title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: The posterior part of the arch presents above and behind a rounded edge for the attachment of the posterior atlantooccipital membrane, while immediately behind each superior articular process is the superior vertebral notch ("sulcus arteriae vertebralis"). This is a groove that is sometimes converted into a foramen by ossification of the posterior atlantooccipital membrane to create a delicate bony spiculum which arches backward from the posterior end of the superior articular process. This anatomical variant is known as an arcuate foramen.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: This groove transmits the vertebral artery, which, after ascending through the foramen in the transverse process, winds around the lateral mass in a direction backward and medially to enter the vertebrobasilar circulation through the foramen magnum; it also transmits the suboccipital nerve (first spinal nerve)


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: On the under surface of the posterior arch, behind the inferior articular facets, are two shallow grooves, the inferior vertebral notches. The lower border gives attachment to the posterior atlantoaxial ligament, which connects it with the axis.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: The lateral masses are the most bulky and solid parts of the atlas, in order to support the weight of the head.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: Just below the medial margin of each superior facet is a small tubercle, for the attachment of the transverse atlantal ligament which stretches across the ring of the atlas and divides the vertebral foramen into two unequal parts:


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: This part of the vertebral canal is of considerable size, much greater than is required for the accommodation of the spinal cord.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: The transverse processes are large; they project laterally and downward from the lateral masses, and serve for the attachment of muscles which assist in rotating the head. They are long, and their anterior and posterior tubercles are fused into one mass; the foramen transversarium is directed from below, upward and backward.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: Of these, one appears in each lateral mass about the seventh week of fetal life, and extends backward; at birth, these portions of bone are separated from one another behind by a narrow interval filled with cartilage.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: Between the third and fourth years they unite either directly or through the medium of a separate center developed in the cartilage.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: At birth, the anterior arch consists of cartilage; in this a separate center appears about the end of the first year after birth, and joins the lateral masses from the sixth to the eighth year.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: Occasionally there is no separate center, the anterior arch being formed by the forward extension and ultimate junction of the two lateral masses; sometimes this arch is ossified from two centers, one on either side of the middle line.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: Foramen arcuale or a bony bridge above the vertebral artery on the posterior arch of the atlas may be present. This foramen has an overall prevalence of 9.1%. Arch defects refer to the condition where a gap or cleft exists at the anterior arch or posterior arch of the atlas. The prevalence of the posterior arch defect and anterior arch defect was 0.95% and 0.087%, respectively. The anterior arch defect may be presented along with posterior arch defect, a condition known as combined arch defect or bipartite atlas.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: Craniocervical junction misalignment is also suspected as a factor in neurodegenerative diseases where altered CSF flow plays a part in the pathological process.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: A rear-end traffic collision or a poorly performed rugby tackle can both result in the head being whipped back on the shoulders, causing whiplash. In minor cases, the anterior longitudinal ligament of the spine is damaged which is acutely painful for the patient.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: In more severe cases, fractures can occur to any of the cervical vertebrae as they are suddenly compressed by rapid deceleration. Again, since the vertebral foramen is large there is less chance of spinal cord involvement.


title: Atlas (anatomy)

text: The worst-case scenario for these injuries is that dislocation or subluxation of the cervical vertebrae occurs. This often happens at the C2 level, where the body of C2 moves anteriorly with respect to C3. Such an injury may well lead to spinal cord involvement, and as a consequence quadriplegia or death may occur. More commonly, subluxation occurs at the C6/C7 level (50% of cases).


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: The Ten-Point Program or The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense Ten-Point Platform and Program is a party platform written by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale in 1966 for the Black Panther Party.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: The Ten-Point Program is a set of guidelines to the Black Panther Party and states their ideals and ways of operation, a "combination of the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence."


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: The document was created in 1966 by the founders of the Black Panther Party, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale, whose political thoughts lay within the realm of Marxism and Black Nationalism. Each one of the statements were put in place for all of the Black Panther Party members to live by and actively practice every day. The Ten-Point program was released on May 15, 1967 in the second issue of the party's weekly newspaper, "The" "Black Panther". All succeeding 537 issues contained the program, titled "What We Want Now!."


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: The Ten Point Program comprised two sections: The first, titled "What We Want Now!" described what the Black Panther Party wants from the leaders of American Society. The second section, titled "What We Believe," outlines the philosophical views of the party and the rights that African Americans should have, but are denied. It is structured similarly to the United States Bill of Rights of the U.S. Constitution.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: "What We Believe" expands on the first section, making demands of what will be deemed sufficient payment for the injustices committed against the Black Community. For example, one section states that, "We believe that this racist government has robbed us and now we are demanding the overdue debt of forty acres and two mules. Forty acres and two mules was promised 100 years ago as a restitution for slave labor and mass murder of black people". It continues to state that "We will accept this payment in currency which will be distributed to our many communities." Newton and Seale believed that the Black community had been deprived of these benefits over the years, and that the only way to correct this injustice was in repayment of assets that had been lost to them over many years of slavery.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: The ten-point platform was important for the Black Panther Party because it laid out the "physical needs and all the philosophical principles" they expected and that could be understood by everyone. When Huey Newton talked about the platform, he stated that these things were not something new but something that "black people have been voicing all along for over 100 years since the Emancipation Proclamation and even before that." This platform was essential to the party, because it allowed for them to state their wants, needs, and beliefs that people could read and easily understand.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We believe that black and oppressed people will not be free until we are able to determine our destinies in our own communities ourselves, by fully controlling all the institutions which exist in our communities.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We believe that the federal government is responsible and obligated to give every person employment or a guaranteed income. We believe that if the American businessmen will not give full employment, then the technology and means of production should be taken from the businessmen and placed in the community so that the people of the community can organize and employ all of its people and give a high standard of living.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We believe that this racist government has robbed us and now we are demanding the overdue debt of forty acres and two mules. Forty acres and two mules were promised 100 years ago as restitution for slave labor and mass murder of black people. We will accept the payment in currency which will be distributed to our many communities. The American racist has taken part in the slaughter of over fifty million black people. Therefore, we feel this is a modest demand that we make.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We believe that if the landlords will not give decent housing to our Black and oppressed communities, then the housing and the land should be made into cooperatives so that the people in our communities, with government aid, can build and make decent housing for the people.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: 5. We want education for our people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. We want education that teaches us our true history and our role in the present-day society.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We believe in an educational system that will give to our people a knowledge of self. If you do not have knowledge of yourself and your position in the society and the world, then you will have little chance to know anything else.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We believe that the government must provide, free of charge, for the people, health facilities which will not only treat our illnesses, most of which have come about as a result of our oppression, but which will also develop preventative medical programs to guarantee our future survival. We believe that mass health education and research programs must be developed to give all black and oppressed people access to advanced scientific and medical information, so we may provide ourselves with proper medical attention and care.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: 7. We want an immediate end to police brutality and murder of black people, other people of color, all oppressed people inside the United States.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We believe that the racist and fascist government of the United States uses its domestic enforcement agencies to carry out its program of oppression against black people, other people of color and poor people inside the United States. We believe it is our right, therefore, to defend ourselves against such armed forces, and that all black and oppressed people should be armed for self-defense of our homes and communities against these fascist police forces.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We believe that the various conflicts which exist around the world stem directly from the aggressive desires of the U.S. ruling circle and government to force its domination upon the oppressed people of the world. We believe that if the U.S. government or its lackeys do not cease these aggressive wars that it is the right of the people to defend themselves by any means necessary against their aggressors.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: 9. We want freedom for all black and poor oppressed people now held in U.S. federal, state, county, city and military prisons and jails. We want trials by a jury of peers for all persons charged with so-called crimes under the laws of this country.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We believe that the many black and poor oppressed people now held in U.S. prisons and jails have not received fair and impartial trials under a racist and fascist judicial system and should be free from incarceration. We believe in the ultimate elimination of all wretched, inhuman penal institutions, because the masses of men and women imprisoned inside the United States or by the U.S. military are the victims of oppressive conditions which are the real cause of their imprisonment. We believe that when persons are brought to trial that they must be guaranteed, by the United States, juries of their peers, attorneys of their choice and freedom from imprisonment while awaiting trials.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: 10. We want land, bread, housing, education, clothing, justice, peace and people’s community control of modern technology.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume, among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: The Ten-Point Program formed the basis for the Black Panther Party and was seen as the governing document that defined the actions of the Party. In addition, a highly symbolic photo of Huey P. Newton was circulated alongside the Ten Point Program. He is wearing the famous Black Panther black cap, tilted to the side, and covering his right ear, and dressed in the standard Black Panther uniform. "He sits comfortably, but alert, his feet positioned, ready to stand."


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: In 1970, Newton shifted the focus of his political activities from Black Nationalism to "intercommunalism," seeking to unite and empower all disenfranchised groups. In 1972 the Ten Point Program was modified to reflect this changing focus—for instance, adding a demand for completely free health care — leading to tension within the party. The Party had changed from merely focusing on Blacks themselves to now focusing on more minority groups and how to improve their lives. Focusing on injustices, they began to see their struggle as one that many people faced.


title: Ten-Point Program (Black Panther Party)

text: The Ten-Point Program was ultimately unsuccessful, though it played a meaningful role in the development of the civil rights movement in the United States during the 1960s. The Ten-Point Program also influenced the political outlook of those who came of age in the post-civil rights era and the hip-hop generation. Notably, Tupac Shakur, the son of former Black Panther Afeni Shakur, loosely based his philosophy of T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E.—"an attempt to codify practices that could reduce violence in the Black community and restore dignity to humiliated, disrespected, and disowned Black men"—on insights from the Ten-Point Program.


title: Dancing on Ice (series 14)

text: The fourteenth series of Dancing on Ice began airing on ITV on 16 January 2022. During the finale of the thirteenth series, it was announced that "Dancing on Ice" had been renewed for another series. The series was once again filmed in the purpose-built studio at Bovingdon Airfield, which was set up for the tenth series. Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby returned as the hosts. Christopher Dean, Jayne Torvill and Ashley Banjo returned as judges for their fifth series, whilst it was announced on 3 October 2021, that John Barrowman would not be returning to the judging panel. In December, "Strictly Come Dancing" professional Oti Mabuse was confirmed as Barrowman's replacement. Arlene Phillips also joined the panel as a guest judge for Musicals Week on 20 February.


title: Dancing on Ice (series 14)

text: Schofield tested positive for COVID-19 on 31 January and was therefore unable to present the fourth live show on 6 February. Stephen Mulhern therefore co-hosted alongside Willoughby instead. Alex Crook also replaced Sam Matterface as commentator for the same show, due to the latter commentating the 2021–22 FA Cup Liverpool v Cardiff City match. Willoughby tested positive for COVID-19 on 13 March and was unable to present that evening's show. Schofield therefore presented the semi-final episode on his own.


title: Dancing on Ice (series 14)

text: The series final was postponed by a week due to the 2021–22 FA Cup Nottingham Forest v Liverpool quarter-finals match which took place on 20 March. The final therefore aired on 27 March, with Regan Gascoigne and his professional partner Karina Manta winning the series.


title: Dancing on Ice (series 14)

text: On 26 October 2021, it was announced that Vicky Ogden, Hamish Gaman and Klabera Komini would not be returning for the fourteenth series. Gaman revealed via social media that he had been axed from the series due to producers wanting to "freshen the lineup" of skaters. The axed skaters were replaced by three new professionals; Colin Grafton, Morgan Swales and Tippy Packard. Packard received a celebrity partner, whilst Grafton and Swales appeared in the professional group routines.


title: Dancing on Ice (series 14)

text: On 4 October 2021, Sally Dynevor and Bez were announced as the first two celebrities to be participating in the series. More celebrities were revealed throughout the following days, before the line-up was concluded on 12 October.


title: Dancing on Ice (series 14)

text: This table only counts for dances scored on a traditional 40-point scale. The scores from week 6 are weighted to work on the same scale, and the extra points from the Skate Battle are not included.


title: Dancing on Ice (series 14)

text: Due to Vanessa Bauer testing positive for COVID-19, Brendan Cole performed with Brendyn Hatfield for this week.


This page is a collection of VFL/AFL premiership and grand final statistics. The Australian Football League (AFL), known as the Victorian Football League (VFL) until 1990, is the elite national competition in men's Australian rules football. Each year, the premiership is awarded to the club that wins the AFL Grand Final. The grand final has been played in all VFL/AFL seasons except for 1897 and 1924 (where the premiership was awarded without a grand final being played), and has been an annual tradition in its current format since 1931.


title: VFL/AFL premiership and grand final statistics

text: Since the introduction by the League of equalisation policies of a salary cap and draft in 1987, every team currently competing in the Australian Football League (except for , which has not yet qualified for a finals series as of 2022) has qualified for a grand final. This has had a significant impact on the spread of premierships: since 1990, fourteen clubs have won a premiership, compared with only five clubs between 1967 and 1989. and have won the most VFL/AFL premierships, with a total of 16 each. Of the teams currently competing in the Australian Football League, only , Gold Coast and – three of the competition's four newest clubs – are yet to win a premiership.


text: The following tables summarise the different premiership droughts for each club. The first table is limited to droughts lasting fifty or more seasons, while the other three are specific to each club (two of which span the entire competition, including all 21 teams). The duration of the drought is given as the number of full seasons contested between premierships; the season in which the drought is broken is considered to be part of the drought, and if the drought began from a club's entry to the league, the club's inaugural season is also considered to be part of the drought. Grand final replays are not included in grand final appearances.


text: The following table summarises the most common grand final match-ups (not including grand final replays).


text: This table summarises premierships won at all levels of the VFL/AFL competition: the seniors, seconds/reserves (1919–1999), thirds/under-19s (1946–1991), night series (1956–2013) and AFL Women's (since 2017). Only AFL and AFLW premierships can currently be won; excluded from this table are premierships won by reserves teams competing in state leagues (including the VFL from 2000 onwards).


text: A club has won premierships in three grades in a single year on only two occasions – in 1950, and in 1973. During the years that it was achievable, no club ever won a senior, reserves, under-19s and night premiership in a single year.


title: Benj Pasek

text: Benj Pasek (born June 6, 1985) is an American theater and television composer and lyricist best known for his works "The Greatest Showman", "La La Land" and "Dear Evan Hansen", all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, Justin Paul.


title: Benj Pasek

text: Pasek was born into a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His mother was a teacher who wrote children's songs, which got him interested in music. As a child, he sang with the Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale. He went on to earn a B.F.A. in musical theater from the University of Michigan. It was there that he met Justin Paul. When Pasek and Paul were unsatisfied with the roles they were getting in the shows at the university, the two decided to begin writing their own shows. One of the first projects they worked on together, "Edges" was developed at the school.


title: Benj Pasek

text: Pasek and Paul won the Jonathan Larson Grant in 2007. The two co-wrote and co-composed the musical "Dogfight", which opened Off-Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre in July 2012. The pair went on to write music and lyrics for "James and the Giant Peach", "", "Dear Evan Hansen", and "The Greatest Showman". Pasek also collaborated with Paul on lyrics for the film "La La Land" (Music by Justin Hurwitz). They have also written songs for the television shows "Smash" and "The Flash". Most recently the duo wrote the original songs for the Apple Original Films, Spirited (film) starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.


title: Masaccio

text: Masaccio (, , ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasari, Masaccio was the best painter of his generation because of his skill at imitating nature, recreating lifelike figures and movements as well as a convincing sense of three-dimensionality. He employed nudes and foreshortenings in his figures. This had seldom been done before him.


title: Masaccio

text: The name Masaccio is a humorous version of Maso (short for Tommaso), meaning "clumsy" or "messy" Tom. The name may have been created to distinguish him from his principal collaborator, also called Maso, who came to be known as Masolino ("little/delicate Tom").


title: Masaccio

text: Despite his brief career, he had a profound influence on other artists and is considered to have started the Early Italian Renaissance in painting with his works in the mid- and late-1420s. He was one of the first to use linear perspective in his painting, employing techniques such as vanishing point in art for the first time. He moved away from the International Gothic style and elaborate ornamentation of artists like Gentile da Fabriano to a more naturalistic mode that employed perspective and chiaroscuro for greater realism.


title: Masaccio

text: Masaccio died at the age of twenty-six and little is known about the exact circumstances of his death. Upon hearing of Masaccio’s death, Filippo Brunelleschi said: "We have suffered a great loss."


title: Masaccio

text: Masaccio was born to Giovanni di Simone Cassai and Jacopa di Martinozzo in Castel San Giovanni di Altura, now San Giovanni Valdarno (today part of the province of Arezzo, Tuscany). His father was a notary and his mother the daughter of an innkeeper of Barberino di Mugello, a town a few miles north of Florence. His family name, Cassai, comes from the trade of his paternal grandfather Simone and granduncle Lorenzo, who were carpenters/cabinet makers ("casse", hence "cassai"). Masaccio's father died in 1406, when he was only five; later that same year a brother was born, named Giovanni (1406–1486) after his father. He also was to become a painter, with the nickname of lo Scheggia meaning "the splinter." In 1412 Monna Jacopa married an elderly apothecary, Tedesco di maestro Feo, who already had several daughters, one of whom grew up to marry the only other documented painter from Castel San Giovanni, Mariotto di Cristofano (1393–1457).


title: Masaccio

text: There is no evidence for Masaccio's artistic education, however Renaissance painters traditionally began an apprenticeship with an established master around the age of 12. Masaccio would likely have had to move to Florence to receive his training, but he was not documented in the city until he joined the painters guild (the Arte de' Medici e Speziali) as an independent master on January 7, 1422, signing as "Masus S. Johannis Simonis pictor populi S. Nicholae de Florentia."


title: Masaccio

text: The first works attributed to Masaccio are the San Giovenale Triptych (1422), now in the Masaccio Museum of Sacred Art in Cascia di Reggello near Florence, and the "Virgin and Child with Saint Anne" (Sant'Anna Metterza) (c. 1424) at the Uffizi. The San Giovenale altarpiece was discovered in 1961 in the church of San Giovenale at Cascia di Reggello, very close to Masaccio's hometown. It depicts the Virgin and Child with angels in the central panel, Sts. Bartholomew and Blaise on the left panel, and Sts. Juvenal (i.e. San Giovenale) and Anthony Abbot in the right panel. The painting has lost much of its original framing, and its surface is badly abraded. Nevertheless, Masaccio's concern to suggest three-dimensionality through volumetric figures and foreshortened forms is apparent, and stands as a revival of Giotto's approach, rather than a continuation of contemporary trends.


title: Masaccio

text: In Florence, Masaccio could study the works of Giotto and become friends with Brunelleschi and Donatello. According to Vasari, at their prompting in 1423 Masaccio travelled to Rome with Masolino: from that point he was freed of all Gothic and Byzantine influence, as seen in his altarpiece for the Carmelite Church in Pisa. The traces of influences from ancient Roman and Greek art that are present in some of Masaccio's works presumably originated from this trip: they should also have been present in a lost "Sagra", (today known through some drawings, including one by Michelangelo), a fresco commissioned for the consecration ceremony of the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence (April 19, 1422). It was destroyed when the church's cloister was rebuilt at the end of the 16th century.


title: Masaccio

text: In 1424, the "duo preciso e noto" ("well and known duo") of Masaccio and Masolino was commissioned by the powerful and wealthy Felice Brancacci to execute a cycle of frescoes for the Brancacci Chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. With the two artists probably working simultaneously, the painting began around 1425, but for unknown reasons the chapel was left unfinished, and was completed by Filippino Lippi in the 1480s. The iconography of the fresco decoration is somewhat unusual; while the majority of the frescoes represent the life of St. Peter, two scenes, on either side of the threshold of the chapel space, depict the temptation and expulsion of Adam and Eve. As a whole, the frescoes recount the life of St Peter as if it were the story of salvation.


title: Masaccio

text: The style of Masaccio's scenes shows the influence of Giotto especially. Figures are large, heavy, and solid; emotions are expressed through faces and gestures; and there is a strong impression of naturalism throughout the paintings. Unlike Giotto, however, Masaccio uses linear and atmospheric perspective, directional light, and "chiaroscuro," which is the representation of form through light and color without outlines. As a result, his frescoes are even more convincingly lifelike than those of his trecento predecessor.


title: Masaccio

text: "The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden", depicts a distressed Adam and Eve, chased from the garden by a threatening angel. Adam covers his entire face to express his shame, while Eve covers her breasts and groin. The fresco had a huge influence on Michelangelo and his work. Another major work is "The Tribute Money" in which Jesus and the Apostles are depicted as neo-classical archetypes. Scholars have often noted that the shadows of the figures all fall away from the chapel window, as if the figures are lit by it; this is an added stroke of verisimilitude and further tribute to Masaccio's innovative genius.


title: Masaccio

text: In the "Resurrection of the Son of Theophilus", he painted a pavement in perspective, framed by large buildings to obtain a three-dimensional space in which the figures are placed proportionate to their surroundings. In this he was a pioneer in applying the newly discovered rules of perspective.


title: Masaccio

text: In September 1425 Masolino left the work and went to Hungary. It is not known if this was because of money quarrels with Felice or an artistic divergence with Masaccio. It has also been supposed that Masolino planned this trip from the very beginning, and needed a close collaborator who could continue the work after his departure. But Masaccio left the frescoes unfinished in 1426 in order to respond to other commissions, probably coming from the same patron. However, it has also been suggested that the declining finances of Felice Brancacci were insufficient to pay for any further work, so the painter sought work elsewhere.


title: Masaccio

text: Masaccio returned in 1427 to work again in the Carmine, beginning the "Resurrection of the Son of Theophilus", but apparently left it, too, unfinished, although it has been suggested that the painting was severely damaged later in the century because it had contained portraits of the Brancacci family, at that time excoriated as enemies of the Medici. This painting was either restored or completed more than fifty years later by Filippino Lippi.


title: Masaccio

text: Some of the scenes completed by Masaccio and Masolino were lost in a fire in 1771; we know about them only through Vasari's biography. The surviving parts were extensively blackened by smoke. In the twentieth century, the removal of marble slabs covering two areas of the paintings revealed the original appearance of the work.


title: Masaccio

text: On February 19, 1426, Masaccio was commissioned by Giuliano di Colino degli Scarsi da San Giusto, for the sum of 80 florins, to paint a major altarpiece, the "Pisa Altarpiece", for his chapel in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Pisa. The work was dismantled and dispersed in the 18th century, and only eleven of about twenty original panels have been rediscovered in various collections around the world. The central panel of the altarpiece ("The Madonna and Child") is now in the National Gallery, London. Although it is very damaged, the work features a sculptural and human Madonna as well as a convincing perspectival depiction of her throne. Masaccio probably worked on it entirely in Pisa, shuttling back and forth to Florence, where he was still working on the Brancacci Chapel. In these years, Donatello was also working in Pisa at a monument for Cardinal Rinaldo Brancacci, to be sent to Naples. It is suggested that Masaccio's first ventures in plasticity and perspective were based on Donatello's sculpture, before he could study Brunelleschi's more scientific approach to perspective.


title: Masaccio

text: Around 1427 Masaccio won a prestigious commission to produce a "Holy Trinity" for the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella in Florence. No contemporary documents record the patron of the fresco, but recently references to ownership of a tomb at the foot of the fresco have been found in the records of the Berti family of the Santa Maria Novella Quarter of Florence; this working-class family expressed a long-standing devotion to the Trinity, and may well have commissioned Masaccio's painting. Probably it is the male patron who is represented to the left of the Virgin in the painting, while his wife is right of St. John the Evangelist. The fresco, considered by many to be Masaccio's masterwork, is the earliest surviving painting to use systematic linear perspective, possibly devised by Masaccio with the assistance of Brunelleschi.


title: Masaccio

text: According to the reconstruction Masaccio started by producing a rough drawing of the composition and perspective lines on the wall. The drawing was covered with fresh plaster for making the fresco. To ensure the precise transfer of the perspective lines from the sketch to the plaster, Masaccio inserted a nail in at the vanishing point under the base of the cross and attached strings to it, which he pressed in (or carved into) the plaster. The marks of the preparatory works are still visible.


title: Masaccio

text: The sacred figures and the donors are represented above an image of a skeleton lying on a sarcophagus. An inscription seemingly carved into the wall above the skeleton reads: "Io fui gia quel che voi siete e quel ch'io sono voi anco sarete" (I once was what now you are and what I am, you shall yet be). This skeleton is at once a reference to Adam, whose sin brought humans to death and a reminder to viewers that their time on earth is transitory. It is only through faith in the Trinity, the fresco suggests, that one overcomes this death. The Holy Spirit is seen in the form of a dove, above Jesus. The combination of trinity, death and decay "can be interpreted as a transposition of the Golgotha chapel" in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.


title: Masaccio

text: Masaccio produced two other works, a "Nativity" and an "Annunciation", now lost, before leaving for Rome, where his companion Masolino was frescoing a chapel with scenes from the life of St. Catherine in the Basilica di San Clemente. It has never been confirmed that Masaccio collaborated on that work, even though it is possible that he contributed to Masolino's polyptych for the altar of Santa Maria Maggiore with his panel portraying "St. Jerome and St. John the Baptist", now in the National Gallery of London. Masaccio died at the end of 1428. According to a legend, he was poisoned by a jealous rival painter.


title: Masaccio

text: Only four frescoes undoubtedly from Masaccio's hand still exist today, although many other works have been at least partially attributed to him. Others are believed to have been destroyed.


title: Masaccio

text: Masaccio profoundly influenced the art of painting and is considered to have begun the Early Italian Renaissance in painting. According to Vasari, all "most celebrated" Florentine "sculptors and painters" studied his frescoes extensively in order to "learn the precepts and rules for painting well." He transformed the direction of Italian painting, moving it away from the idealizations of Gothic art, and, for the first time, presenting it as part of a more profound, natural, and humanist world. Moreover, Masaccio influenced a great many artists both while he was alive and posthumously. His influence is particularly notable in the works of Florentine minor masters, such as Andrea di Giusto, Giovanni dal Ponte, and others who attempted to replicate his glowing, lifelike forms.


title: 2010 Major League Baseball draft

text: The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.


title: 2010 Major League Baseball draft

text: The "sandwich picks" after the first round are compensation for losses of free agents during the 2009–10 offseason.


title: Vaisheshika

text: Vaisheshika or Vaiśeṣika () is one of the six schools of Indian philosophy (Vedic systems) from ancient India. In its early stages, the Vaiśeṣika was an independent philosophy with its own metaphysics, epistemology, logic, ethics, and soteriology. Over time, the Vaiśeṣika system became similar in its philosophical procedures, ethical conclusions and soteriology to the Nyāya school of Hinduism, but retained its difference in epistemology and metaphysics.


title: Vaisheshika

text: The epistemology of the Vaiśeṣika school of Hinduism, like Buddhism, accepted only two reliable means to knowledge: direct observation and inference. the Vaiśeṣika school and Buddhism both consider their respective scriptures as indisputable and valid means to knowledge, the difference being that the scriptures held to be a valid and reliable source by Vaiśeṣikas were the Vedas.


title: Vaisheshika

text: The Vaisheshika school is known for its insights in naturalism. It is a form of atomism in natural philosophy. It postulated that all objects in the physical universe are reducible to "paramāṇu" (atoms), and one's experiences are derived from the interplay of substance (a function of atoms, their number and their spatial arrangements), quality, activity, commonness, particularity and inherence. Everything was composed of atoms, qualities emerged from aggregates of atoms, but the aggregation and nature of these atoms was predetermined by cosmic forces. Ajivika metaphysics included a theory of atoms which was later adapted in the Vaiśeṣika school.


title: Vaisheshika

text: According to the Vaiśeṣika school, knowledge and liberation were achievable by a complete understanding of the world of experience.


title: Vaisheshika

text: Although the Vaisheshika system developed independently from the Nyaya school of Hinduism, the two became similar and are often studied together. In its classical form, however, the Vaishesika school differed from the Nyaya in one crucial respect: where Nyaya accepted four sources of valid knowledge, the Vaishesika accepted only two.


title: Vaisheshika

text: The epistemology of Vaiśeṣika school of Hinduism accepted only two reliable means to knowledge – perception and inference.


title: Vaisheshika

text: Vaisheshika espouses a form of atomism, that the reality is composed of five substances (examples are earth, water, air, fire, and space). Each of these five are of two types, explains Ganeri, (paramāṇu) and composite. A paramāṇu is that which is indestructible, indivisible, and has a special kind of dimension, called “small” (aṇu). A composite is that which is divisible into paramāṇu. Whatever human beings perceive is composite, and even the smallest perceptible thing, namely, a fleck of dust, has parts, which are therefore invisible. The Vaiśeṣikas visualized the smallest composite thing as a “triad” (tryaṇuka) with three parts, each part with a “dyad” (dyaṇuka). Vaiśeṣikas believed that a dyad has two parts, each of which is an atom. Size, form, truths and everything that human beings experience as a whole is a function of parmanus, their number and their spatial arrangements.


title: Vaisheshika

text: "Parama" means "most distant, remotest, extreme, last" and "aṇu" means "atom, very small particle", hence "paramāṇu" is essentially "the most distant or last small (i.e. smallest) particle".


title: Vaisheshika

text: Vaisheshika postulated that what one experiences is derived from "dravya" (substance: a function of atoms, their number and their spatial arrangements), "guna" (quality), "karma" (activity), "samanya" (commonness), "vishesha" (particularity) and "samavaya" (inherence, inseparable connectedness of everything).


title: Vaisheshika

text: The followers of this philosophy are mostly Shaivas. Acharya Haribhadra Suri, in his work 'Ṣaḍdarśanasamuccaya' describes the followers of Vaiśeṣika as worshippers of Pashupati or Shiva.


title: Vaisheshika

text: Hinduism identifies six "Pramāṇas" as epistemically reliable means to accurate knowledge and to truths: "Pratyakṣa" (perception), "Anumāna" (inference), "Upamāna" (comparison and analogy), "Arthāpatti" (postulation, derivation from circumstances), "Anupalabdhi" (non-perception, negative/cognitive proof) and "Śabda" (word, testimony of past or present reliable experts). Of these epistemology considered only "pratyakṣa" (perception) and (inference) as reliable means of valid knowledge. Nyaya school, related to Vaiśeṣika, accepts four out of these six.


title: Vaisheshika

text: The syllogism of the school was similar to that of the Nyāya school of Hinduism, but the names given by to the 5 members of syllogism are different.


title: Vaisheshika

text: The earliest systematic exposition of the Vaisheshika is found in the of (or ). This treatise is divided into ten books. The two commentaries on the , and are no more extant. ’s (c. 4th century) is the next important work of this school. Though commonly known as of , this treatise is basically an independent work on the subject. The next Vaisheshika treatise, Candra’s (648) based on ’s treatise is available only in Chinese translation. The earliest commentary available on ’s treatise is ’s (8th century). The other three commentaries are ’s (991), Udayana’s (10th century) and ’s (11th century). ’s which also belongs to the same period, presents the and the principles as a part of one whole. ’s on is also an important work.


title: Vaisheshika

text: According to the Vaisheshika school, all things that exist, that can be cognized and named are s (literal meaning: the meaning of a word), the objects of experience. All objects of experience can be classified into six categories, "dravya" (substance), (quality), "karma" (activity), (generality), (particularity) and (inherence). Later s ( and Udayana and ) added one more category "abhava" (non-existence). The first three categories are defined as "artha" (which can perceived) and they have real objective existence. The last three categories are defined as (product of intellectual discrimination) and they are logical categories.


title: Vaisheshika

text: According to the school, the are the smallest "mahat" (perceivable) particles and defined as s (triads). These are made of three parts, each of which are defined as (dyad). The s are conceived as made of two parts, each of which are defined as (atom). The s (atoms) are indivisible and eternal, they can neither be created nor destroyed. Each (atom) possesses its own distinct (individuality) and have an inhering relation which is responsible for change and motion.


title: Vaisheshika

text: The measure of the partless atoms is known as "parimaṇḍala parimāṇa". It is eternal and it cannot generate the measure of any other substance. Its measure is its own absolutely.


title: Architecture of cathedrals and great churches

text: The architecture of cathedrals and great churches is characterised by the buildings' large scale and follows one of several branching traditions of form, function and style that derive ultimately from the Early Christian architectural traditions established in Late Antiquity during the Christianization of the Roman Empire.


text: Cathedrals, collegiate churches, and monastic churches like those of abbeys and priories, often have certain complex structural forms that are found less often in parish churches. They also tend to display a higher level of contemporary architectural style and the work of accomplished craftsmen, and occupy a status both ecclesiastical and social that an ordinary parish church rarely has. Such churches are generally among the finest buildings locally and a source of regional pride. Many are among the world's most renowned works of architecture. These include St Peter's Basilica, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cologne Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Antwerp Cathedral, Prague Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral, the Basilica of Saint-Denis, Santa Maria Maggiore, the Basilica of San Vitale, St Mark's Basilica, Westminster Abbey, Saint Basil's Cathedral, Antoni Gaudí's incomplete Sagrada Família and the ancient cathedral of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, now a mosque.


text: The earliest large churches date from Late Antiquity. As Christianity and the construction of churches spread across the world, their manner of building was dependent upon local materials and local techniques. Different styles of architecture developed and their fashion spread, carried by the establishment of monastic orders, by the posting of bishops from one region to another and by the travelling of master stonemasons who served as architects. The successive styles of the great church buildings of Europe are known as Early Christian, Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neoclassical, and various Revival styles of the late 18th to early 20th centuries, and then Modern. Underlying each of the academic styles are the regional characteristics. Some of these characteristics are so typical of a particular country or region that they appear, regardless of style, in the architecture of churches designed many centuries apart.


text: Among the world's largest and most architecturally significant churches, many were built to serve as cathedrals or abbey churches. The categories below are not exclusive. A church can be an abbey church and serve as a cathedral. Some Protestant parish churches like Ulm Minster have never served as any of these; since the Reformation many Western Christian denominations dispensed with the episcopate altogether and medieval churches lost, gained, or lost again their cathedral status, like St Giles', Edinburgh or St Magnus', Kirkwall. Some great churches of the Middle Ages, such as Westminster Abbey, are former abbeys; others like Ripon Cathedral and Bath Abbey were built as monastic churches and became cathedrals or parish churches in recent centuries; others again were built as parish churches and subsequently raised to cathedrals, like Southwark Cathedral. Some significant churches are termed "temples" or "oratories". Among the Roman Catholic churches, many have been raised to the status of "basilica" since the 18th century.


text: A cathedral has a specific ecclesiastical role and administrative purpose as the seat of a bishop. The cathedral () takes its name from the of the bishop, known as the episcopal throne. The word "cathedral" is sometimes mistakenly applied as a generic term for any very large and imposing church.


text: The role of bishop as administrator of local clergy came into being in the 1st century. It was two hundred years before the first cathedral building was constructed in Rome. With the legalizing of Christianity in 313 by the Emperor Constantine I, churches were built rapidly. Five very large churches were founded in Rome and, though much altered or rebuilt, still exist today, including the cathedral church of Rome, St John on the Lateran Hill and the papal St Peter's Basilica on the Vatican Hill, now the Vatican City.


text: The architectural form which cathedrals took was largely dependent upon their ritual function as the seat of a bishop. Cathedrals are places where, in common with other Christian churches, the Eucharist is celebrated, the Bible is read, the liturgy is said or sung, prayers are offered and sermons are preached. But in a cathedral, among denominations with episcopalian church governance, these things are done with a greater amount of elaboration, pageantry and procession than in lesser churches. This elaboration is particularly present during important liturgical rites performed by a bishop, such as confirmation and ordination. In areas with a state religion or an established church a cathedral is often the site of rituals associated with local or national government, the bishops performing the tasks of all sorts from the induction of a mayor to the coronation of a monarch. Some of these tasks are apparent in the form and fittings of particular cathedrals.


text: Cathedrals are not always large buildings. It might be as small as Newport Cathedral, a late medieval parish church declared a cathedral in 1949. Frequently, the cathedral, along with some of the abbey churches, was the largest building in any region.


text: An abbey church is one that is, or was in the past, the church of a monastic order. Likewise a friary church is the church of an order of friars. These orders include Benedictines, Cistercians, Augustinians, Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits and many more. Many churches of abbey foundation, are or previously were, part of a monastic complex that includes dormitories, refectory, cloisters, library, chapter house and other such buildings.


text: In many parts of the world, abbey churches frequently served the local community as well as the monastic community. In regions such as the British Isles where the monastic communities were dissolved, appropriated, secularized, or otherwise suppressed, the monastic churches often continued to serve as a parish church. In many areas of Asia and South America, the monasteries had the earliest established churches, with the monastic communities acting initially as missionaries to, and colonists of, indigenous people. Well-known abbey churches include Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan, Italy; Westminster Abbey and Beverley Minster in England, the Abbey of Saint-Étienne, Caen and Abbey of St-Denis in France, Melk Abbey in Austria, Great Lavra on Mt Athos, and the Malate Church in Manila.


text: In the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical sense, a "basilica" is a title awarded by the pope, head of the Catholic Church, and recipient churches are accordingly afforded certain privileges. A building that is designated as a basilica might be a cathedral, a collegiate or monastic church, a parish church, or a shrine. The four so-called "Major Basilicas" are four churches of Rome of 4th century foundation, St John Lateran, Santa Maria Maggiore, St Peter's Basilica, and the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. There are more than 1,500 churches in the world which are designated as "Minor Basilicas". The reason for such a designation is often that the church is a prominent pilgrimage site and contains the celebrated relics of a saint, or another relic, such as a supposed fragment of the True Cross. These churches are often large and of considerable architectural significance. They include the Basilica of St Francis, Assisi; the Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem; Santhome Church, Chennai; the Sanctuary of Fátima, Portugal; Sheshan Basilica, Shanghai, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Manila, and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.


text: From the first to the early fourth centuries most Christian communities worshipped in private homes, often secretly. Some Roman churches, such as the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome, are built directly over the houses where early Christians worshipped. Other early Roman churches are built on the sites of Christian martyrdom or at the entrance to catacombs where Christians were buried.


text: The first very large Christian churches were built in Rome and have their origins in the early 4th century, when with Edict of Milan the emperors Constantine and Licinius continued the legalization of Christianity begun by their predecessor Galerius's Edict of Serdica. Several of Rome's largest churches, notably Santa Maria Maggiore and St John Lateran, have their foundation in the 4th century. The cathedral church of Rome is St John Lateran and not the more famous St Peter's Basilica. St Peter's is also of 4th century foundation, though nothing of that appears above the ground.


text: When Early Christian Communities began to build churches they drew on one particular feature of the houses that preceded them, the "atrium", or courtyard with a colonnade surrounding it. Most of these atriums have disappeared. A fine example remains at the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome and another was built in the Romanesque period at Sant'Ambrogio, Milan. The descendants of these "atria" may be seen in the large square cloisters that can be found beside many cathedrals, and in the huge colonnaded squares or piazze at the Basilicas of St Peter's in Rome and St Mark's in Venice and the Camposanto (Holy Field) at the Cathedral of Pisa.


text: Early church architecture did not draw its form from Roman temples, as the latter did not have large internal spaces where worshipping congregations could meet.


text: It was the Roman basilica, used for meetings, markets and courts of law that provided a model for the large Christian church and that gave its name to the Christian basilica.


text: Both Roman basilicas and Roman bath houses had at their core a large vaulted building with a high roof, braced on either side by a series of lower chambers or a wide arcade passage. An important feature of the Roman basilica was that at either end it had a projecting exedra, or apse, a semicircular space roofed with a half-dome. This was where the magistrates sat to hold court. It passed into the church architecture of the Roman world and was adapted in different ways as a feature of cathedral architecture.


text: The earliest large churches, such as the cathedral of St John Lateran in Rome, consisted of a single-ended basilica with one apsidal end and a courtyard, or "atrium", at the other end. As Christian liturgy developed, processions became part of the proceedings. The processional door was that which led from the furthest end of the building, while the door most used by the public might be that central to one side of the building, as in a basilica of law. This is the case in many cathedrals and churches.


text: One of the influences on church architecture was the mausoleum. The mausoleum of a noble Roman was a square or circular domed structure which housed a sarcophagus. Constantine the Great built for his daughter Constantina a mausoleum which has a circular central space surrounded by a lower ambulatory or passageway separated by a colonnade.


text: This burial place became a place of worship, Santa Costanza, as well as a tomb. It is one of the earliest church buildings that was centrally, rather than longitudinally planned. Constantine was also responsible for the building of the circular, mausoleum-like Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which in turn influenced the plan of a number of buildings, including that constructed in Rome to house the remains of the proto-martyr Saint Stephen, San Stefano Rotondo and the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna.


text: Ancient circular or polygonal churches are comparatively rare. A small number, such as the Temple Church, London were built during the Crusades in imitation of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as isolated examples in England, France and Spain. In Denmark such churches in the Romanesque style are much more numerous. In parts of Europe there are also round tower-like churches of the Romanesque period but they are generally vernacular architecture and of small scale. Others, like Rotunda of St Martin at Vyšehrad in the Czech Republic are finely detailed.


text: The circular or polygonal form lent itself to those buildings within church complexes that perform a function in which it is desirable for people to stand, or sit around, with a centralised focus, rather than an axial one. In Italy the circular or polygonal form was used throughout the medieval period for baptisteries, while in England it was adapted for chapter houses. In France the aisled polygonal plan was adapted as the eastern terminal and in Spain the same form is often used as a chapel.


text: Other than Santa Costanza and San Stefano, there was another significant place of worship in Rome that was also circular, the vast Ancient Roman Pantheon, with its numerous statue-filled niches. This too was to become a church and subsequently a Roman Catholic basilica and lend its style to the development of ecclesiastical architecture.


text: As numbers of clergy increased, the small apse which contained the altar, or table upon which the sacramental bread and wine were offered in the rite of Holy Communion, was not sufficient to accommodate them. A raised dais called a" bema" formed part of many large basilican churches. In the case of St Peter's Basilica and St Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome, this bema extended laterally beyond the main meeting hall, forming two arms so that the building took on the shape of a T with a projecting apse. From this beginning, the plan of the church developed into the so-called Latin Cross which is the shape of most Western Cathedrals and large churches. The arms of the cross are called the transept.


text: Many of the earliest churches of Byzantium have a longitudinal plan. At Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, there is a central dome, framed on one axis by two high semi-domes and on the other by low rectangular transept arms, the overall plan being square. This large church was to influence the building of many later churches, even into the 21st century. A square plan in which the nave, chancel and transept arms are of equal length forming a Greek cross, the crossing generally surmounted by a dome became the common form in the Orthodox Church, with many churches throughout Eastern Europe and Russia being built in this way. Churches of the Greek Cross form often have a narthex or vestibule which stretches across the front of the church. This type of plan was also to later play a part in the development of church architecture in Western Europe, most notably in Bramante's plan for St Peter's Basilica and Christopher Wren's design for St Paul's Cathedral.


text: Most cathedrals and great churches have a cruciform groundplan. In churches of Western European tradition, the plan is usually longitudinal, in the form of the so-called Latin Cross with a long nave crossed by a transept. The transept may be as strongly projecting as at York Minster or not project beyond the aisles as at Amiens Cathedral.


text: Note- The list below is compiled from Banister Fletcher. Because of the diversity in the individual building histories, not all the characteristics pertain to every building.


text: As described above, the majority of cathedrals and great churches are cruciform in shape with the church having a defined axis. The axis is generally east/west with external emphasis upon the west front, normally the main entrance, and internal emphasis upon the eastern end so that the congregation faces the direction of the coming of Christ. As it is also in the direction of the rising sun, the architectural features of the east end often focus on enhancing interior illumination by the sun. Not every church or cathedral maintains a strict east–west axis, but even in those that do not, the terms East End and West Front are used. Many churches of Rome, notably St Peter's Basilica, face the opposite direction.


text: The majority of cathedrals and large churches of the Western European tradition have a high wide nave with a lower aisle separated by an arcade on either side. Occasionally the aisles are as high as the nave, forming a hall church. Many cathedrals have two aisles on either side. Notre-Dame de Paris has two aisles and a row of chapels.


text: In the case of a centrally planned church, the major axis is that between the main door and the altar.


text: The transept forms the arms of the church building. In English cathedrals of monastic foundation there are often two transepts. The intersection where the nave and transept meet is called the crossing and is often surmounted by a small spire called a "flèche", a dome or, particularly in England, a large tower with or without a spire.


text: There is generally a prominent external feature that rises upwards. It may be a dome, a central tower, two western towers or towers at both ends as at Speyer Cathedral. The towers may be finished with pinnacles or spires or a small dome.


text: The façade or "west front" is the most ornate part of the exterior with the processional doors, often three in number, and often richly decorated with sculpture, marble or stone tracery. The façade often has a large window, sometimes a rose window or an impressive sculptural group as its central feature.


text: In the Western European tradition, there are frequently paired towers framing the façade. These towers have their origin in a tradition practiced at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. During Holy Week the faithful would process along the Way of the Cross, leading to the Basilica, which in Early Christian times consisted of a domed shrine over the site of the tomb, and a "porch" which had a staircase on either side, supported by a small tower, by which the procession entered and exited. These towers were adopted symbolically, particularly in Romanesque architecture, as corner turrets. They flourished in Norman and Gothic architecture as large towers, reaching their height of magnificence at Cologne Cathedral, where they were not completed until the late 19th century.


text: The east end is the part of the building which shows the greatest diversity of architectural form. At the eastern end, internally, lies the sanctuary where the altar of the cathedral is located.


text: The external decoration of a cathedral or large church building is often both architectural and pictorial. Decorative architectural devices include columns, pilasters, arcading, cornices, moldings, finials and tracery. The forms taken by these features is one of the clearest indications of the style and date of any particular building. Pictorial elements may include sculpture, painting and mosaic.


text: Sculpture is the predominant pictorial decorative element in most regions where buildings are of stone construction. In the great medieval churches of France, Spain, England and much of Germany, figurative sculpture is found adorning façades and portals.


text: Churches of brick, such as those of much of Italy, are often adorned with mosaics, inlays, inset marble friezes and free-standing statues at the roofline. Mosaics were a particular feature of Byzantine architecture and are the main form of adornment of many Orthodox churches, both externally and internally.


text: The most common theme in the decoration, both external and internal, of any church, is the salvation of humankind by Jesus Christ. The decorative scheme often functions as a Poor Man's Bible, warning the church-goer that, in Biblical terms, the just rewards for his sinful nature is death, and that only through Jesus can forgiveness and redemption be gained. The scheme typically starts outside the church, on the west front, with the portrayal of Christ the Judge above the lintel of the main door. In Romanesque and Gothic buildings, this is usually a sculptural group, and may entail a whole scene of the Last Judgement with details of souls being weighed and rewarded, or dragged down to Hell by demons. In those churches in which painted rather than sculptured decoration prevails, the "Last Judgement" is often located on the interior of the west end, rather than the exterior.


text: The main body of the building, making the longer arm of the cross, where worshippers congregate, is called the nave. The term is from the Latin word for ship. A cathedral is symbolically a ship bearing the people of God through the storms of life. In addition, the high wooden roof of a large church is similarly constructed to the hull of a ship.


text: The nave is braced on either side by lower aisles, separated from the main space by a row of piers or columns. The aisles facilitate the movement of people, even when the nave is full of worshippers. They also strengthen the structure by buttressing the inner walls that carry the high roof, which in the case of many cathedrals and other large churches, is made of stone. Above the roof of the aisle are the clerestory windows which light the nave.


text: In some large churches, particularly late Medieval churches, there are two aisles on either side of nave. Other churches have a single aisle and a row of chapels on either side. In some churches, particularly in Germany, the aisles are almost as high as the nave, forming a "hall church". In this case, because there is no clerestory, the aisle windows are often very tall, to admit light to the nave.


text: The crossing is the point in a church at which the transept intersects the nave. This point is often marked externally by a tower or dome and internally by the piers and arches that are required to bear the weight of such a structure. The interior of the dome or tower may be one of the major architectural features of the interior of the church. In a centrally planned church such as Hagia Sophia, and typical of many Orthodox churches, the major interior space of the building is roofed by the dome.


text: The transept is symbolic of the arms of the Cross, but also provides space for congregation and for additional chapels. Transept chapels are often dedicated to a particular saint, or to a particular aspect in the life and ministry of Christ, such as the Nativity or the Resurrection. In some English cathedrals there is often a second transept containing chapels, to facilitate the saying of the Divine Office by clergy each day.


text: In a church in which part of the body of the church extends beyond the transept, then this extension is architecturally termed the "chancel", for which the stricter definition includes only the choir and the sanctuary with the high altar, but in the common wider definition includes the whole eastern arm beyond the crossing. This architectural form is common in Norman and Gothic architecture. The choir, where it exists, normally contains the choir stalls, and the "sanctuary" and the "cathedra" (bishop's throne). The architectural "choir" is sometimes termed the "quire" to differentiate it from the choir of singers. In the Middle Ages these were all clergy, or boys in an attached choir school, and the chancel (strictly defined) was the area occupied by officiating clergy, with few lay intrusions. In cathedrals the canons and other priests sat in the choir, as did the monks in monastic churches.


text: In those English cathedrals with two transepts, there is a further area beyond the choir which is called the Presbytery. This is where the priests or monks could make their private devotions. Often there are many additional chapels located towards the eastern end of a cathedral or abbey church. The chief among these is the Lady Chapel which is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.


text: The altar in the Roman Catholic church is the center of the church where the sacrifice on the cross is made present in sacramental form. Secondarily in the Catholic church, and primarily in other Christian denominations, the altar is a table on which is laid the Blessed Sacrament of bread and wine for consecration by a priest prior to use in the rite of Communion. The main altar in a church is located in a designated space called the "chancel" or "sanctuary" ("holy place"). The word has passed into modern English with an altered meaning because a criminal who could gain access to this area without capture was thereby given the sanctuary of the church. Many churches have an additional altar placed further forward in the church, as well as altars in chapels. The altar of a Catholic church may be made of marble. In most Protestant churches altars are of wood, symbolic of the table of the Last Supper rather than of a sacrificial altar.


text: The sanctuary is often separated from the body of the church by railings and screens, and, in the case of Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches, by an iconostasis which forms a complete visual as well as physical barrier. The sanctuary is usually the most ornately decorated part of a church, creating a visual focus towards the altar. This might be done in several ways. There might be a carved or painted altarpiece, a large carved screen called a reredos, or a structure called a ciborium which form a canopy over the altar. In English churches that have a square eastern end, a very large stained glass window often fills the wall behind the altar.


text: The term "choir" is used in three distinct ways in relation to cathedrals. As well as the architectural use, it pertains to the choir of "choristers", often men and boys, that sing at the services. It is also the term used for that section of the church where the choir sits, and where choral services take place. In a cathedral or large church, there may be fixed seating in this area, called "choir stalls" which also provided seating for the cathedral clergy and some congregation. The choir stalls are often richly carved and decorated. The bishop's throne or "cathedra" is often located in this space. The choir may be separated from the nave by a highly decorated screen of wood or stone. The organ which provides music and accompanies the choir may be located on the screen, or may be in the gallery above the choir, or in a transept. Some churches have an organ loft at the west end of the church.


text: Towards the western end of the nave stands the font, or water basin at which the rite of Baptism is performed. It is placed towards the door because the Baptism signifies entry into the community of the church. Standing to the front of the nave is a lectern from which the Holy Scripture is read. In many churches this takes the form of an eagle which supports the book on its outstretched wings and is the symbol of John the Evangelist.


text: The third significant furnishing of the nave is the pulpit or rostrum from which the sermon is preached and the biblical readings are expounded. The pulpit might be of marble or wood, and may be a simple structure or represent a highly elaborate carved sermon. It is often decorated with the winged figures of a man, a lion, a bull and an eagle, representing the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.


text: The internal decorative features of a cathedral or great church might follow a carefully conceived scheme which might continue the theme begun on the west front. There are many examples which give evidence of this, and include the mosaic vaults of Orthodox churches, the stained glass windows of Medieval churches and the sculptural schemes of Baroque churches. However, in many other cases, any unified scheme has been lost with the vagaries of the building's history.


text: Despite losses and changes of direction, the over-riding aim in the decoration of church interiors is to convey the message of the Gospels. To this end, many churches have, in their decorative schemes, elements of a Poor Man's Bible, illustrating aspects of the "Life of Christ" and other related narratives, with the aim of educating the viewer. Among these representations are the "Stations of the Cross" and the "Crucifix" which was traditionally suspended from the chancel arch, or placed on a rood screen at the entrance to the quire. Other figurative representations include sculptures or pictures of saints and prophets, which are the common subject of the panel paintings on the iconostasis of Orthodox Churches.


text: The symbolism used in ancient churches is not always easy for modern people to read. Virtues and vices may be represented by small figures with particular attributes, or by animals that were thought to embody a particular quality. A common example is the pelican which was thought to peck its breast to feed its young on the blood, thus representing the love of Christ for the Church.


text: The decorative scheme generally culminated at the altar, where there would be a painted altarpiece or sculptured reredos, or it would be framed by a stained glass window, or an apsidal mosaic.


text: The period of architecture termed Early or Paleo-Christian lasted from the first Christian Church buildings of the early 4th century until the development of a distinctly Byzantine style which emerged in the reign of Justinian I in the 6th century, foundation of Constantinople by Constantine in 330 CE. Some of the earliest Christian churches were constructed by the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, where king Tiridates III converted to Christianity in 301. The small aisleless Kasagh Basilica at Aparan in the Kingdom of Armenia is traditionally dated to the 4th century.


text: Large Early Christian churches generally took the form of aisled basilicas with an apse. Among the early larger churches in Rome the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore has retained much of its original internal arrangement, its vast basilical proportions, its simple apsidal end, its great colonnade supporting a straight cornice rather than arches and some very early mosaic decoration. Santa Sabina, also in Rome, exemplifies the simplicity of architectural decoration that characterized many of the early Christian basilicas. Other important churches of this period are the two ancient circular churches of Rome, The Basilica of Santa Costanza and San Stefano Rotondo. These churches are marked by their formal application of the Roman architectural orders in their columns, with Ionic capitals supporting the lintel at Santa Maria Maggiore, Corinthian capitals at Santa Sabina and Santa Costanza, and all three orders at San Stefano. At Santa Costanza the thick brick walls of the central tambour are supported on slim elegant columns that are paired to give extra strength, each pair supporting a small section of cornice from which the arches spring.


text: A number of Rome's churches have retained Early Christian mosaics. Those at Santa Costanza are similar to mosaics and painted decoration found in public and domestic interiors, being largely geometric or floral, but close examination reveals much Christian symbolism in the choice of motives. One of the most extensive decorative schemes from the period to have remained at least partially intact is that at Santa Maria Maggiore, where the proscenium of the apse is decorated with stories of the "Infancy of Jesus" drawn from the Gospel of Matthew.


text: Where churches of Early Christian foundation remain, they are mostly considerably altered, are badly deteriorated and no longer viable, or are roofless ruins, a state which almost overtook San Stefano, prior to a renovation in the 15th century. The 4th century Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem was rebuilt by Justinian I after a fire in the 6th century, but appears to have retained much of its original form, including its massive Roman colonnades. The Constantinian Church of the Holy Sepulchre, on the other hand, was demolished under the order of the Fatimid caliph Al-Hakim in 1009 so that what stands today is a total reconstruction.


text: The Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, Croatia, was founded in 360 on the site of a house church and retaining part of its Roman pavement. Although renovated and decorated in the late 6th century, the church has retained Early Christian features, including the atrium. Several Early Christian churches exist in Syria and Armenia, mostly in a ruined state. These show Roman rather than Byzantine architectural features, but have a regional character distinct from those of Rome.


text: Ravenna, on the eastern coast of Italy, is home to several vast churches of basilica plan dating from the age of the Emperor Justinian (6th century CE). San Apollinare Nuovo is in plan similar to Santa Maria Maggiore, but the details of the carvings are no longer in the classical Roman style. The capitals are like fat lacy stone cushions. Many of the mosaics are intact.


text: In the same town stands the uniquely structured, centrally planned, and domed church of San Vitale, of the same date. Its main internal space is 25 m across. The central dome is surrounded by eight apsidal semi-domes like the petals of a flower. There is a complex arrangement of curving arcades on several levels which gives a spatial effect only equalled by the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Salute built a thousand years later a few miles north in Venice. San Vitale was to be imitated in the 9th century in a simplified form by Charlemagne at Aachen, Germany.


text: In Venice stands San Marco's, one of the world's best known Byzantine-style churches, dating mainly from the 11th-century and decorated over many centuries but maintaining its centrally planned Byzantine form. It is called St Mark's Basilica, not because it is of basilical shape, but because it has been awarded that title. It has a Greek Cross plan, a large dome being surrounded by four somewhat smaller ones. Its decoration, both inside and out, is typical of the Byzantine period in its lavish use of mosaics and polychrome marble veneers.


text: After the decline of the Roman Empire, the building of large churches in Western Europe gradually gained momentum with the spread of organised monasticism under the rule of Saint Benedict and others. A huge monastery at Cluny, only a fraction of which still exists, was built using a simplified Roman style, stout columns, thick walls, small window openings and semi-circular arches. The style spread with monasticism throughout Europe. The technique of building high vaults in masonry was revived. A treatment of decoration evolved that had elements drawn from local Pre-Christian traditions and incorporated zig-zags, spirals and fierce animal heads. The typical wall decorations were painted fresco murals. Romanesque building techniques spread to England at about the time of the Norman conquest.


text: Representative of the period are Abbaye aux Hommes (the Abbey of the Men) in Caen, France; Worms Cathedral in Germany, the Cathedral of Pisa with its famous leaning campanile (bell tower), the Cathedral of Cefalù, Modena Cathedral and Parma Cathedral in Italy, and Durham Cathedral and Peterborough Cathedral in England.


text: By the mid 12th century many large cathedrals and abbey churches had been constructed and the engineering skills required to build high arches, stone vaults, tall towers and the like, were well established. The style evolved to one that was less heavy, had larger windows, lighter-weight vaulting supported on stone ribs and above all, the pointed arch which is the defining characteristic of the style now known as Gothic. With thinner walls, larger windows and high pointed arched vaults, the distinctive flying buttresses developed as a means of support. The huge windows were ornamented with stone tracery and filled with stained glass illustrating stories from the Bible and the lives of the saints.


text: Buildings representative of this period include Notre Dame, Paris; Chartres Cathedral, Reims Cathedral, Rouen Cathedral, Strasbourg Cathedral in France, Antwerp Cathedral in Belgium, Cologne Cathedral in Germany, St Stephen's Cathedral Vienna in Austria, Florence Cathedral, Siena Cathedral, Milan Cathedral and San Lorenzo Maggiore, Naples in Italy, Burgos Cathedral, Toledo Cathedral and Leon Cathedral in Spain, Guarda Cathedral in Portugal, Salisbury Cathedral, Canterbury Cathedral and Lincoln Cathedral in England.


text: In the early 15th century a competition was held in Florence for a plan to roof the central crossing of the huge, unfinished Gothic Cathedral. It was won by the artist Brunelleschi who, inspired by domes that he had seen on his travels, such as that of San Vitale in Ravenna and the enormous dome of the Roman period which roofed the Pantheon, designed a huge dome which is regarded as the first building of the Renaissance period. Its style, visually however, is ribbed and pointed and purely Gothic. It was Renaissance (a rebirth) in its audacity and the fact that it looked back to Roman structural techniques.


text: Brunelleschi, and others like him, developed a passion for the highly refined style of Roman architecture, in which the forms and decorations followed rules of placement and proportion that had long been neglected. They sought to rediscover and apply these rules. It was a time of architectural theorising and experimentation. Brunelleschi built two large churches in Florence demonstrating how the new style could be applied, San Lorenzo's and Santo Spirito. They are essays in the Classical, with rows of cylindrical columns, Corinthian capitals, entablatures, semi-circular arches and apsidal chapels.


text: The greatest cathedral building of the age was the rebuilding of St Peter's Basilica in Rome, the combined work of the architects Bramante, Raphael, Sangallo, Maderno and surmounted by Michelangelo's glorious dome, taller but just one foot narrower than the one that Brunelleschi had built a hundred years earlier in Florence. The dome is both an external and an internal focus. The chancel and transept arms are identical in shape, thus recalling the Greek Cross plan of Byzantine churches. The nave was, in fact, an addition.


text: Pope Julius II could command the greatest artists of his day as designers. (The role of architect had not yet become a separate one from painter, sculptor or builder.) The product of these many minds is a massive, glorious and unified whole.


text: By the time that St Peter's was completed, a style of architecture was developed by architects who knew all the rules that had been so carefully recovered, and chose to break them. The effect was a dynamic style of architecture in which the forms seem to take on life of their own, moving, swaying and undulating. The name Baroque means 'mis-shapen pearl'.


text: There are many large churches, abbeys, and basilicas built in this style, but few cathedrals in Western Europe, the most notable exception being St Paul's Cathedral in London. St Paul's is an unusual cathedral in that it was designed by a single individual and completed in a short time. The architect was Sir Christopher Wren and the building replaced the ancient cathedral which burnt down in the Great Fire of 1666. It is in the Baroque style, but it is a very controlled and English sort of Baroque in which Wren creates surprising and dramatic spatial effects, particularly in his use of the dome, which, like Brunelleschi's dome in Florence, spans not only the nave but also the aisles, opening the whole centre of the church into a vast light space.


text: In Russia, for the most part, the Baroque style was overlaid as architectonic features on the essentially Byzantine forms used for church construction. Many churches were built in this style, notably the Cathedral of the Dormition at Smolensk and the Cathedral of the Presentation at Solvychegodsk. In the design of many churches the Byzantine arrangement of tented roof or onion dome is replaced with a larger dome, usually on a tall, often polygonal, tambour.


text: Many European cathedrals have baroque features, high altars, façades and chapels. The façades of Santiago de Compostela, Jaén Cathedral and Valladolid Cathedral in Spain was rebuilt at this time. The Baroque style was carried by the Spanish and Portuguese to South and Central America, to the Philippines and to Goa in India where it was to become the prominent style of building for churches large and small. Both in the Americas and the Philippines, large Baroque churches often have a proportionally very wide façade which seems stretched between the towers. The intensely ornate decoration both in Spain and the Americas is called Churrigueresque.


text: The Rococo style is a late evolution of Baroque architecture, first apparent in French domestic architecture and design. It is distinguished by the asymmetry found within its decoration, generally taking the form of ornate sculptured cartouches or borders. These decorations are loosely based on organic objects, particularly seashells and plant growth, but also on other natural forms that have an apparent "organised chaos" such as waves of clouds. The churches that are thus decorated may have strongly Baroque architectural form but a general lightness and delicacy of appearance, sometimes described as "playfulness". A number of pilgrimage churches in Bavaria, Germany, are of this style, most notably the Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (Vierzehnheiligen) near Bamberg by Johann Balthasar Neumann, the master and arguably the originator of the style. This combines a relatively staid exterior with a dynamic internal plan and an exquisitely orchestrated decorative scheme of painted ceiling and figurative sculpture, all set in a diverse array of gilded Rococo cartouches. Externally, the façade has a rippling surface, and rises with increasing ornateness to fanciful cupolas that are a hallmark of the churches of Bavaria and much of central and Eastern Europe.


text: Perhaps the most remarkable large-scale example of Rococo church building was the Dresden Frauenkirche, recently rebuilt after its almost total destruction in World War II. The entire structures embodies a dynamic, surging motion which combines with a delicacy of architectural detail that is typical of the Rococo style. This church is dominated by its bell-shaped cupola which imitates in form those to be found on countless church towers in the region, but recreated here not in wood sheathed with metal, but as a mighty masonry dome.


text: The 18th and 19th centuries were a time of expansion and colonisation by Western Europeans. It was also a time of much Christian revival and in England, a considerable growth in the Roman Catholic Church. There was also much industrialisation and the growth of towns. New churches and cathedrals were needed. The Medieval styles, and particularly Gothic, were seen as the most suitable for the building of new cathedrals, both in Europe and in the colonies.


text: Cathedrals in the Gothic Revival style include Liverpool Anglican Cathedral in England, the New Cathedral, Linz in Austria, the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York and St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne in Australia.


text: Not all of the cathedrals that are in a revivalist style are Gothic. Westminster Cathedral, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, is an eclectic design of predominantly Byzantine style with polychrome walls, domes and a very tall Italian-style campanile. Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral in Canada is a Renaissance revival building based on St Peter's, Rome.


text: In the 20th century, building in the Medieval style continued, but in a stripped-down, cleanly functional form, often in brick. A fine example is Guildford Cathedral in England. Another is Armidale Anglican Cathedral in Australia.


text: After World War II traditionalist ideas were abandoned for the rebuilding of the bombed cathedral in Coventry. The old cathedral was actually a large parish church that had been elevated to cathedral status. Its glorious spire fortunately escaped severe damage. The 20th century Coventry Cathedral, of alternating slabs of masonry and stained glass attempts to capture symbolically the sense of an old cathedral church, without attempting to reproduce it. Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral is the 20th century's answer to the centrally planned church, a vast circular structure with the sanctuary at the centre.


text: As with other Postmodern movements, postmodern architecture formed in reaction to the ideals of modernism as a response to the perceived blandness, hostility, and Utopianism of the Modern movement. While rare in designs of Church architecture, there are nonetheless some notable examples as architects have begun to recover and renew historical styles and "cultural memory" of Christian architecture. Notable practitioners include Steven J. Schloeder, Duncan Stroik, and Thomas Gordon Smith.


text: The functional and formalized shapes and spaces of the modernist movement are replaced by unapologetically diverse aesthetics: styles collide, form is adopted for its own sake, and new ways of viewing familiar styles and space abound. Perhaps most obviously, architects rediscovered the expressive and symbolic value of architectural elements and forms that had evolved through centuries of building—often maintaining meaning in literature, poetry and art—but which had been abandoned by the modern movement.


title: Norman architecture

text: The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used for English Romanesque architecture. The Normans introduced large numbers of castles and fortifications including Norman keeps, and at the same time monasteries, abbeys, churches and cathedrals, in a style characterised by the usual Romanesque rounded arches (particularly over windows and doorways) and especially massive proportions compared to other regional variations of the style.


title: Norman architecture

text: These Romanesque styles originated in Normandy and became widespread in northwestern Europe, particularly in England, which contributed considerable development and where the largest number of examples survived. At about the same time, a Norman dynasty that ruled in Sicily produced a distinctive variation–incorporating Byzantine and Saracen influences–also known as Norman architecture (or alternatively Sicilian Romanesque).


title: Norman architecture

text: The term Norman may have originated with eighteenth-century antiquarians, but its usage in a sequence of styles has been attributed to Thomas Rickman in his 1817 work "An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture from the Conquest to the Reformation". In this work he used the labels "Norman, Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular". The more inclusive term "romanesque" was used of the Romance languages in English by 1715, and was applied to architecture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries from 1819.


title: Norman architecture

text: Although Edward the Confessor built the original Westminster Abbey in Romanesque style (now all replaced by later rebuildings), its construction predates the Norman Conquest: it is still believed to be the earliest major Romanesque building in England. No other significant remaining Romanesque architecture in Britain can clearly be shown to predate the Norman Conquest. However, historians believe that many surviving "Norman" elements in buildings–nearly all churches–may well in fact be Anglo-Saxon elements.


title: Norman architecture

text: The Norman arch is a defining point of Norman architecture. Grand archways are designed to evoke feelings of awe and are very commonly seen as the entrance to large religious buildings such as cathedrals. Norman arches are semicircular in form. Early examples have plain, square edges; later ones are often enriched with the zig-zag and roll mouldings. The arches are supported on massive columns, generally plain and cylindrical, sometimes with spiral decoration; occasionally, square-section piers are found. Main doorways have a succession of receding semicircular arches, often decorated with mouldings, typically of chevron or zig-zag design; sometimes there is a tympanum at the back of the head of the arch, which may feature sculpture representing a Biblical scene. Norman windows are mostly small and narrow, generally of a single round-headed light; but sometimes, especially in a bell tower, divided by a shaft into two lights.


title: Norman architecture

text: Viking invaders arrived at the mouth of the river Seine in 911, at a time when Franks were fighting on horseback and Frankish lords were building castles. Over the next century the population of the territory ceded to the Vikings now called Normans, adopted these customs as well as Christianity and the "langue d'oïl". Norman barons built timber castles on earthen mounds, beginning the development of motte-and-bailey castles, and great stone churches in the Romanesque style of the Franks. By 950, they were building stone keeps. The Normans were among the most travelled peoples of Europe, exposing them to a wide variety of cultural influences which became incorporated in their art and architecture. They elaborated on the early Christian basilica plan. Originally longitudinal with side aisles and an apse they began to add in towers, as at the Church of Saint-Étienne at Caen, in 1067. This would eventually form a model for the larger English cathedrals some 20 years later.


title: Norman architecture

text: In England, Norman nobles and bishops had influence before the Norman Conquest of 1066, and Norman influences affected late Anglo-Saxon architecture. Edward the Confessor was brought up in Normandy and in 1042 brought masons to work on the first Romanesque building in England, Westminster Abbey. In 1051 he brought in Norman knights who built "motte" castles as a defence against the Welsh. Following the invasion, Normans rapidly constructed motte-and-bailey castles along with churches, abbeys, and more elaborate fortifications such as Norman stone keeps.


title: Norman architecture

text: The buildings show massive proportions in simple geometries using small bands of sculpture. Paying attention to the concentrated spaces of capitals and round doorways as well as the tympanum under an arch. The "Norman arch" is the rounded, often with mouldings carved or incised onto it for decoration. chevron patterns, frequently termed "zig-zag mouldings", were a frequent signature of the Normans. The cruciform churches often had deep chancels and a square crossing tower which has remained a feature of English ecclesiastical architecture. Hundreds of parish churches were built and the great English cathedrals were founded from 1083.


title: Norman architecture

text: After a fire damaged Canterbury Cathedral in 1174 Norman masons introduced the new Gothic architecture. Around 1191 Wells Cathedral and Lincoln Cathedral brought in the English Gothic style, and Norman became increasingly a modest style of provincial building.


title: Norman architecture

text: Scotland also came under early Norman influence with Norman nobles at the court of King Macbeth around 1050. His successor Máel Coluim III overthrew him with English and Norman assistance, and his queen, Margaret, encouraged the church. The Benedictine order founded a monastery at Dunfermline. Her sixth and youngest son, who became King David, built St. Margaret's Chapel at the start of the 12th century.


title: Norman architecture

text: The Normans first landed in Ireland in 1169. Within five years earthwork castles were springing up, and in a further five, work was beginning on some of the earliest of the great stone castles. For example, Hugh de Lacy built a Motte-and-bailey castle on the site of the present day Trim Castle, County Meath, which was attacked and burned in 1173 by the Irish king Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair. De Lacy, however, then constructed a stone castle in its place, which enclosed over three acres within its walls, and this could not be burned down by the Irish. The years between 1177 and 1310 saw the construction of some of the greatest of the Norman castles in Ireland. The Normans settled mostly in an area in the east of Ireland, later known as the Pale, and among other buildings they constructed were Swords Castle in Fingal (North County Dublin), Dublin Castle and Carrickfergus Castle in County Antrim.


title: Norman architecture

text: The Normans began constructing castles, their trademark architectural piece, in Italy from an early date. William Iron Arm built one at an unidentified location (Stridula) in Calabria in 1045. After the death of Robert Guiscard in 1085, the Mezzogiorno (peninsular southern Italy) experienced a series of civil wars and fell under the control of increasingly weaker princes. Revolts characterised the region until well into the twelfth century and minor lords sought to resist ducal or royal power from within their own castles. In the Molise, the Normans embarked on their most extensive castle-building programme and introduced the "opus gallicum" technique to Italy. Their clever use of the local stone artisans, together with the vast riches amassed from their enslaved population, made such tremendous feats possible, some as majestic as those of the ancient Roman structures they tried to emulate.


title: Norman architecture

text: Besides the encastellation of the countryside, the Normans erected several religious buildings which still survive. They edified the shrine at Monte Sant'Angelo and built a mausoleum to the Hauteville family at Venosa. They also built many new Latin monasteries, including the famous foundation of Sant'Eufemia Lamezia. Other examples of great importance are the portal of the Shrine of Mary Queen of Anglona and the ambulatory and radiating chapels of the Aversa Cathedral.


title: Norman architecture

text: Sicily's Norman period lasted from circa 1061 until about 1200. The architecture was decorated in gilded mosaics such as that at the cathedral at Monreale. The Palatine Chapel in Palermo built in 1130 is perhaps the strongest example of this. The interior of the dome, (itself a Byzantine feature), is decorated in a mosaic depicting Christ Pantocrator accompanied by his angels.


title: Norman architecture

text: During Sicily's later Norman era early Gothic influences can be detected such as those in the cathedral at Messina consecrated in 1197. However, here the high Gothic campanile is of a later date and should not be confused with the early Gothic built during the Norman period; which featured pointed arches and windows rather than the flying buttresses and pinnacles later to manifest themselves in the Gothic era.


title: Norman architecture

text: After its Norman conquest in 1091, Malta saw the construction of several Norman pieces of architecture. Many have been demolished and rebuilt over the years (especially after the 1693 Sicily earthquake which destroyed many old Norman buildings), however some fortresses and houses still exist in Mdina and Vittoriosa.