This title was first published in 2000: Did the plan of medieval
churches have any underlying symbolic meaning? This work re-opens
the debate about the importance of geometry and symbolism in
medieval architectural design and argues the case for attributing
an intellectual meaning to the planning of abbeys and cathedrals.
In challenging prevailing claims for the use of arithmetical
rations in architectural design, notably those based on the square
root of two, Dr Hiscock advances a perspective consisting of
proportions derived from the figures of Platonic geometry - the
square, the equilateral triangle and the pentagon - and provides
evidence for the symbolic interpretation of these figures. The
investigation further reveals whole series of geometric
relationships between some of England's most celebrated Norman
cathedrals, such as Norwich or Durham, together with a wide sample
from the Continent, from Old St Peter's in Rome to Chartres
Cathedral, and sets out a comprehensive design method in each case.
Hiscock first demonstrates the proposition that the ideas of
Christian Platonism, including number and geometry, remained
current and were employed in the thought of the early Middle Ages.
In particular, he argues that they can be associated with the
leading persons in the 10th-century revival of monasticism and that
they found expression in the "white mantle of churches" that spread
across Western Europe at the end of the first millennium AD. The
book then provides a detailed analysis of the geometric proportions
of church plans between the 9th and 12th centuries in Germany,
France and in England. This research seeks to demonstrate that a
coherent sequence of geometric forms can be seen in thse plans,
forms which correspond to the key figures of Platonic geometry as
understood in the context of Christian Platonist thought. In
conclusion, the author shows how the system of design proposed
could be set out on site using the known working methods of
medieval masons.
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