Amiens Cathedral: An Engineering Marvel That Surpassed Divine Aspirations - Essay Sample

Introduction

While the extreme height of the Gothic cathedral's original intention was to draw parishioners closer to the divine, these structures also became a reflection of community power and ambition. In many cases, this ambition ultimately led to the collapse of these engineering realities overtook divine aspirations. Amiens is a fantastic cathedral that has managed to survive so many wars. It is so tall fro, outside, and it towers above any other building in the area. It is situated in a great square, with some lovely places to sit and have a drink nearby. Beauvais Cathedral is a roman catholic church in the northern town of Beauvais, France. The construction is of the Gothic style. It consists only of transept and choir, with apse and seven polygonal apsidal chapels.

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The height of these features is impressive. Beauvais cathedral measures 72.5 meters at its full length, and the transept is 58.6 meters. Amiens cathedral, on the other hand, is 42.30 high and 70 m wide .it had one spire of the height of 112.7 m. These structures, however, may be termed as risky construction. The original design of buttresses flying around the choir which was placed too high to provide counteractive forces from the ceiling arch on the outside. The result was a lot of lateral forces on the vertical columns.

A magnificent memorial of architectural work is evident, a testimony to the great time when the structures came to be. The cathedral of Beauvais is not complete and comprises of the sixteenth-century transept and an even older choir dating to the thirteenth century. The remains of the former temple, which is now much redeveloped and refurbished, acquired the name Notre-Dame de Basse-Oeuvre, a magnificent structure to the West of Gothic. Initial work had concentrations upon aisles on the east side for the arms of the transept and the choir's exterior envelope. When construction was resumed, the more daring architect saw the development of the whole east end, the central arcade piers, and the parts on the upper side. As a result of the inclusion of the additional structural adjustments and the mismatch of the second campaign, the collapse of 1824 happened.

The Amiens diocese was suffragan of the Reims archdiocese of the old; the diocese was made subsidiary to the Paris diocese under concordant of 1801, from 1802 to 1822; and then in 1822, it went back to its status under Reims again. Beauvais diocese faced with five years-long periods of ecclesiastical, social, and political discord. The discord involved Archbishop Manasses of Reims, Joannes of Saint Anastasia, Bishop Ivo of Chartres, two papal legates, Benedict of Saint Pundeziana, Pope Paschal 11, and King Philip 1. After the death of the Bishop of Beauvais, Bishop Ansellus, there was evidence of two conflicting parties in the election process to find the successor. During the construction, funding was provided by the family of bishop Milo of Montreuil.

The restoration works of the grand Organ of Amiens cathedral took place in the 19th century. The environment was first revisited before the work began. It was becoming urgent to consider related jobs around the organ during the restoration, to provide an appropriate setting for the instrument and ensure that it is presented well, that it is showcased, that its hygiene conditions are protected. Between 1935 to 1937, the Roethinger firm was entrusted with restoring, complete and reassemble a particularly damaged instrument. Minor changes were then made between 1965 to 1966. At the time, the organ had 58 stops. The tie rods on the Beauvais were removed in 1960; the thinking was that they were not graceful and undesired. Afterward, the tie and rods were erected back, only changing the material of the rod from the previous to steel. With the property of steel being lesser ductile as compared to iron, the rigidity of the structure improved, and that even caused the occurrence of more fissures.

Amiens and Beauvais's cathedrals are historical sites that should be conserved. Their unique architecture is a show of beauty that should be conserved. They are also historical sites for the Catholics, providing need to be conserved.

The alignment of the cathedral church of Beauvais is well outlined below:

The craggy of the second campaign and introduction of some structural "adaptation."

The above is the part of the weaknesses that result in the collapse of the spire, and three levels of bell tower fall in, this took place in 1284 as the upper vault of the main cathedral church subside. However, reconstruction commences afterward, and only the first arch was built.

An Incomplete Cathedral Church

The initial plan was to get funds to rebuild the transept vault and did not allow for building of the vault, and hence it stopped. Lacking the nave made it unique in comparison to other cathedral churches; also, they plundered the interior and defiled the church, making it temple devoted to reason.

A Very Fragile Monument

The absence of the nave to the west made the structure fragile, with the choir being very weak, the pillar shifted. The authorities were forced to act fast and ended up installing numerous trusses for reinforcement. Scaffolds were introduced to add more support coupled with roof restoration processes.

War Halting the Construction of the Cathedral

The hundred years of war hindered the construction of the cathedral church. However, the church did not suffer too much from the war conflict. The blockade of Beauvais by Charles the Bold caused less damage to the edifice, after the construction of the choir, works on the transept started at the instigation of count-bishop Luis and under the direction of the architect Martin Chambiges. The architect built the transept in the modest style, but Chambiges died before the completion of his work; his successor built the roof of the turrets in the renaissance style.

The Construction of Spire Instead of the Nave

The religious authorities gave preference to the construction of the spire as compared to the nave, this vague idea emerges after completion of the transept and led to the huge contribution to the fall of the cathedral. The architect behind the massive construction of the spire had to make it that size to beat other huge buildings, and it earned the title of the most towering building globally. Three levels of the bell and the spire collapsed immediately after conclusion. The attempts at construction of the nave went on regardless and thus the Beauvais stays underdeveloped

The Bombing of the Cathedral of Beauvais

Damages were reported on the cathedral but there was no any sign of collapse.

Methodological background

Political Context: Bishops in Power Controlling the Construction

In this era, there was a division of numerous kingdoms and also city-states. The holy empire of Rome controlled significant parts of present Europe. The papacy had appointed the local rulers to exercise autonomy. The Amiens and the Beauvais came to its existence in a time that there was a flourishing trade competition amongst regions. The civic building was a sign of pride and wealth across Europe. The architecture being feudal in the construction of these cathedrals, the Roman papacy under them, did influence the way and manner the installation was carried. The feudal lords appointed the bishops, and they, therefore, oversaw the construction by controlling on its operations.

Economic Context: How Were These Funded

In the building of these structures, there was a procedure that was raised in the coming up of the money to run the day to day needs. The prominent families of those times saw the funding of the constructions of these church cathedrals. As the period reeled from Romanesque to this new construction, the members were put in a system of tithe collection and donations that were given by this upper-class personnel. The manner of contributions was commonly referred to as ablution, and it is through it that the significant funding was obtained.

Costly Mistakes in Clashing Construction Styles

The gigantic structure reached a view that there were initially limit of certain materials for construction process and expertise to man the building process. There were specific factors of weakness in its design. Some of these factors include:

• 1. Inadequate foundation, piers which were too widely spaced
• 2. The faulty design of certain units in the main vault and superstructure, the upper piers of the central vessel, and the intermediary upright of the flying buttresses.
• 3. Inadequate foundation, docks were too widely spaced; the faulty design of certain units in the upper superstructure in the main vault leading to the weakness of the structure.
• 4. Tall, slender aisle piers were a source of weakness at Beauvais.

Go Over the Damages From the Partial Collapse of the Two Cathedrals

The damages from the partial collapse included effects on the square bay of the choir, which was a result of the excessive spacing of the piers. The partial collapse was a minor affair, and it was quickly repaired, leaving no traces of architectural alterations on the building. There is also very minimum account on what happened during the partial collapse of the structures, and that is the reason there is no much talk about it.

Cover the Restoration Projects That Have Ensured These Structures Still Exist

The restoration processes that have led to the structures being able to even stand include reinforcements on the structures and the repainting processes. The architecture and the artillery of the times when the structures were built were employed as new technology and architecture would prove hard to use. The projects involved further training to the modern masons on the way the structures were built in the beginning to make sure the most intricate of the details were incorporated in the restoration process.

Go Over the Findings That Modern Engineers Have Seen as They Work on Keeping the Buildings Stable

Modern architects found out that there are were clashes in architectural designs. The designs had some mismatch because of the conflicting ideas of the two architects. When one of the architects died, the remaining one was forced to continue the work and do it according to the specifications previously agreed upon because of the inconvenience caused. The modern architects have tried to come up with separate ideas to revamp and refurbish the remains of the structures with the aim of getting back the original magnificent structure.

The Importance of the Large Gothic Structures

From its development from the Romanesque architecture, the Gothic architecture is the flowering of Christian art and theology as well as the Christianity out of the ancient Roman stories and the Greek Civilization. The buildings represent Christendom, an entity that united Christians in Europe for about 150 years before the years of Revolution Age, which came with the birth of the Protestants. The Gothic structures, therefore, remain standing in Europe as a symbol of a united Europe, a unity that existed for an extended period before the revolutions started. It is an example used to explain that loyalty to one's church faith and doctrines is possible without necessarily having to identify oneself with uniforms or anything as such. It was proof of the balance that existed between diversity and unity between different people.

The architecture was the purest forms of expressing the artist in the Gothic period. The principal characteristics of the Gothic structures were birthed by the masons of that time need to come up with structures and ways to support massive ceilings and vaults over a wide range of space. The masons aimed at creating a lighter and tallest of buildings with the most straightforward form of architecture that will impress people. The other aim of constructing such tall buildi...