BY: Sofia Perez Mr.Giraldo The Columbus School 7*3.

CathedralsBY: Sofia Perez

Mr.GiraldoThe Columbus School

7*3

Introduction:• Since the Middle Ages, Cathedrals

have played an important role in history. They have represented Gods importance through architecture, which has religious meaning on their doorways, statues, towers , stained glasses and walls. The meaning of the word cathedral is cathedra, meaning seat, base or chair from the Greek kathedra. Cathedral is a Christian church which contains the seat of a bishop.

Major accomplishments:

• One of the major accomplishment was that it increased Christianity. People saw cathedrals as an inspiration for their daily lives. Christianity spread beyond the old borders of the Roman Empire .

• Faith became stronger• In those times people prayed,loved and

went to mass and adored God every day.

What made cathedrals famous?

• One thing that made cathedrals famous was size. Size depended on the town´s budget and bishops budget too. In other words, size meant the money that the whole town had including the bishop. Something else that made cathedrals important was the faith that people showed toward God.

• Faith became stronger because in the Middle Ages if you did not belief in the same God as everybody else, you were killed or executed.

Cathedrals architecture:

• In the Middle Ages, people made narrow windows, tall walls and really worked columns, and made magnificent paintings on the walls of the cathedrals without the benefits of modern tools and technology. Some of the materials that were used were mortar. It was a building material made by mixing lime, cement, with sand, water, and sometimes other materials; it was used in construction for joining stone and bricks and it was also used for plastering.

Continue of cathedrals architecture:

• In the middle ages gargoyles and sculptures were really important. In those times gargoyles meant the gardians of the church, cathedral or chapel . Cathedrals sculptures in the middle ages represented the agonies and passions of the Christian faith.

Pictures of cathedrals architecture:

stained glasses:

statues:

arches:

gargoyles:

Why are cathedrals important today?

• Cathedrals are important today because they show ancient history. They show the different beliefs, cultures and ways of living of this time. Cathedrals are important also because they help us understand God´s importance in christianity. During those times, people saw religion different as we see it today.

Some difficulties of the cathedrals:

• One of the difficulties of the church was the different understanding of religion because in the Middle Ages religion and beliefs should be the same for everybody. If someone had a different religion or belief, they would be executed or killed because of the differences. Another difficulty was the social classes because if the town members did not have enough money, cathedrals would not be big because the size of the cathedral depended on the town`s budget.

Failures:

• One of the failures was the amount of taxes charged by the church.

• People were really poor and couldn´t afford to pay these taxes.

• They had really limited resources. • This failure was slowly surpassed by

employment which was offered by the church and government to some towns people.

Benefits:

• Its people were united under one God• A specific place to talk and pray to God• Christian symbolism represented on walls,

statues and others give meaning to the essence of Christian life.

• Better understanding of God´s importance for Christianity

• Tourism has increased throughout time and made it possible for a better historical understanding of Christianity

Timeline:• 500 AD= Middle Ages Starts• 1091= Cathedral of San Salvador was built• 1163= Notre Dame cathedral was built in

paris• 1180= Wells cathedral was built in

Wells,England• 1220= Salisbury Cathedrals built in

Salisbury,Wiltshire• 1290= Orvieto Cathedral is built in Orvieto

Terni,Italy

Timeline continues:

• 1400= Middle Ages finished• 1402= Seville Cathedral was built in

Seville, Spain• 1522= Segovia Cathedral was built in

Segovia, Spain

Conclusion:

• In conclusion, cathedrals have been really important throughout history. They have given structure to Christian beliefs. The walls and paintings remind people about Jesus´s life.

Cathedrals represent God´s influence in architecture. These Gothic master pieces have united their people to adore and worship one God. • They were significant towers which served for

defense and signaling during war.

Bibliography:

• The Key to Gothic Art- architecture - Jose Brancos-pg.226

• Cathedrals-author: none -EBSCO search.

• Cathedral/ World Book Enciclopedia volume3-Samuel Edison + Otto G. Von Simons-pg.224,225

• Cathedrals in the Middle Ages-EBSCO search-author: none