OVERVIEW
of Architecture and Design

The Ideal Face of the Society.

Change has been a constant of human societies as long as history has been recorded, and the six centuries of the Middle Ages were a period of dynamic transitions and developments in architecture. Europe in 1400 bore little resemblance artistically, economically, politically, or technologically to Europe in 800, although each succeeding generation and century built upon the achievements of its predecessors. As might be expected, architecture offers a complex reflection of the collective concerns of medieval European society, as well as a localized guide to the character and tastes of specific regions or institutions. One twentieth-century French scholar wrote that "architecture is the expression of the very being of societies," but he was also careful to note that architecture represents the ideal face of that society. These structures were erected not only to serve useful purposes as places of worship or residence, but they were, at the same time, visual arguments that were intended to persuade. These important buildings show clearly who had the power and was able to gather the resources of materials, men, and money necessary for their construction. They also reveal the activities and values that were most highly prized and the issues that were deemed the most urgent. Rather than focusing attention on art museums, corporate skyscrapers, or sports stadiums as is common today, the most extravagant medieval architecture was concentrated on churches, aristocratic palaces, and defensive structures.

Combining Roman and Christian …