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qeb=_^o_^of^k=`riqrobp=lc= kloqebok=brolmb Department of Construction UW Stout Jason Charalambides qeb=_^o_^of^k=tloia The importance of migrations in cultural change. The migration period of the 1st millennium. The role of the barbarians in the collapse of the Roman Empire: the example of Britain. The Dark Ages. Major barbarian groups: Germanic groups, Celts, Slavs, and Scandinavians. The mixture of Barbarian groups in Britain: The Britons: The Roman rule, 43 – 410; the attacks by the Germanic groups, principally the Saxons. The Saxon shore forts. Hill forts. King Arthur 1 qÜÉ=_~êÄ~êá~å=tçêäÇ After 43 AD Romans took over Britain. They had reasonably dense urban civilization. This contact brought many changes to the people of England. Under the Romans, England had a flourishing urban life, and Christianity appeared….. qÜÉ=_~êÄ~êá~å=tçêäÇ In 367 there was a conspiracy and the Romans were thrown out by the Barbarians, and after they came back they only lasted until 410. So Britain fell out of the architectural and urban orbit of the Mediterranean. Commercial network and urban civilization that tied the Roman Empire together changed forms in England. The inhabitants of England were building a lot, had a very distinctive landscape, and had a great deal of cultural and economic energy, but not built monumental masonry buildings. 2 qÜÉ=_~êÄ~êá~å=tçêäÇ There was a variety of tribes and groups who can be broken down to several large ethnic entities. One is the Celts from Western Europe which were pushed further west toward Britain and Ireland, and Brittany in France. Another is the Germanic groups, like the Saxons, the Angles, the Franks, and the third major group is the Scandinavian, from the Scandinavian peninsula, and finally the fourth one was the Slavic group. qÜÉ=_~êÄ~êá~å=tçêäÇ In Iron age Britain, in the late BC, the islands were inhabited by the Britons and the Celts. The Britons were building hill fronts, which were fortified constructions on the top of the hills with ditches around, covering enormous areas. When the Romans invaded in 43 AD the hill fronts disappeared but were revived after the Romans withdrew. The Romans built a whole series of forts primarily on the southern shore called Saxon Shorefronts. 3 qÜÉ=_~êÄ~êá~å=tçêäÇ After the Romans were thrown out, the Britons hired Saxons to fight the Celts. The Saxons rebelled against the Britons and the Britons ended up fighting both fronts for the control of the island, like King Arthur who was a Briton. So there was a fragmentation including things thrown in by many groups of people. So England was divided into small kingdoms all fighting one another with different ethnic compositions and heritage. Yet due to contacts there were similarities shared amongst all of these groups. elrpbp Pit houses vs. above-ground housing made of timber. Anglo-Saxon farmsteads and agricultural hamlets (exs.: reconstruction at West Stow, England, and archaeological excavation at Chalton, England). Scandinavian longhouses and walled villages with greens. Boat-shaped longhouses (ex.: excavated house at Vorbasse. Denmark). Slavic log buildings and Icelandic turf houses. Life in a longhouse. 4 eçìëÉë The first thing to look at is houses and how they built. Northern Europe’s climate is appropriate for wooden buildings. Monumental masonry came in very late! Most people building these buildings in wood were farmers and were building houses with the vertical elements stuck directly into the ground in different ways. That was a remarkably long lasting building technique in N. European vernacular tradition. So the structural system is what unites all those buildings together although there were variations in size and shape. elrpbp In the Germanic and British areas there were relatively small houses, usually double square, with pairs of posts supporting the roof having plans similar to a basilica, with a major area in the center where the columns were, and the major room with another smaller room on the end. 5 elrpbp The Scandinavians were using the same basic structural system, and functions, but had a slightly different layout. They were long narrow houses that accommodated not only family but also their animals, and they incorporated storage areas. They were using the isle structure which was a series of posts inside the wall, run either side, supporting the roof truss. elrpbp The traditional building material was wood but when it was unavailable, an alternative was the use of earth. So there was some variation in the building technology with the presumption that builds mainly in wood. There were the same kinds of domestic and farming functions, with houses with few spatial divisions. There usually was a living space, a major gathering space, a place for eating, and a space for sleeping. In the gathering space there was a position between the two pillars which was called the rightful seat for the owner, and opposite the owner in a similar seat was the place for the guest of honor. So those pillars became the symbol of the house. 6 elrpbp The houses in the middle ages were quite large but almost unfurnished because people were mobile. They would mostly have things that they could carry or wear. bifqb=ifcb Stratification in northern societies. Nobles' halls iex.: 5-6C hall at Cadbury [Camelot?], England). Fondness for fine jewelry, weapons. Pottery. Northern decoration. Writing. Boat burials (exs,: Sutton Hoo, Suffolk. Eng., mid 7C Anglo-Saxon burial; Viking burial at Oseburg, Norway). The importance of seafaring. 7 bifqb=ifcb Although there was a hierarchy among the people in these tribes, there were distinctly close ties among the elite and the peasants, in comparison to other stratified societies. There was a fairly complex culture that built those relatively plain buildings. bifqb=ifcb At a site called Cadbury, a building was found and it is suggested that it is Camelot. It is very similar to the farm houses with the only difference being in size. The partition of the public and the private spaces is done by the position of the door. 8 bifqb=ifcb This house is also isled, like the other farmhouses, and it has separate kitchen, Great halls like it seemed to be the preferred form of living of barbarian rulers of all ethnicities. This kind of architecture is set off by site instead of material and decoration. Apparently the barbarian kind of imagery of refinement and luxury was embodied in other kinds of material like jewelry and weapons. bifqb=ifcb The barbarians developed systems of writing which primarily copied the Roman Alphabet. Much of what we know about the rulers of those barbarian kingdoms comes from their graves. There were many ways the barbarians would treat their dead amongst which cremating them, burying them in the sea or in the earth but a very common kind of burial practice was the skip burial like that which was found in Sutton Hoo in Suffolk dating 7th cent AD. 9 bifqb=ifcb It was excavated in 1939 and it turned out to be one of fifteen similar that were found. It was built on a hill top visible from a distance, overlooking a river flowing into the sea. It is thought to be the tomb of a king called Redwal who died in 625. He was given an 85 ft used ship with his insignia and personal things that he would need in the afterlife. (The boats were not symbolic but real used boats they were using for burials even though they might have been very expensive to build.) bifqb=ifcb There was a great importance on the sea. Boats were important elements in cultural context; by developing them they got a great amount of power. But there was more to that. Depicted in the art, the architecture, the literature, are other things. Even though the sea is the medium that allows you to get everywhere, it is also a very fearful and unknown option. The ship is not only the means of transportation but also the survival. 10 jfifq^ov=`lkpqor`qflk Military construction. Ring forts (cashels and raths), Ireland; circular fortified houses and villages of the Slavs; Viking military camps. (ex.: Trelleborg, Denmark, 10-11C). Walls: Offa's Dike, 8C, England; Danevirke, begun 737, Denmark. jfifq^ov=`lkpqor`qflk Another thing that ties the barbarians together is the ethic of the warriors of ferociousness. Hence some of the most conspicuous architectural works that were left from the barbarian culture are defensive works; and again, although there was a great variety there was architectural unity. Most of those defensive moves were made out of earth, were round, and had different scales, command, or individual home scale. 11 jfifq^ov=`lkpqor`qflk In Ireland there were dozens of thousands of depressive enclosures from that period. An ideal example of a certain kind is the Cashel that was made out of stone. But on the east of Ireland, a similar thing was walled with earth, a ditch, with a wooden palace on top. Most of those were about 60 ft in diameter but there were a few that reached 400 ft with triple walls for larger communal gatherings. There was also a third kind that was built on artificial islands in the middle of lakes. There are variances of the same kind of idea that were built by Slavs, Scandinavians, etc. jfifq^ov=`lkpqor`qflk By taking a step ahead, we find another type of circular enclosure as it was seen found in Denmark. An example is the Trelleborg (1011 cent). Those were circular having four entries laid in right angles, enclosing boat shaped houses. Danevirke was a great wall that started as a ditch and was enlarged and extended between the time it was built in 390 AD until 737 AD. It was 4 miles long with a palace inside and it ended up such an effective defense that the Danes used it in 1864 in a battle. 12 obifdflk Pagan religions in the north; the Norse gods: Odin. Thor, Frey, Freya. The Christianization of northern Europe. Irish monasticism: small monasteries in remote places: Skellig Michael. Co. Kerry, 8-9C (corbelled stone cells/clachains), Gallarus oratory Dingle (BC). Other elements of the Irish monastery: scriptoria. defensive towers (ex.: St. Kevin's tower, Co. Wicklow). Christian buildings for England: nave-and»chancel churches (ex.: St. Laurence, Bradfond~nn-Avon. c. 80?-~note porticus). Christian/pagan synthesis: post-in-the-ground construction (ex.: St. Andrew, Greensted-juxta~Ongar, Essex, Eng.. 845) and Norwegian stave churches. Principal exs. shown: Lund cathedral. 120; Berglund church. Sogn, 12C. obifdflk There were contrasts in Viking culture. Sometimes the Vikings blended their legitimate trade with military exports, moved around establishing colonies, capturing people etc. They used the sea primarily but also the land for trade, making it all the way down to Constantinople and establishing trade with Byzantium. They used to call Byzantium Griechenland, and their trade reached Asia and Africa. 13 obifdflk This kind of moving around, although not reaching the Roman standards of trade and commerce, was very effective. Most of the Barbarians were polytheistic pagans. When Christians came in they built on top of the pagan religious sites attempting to eradicate evidence of pagan religion. obifdflk Christianity went to Northern Europe from Mid East by the monasticism that was practiced by Eastern Christians. It was this movement of Christianity that converted the first barbarians. When they begun to gather they would gather in tiny communities sharing just a few facilities. St. Patrick …. Example of monasticism in the island of Ireland. The model is the Cashels, monks living in those stone buildings. 14 obifdflk Example of monasticism in the island of Ireland. The model is the Cashels, monks living in those little stone buildings. Defense was one of the most essential necessities for places like this where monasticism would be practiced. There were many things that had to be shared but defense was the most important, because of the Vikings and other Raiders. So great round towers like St. Kevin’s tower were built so that they would function as watch towers. qeb=_^o_^of^k=tloia Even though there was the introduction of a new religion from away, the architectural forms were based on barbarian tradition. So was also the pattern of the material culture. Pagan elite life was built with elaborate jewelry and plain buildings, and in the same way the buildings remained. 15 qeb=_^o_^of^k=tloia The Irish expansionism of Eastern Christianity that took place in the 6th century reaching Britain alarmed the Popes and Pope Gregory sent Saint Augustine to England.. Even though Roman Christianity was adapted, it was questionable if it was in a pure form. The Architecture of nave and chancel churches like St. Laurence and Bradford on Avon 8th cent. Was based upon the northern architectural model. The extent and commitment is even further questionable since there were superstitious religious practices. qeb=_^o_^of^k=tloia There was a continuation of building with posts in the ground as in St. Andrews church. That was a technique deeply embedded in the vernacular architecture that even though monuments of the past religions were built in that manner, the new religion had to follow the same style. 16