Early Medieval Architecture as Bearer of Meaning

"First published in Germany in 1951, and now finally available in English, Günter Bandmann's classic Early Architecture as Bearer of Meaning has had tremendous influence on architectural and medieval historians. Breaking away from the positivistic approaches dominant at the time, Bandmann moved beyond purely aesthetic interpretations to consider the religious, political, and sociological factors that shaped the development and reception of medieval architecture. He pays close attention to how various architectural forms took on certain political, spiritual, and aesthetic meanings and how these meanings were transmitted and codified. The result is a work that continues to open up new ways of understanding medieval architecture and the society from which it arose. Bandmann analyzes the architecture of those societies in Western Europe up to the twelfth century that aspired to be the heirs to the Roman Empire. He examines the occurrence and recurrence of basic architectural forms not as stylistic evolutions, but as choices made by patrons. Those responsible for the buildings' existence - be they lords, monastic orders, cities, or other individual or collective patrons - chose architectural forms based on their meanings and the values these patrons wished to promote. Looking at a range of buildings and churches throughout Europe and offering detailed analyses, Bandmann discusses sources for structural elements and forms and follows their development, combinations, flowerings, and fading. In considering the evolution of an architectural iconography, he explores a variety of questions: To what degree did the meanings of architectural types change during the Middle Ages? How did the forms developed during Antiquity change after the rise of Christianity? In what ways did religious and political leaders make different choices? What was the relationship of local aesthetic traditions to international architectural types?