The Medieval Period

The Roman Empire had crumbled and Christianity was rising in strength. The world was in unrest and the architecture of the time reflects that. Furnishings had to be easy to move from place to place. Main rooms were relocated to the first floor, while the ground floor was used for storage or to keep the animals. There were not a lot of windows and the ones that were there were small. Sometimes they were decorated with stained glass that could be removed for safekeeping.

During this time brick was used as a principle construction material and they also dressed their buildings in costly marbles. There was still a central hall that had numerous uses. Again the furniture was often being moved to accommodate these different purposes. A hammer beam roof was needed to span the huge space. Some places had stone vaulting that might be painted a deep blue with stars. This room had a large fireplace that might be decorat

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They were replaced by smaller, simple buildings and the fragmented space replaced unified interiors of basilica.

Churches came to be built in the shape of a Latin cross. Fortification lessened when peace settled in (15th century). On the upper part of the wall you might have seen a frieze of figures or other decorations. It is likely that there was no seating and curtains were used to separate aisles. They used geometrical forms to produce designs with visual impact. They just were no longer practical. In India they went from temples cut out of rock to free standing structures decorated with intricate details. Windows might have had a glaze on the upper parts and heavy brightly painted wooden shutters. They had silver and gold coloured mosaics on the wall and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. In Germany we see roman influenced design such as columns and arches, concrete and brick. There was a separate room for baptism, a private mausolea, and a martyna where they could preserve the memory of saints and martyrs. As time passed more rooms were added.

Common topics in this essay:
Roman Empire, Christian Churches, Moslems Africa, Palace Constantinople, Medieval Period, Zisa Palermo, silver gold coloured, gold coloured, church design, medieval period, painted wooden, silver gold,

Approximate Word count = 1021
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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