h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Architecture of the Middle Ages - darkness and light - A87923433
Author: Tavaron da Quirm - Arts Editor - U1314679

I could have written another few thousand words about this period. I thried to cut myself short but did not completely succeed.

Still missing a last header.

This is a great overview. We benefit greatly from your architectural expertise. Here, too, we want good pics - say of Aachen and a Gothic cathedral?

I love the snarky footnotes! Anybody who turns up their nose at a Gothic cathedral is a barbarian, IMHO. Greatest building style evah!

Here are some proofreads:

>>sprouted the rise of new cities too<<

No. Maybe 'gave rise to new cities, too.'

>>and therefore were often excessively decorated<<

I wouldn't say 'excessively'. I'd say 'elaborately'.

>>Byzantinian<< = Byzantine

>>middle ages<< = Middle Ages (do a 'find and replace')

>>writing school<< = could you add 'also called a scriptorium'?

Aachen = add a footnote that says 'Aix-la-Chapelle'. Make the French happy.

>>Usually this space was also rised<< = 'raised'

>>seperate<< = 'separate'. Another find and replace. (It has 'a rat' in it.)

>>choire<< I don't know this word. Did you mean 'choir'? Or is it a specialised term?

>>have the same high as the nave<< = 'are the same height as the nave'

Thanks a lot!

I have already asked Mala for a picture of Aachen but she couldn't find any and I myself didn't take pictures when I was there (no idea why). But I found one in the Library of Congress!

Thanks a lot, changes made.

Great.

I agree with Dmitri - this will be an asset to the Edited Guide indeed I will make some comments as I read:

I wonder if your second paragraph in the introductory section would be better as the first paragraph, as it sets the scene neatly

"Council houses" - this needs a capital H as well as a capital C (a council house in the UK is a family home owned by the council and rented by the family, while a Council House is a House for the Council!)

There is repetition of "residence" in the second paragraph of the Carolingian Architecture section, and I think the word is used with two different meanings - I wonder if you can reword to make it as clear as possible.

I'm not clear about the Pfalzkapelle - is it the only surviving Carolingian building in Aachen? And it was incorporated into the Aachen Cathedral?

I see there is a strong link with your other Entry A87923424 in the section about Basilicas "The entrance or multiple entrances were on the narrow western side of the building." - does this mean the basilicas were all built east-to-west?

That is fascinating about the oldest architectural drawing being of a typical monastery - I can visualise that well

In the Romanesque section I'm not clear about what 'antiquity' refers to - Romanesque looks back to Ancient Rome so not all the knowledge was lost?

"This module was serially added along the length of the nave." - what is 'serially'? Does this mean several 'bays' were joined together?

Sorry I can't think of anything for your final header at the moment, but the concluding paragraph is very good Superb title, as well - ''Darkness and Light' is very evocative of the developments

Bookmarking this for now, but I assume by 'choire' you mean the part of a church reserved for the clergy, although the choir etc often sit there too in the area where the seats face opposite each other rather than forwards. This can be spelt both 'choir' and 'quire', the latter of which makes it clear you aren't talking about singers . Winchester Cathedral has two – the Quire and Retroquire.

<BB<

Ah! The quire! Now I get it.

Although the term 'retroquire' opens up so many possibilities for parody....

Thanks for all the comments!

I made the changes Sasha suggested, added a footnote and so.
The Pfalzkapelle is the last large Carolingian building not only in Aachen but anywhere. Also yes, it is now part of the cathedral. Not sure how to make this clearer?

Thanks Bluebottle, I used 'quire' now. in German it's all Chor, the singers as well as the part of the church. And then there's the wonderful word Chorgestühl for the seats for monks and priests which stand in the quire.

It's awful that we don't have a collective noun for chairs.

'A session of chairs', maybe?

sounds right

'the seats for monks and priests which stand in the quire.'
Standing seats eh, reminds me of misericords

<BB<

This is an excellent introduction to the architecture of the Middle Ages.

I shared Sasha's concern about 'council house.' Perhaps 'municipal hall' would be better. I don't know the history of local government in Europe . The Guild Halls might be earlier.

In the first line of the second paragraph on Carolingian architecture, you need to delete the first three words.

In the sentence beginning 'The position opposite', you could simplify the clause 'puts the focus of everyone's view' to 'focuses everyone's view'.

In the first paragraph about Romanesque architecture, I think the first sentence would be better as 'In the 9th century Charlemagne's efforts...'

In the sentence beginning 'Romanesque was the first large architectural style', I would suggest substituting 'major' for 'large'.

In the sentence beginning 'Depending on the geographical location..' you mention 'high pointed roofs'. Do you mean 'spires'?

Which brings me to one of the most impressive Mediaeval buildings I know - Chartres cathedral, which has two very different spires.

thank you!

What about town hall or city hall? As far as I understand the guilds could only get so powerful because they could exist in the free cities, so the cities had to be there first.

I made the other changes.

Yes, town hall or city hall would be fine.

thanks, changed

This is looking good - thanks Tav

I see the three 'residence's are still there, but I'm not sure what to suggest - maybe "They did not have a fixed place of residence." could be changed to something like "They did not have one fixed abode."

"The Pfalzkapelle was a church that still shapes the core of todays cathedral." - I would suggest something like "The Pfalzkapelle was a church that now forms the core of today's cathedral."

Excellent additions, particularly footnote 3 about the building method enabling the structure to be usable as quickly as possible

Still thinking about the last header - how about something related to 'Laying the Foundations'?

Changes made and I got rid of more residences. It's only one left in the context of the bishops.
I also added a last header even if it's not very creative.

Looks good.

That last sentence is going to confuse readers, and they're not going to know why. I think I do, so can we fix it?

>>They already started to lay the foundations for the Renaissance period, which in turn took quite a while to reach the lands in the north.<<

That 'already' is a translation for 'schon', but English doesn't use this expression. Could we try this?

'They were busy laying the foundations of the Renaissance, which took quite a while to reach the lands in the north.'

thanks, I changed that

Just reading this again, I had a couple more questions:

"City halls and market halls were built, often both in one building with the council house on top of a market with open arcades to a square."

I can't visualise "open arcades to a square" - does this mean the City Hall/Market Hall building was a C shape with open arcades bordering the 'town square'?

I'm not quite sure about the chronology of the Carolingian Architecture section. Charlemagne was crowned in 800 and Aachen had been the capital of his empire since 786. 'Kings and emperors' - are these the rulers of Western Europe who followed after Charlemagne?