![]() ![]() ![]() © National Library of the Netherlands Labourers & Builders This image from a fourteenth-century French manuscript, (Folio 19 of Giuard des Moulin's Grande Bible Historial) illustrates that well. Being involved in the construction of a cathedral, even as the building patron, required a willingness to be part of a process that was larger than oneself.īuilding in medieval times was as complex a process as it is today, involving an 'assembly line' of craftsmen. There was always a faction among the pious that disapproved of excessive spending on the construction and decoration of lavish religious buildings, but these were a minority, and the dominant feeling was one of great enthusiasm, ambition, and a desire to excel in this quest to construct magnificent buildings reflecting God's glory.Īs cathedrals took decades, and often even centuries to complete, few people who worked on them expected to see them finished during their lifetimes. From the mid-twelfth century, the Church started granting indulgences (forgiveness of sins) to those who would help to build a church or cathedral, and therefore, rather than going on crusades, which had been a popular means of absolving sins in the late eleventh century, people dedicated more effort to the construction of houses of God instead. The building of monumental cathedrals in the middle ages was a reflection of faith and the channel for much of the creative energy of medieval European society.Īlthough cathedral building was driven by religious figures or institutions, it was often a community effort. ![]()
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