THE IMAGERY OF THE GOTHIC CATHEDRAL: A HIEROTOPIC APPROACH
This paper studies the iconicity of Gothic cathedrals using the hierotopic methodology developed by Alexei Lidov. The genesis of early Gothic church architecture is viewed as a newly emergent type of a sacred space, distinct from that of the preceding Romanesque period. Hierotopy analyzes the creation of sacred spaces in terms of “image-paradigms”, or guiding imagevisions, which both give form to the sacral ensemble as a whole and encapsulate its central meaning. The image-paradigm of Heavenly Jerusalem, as often associated with medieval cathedrals, occupies the central focus of the paper. I examine three principal sources of influence at work in the Gothic re-vision of this paradigmatic iconic image: the development of an urban way of life, the emerging notion of historical progress and the onset of secularization. I argue that the renewed architectural icon of the Holy City epitomized both the external features and the very spirit of the medieval city. Its rhythmic linear structure embodied the march of historical time (which continued to be viewed as sacred history and a way to salvation), and its composite make-up gave shape to the urban motto, “unity in diversity”, a de-facto foundational principle of Western civilization. By focusing in particular on the Gothic hierotopic project of the Saint-Denis cathedral, I discuss the motivations of those championing the new architectural style, and, more broadly, I compare Byzantine and Western visions of iconicity in order to bring to light characteristic features of the Gothic aesthetic.
Keywords: Gothic architecture, Heavenly Jerusalem, hierotopy, iconicity, image-paradigm
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Issue: 3, 2016
Series of issue: Issue 3
Rubric: ARTICLES
Pages: 9 — 24
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