other instances there were cellars or low rooms under it.  The floor of the hall was either of stone or of tiles, covered with straw or rushes. 

As described by Roth in page 346, two floor plans are shown (lower and upper floors), these floor plans illustrate how the kitchen, court, shop, bed chamber, and the family's room were in relationship to each other.
The kitchen was frequently a detached building, either of a square or rectangular form, connected with the hall by a passage or alley leading from the screens. The kitchen seems to have been generally on the ground floor, and as distinct as possible from the other buildings, as a security measure against fire. It was usually vaulted, and in some instances seems to have been under the hall, the vault in such cases being considered as sufficient security. There were usually two or more kitchens in the larger castles. A great kitchen and kitchens are frequently mentioned. Many of the kitchens of this period were large, with fire-places and chimneys of massive brick-work. The furniture appears to have been of the rudest construction and was probably the produce of domestic handicraft. The tables were rough boards laid upon trestles, and the seats mere three-legged stools. The kitchens contained also the ovens, and sometimes even forges were erected in them, as everything necessary for the use of the household was provided on the spot. Besides the kitchen there were two offices necessary to the preparation of the dinner, namely the buttery and the pantry. They were placed as near as possible to the hall, their usual position being behind the screens, one on each side, sometimes with a passage or staircase between them leading to the kitchen. One was used for the distribution of bread, and the other for the distribution of wine