1.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
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Basel
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Basel is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerlands third-most-populous city with about 175,000 inhabitants, located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. In 2014, the Basel agglomeration was the third largest in Switzerland with a population of 537,100 in 74 municipalities in Switzerland, the official language of Basel is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. Basel has been the seat of a Prince-Bishopric since the 11th century, the city has been a commercial hub and important cultural centre since the Renaissance, and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in the 20th century. It hosts the oldest university of the Swiss Confederation, There are settlement traces on the Rhine knee from the early La Tène period. The unfortified settlement was abandoned in the 1st century BC in favour of an Oppidum on the site of Basel Minster, probably in reaction to the Roman invasion of Gaul. In Roman Gaul, Augusta Raurica was established some 20 km from Basel as the administrative centre. The city of Basel eventually grew around the castle, the name of Basel is derived from the Roman-era toponym Basilia, first recorded in the 3rd century. It is presumably derived from the personal name Basilius, the Old French form Basle was adopted into English, and developed into the modern French Bâle. The Icelandic name Buslaraborg goes back to the 12th century Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan, Basel was incorporated into Germania Superior in AD83. Roman control over the area deteriorated in 3rd century, and Basel became an outpost of the Provincia Maxima Sequanorum formed by Diocletian, the Alamanni attempted to cross the Rhine several times in the 4th century, but were repelled. In a great invasion of AD406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine river a final time, conquering and then settling what is today Alsace, from this time, Basel has been an Alemannic settlement. The Duchy of Alemannia fell under Frankish rule in the 6th century, and by the 7th century, based on the evidence of a third solidus with the inscription Basilia fit, Basel seems to have minted its own coins in the 7th century. Under bishop Haito, the first cathedral was built on the site of the Roman castle, at the partition of the Carolingian Empire, Basel was first given to West Francia, but passed to East Francia with the treaty of Meerssen of 870. The city was plundered and destroyed by a Magyar invasion of 917, the rebuilt city became part of Upper Burgundy, and as such was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. Since the donation by Rudolph III of Burgundy of the Moutier-Grandval Abbey and all its possessions to Bishop Adalbero II in 999 till the Reformation, in 1019, the construction of the cathedral of Basel began under German Emperor Heinrich II. In 1225–1226, the Bridge over the Rhine was constructed by Bishop Heinrich von Thun, the bridge was largely funded by Basels Jewish community which had settled there a century earlier. For many centuries to come Basel possessed the only permanent bridge over the river between Lake Constance and the sea, the Bishop also allowed the furriers to found a guild in 1226
3.
Sandstone
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Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earths crust, like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow, red, grey, pink, white, and black. Since sandstone beds often form highly visible cliffs and other topographic features, quartz-bearing sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure, usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts. They are formed from cemented grains that may either be fragments of a rock or be mono-minerallic crystals. The cements binding these grains together are typically calcite, clays, grain sizes in sands are defined within the range of 0.0625 mm to 2 mm. The formation of sandstone involves two principal stages, first, a layer or layers of sand accumulates as the result of sedimentation, either from water or from air. Typically, sedimentation occurs by the settling out from suspension. The most common cementing materials are silica and calcium carbonate, which are derived either from dissolution or from alteration of the sand after it was buried. Colours will usually be tan or yellow, a predominant additional colourant in the southwestern United States is iron oxide, which imparts reddish tints ranging from pink to dark red, with additional manganese imparting a purplish hue. Red sandstones are seen in the Southwest and West of Britain, as well as central Europe. The regularity of the latter favours use as a source for masonry, either as a building material or as a facing stone. These physical properties allow the grains to survive multiple recycling events. Quartz grains evolve from rock, which are felsic in origin. Feldspathic framework grains are commonly the second most abundant mineral in sandstones, Feldspar can be divided into two smaller subdivisions, alkali feldspars and plagioclase feldspars. The different types of feldspar can be distinguished under a petrographic microscope, below is a description of the different types of feldspar. Alkali feldspar is a group of minerals in which the composition of the mineral can range from KAlSi3O8 to NaAlSi3O8. Plagioclase feldspar is a group of solid solution minerals that range in composition from NaAlSi3O8 to CaAl2Si2O8. Lithic framework grains are pieces of ancient source rock that have yet to weather away to individual mineral grains, accessory minerals are all other mineral grains in a sandstone, commonly these minerals make up just a small percentage of the grains in a sandstone
4.
Minster (church)
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Minster is an honorific title given to particular churches in England, most famously York Minster in York, Westminster in London and Southwell Minster in Southwell. The term minster is first found in royal charters of the 7th century. Widespread in 10th-century Anglo-Saxon England, minsters declined in importance with the introduction of parishes. It continued as a title of dignity in later medieval England, for instances where a cathedral, monastery, eventually a minster came to refer more generally to any large or important church, especially a collegiate or cathedral church. In the 21st century, the Church of England has designated additional minsters by bestowing the status on existing parish churches, the word minster was a rendering of the Latin monasterium. In early English sources, monasterium and mynster were used interchangeably and they were applied to all communities who had devoted their lives to Christian observance, regardless of the gender of the occupants or the activities in which said occupants typically engaged. The modern English term monastery does not express the same connotations as the Latin monasterium, from which it derives, by the tenth century, a gradual distinction between a church and a mynster began to emerge. For instance, in the Leechdoms, the day was propitious for establishing a mynster. This suggests that by the tenth and eleventh centuries, mynster was being used to refer to a church which was regarded as long-established. An early appearance was in the Ecclesiastical History of the Venerable Bede, the first minsters in the English-speaking parts of Britain were founded in the century after the mission to the Saxons led by Augustine of Canterbury in 597. An expansion of monasteries began around 670, with many substantial royal gifts of land, Kings made grants of land to named individuals to found a minster. This reduced the overall stock of lands carrying the obligations of service to the Northumbrian state. The word derives from the Old English mynster, meaning monastery, nunnery, mother church or cathedral, itself derived from the Latin monasterium, meaning a group of clergy living a communal life. Thus, minster could apply to any church whose clergy followed a rule, as for example a monastery or a chapter. In the earliest days of the English Church, from the 6th to the 8th centuries, minsters, in their various forms, at the beginning of the period, they were the only form of permanent collective settlement in a culture that had not developed towns or cities. Kings, nobles and bishops were continually on the move, with their respective retinues, the superior of the minster was generally from the family of the founder. The minsters primary purpose was to support the king and the thegn in the worship of the divine office. Minsters are also said to have founded, or extensively endowed, in expiation for royal crimes
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Catholic
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The use of terms catholicism and catholicity is closely related to the use of term Catholic Church. The earliest evidence of the use of term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I limited use of the term Catholic Christian exclusively to those who followed the faith as Pope Damasus I of Rome. Numerous other early writers including Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine of Hippo further developed the use of the term catholic in relation to Christianity. In Christian theology, and specially in ecclesiology, terms Catholicism, when used with small c, terms catholicism and catholicity generally designate theological doctrine of the catholicity of the Church without denominational connotations. A common belief in Catholicism is institutional continuity with the early Christian church founded by Jesus Christ, many churches or communions of churches identify singularly or collectively as the authentic church. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils, when the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Romes influence was sometimes challenged. The first great rupture in the Church followed this Council and they are often called Ancient Oriental Churches. The next major break was after the Council of Chalcedon and this Council repudiated Eutychian Monophysitism which stated that the divine nature completely subsumed the human nature in Christ. This Council declared that Christ, though one person, exhibited two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation and thus is both fully God and fully human, the next great rift within Christianity was in the 11th century. This division between the Western Church and the Eastern Church is called the East–West Schism, several eastern churches reunited, constituting some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, in all these cases the beliefs and practices of Catholicism would be identical with the beliefs and practices of the Church in question. However, in Roman Catholicism, the term catholic is understood as to cover those who recognize and are in standing with the Magisterium. The sense given to the word by those who use it to distinguish their position from a Calvinistic or Puritan form of Protestantism. It is then meaningful to attempt to draw up a list of common characteristic beliefs, the Roman Catholic Church includes the 23 rites who recognize the Magisterium. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the belief that Christ is made manifest in the elements of Holy Communion, possession of the threefold ordained ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and this teaching is preserved in both written scripture and in unwritten tradition, neither being independent of the other. A belief in the necessity and efficacy of sacraments, liturgical and personal use of the Sign of the Cross The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship
6.
Continental Reformed church
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A Continental Reformed church is a Reformed church that has its origin in the European continent. The term is used to distinguish these churches from Presbyterian, Congregational or other Calvinist churches, Continental Reformed churches are descended from the Protestant Reformation in respective European countries. Notably, their theology is derived from the Swiss Reformation. It was inaugurated by Huldrych Zwingli, who formulated the first expression of the Reformed faith, Swiss Reformation was more fully articulated by Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger and John Calvin. In the sixteenth century, the movement spread to most of continental Europe, sometimes aligning and secured by monarchs and other nobles, like in Switzerland, Hungary, the first Reformed churches were established in Europe after 1519 and were part of the Protestant Reformation. Reformed doctrine is expressed in various confessions, a few confessions are shared by many denominations. Different denominations use different confessions, usually based on historical reasons, around the world many churches of Reformed tradition emerged, both by migration and missionary work. Here is a List of Reformed churches
7.
Protestantism
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Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
8.
Romanesque architecture
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Romanesque Architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the late 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches, examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman Architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture, each building has clearly defined forms, frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan, the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics, Many castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by churches. The most significant are the great churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete. The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of southern France, northern Spain and rural Italy. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Romanesque means descended from Roman and was first used in English to designate what are now called Romance languages, Romance language is not degenerated Latin language. Latin language is degenerated Romance language, Romanesque architecture is not debased Roman architecture. Roman architecture is debased Romanesque architecture, the first use in a published work is in William Gunns An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture. The term is now used for the more restricted period from the late 10th to 12th centuries, Many castles exist, the foundations of which date from the Romanesque period. Most have been altered, and many are in ruins. By far the greatest number of surviving Romanesque buildings are churches, the scope of Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire. In the more northern countries Roman building styles and techniques had never been adopted except for official buildings, although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost. There was a loss of continuity, particularly apparent in the decline of the formal vocabulary of the Classical Orders. In Rome several great Constantinian basilicas continued in use as an inspiration to later builders, the largest building is the church, the plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an apse at both ends, an arrangement not generally seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is its regular proportion, the plan of the crossing tower providing a module for the rest of the plan. These features can both be seen at the Proto-Romanesque St. Michaels Church, Hildesheim, 1001–1030, the style, sometimes called First Romanesque or Lombard Romanesque, is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a Lombard band
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Gothic architecture
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Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture and its characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress. Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the cathedrals, abbeys. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, guild halls, universities and to a less prominent extent, private dwellings, for this reason a study of Gothic architecture is largely a study of cathedrals and churches. A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th-century England, spread through 19th-century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and university structures, the term Gothic architecture originated as a pejorative description. Hence, François Rabelais, also of the 16th century, imagines an inscription over the door of his utopian Abbey of Thélème, Here enter no hypocrites, slipping in a slighting reference to Gotz and Ostrogotz. Authorities such as Christopher Wren lent their aid in deprecating the old medieval style, the Company disapproved of several of these new manners, which are defective and which belong for the most part to the Gothic. Gothic architecture is the architecture of the medieval period, characterised by use of the pointed arch. As an architectural style, Gothic developed primarily in ecclesiastical architecture, the greatest number of surviving Gothic buildings are churches. The Gothic style is most particularly associated with the cathedrals of Northern France. At the end of the 12th century, Europe was divided into a multitude of city states, norway came under the influence of England, while the other Scandinavian countries and Poland were influenced by trading contacts with the Hanseatic League. Angevin kings brought the Gothic tradition from France to Southern Italy, throughout Europe at this time there was a rapid growth in trade and an associated growth in towns. Germany and the Lowlands had large flourishing towns that grew in comparative peace, in trade and competition with other, or united for mutual weal. Civic building was of importance to these towns as a sign of wealth. England and France remained largely feudal and produced grand domestic architecture for their kings, dukes and bishops, the Catholic Church prevailed across Europe at this time, influencing not only faith but also wealth and power. Bishops were appointed by the lords and they often ruled as virtual princes over large estates. The early Medieval periods had seen a growth in monasticism, with several different orders being prevalent. Foremost were the Benedictines whose great abbey churches vastly outnumbered any others in France, a part of their influence was that towns developed around them and they became centers of culture, learning and commerce
10.
1356 Basel earthquake
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The Basel earthquake of 18 October 1356 is the most significant seismological event to have occurred in Central Europe in recorded history and had a moment magnitude in the range of 6. 0–7.1. This earthquake is known as the Séisme de la Saint-Luc. After a foreshock between 19,00 and 20,00 local time, the earthquake struck in the evening at around 22,00. Basel experienced a second, very violent shock in the middle of the night, the town within the ramparts was destroyed by a fire when torches and candles falling to the floor set the wooden houses ablaze. The number of deaths within the town of Basel alone is estimated at 300, all major churches and castles within a 30 km radius of Basel were destroyed. The seismic crisis lasted a year, the modeling of the macroseismic data suggests that the earthquakes source had an east-west orientation, a direction corresponding with the overlapping faults on the Jura Front. On the other hand, recent paleoseismologic studies attribute the cause of this earthquake to a fault, oriented NNE-SSW. The significant magnitude of the event suggests a possible extension of this fault under the town, due to the limited records of the event, a variety of epicenters have been proposed for the earthquake. Some of the locations include faults beneath the Jura Mountains or along the Basel-Reinach escarpment. Another study placed the epicenter 10 km south of Basel, the earthquake was felt as far away as Zürich, Konstanz, and even in Île-de-France. The maximum intensity registered on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale was IX–X, notably, the macroseismic map was established on the basis of damage reported by the regions 30 to 40 castles. There are also different opinions about which faults were involved, the earthquake destroyed the city of Basel, Switzerland, near the southern end of the Upper Rhine Graben, and caused much destruction in a vast region extending into France and Germany. Though major earthquakes are common at the seismically active edges of plates in Turkey, Greece. According to the Swiss Seismological Service, of more than 10,000 earthquakes in Switzerland over the past 800 years, only half a dozen of them have registered more than 6.0 on the Richter scale
11.
Freiburg Minster
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Freiburg Minster is the cathedral of Freiburg im Breisgau, southwest Germany. The last duke of Zähringen had started the building around 1200 in romanesque style, the construction continued in 1230 in Gothic style. The minster was built on the foundations of an original church that had been there from the beginning of Freiburg. In the Middle Ages, Freiburg lay in the Diocese of Konstanz, in 1827, Freiburg Minster became the seat of the newly erected Catholic Archdiocese of Freiburg, and thus a cathedral. The Swiss historian Jacob Burckhardt once said that the churchs 116-meter tower will remain the most beautiful spire on earth. His remark gave rise to the frequently heard misquote of the most beautiful tower in the whole of Christianity, the tower is nearly square at the base, and at its centre is the dodecagonal star gallery. Above this gallery, the tower is octagonal and tapered, the tower was subject to severe vibration at the time, and its survival of these vibrations is attributed to its lead anchors, which connect the sections of the spire. The windows had been out of the spire at the time by church staff led by Monsignor Max Fauler. Freiburg Minster was not the seat of a bishop until 1827, the tower has 16 bells, the oldest being the Hosanna bell from 1258, which weighs 3,290 kilograms. This bell can be heard on Thursday evening after the Angelus, on Friday at 11,00 am, on Saturday evenings, and each year on 27 November in remembrance of the air raid. There are two important altars inside the cathedral, the altar of Hans Baldung, and another altar of Hans Holbein the Younger in a side chapel. The nave windows were donated by the guilds, and the symbols of the guilds are featured on them, the deep red color in some of the windows is not the result of a dye, but instead the result of a suspension of solid gold nanoparticles. In 2003, the Lenten cloth was restored and backed with a supporting material and it now weighs over a ton, and so must be carried from the workshop with heavy machinery for its use during Lent. The cathedral holds 19 bells, altogether 25 tonnes, making it one of the largest peals in Germany, berthold V, Duke of Zähringen From the time of its construction, the cathedral was not owned by the Roman Catholic Church but by the people of Freiburg. In the Middle Ages, the situation changed so that the building was self-owned, more recently, the Münsterbauverein association was created, which now legally owns the cathedral. For the conservation of the cathedral, the Freiburger Münsterbauverein was established, the association invests several million euros each year in the care and maintenance of the building and its interior. The present architect in charge is Yvonne Faller and the chair of the association is Sven von Ungern-Sternberg, the Ten Virgins Media related to Freiburg Minster at Wikimedia Commons This article is based on a translation of the German Wikipedia article Freiburger Münster
12.
Ulm Minster
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Ulm Minster is a Lutheran church located in Ulm, Germany. It is the tallest church in the world, and the 4th tallest structure built before the 20th century, although sometimes referred to as Ulm Cathedral because of its great size, the church is not a cathedral as it has never been the seat of a bishop. Therefore, the building is referred to as a brick church. As such, it lays claim to the rank of second- to fourth-largest, after San Petronio Basilica in Bologna and together with Frauenkirche in Munich, Ulm Minster was begun in the Gothic era but not completed until the late 19th century. Nevertheless, all of the church except the towers and some outer decorations was complete, unlike Cologne Cathedral, where less than half of the work had been done,768 steps lead to the top of the minsters spire. At 143 m there is a view of Ulm in Baden-Württemberg and Neu-Ulm in Bavaria and, in clear weather. The final stairwell to the top is a tall, spiraling staircase that has enough room for one person. In the 14th century, the church of Ulm was located outside the walled city. The burghers of Ulm decided to erect a new church within the perimeters of the city, in 1377 the foundation stone was laid. The first plan was to build a hall church with aisles as wide. The building should have a spire on the west and two steeples above the choir. In 1392 Ulrich Ensingen was appointed master builder and it was his plan to make the western church tower the tallest spire, which it remains at the present day. As an optical counterweight to the tower, he alterd the plan by building a basilica with a central nave much higher – higher than the already built. The church, consisting of the naves and the choir. However, the vaults of the wide aisles and the high nave burdened the columns with too much lateral force at different heights. To avoid structural damage, the vaults of the aisles were demolished and replaced by vaults of half widths, in a referendum in 1530/31, the citizens of Ulm converted to Protestantism during the Reformation. Ulm Minster became a Lutheran church, in 1543 construction work was halted at a time when the steeple had reached a height of some 100 metres. The halt in the process was caused by a variety of factors which were political
13.
Strasbourg Cathedral
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Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg, also known as Strasbourg Minster, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Strasbourg, Alsace, France. Although considerable parts of it are still in Romanesque architecture, it is considered to be among the finest examples of high, or late. Erwin von Steinbach is credited for contributions from 1277 to his death in 1318. At 142 metres, it was the worlds tallest building from 1647 to 1874, today it is the sixth-tallest church in the world and the highest extant structure built entirely in the Middle Ages. Sandstone from the Vosges used in construction gives the cathedral its characteristic pink hue, archaeological excavations below and around the cathedral have been conducted in 1907, 1923–1924, 1947–1948, between 1966 and 1972 and again between 2012 and 2014. The site of the current cathedral was used for several successive religious buildings, in the eighth century, the first cathedral was replaced by a more important building that would be completed under the reign of Charlemagne. Bishop Remigius von Straßburg wished to be buried in the crypt and it was certainly in this building that the Oaths of Strasbourg were pronounced in 842. Excavations carried out recently reveal that this Carolingian cathedral had three naves and three apses, a poem described this cathedral decorated with gold and precious stones by the bishop Ratho. The basilica caught fire on multiple occasions, in 873,1002, in 1015, bishop Werner von Habsburg laid the first stone of a new cathedral on the ruins of the Carolingian basilica. He then constructed a cathedral in the Romanesque style of architecture and that cathedral burned to the ground in 1176 because at that time the naves were covered with a wooden framework. After that disaster, bishop Heinrich von Hasenburg decided to construct a new cathedral, to be more beautiful than that of Basel, construction of the new cathedral began on the foundations of the preceding structure, and did not end until centuries later. Werners cathedrals crypt, which had not burned, was kept, the construction began with the choir and the north transept in a Romanesque style, reminiscent of and actually inspired by the Imperial Cathedrals in its monumentality and height. But in 1225, a team coming from Chartres revolutionized the construction by suggesting a Gothic architecture style. The parts of the nave that had already begun in Romanesque style were torn down and in order to find money to finish the nave. The money was kept by the Œuvre Notre-Dame, which also hired architects, above all, the famous west front, decorated with thousands of figures, is a masterpiece of the Gothic era. The tower is one of the first to rely substantially on craftsmanship, while previous façades were certainly drawn prior to construction, Strasbourg has one of the earliest façades whose construction is inconceivable without prior drawing. Strasbourg and Cologne Cathedral together represent some of the earliest uses of architectural drawing, the north tower, completed in 1439, was the worlds tallest building from 1647 until 1874. The planned south tower was never built and as a result, with its asymmetrical form
14.
Murus Gallicus
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Murus Gallicus or Gallic Wall is a method of construction of defensive walls used to protect Iron Age hillforts and oppida of the La Tene period in Western Europe. Straight beams, connected lengthwise and two feet distant from each other at equal intervals, are placed together on the ground, these are morticed on the inside, but the intervals which we have mentioned, are closed up in front by large stones. In this manner the whole wall is consolidated, until the height of the wall be completed. About 30 structures of type have been excavated, mainly in Gaul. The example at the sea fort of Le Camp dArtus. The murus Gallicus contrasts with other styles, Pfostenschlitzmauer - characterised by upright wooden posts in the outer wall. Dacian Wall - inner and outer stone walls reinforced with horizontal timber tie beams. At Manching an earlier murus gallicus wall was rebuilt in the pfostenschlitzmauer style, commentaries on the Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar,7.23 The Ancient Celts, Barry Cunliffe ISBN 0-14-025422-6 Contains the cross-section of Huelgoat drawn by Mortimer Wheeler
15.
Castra
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In the Roman Empire, the Latin word castrum was a building, or plot of land, used as a fortified military camp. Castrum was the used for different sizes of camps including a large legionary fortress, smaller auxiliary forts, temporary encampments. The diminutive form castellum was used for fortlets, typically occupied by a detachment of a cohort or a century, in English, the terms Roman fortress, Roman fort and Roman camp are commonly used for castrum. However, scholastic convention tends toward the use of the camp, marching camp. For a list of known castra see List of castra, the term castrum appears in three Italic languages, Oscan, Umbrian and Latin. g. Castrum Album, Castrum Inui, Castrum Novum, Castrum Truentinum, Castrum Vergium. The plural was used as a place name, as Castra Cornelia. Castrorum Filius was one of names used by the emperor Caligula, the terms stratopedon and phrourion were used by Greek language authors to translate castrum and castellum, respectively. A castrum was designed to house and protect the soldiers, their equipment and this most detailed description that survives about Roman military camps is De Munitionibus Castrorum, a manuscript of 11 pages that dates most probably from the late 1st to early 2nd century AD. Regulations required a major unit in the field to retire to a properly constructed camp every day, to this end a marching column ported the equipment needed to build and stock the camp in a baggage train of wagons and on the backs of the soldiers. They could throw up a camp under enemy attack in as little as a few hours. Judging from the names, they used a repertory of camp plans, selecting the one appropriate to the length of time a legion would spend in it, tertia castra, quarta castra. A camp of three days, four days, etc, more permanent camps were castra stativa, standing camps. The least permanent of these were castra aestiva or aestivalia, summer camps, in which the soldiers were housed sub pellibus or sub tentoriis, under tents. For the winter the soldiers retired to castra hiberna containing barracks and other buildings of solid materials. The camp allowed the Romans to keep a rested and supplied army in the field, neither the Celtic nor Germanic armies had this capability, they found it necessary to disperse after only a few days. The largest castra were legionary fortresses built as bases for one or more whole legions, previously, legions were raised for specific military campaigns and subsequently disbanded, requiring only temporary castra. From then on many castra of various sizes were established many of which became permanent settlements, from the most ancient times Roman camps were constructed according to a certain ideal pattern, formally described in two main sources, the De Munitionibus Castrorum and the works of Polybius
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Roman Catholic Diocese of Basel
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The Diocese of Basel is a Roman Catholic diocese in Switzerland. Historically, the bishops of Basel were also rulers of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel. The bishop of Basel has not resided in the city of Basel since 1528, Solothurn is the seat of the Bishop of Basel. Today the diocese of Basel includes the Swiss cantons of Aargau, Basel-Country, Basel-City, Berne, Jura, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, Thurgau, and Zug. Pp. S
17.
Augusta Raurica
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Augusta Raurica is a Roman archaeological site and an open-air museum in Switzerland located on the south bank of the Rhine river about 20 km east of Basel near the villages of Augst and Kaiseraugst. It is the site of the oldest known Roman colony on the Rhine, Augusta Raurica, or Colonia Augusta Rauracorum, was founded by Lucius Munatius Plancus around 44 BC in the vicinity of a local Gallic tribe, the Rauraci, relatives of the Helvetii. Successful colonization of the site had to wait for Augustus conquest of the central Alps around 15 BC, the oldest find to date at Augusta Raurica has been dated to 6 BC by dendrochronology. The inscription on Munatius Plancus grave merely states the name of the colony as Colonia Raurica, a fragmentary inscription from the Augustinian period speaks of the Colonia P M naris merita ica. Apart from this reference, the first certain witness to the use of the name Augustus comes from the geographer Ptolemy in the Ancient Greek form Augústa Rauríkon. Augusta Raurica played an important role in Augustus plans of conquest with two other colonies that bear his name, Augusta Praetoria and Augusta Vindelicum, during excavations it was determined that the city was founded on a high plateau just south of the Rhine river. This point is the site of the Roman castrum, or military fortification, the city is, therefore, well-defended by steep slopes to the north, east, and west. The next step in planning the city was the surveying of the according to the architects plans for the city. Every important public building had its place, starting with the temple of Jupiter as the sacred high point from which the street network would spread. The architect, who was responsible for executing the plans for the city, other longitudinal streets were laid out parallel to the main street at intervals of 55 meters. The main street was divided into sections of 66 meters. This created a series of blocks of around 50 by 60 meters. The streets were laid on a bed of gravel and flanked by gutters on both sides. The more important roads featured covered sidewalks behind rows of columns, the limits of Colonia Raurica can no longer be determined with absolute accuracy. However the approximate boundaries can be determined by examining the extent of Augst in the Early Middle Ages, new research, based on tiles stamped with the mark of the Vindonissa Legion, indicates some administrative dependence on Vindonissa. This would indicate that the colony reached over the Bözberg toward Frick, the western boundary, was near the mouth of the Birs, possibly marked by a border station. Early Roman cremation remains, found in 1937 by the church in Neuallschwil, the Colonia Raurica, on the whole, contained the modern Canton of Basel, the Frick valley, and the eastern Jura Mountains of the Canton of Solothurn. The total area of the colony was around 700 km², by the 2nd century AD, Augusta Raurica was a prosperous commercial trading centre and, in its glory days, the capital of a local Roman province
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Monastery of Luxeuil
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Luxeuil Abbey was one of the oldest and best-known monasteries in Burgundy, located in what is now the département of Haute-Saône in Franche-Comté, France. It was founded circa 585–590 by the Irish missionary Saint Columbanus, Columbanus and his companions first settled in cells at Annegray, in the commune of Voivre, Haute-Saône. Looking for a permanent site for his community, Columbanus decided upon the ruins of a well-fortified Gallo-Roman settlement, Luxovium. Jonas described it further, There stone images crowded the nearby woods, with a grant from an officer of the palace at Childeberts court, an abbey church was built with a sense of triumph within the heathen site and its spectral haunts. Under the intellectual and spiritual stimulation of the Irish monks, the abbey at Luxeuil, dedicated to Saint Peter, soon became the most important and flourishing monastery in Gaul. The community was so large that choir followed choir in the chanting of the office, Columbanus was exiled from Luxeuil by Theuderic II of Austrasia and the dowager Queen Brunehaut. He was succeeded as abbot by Saint Eustace of Luxeuil, the head of the monastic school, the school and example of Luxeuil contributed significantly to the conversion of the Burgundians. Luxeuil sent out monks to found houses at Bobbio, between Milan and Genoa, where Columbanus himself became abbot, and monasteries at Saint-Valéry and Remiremont. Later, under the government of the eighteenth abbot, Saint Ansegisus, Louis the Pious renewed its charters, restored the church and monastic buildings. From the 15th century the institution of commendatory abbots encouraged the decline of discipline, the Emperor Charles V curtailed the power of Luxeuils abbots. In 1634, however, the commendatory abbots ceased, and Luxeuil was joined to the reformed Congregation of St. Vanne, from the report of the Commission des Réguliers, drawn up in 1768, the community appears to have been numerous and flourishing, and discipline well kept. At the French Revolution the monks were dispersed, the church itself has for many years served as the parish church of Luxeuil-les-Bains. List of Merovingian monasteries Merovingian architecture Merovingian art Catholic Encyclopedia article, Luxeuil Northvegr, Roman ruins of the baths at Luxeuil
19.
Hans Holbein the Younger
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Hans Holbein the Younger was a German and Swiss artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century and he also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history of book design. He is called the Younger to distinguish him from his father, Hans Holbein the Elder, Born in Augsburg, Holbein worked mainly in Basel as a young artist. At first he painted murals and religious works and designed for stained glass windows and he also painted the occasional portrait, making his international mark with portraits of the humanist Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. When the Reformation reached Basel, Holbein worked for reformist clients while continuing to serve traditional religious patrons and his Late Gothic style was enriched by artistic trends in Italy, France and the Netherlands, as well as by Renaissance humanism. The result was a combined aesthetic uniquely his own, Holbein travelled to England in 1526 in search of work, with a recommendation from Erasmus. He was welcomed into the humanist circle of Thomas More, where he built a high reputation. After returning to Basel for four years, he resumed his career in England in 1532 and this time he worked under the patronage of Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell. By 1535, he was Kings Painter to King Henry VIII, in this role, he produced not only portraits and festive decorations but designs for jewellery, plate and other precious objects. His portraits of the family and nobles are a record of the court in the years when Henry was asserting his supremacy over the English church. Holbeins art was prized from early in his career, the French poet and reformer Nicholas Bourbon dubbed him the Apelles of our time, a typical contemporary accolade. Holbein has also described as a great one-off of art history. After his death, some of his work was lost, but much was collected, recent exhibitions have also highlighted his versatility. He turned his fluid line to designs ranging from jewellery to monumental frescoes. Holbeins art has sometimes been called realist, since he drew and his portraits were renowned in their time for their likeness, and it is through Holbeins eyes that many famous figures of his day, such as Erasmus and More, are now seen. Holbein was never content, however, with outward appearance and he embedded layers of symbolism, allusion, and paradox in his art, to the lasting fascination of scholars. In the view of art historian Ellis Waterhouse, his portraiture remains unsurpassed for sureness and economy of statement, penetration into character, Holbein was born in the free imperial city of Augsburg during the winter of 1497–98. He was a son of the painter and draughtsman Hans Holbein the Elder, whose trade he and his brother, Ambrosius
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Cunigunde of Luxembourg
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She served as interim Regent after the death of her spouse in 1024. She is a Roman Catholic saint and the Patroness of Luxembourg and Lithuania, St. Cunigunde was one of eleven children born to Siegfried I of Luxembourg and Hedwig of Nordgau. She was a descendant of Charlemagne. She married St. King Henry in 999 and it has been claimed that Cunigunde made a vow of virginity with Henrys consent prior to their marriage. The truth of this is debatable, while the couple were both childless, it is supposed by some authors that later hagiographers mistakenly construed the fact to imply a virginal marriage. Others, however, accept that the marriage was purely platonic, during their marriage, her husband, Henry, then only Duke of Bavaria, was crowned as King of Germany on 9 July 1002 in Mainz, in present-day Germany, by Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz. After her husband was crowned as King of Germany, she was crowned as his Queen of Germany on 10 August 1002 in Paderborn, in present-day Germany, also by Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz. Later her husband was crowned as King of Italy on 14 or 15 May 1004 in Pavia, Italy. It appears that Cunigunde was active politically, as the closest adviser of her husband, she took part in Imperial councils. She is also reported to have exerted an influence on her husband in his endowments of land to the Church and these included the cathedral and monastery at Bamberg, Bavaria, in present-day Germany. Peters Basilica, Rome, receiving together with Henry the Imperial Crown from the hands of Pope Benedict VIII, during her reign she suffered from a grave illness and made a vow that if she were to regain her health, she would found a Benedictine monastery at Kassel. Upon her recovery, she kept her oath and work began on the building, however, upon his death, Cunigunde was obliged to assume the office of Regent of the Empire. This she did with her brother, and later handed over the Imperial insignia when Conrad II was elected to succeed her husband on 8 September 1024. As a widow, St. Cunigunde was left comparatively poor, owing to the wealth given away by her. In 1025, exactly one year after the death of her husband, St. Cunigunde retired to Kaufungen Abbey, in Hesse, Germany, where she entered the monastery of Benedictine nuns she had founded there. At the dedication of the monastery, she offered a relic of the True Cross, removed her regalia, there she remained at the monastery, performing charitable works, caring for the sick and devoting her time to prayer. She was buried at Bamberg Cathedral beside her husband, but may have been buried elsewhere first, St. Cunigunde was canonised by Pope Innocent III on 29 March 1200,53 years after the canonisation of her husband St. Henry II in July 1147. To prepare a case for canonisation her biography was compiled and this and the Papal bull for her canonisation relate several instances of miracles purported to have been worked by the Empress
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Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Henry II, also known as Saint Henry, Obl. S. B. was Holy Roman Emperor from 1014 until his death in 1024 and the last member of the Ottonian dynasty of Emperors as he had no children. The son of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria and his wife Gisela of Burgundy, Emperor Henry II was a great-grandson of German King Henry I, since his father had rebelled against two previous emperors, the younger Henry was often in exile. This led him to turn to the Church at an age, first finding refuge with the Bishop of Freising. He succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria in 995 as Henry IV, as Duke, he attempted to join his second-cousin, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, in suppressing a revolt against imperial rule in Italy in 1002. Before Henry II could arrive, however, Otto III died of fever, after defeating several other claimants to the throne, Henry II was crowned as King of Germany on July 9,1002 and as King of Italy on 15 May 1004. Henry II in 1004 aided Jaromír, Duke of Bohemia against the Poles, unlike his predecessor, who had focused upon imperial attention in Italy, Henry spent most of his reign concerned with imperial territory north of the Alps. His main focus was on a series of wars against the Polish Duke Bolesław I, on 14 February 1014, Pope Benedict VIII crowned Henry as Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. The rule of Henry II is seen as a period of centralized authority throughout the Empire and he consolidated his power by cultivating personal and political ties with the Catholic Church. He greatly expanded the Ottonian dynastys custom of employing clergy as counter-weights against secular nobles, through donations to the Church and the establishment of new dioceses, Henry strengthened imperial rule across the Empire and increased control over ecclesiastical affairs. He stressed service to the Church and promoted monastic reform, for his personal holiness and efforts to support the Church, Pope Bl. Eugene III canonized him in 1146, making Henry II the only German monarch to be a saint, Henry II married Cunigunde of Luxembourg, who later became his queen and empress. As the union produced no children, after Henrys death the German nobles elected Conrad II, Conrad was the first of the Salian dynasty of Emperors. Henry was born in May 973, the son of Duke Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, through his father, he was the grandson of Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, and the great-grandson of King Henry I of Germany. By his mother, he was the grandson of King Conrad I of Burgundy, the elder Henry came into conflict with his cousin Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, in 974. After an initial failed revolt, Otto II imprisoned the elder Henry in Ingelheim, after escaping, Henry again revolted against Otto II. When this second failed, Otto II deposed Henry as Duke of Bavaria. As a consequence of his revolt, the Emperor stripped the Duchy of Bavaria of its southeastern territories bordering Italy, during his fathers exile, the younger Henry lived in Hildesheim. As a child he was educated in the Christian faith by Saint Wolfgang, bishop of Regensburg, the Emperor himself ensured the younger Henry received an ecclesiastical education in order that by becoming a religious official he would be prevented from participating in the Imperial government
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Ottonian dynasty
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The Ottonian dynasty was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs, named after its first Emperor Otto I, but also known as the Saxon dynasty after the familys origin in the German stem duchy of Saxony. The family itself is sometimes known as the Liudolfings, after its earliest known member Count Liudolf. The Ottonian rulers were successors of the Carolingian dynasty in East Francia, in the 9th century, the Saxon count Liudolf held large estates on the Leine river west of the Harz mountain range and in the adjacent Eichsfeld territory of Thuringia. His ancestors probably acted as ministeriales in the Saxon stem duchy, Liudolf married Oda, a member of the Frankish House of Billung. About 852 the couple together with Bishop Altfrid of Hildesheim founded Brunshausen Abbey, Liudolf already held the high social position of a Saxon dux, documented by the marriage of his daughter Liutgard with Louis the Younger, son of the Carolingian king Louis the German in 869. Liudolfs sons Bruno and Otto the Illustrious ruled over parts of Saxon Eastphalia, moreover. He married Hedwiga, a daughter of the Babenberg duke Henry of Franconia, upon Ottos death in 912, his son Henry the Fowler succeeded him as Duke of Saxony. Henry had married Matilda of Ringelheim, a descendant of the legendary Saxon ruler Widukind, while East Francia under the rule of the last Carolingian kings was ravaged by Hungarian invasions, he rose to a primus inter pares among the German dukes. In 933 he led a German army to victory over the Hungarian forces at the Battle of Riade, by succession regulation, he transferred the power to his second son Otto I, who acceded to an undivided heritage. Otto I, Duke of Saxony upon the death of his father in 936, was elected king within a few weeks. He continued the work of unifying all of the German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, he installed members of his own family to the kingdoms most important duchies. This, however, did not prevent his relatives from entering into civil war, Otto was able to suppress their uprisings, in consequence, the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, were reduced into royal subjects under the kings authority. His decisive victory over the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955 ended the Hungarian invasions of Europe, the defeat of the pagan Magyars earned King Otto the reputation as the savior of Christendom and the epithet the Great. He transformed the Church in Germany into a kind of church and major royal power base to which he donated charity. By 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy, which was an inheritance that none wanted, and extended his kingdoms borders to the north, east. In control of much of central and southern Europe, the patronage of Otto and his immediate successors caused a cultural renaissance of the arts. He even reached a settlement with the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes by marrying his son, in 968 he established the Archbishopric of Magdeburg at his long-time residence. Co-ruler with his father since 961 and crowned emperor in 967, by excluding the Bavarian line of Ottonians from the line of succession, he strengthened Imperial authority and secured his own sons succession to the Imperial throne
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Prince-Bishopric of Basel
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The final dissolution of the state was declared in 1803 as part of the German Mediatisation. The city of Basel became episcopal seat in ca,740, continuing the 4th century diocese of Augusta Raurica. The Prince-Bishopric reached the peak of its power during the late 12th to early 14th centuries, in the course of the 14th century, financial difficulties forced the bishops of Basel to sell parts of their territory. Basel became the point of western Christendom during the 15th century Council of Basel. In 1459 Pope Pius II endowed the University of Basel where such notables as Erasmus of Rotterdam, following the Imperial Reform of 1495, the prince-bishopric was part of the Upper Rhenish Circle of the Imperial Circle Estates. In the 16th century the city of Basel and its surrounding territory acceded to the Old Swiss Confederacy as the Canton of Basel and it soon joined the Swiss Reformation, forcing the bishop into exile in Porrentruy. The secular rule of the Prince-Bishops from this time was limited to territories west of Basel. The Prince-Bishopric lost most of its territories to the Rauracian Republic in 1792. Schliengen was made part of the Margraviate of Baden in the resolution of the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1803, discontinuing the status of the bishops of Basel as secular rulers
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Consecration
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Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious. The word consecration literally means association with the sacred, persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups. A synonym for to consecrate is to sanctify, a distinct antonym is to desecrate, consecration is used in the Catholic Church as the setting apart for the service of God of both persons and objects. The ordination of a new bishop is called a consecration. While the term episcopal ordination is now common, consecration was the preferred term from the Middle Ages through the period including the Second Vatican Council. The Vatican II document Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy n.76 states, Both the ceremonies, the address given by the bishop at the beginning of each ordination or consecration may be in the mother tongue. When a bishop is consecrated, the laying of hands may be done by all the bishops present, the life of those who enter religious institutes and similar institutes is also described as Consecrated life. The rite of consecration of virgins can be traced back at least to the fourth century, by the time of the Second Vatican Council, the bestowal of the consecration was limited to cloistered nuns only. The Council directed that this should be revised, two similar versions were prepared, one for women living in monastic orders, another for consecrated virgins living in the world. An English translation of the rite for those living in the world is available on the web site of the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins, Chrism, an anointing oil, is olive oil consecrated by a bishop. Objects such as patens and chalices, used for the Sacrament of the Eucharist, also used to be consecrated by a bishop, using chrism. Before a new priest is ordained, the day there is a vigil. A more solemn rite exists for what used to be called the consecration of an altar, the rite is now called the dedication. Since it would be contradictory to dedicate to the service of God a mortgage-burdened building, to consecrate the bread and wine, the priest speaks the Words of Institution. It can also be used to describe the change of the bread and wine into the Body, the Chrism used at Chrismation and the Antimension placed on the Holy Table are also said to be consecrated. A person may be consecrated for a role within a religious hierarchy. In particular, the ordination of a bishop is called a consecration. In churches that follow the doctrine of succession, the bishops who consecrate a new bishop are known as the consecrators
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Limestone
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Limestone is a sedimentary rock, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, forams and molluscs. Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate, about 10% of sedimentary rocks are limestones. The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes, most cave systems are through limestone bedrock. The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778, like most other sedimentary rocks, most limestone is composed of grains. Most grains in limestone are skeletal fragments of organisms such as coral or foraminifera. Other carbonate grains comprising limestones are ooids, peloids, intraclasts and these organisms secrete shells made of aragonite or calcite, and leave these shells behind when they die. Limestone often contains variable amounts of silica in the form of chert or siliceous skeletal fragment, some limestones do not consist of grains at all, and are formed completely by the chemical precipitation of calcite or aragonite, i. e. travertine. Secondary calcite may be deposited by supersaturated meteoric waters and this produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. Another form taken by calcite is oolitic limestone, which can be recognized by its granular appearance, the primary source of the calcite in limestone is most commonly marine organisms. Some of these organisms can construct mounds of rock known as reefs, below about 3,000 meters, water pressure and temperature conditions cause the dissolution of calcite to increase nonlinearly, so limestone typically does not form in deeper waters. Limestones may also form in lacustrine and evaporite depositional environments, calcite can be dissolved or precipitated by groundwater, depending on several factors, including the water temperature, pH, and dissolved ion concentrations. Calcite exhibits a characteristic called retrograde solubility, in which it becomes less soluble in water as the temperature increases. Impurities will cause limestones to exhibit different colors, especially with weathered surfaces, Limestone may be crystalline, clastic, granular, or massive, depending on the method of formation. Crystals of calcite, quartz, dolomite or barite may line small cavities in the rock, when conditions are right for precipitation, calcite forms mineral coatings that cement the existing rock grains together, or it can fill fractures. Travertine is a banded, compact variety of limestone formed along streams, particularly there are waterfalls. Calcium carbonate is deposited where evaporation of the leaves a solution supersaturated with the chemical constituents of calcite. Tufa, a porous or cellular variety of travertine, is found near waterfalls, coquina is a poorly consolidated limestone composed of pieces of coral or shells. During regional metamorphism that occurs during the building process, limestone recrystallizes into marble
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Molasse
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The term molasse refers to sandstones, shales and conglomerates that form as terrestrial or shallow marine deposits in front of rising mountain chains. The molasse deposits accumulate in a basin, especially on top of flysch—like, for example. These deposits are typically the non-marine alluvial and fluvial sediments of lowlands, sedimentation stops when the orogeny stops, or when the mountains have eroded flat. The molasse can sometimes fill an foreland basin, creating a nearly flat depositional surface. Molasse can be very thick near the front, but usually thins out towards the interior of a craton, such massive
27.
Nave
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The nave /ˈneɪv/ is the central aisle of a basilica church, or the main body of a church between its western wall and its chancel. It is the zone of a church accessible by the laity, the nave extends from the entry — which may have a separate vestibule — to the chancel and may be flanked by lower side-aisles separated from the nave by an arcade. If the aisles are high and of a width comparable to the central nave and it provides the central approach to the high altar. The term nave is from medieval Latin navis, a ship was an early Christian symbol. The term may also have suggested by the keel shape of the vaulting of a church. The earliest churches were built when builders were familiar with the form of the Roman basilica and it had a wide central area, with aisles separated by columns, and with windows near the ceiling. Old St. Peters Basilica in Rome is a church which had this form. It was built in the 4th century on the orders of Roman emperor Constantine I, the nave, the main body of the building, is the section set apart for the laity, while the chancel is reserved for the clergy. In medieval churches the nave was separated from the chancel by the rood screen, medieval naves were divided into bays, the repetition of form giving an effect of great length, and the vertical element of the nave was emphasized. During the Renaissance, in place of dramatic effects there were more balanced proportions, longest nave in Denmark, Aarhus Cathedral,93 metres. Longest nave in England, St Albans Cathedral, St Albans,84 metres, longest nave in Ireland, St Patricks Cathedral, Dublin,91 metres. Longest nave in France, Bourges Cathedral,91 metres, including choir where a crossing would be if there were transepts, longest nave in Germany, Cologne cathedral,58 metres, including two bays between the towers. Longest nave in Italy, St Peters Basilica in Rome,91 metres, longest nave in Spain, Seville,60 metres, in five bays. Longest nave in the United States, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City, highest vaulted nave, Beauvais Cathedral, France,48 metres high but only one bay of the nave was actually built but choir and transepts were completed to the same height. Highest completed nave, Rome, St. Peters, Italy,46 metres high, abbey, with architectural discussion and groundplans Cathedral architecture Cathedral diagram List of highest church naves
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Transept
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A transept is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the edifice. In churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a building within the Romanesque. Each half of a transept is known as a semitransept, the transept of a church separates the nave from the sanctuary, apse, choir, chevet, presbytery or chancel. The transepts cross the nave at the crossing, which belongs equally to the main nave axis, upon its four piers, the crossing may support a spire, a central tower or a crossing dome. Since the altar is located at the east end of a church. The north and south end walls often hold decorated windows of stained glass, such as rose windows, occasionally, the basilicas and the church and cathedral planning that descended from them were built without transepts, sometimes the transepts were reduced to matched chapels. More often, the transepts extended well beyond the sides of the rest of the building, forming the shape of a cross and this design is called a Latin cross ground plan, and these extensions are known as the arms of the transept. A Greek cross ground plan, with all four extensions the same length, when churches have only one transept, as at Pershore Abbey, there is generally a historical disaster, fire, war or funding problem, to explain the anomaly. At Beauvais only the chevet and transepts stand, the nave of the cathedral was never completed after a collapse of the daring high vaulting in 1284. At St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague, only the choir, in a metro station or similar construction, a transept is a space over the platforms and tracks of a station with side platforms, containing the bridge between the platforms. Placing the bridge in a rather than an enclosed tunnel allows passengers to see the platforms. Aisle Apse Cathedral architecture Cathedral diagram Glossary of the Catholic Church Transom
29.
Column
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A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member, the term column applies especially to a large round support with a capital and a base or pedestal and made of stone, or appearing to be so. A small wooden or metal support is called a post. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces, other compression members are often termed columns because of the similar stress conditions. Columns are frequently used to support beams or arches on which the parts of walls or ceilings rest. In architecture, column refers to such an element that also has certain proportional. A column might also be an element not needed for structural purposes, many columns are engaged. All significant Iron Age civilizations of the Near East and Mediterranean made some use of columns, egyptian columns are famously present in the Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak, where 134 columns are lined up in 16 rows, with some columns reaching heights of 24 metres. Some of the most elaborate columns in the ancient world were those of the Persians and they included double-bull structures in their capitals. The Hall of Hundred Columns at Persepolis, measuring 70 ×70 metres, was built by the Achaemenid king Darius I, many of the ancient Persian columns are standing, some being more than 30 metres tall. The Minoans used whole tree-trunks, usually turned upside down in order to prevent re-growth, stood on a set in the stylobate. These were then painted as in the most famous Minoan palace of Knossos, the Minoans employed columns to create large open-plan spaces, light-wells and as a focal point for religious rituals. These traditions were continued by the later Mycenaean civilization, particularly in the megaron or hall at the heart of their palaces. Being made of wood these early columns have not survived, but their bases have and through these we may see their use. The Greeks developed the classical orders of architecture, which are most easily distinguished by the form of the column and their Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders were expanded by the Romans to include the Tuscan and Composite orders. Columns, or at least large structural exterior ones, became less significant in the architecture of the Middle Ages. Early columns were constructed of stone, some out of a piece of stone. Monolithic columns are among the heaviest stones used in architecture, other stone columns are created out of multiple sections of stone, mortared or dry-fit together
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Choir
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A choir is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical repertoire, which spans from the Medieval era to the present. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, a body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus. The former term is often applied to groups affiliated with a church and the second to groups that perform in theatres or concert halls. Choirs may sing without instrumental accompaniment, with the accompaniment of a piano or pipe organ, with a small ensemble, choirs are often led by a conductor or choirmaster. Other than four, the most common number of parts are three, five, six, and eight, choirs can sing with or without instrumental accompaniment. Singing without accompaniment is called a cappella singing, many choirs perform in one or many locations such as a church, opera house, or school hall. In some cases choirs join up to become one mass choir that performs for a special concert, in this case they provide a series of songs or musical works to celebrate and provide entertainment to others. Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as a concert, by way of visible gestures with the hands, arms, face. The primary duties of the conductor or choirmaster are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble. The conductor or choral director typically stands on a raised platform, many choral conductors use their hands to conduct. In the 2010s, most conductors do not play an instrument when conducting, although in earlier periods of music history. In Baroque music from the 1600s to the 1750s, conductors performing in the 2010s may lead an ensemble while playing a harpsichord or the violin, conducting while playing a piano may also be done with musical theatre pit orchestras. Communication is typically non-verbal during a performance, however, in rehearsals, frequent interruptions allow the conductor to give verbal directions as to how the music should be sung. Conductors act as guides to the choirs they conduct and they choose the works to be performed and study their scores, to which they may make certain adjustments, work out their interpretation, and relay their vision to the singers. Choral conductors may also have to conduct instrumental ensembles such as if the choir is singing a piece for choir. They may also attend to matters, such as scheduling rehearsals, planning a concert season, hearing auditions
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Vault (architecture)
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Vault is an architectural term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert lateral thrust that requires a counter resistance, when vaults are built underground, the ground gives all the resistance required. However, when the vault is built above ground, various replacements are employed to supply the needed resistance, an example is the thicker walls used in the case of barrel or continuous vaults. Buttresses are used to supply resistance when intersecting vaults are employed, the simplest kind of vault is the barrel vault, which is generally semicircular in shape. The barrel vault is an arch, the length being greater than its diameter. As in building an arch, a support is needed while rings of voussoirs are constructed. Until the topmost voussoir, the keystone, is positioned, the vault is not self-supporting, with a barrel vault, the centering can then be shifted on to support the next rings. Amongst the earliest known examples of any form of vaulting is to be found in the village of Khirokitia on Cyprus. Dating from ca.6000 BCE, the circular buildings supported beehive shaped corbel domed vaults of unfired mud-bricks, similar Beehive tombs, called tholoi, exist in Crete and Northern Iraq. Their construction differs from that at Khirokitia in that most appear partially buried, the inclusion of domes, however, represents a wider sense of the word vault. The distinction between the two is that a vault is essentially an arch which is extruded into the third dimension, whereas a dome is an arch revolved around its vertical axis. Pitched-brick vaults are named for their construction, the bricks are installed vertically and are leaning at an angle, examples have been found in archaeological excavations in Mesopotamia dating to the 2nd and 3rd millennium BC which were set in gypsum mortar. A barrel vault is the simplest form of a vault and resembles a barrel or tunnel cut lengthwise in half, the effect is that of a structure composed of continuous semicircular or pointed sections. The earliest known examples of barrel vaults were built by the Sumerians, possibly under the ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, which was built of fired bricks cemented with clay mortar. The earliest barrel vaults in ancient Egypt are thought to be those in the built by the 19th dynasty Pharaoh Ramesses II. The vault being over 800 feet long,10 feet in span, the enormous Eyvan-e Khosro at Ctesiphon was built over 1,500 years ago during the Persian Sasanian period as a throne room. The arch is about 37 metres high,26 metres across and 50 metres long, built entirely without centering, the rings relieved the centering from the weight imposed, and the two layers of bricks carried the concrete till it had set. As the walls carrying these vaults were built in concrete with occasional bond courses of brick
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Altar
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An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes, and by extension the Holy table of post-reformation Anglican churches. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches, today they are used particularly in Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Shinto, Taoism, as well as in Neopaganism and Ceremonial Magic. Judaism used such a structure until the destruction of the Second Temple, many historical faiths also made use of them, including Greek and Norse religion. Altars in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth or unwrought stone, altars were generally erected in conspicuous places. The first altar recorded in the Hebrew Bible is that erected by Noah, altars were erected by Abraham, by Isaac, by Jacob, and by Moses. In Catholic and Orthodox Christian theology, the Eucharist is a re-presentation, hence, the table upon which the Eucharist is consecrated is called an altar. The altar plays a role in the celebration of the Eucharist, which takes place at the altar on which the bread. The altar is often on a higher elevation than the rest of the church, in Reformed and Anabaptist churches, a table, often called a Communion table, serves an analogous function. In some colloquial usage, the altar is used to denote the altar rail also. The main altar was also referred to as the high altar, in the earliest days of the Church, the Eucharist appears to have been celebrated on portable altars set up for the purpose. Some historians hold that, during the persecutions, the Eucharist was celebrated among the tombs in the Catacombs of Rome, other historians dispute this, but it is thought to be the origin of the tradition of placing relics beneath the altar. Although in the days of the Jerusalem Temple the High Priest indeed faced east when sacrificing on Yom Kippur, the ministers, celebrated the Eucharist facing east, towards the entrance. Some hold that for the part of the celebration the congregation faced the same way. After the sixth century the contrary orientation prevailed, with the entrance to the west and the altar at the east end. Then the ministers and congregation all faced east during the whole celebration, most rubrics, even in books of the seventeenth century and later, such as the Pontificale Romanum, continued to envisage the altar as free-standing. The rite of the Dedication of the Church continued to presume that the officiating Bishop could circle the altar during the consecration of the church and its altar. Despite this, with the increase in the size and importance of the reredos, most altars were built against the wall or barely separated from it. This diversity was recognized in the rubrics of the Roman Missal from the 1604 typical edition of Pope Clement VIII to the 1962 edition of Pope John XXIII, Si altare sit ad orientem, versus populum
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Ulm
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Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at almost 120,000, founded around 850, Ulm is rich in history and traditions as a former Free Imperial City. Today, it is an economic centre due to its varied industries, internationally, Ulm is primarily known for having the church with the tallest steeple in the world, the Gothic minster, and as the birthplace of Albert Einstein. Ulm lies at the point where the rivers Blau and Iller join the Danube, at an altitude of 479 m above sea level. Most parts of the city, including the old town, are situated on the bank of the Danube, only the districts of Wiblingen, Gögglingen, Donaustetten. Across from the old town, on the side of the river, lies the twin city of Neu-Ulm in the state of Bavaria, smaller than Ulm and, until 1810. Except for the Danube in the south, the city is surrounded by forests and hills rise to altitudes of over 620 metres. South of the Danube, plains and hills finally end in the edge of the Alps. The city of Ulm is situated in the part of the North Alpine Foreland basin. The Turritellenplatte of Ermingen is a famous site of Burdigalian age. On the right side of Danube and Iller there is the district town Neu-Ulm. On the left side Ulm is almost completely surrounded by the Alb-Danube district, nine districts that were integrated during the latest municipality reform in the 1970s. They have own local councils which acquire an important consulting position to the city council concerning issues that are related to the prevailing districts. But at the end, final decisions can only be made by the city council of the city of Ulm. The oldest traceable settlement of the Ulm area began in the early Neolithic period, settlements of this time have been identified at the villages of Eggingen and Lehr, today districts of the city. In the city area of Ulm proper, the oldest find dates from the late Neolithic period, the earliest written mention of Ulm is dated 22 July 854 AD, when King Louis the German signed a document in the Kings palace of Hulma in the Duchy of Swabia. The city was declared an Imperial City by Friedrich Barbarossa in 1181, at first, Ulms significance was due to the privilege of a Königspfalz, a place of accommodation for the medieval German kings and emperors on their frequent travels. Later, Ulm became a city of traders and craftsmen, one of the most important legal documents of the city, an agreement between the Ulm patricians and the trade guilds, dates from 1397
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Strasbourg
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Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany in the region of Alsace. In 2014, the city proper had 276,170 inhabitants, Strasbourgs metropolitan area had a population of 773,347 in 2013, making it the ninth largest metro area in France and home to 13% of the Grand Est regions inhabitants. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 915,000 inhabitants in 2014, Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, Strasbourgs historic city centre, the Grande Île, was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012. Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, the port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany. Before the 5th century, the city was known as Argantorati, a Celtic Gaulish name Latinized first as Argentorate, after the 5h century, the city became known by a completely different name Gallicized as Strasbourg. That name is of Germanic origin and means Town of roads, Strasbourg is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the River Rhine, which forms the eastern border of the modern city. The historic core of Strasbourg however lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres from. The natural courses of the two eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city. This section of the Rhine valley is an axis of north-south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself. The city is some 400 kilometres east of Paris, in spite of its position far inland, Strasbourgs climate is classified as Oceanic, with warm, relatively sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. Precipitation is elevated from mid-spring to the end of summer, but remains largely constant throughout the year, on average, snow falls 30 days per year. The highest temperature recorded was 38.5 °C in August 2003. The lowest temperature recorded was −23.4 °C in December 1938. Nonetheless, the disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution
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Episcopal see
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An episcopal see is, in the usual meaning of the phrase, the area of a bishops ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the significance of the term. The word see is derived from Latin sedes, which in its original or proper sense denotes the seat or chair that, the word throne is also used, especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church, both for the seat and for the area of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The term see is also used of the town where the cathedral or the residence is located. Within Roman Catholicism, each diocese is considered to be a See unto itself with an allegiance to the See of Rome. The idea of a See as an entity is somewhat complicated due to the existence of the 23 Particular churches of the Roman Catholic Church. The Western Church and its Eastern Counterparts all reserve some level of autonomy within their particular See, the episcopal see of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is known as the Holy See or the Apostolic See, claiming Papal supremacy. The view of the Catholic Church contrasted by the Eastern Catholic idea of Pentarchy, followed by Eastern Orthodox opposition to papal supremacy
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Reformation in Switzerland
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The Protestant Reformation in Switzerland was promoted initially by Huldrych Zwingli, who gained the support of the magistrate and population of Zürich in the 1520s. It led to significant changes in life and state matters in Zürich. Seven cantons remained Roman Catholic, though, which led to inter-cantonal wars known as the Wars of Kappel, after the victory of the Catholic cantons in 1531, they proceeded to institute counter-reformatory policies in some regions. The schism and distrust between Catholic and Protestant cantons would define their interior politics and paralyse any common foreign policy well into the 18th century. Despite their religious differences, and despite an exclusively Catholic defence alliance of the seven Catholic cantons, soldiers from both sides fought in the French Wars of Religion. The Three Leagues of the Grisons, at that time not yet a member of the confederacy, were involved in the war from 1620 on, after the violent conflicts of the late 15th century the Swiss cantons had had a generation of relative political stability. As part of their struggle for independence, they had already in the 15th century sought to limit the influence of the Church on their political sovereignty. Many monasteries had already come under secular supervision, and the administration of schools was in the hands of the cantons, nevertheless, many of the problems of the Church also existed in the Swiss Confederacy. Many priests were educated, and spiritual Church doctrines were often disregarded. Many priests did not live in celibacy but in concubinage, the new reformatory ideas thus fell on fertile ground. The main proponent of the Reformation in Switzerland was Ulrich Zwingli and his own studies, in the renaissance humanist tradition, had led him to preach against injustices and hierarchies in the Church already in 1516 while he was still a priest in Einsiedeln. When he was called to Zürich, he expanded his criticism also onto political topics and his ideas were received favourably, especially by entrepreneurs, businessmen, and the guilds. The first disputation of Zürich of 1523 was the breakthrough, the city decided to implement his reformatory plans. In the following two years, profound changes took place in Zürich, priests were relieved from celibacy, the opulent decorations in the churches were thrown out. The state assumed the administration of Church properties, financing the social works, the last abbess of the Fraumünster, Katharina von Zimmern, turned over the convent including all of its rights and possessions to the city authorities on 30 November 1524. She even married the next year, over the next few years, the cities of St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Basel, Bienne, Mulhouse, and finally Bern all followed the example set by Zürich. Their subject territories were converted to Protestantism by decree, in Basel, reformer Johannes Oecolampadius was active, in St. Gallen, the Reformation was adopted by mayor Joachim Vadian. In Glarus, Appenzell, and in the Grisons, which all three had a more structure, individual communes decided for or against the Reformation
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Rood screen
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The rood screen is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, the rood screen would originally have been surmounted by a rood loft carrying the Great Rood, a sculptural representation of the Crucifixion. At Wells Cathedral the medieval arrangement was restored in the 20th century, with the medieval strainer arch supporting a rood, placed in front of the pulpitum and organ. Rood screens can be found in churches in parts of Europe, the German word for one is Lettner, the French jubé, the Italian tramezzo. Accordingly, rood screens now survive in greater numbers in Anglican and Lutheran churches, with the greatest number of survivals complete with screen. The iconostasis in Eastern Christian churches is a similar barrier. The word rood is derived from the Saxon word rood or rode, the rood screen is so called because it was surmounted by the Rood itself, a large figure of the crucified Christ. The panels and uprights of the screen did not support the loft, access was via a narrow rood stair set into the piers supporting the chancel arch. The carving or construction of the screen often included latticework. The passage through the screen was fitted with doors, which were kept locked except during services. However, rood stairs in English parish churches are rarely, if ever, the specific functions of the late medieval parish rood loft, over and above supporting the rood and its lights, remain an issue of conjecture and debate. In this respect it may be significant that, although there are terms for a screen in the vernacular languages of Europe. Nor does the 13th century liturgical commentator Durandus refer directly to rood screens or rood lofts and this is consistent with the ritual uses of rood lofts being substantially a late medieval development. Until the 6th century the altar of Christian churches would have been in full view of the congregation, large churches had a ciborium, or canopy on four columns, over the altar, from which hung altar curtains which were closed at certain points in the liturgy. In Rome the ritual choir tended to be located west of the screen. These arrangements still survive in the Roman basilicas of San Clemente and Santa Maria in Cosmedin, in the Eastern Church, the templon and its associated curtains and decorations evolved into the modern iconostasis. Many churches in Ireland and Scotland in the early Middle Ages were often very small. Equivalent arcaded colonnades also survive in 10th-century monastic churches in Spain, numerous near life-size crucifixes survive from the Romanesque period or earlier, with the Gero Cross in Cologne Cathedral and the Volto Santo of Lucca the best known
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Crypt
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A crypt is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics, originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a church, such as at the Abbey of Saint-Germain en Auxerre, but were later located beneath chancel, naves and transepts as well. Occasionally churches were raised high to accommodate a crypt at the level, such as St Michaels Church in Hildesheim. Crypt developed as a form of the Latin vault as it was carried over into Late Latin. It also served as a vault for storing important and/or sacred items, crypta, however, is also the female form of crypto hidden. The earliest known origin of both is in the Ancient Greek κρύπτω, the first person singular indicative of the verb to conceal, first known in the early Christian period, in particular North Africa at Chlef and Djemila in Algeria, and Byzantium at Saint John Studio in Constantinople. Where Christian churches have been built over mithraea, the mithraeum has often been adapted to serve as a crypt, crypts were introduced into Frankish church building in the mid-8th century, as a feature of its Romanization. Their popularity then spread widely in western Europe under Charlemagne. Examples from this period are most common in the early medieval West, for example in Burgundy at Dijon, after the 10th century the early medieval requirements of a crypt faded, as church officials permitted relics to be held in the main level of the church. By the Gothic period crypts were built, however burial vaults continued to be constructed beneath churches. In more modern terms, a crypt is most often a stone chambered burial vault used to store the deceased, crypts are usually found in cemeteries and under public religious buildings, such as churches or cathedrals, but are also occasionally found beneath mausolea or chapels on personal estates. Wealthy or prestigious families will often have a family crypt or vault in which all members of the family are interred, many royal families, for example, have vast crypts containing the bodies of dozens of former royalty. In some localities an above ground crypt is more commonly called a mausoleum, there was a trend in the 19th century of building crypts on medium to large size family estates, usually subtly placed on the edge of the grounds or more commonly incorporated into the cellar. After a change of owner these are often blocked up and the house deeds will not allow this area to be re-developed, catacomb Mausoleum Tumulus Ossuary Tomb Cemetery Media related to Crypt at Wikimedia Commons Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Crypt
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Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy
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Amadeus VIII was an Savoyard nobleman, the son of Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and Bonne of Berry. After the death of his father in 1391, his mother acted as a regent, born at Chambéry, he was the Count of Savoy from 1391 to 1416 and was elevated by Emperor Sigismund to Duke of Savoy in 1416. Amadeus increased his dominions and encouraged several attempts to negotiate an end to the Hundred Years War, after the death of his wife, he founded the Order of Saint Maurice with six other knights. They lived alone in the castle of Ripaille, near Geneva, Amadeus was elected at Basel as pope Felix V in opposition to Pope Eugene IV, by the Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence and reigned from November 1439 to April 1449. He resigned as duke in favour of his son in 1440 and he stepped down to accept a Cardinals hat. He is now regarded as an antipope, Amadeus image in history is marred by the account of him as a pontiff concerned with money, to avoid disadvantaging his heirs, found in the Commentaries of Pius II. Nor is there evidence that he intrigued to obtain the papal office and he married Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and granddaughter of John II of France. They had nine children, Margaret of Savoy, marie of Savoy, married Filippo Maria Visconti, duke of Milan. Amadeus of Savoy, Prince of Piemonte, Philip of Savoy, Count of Genève. Margaret of Savoy, married firstly Louis III, titular king of Naples, secondly Louis IV, Count Palatine of the Rhine and thirdly Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg. According to James H. Guill, Margarida de Sabuya, the wife of Willem van der Hagen, was the daughter of Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy. Der letzte Gegenpapst, Felix V. Studien zu Herrschaftspraxis und Legitimationsstrategien, Papsttum im mittelalterlichen Europa,3, Köln, guillaume Huin dEstaing Louis Aleman Catholic Encyclopedia entry Felix V. in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. In, Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, online at fiu. edu, Website of Florida International University, retrieved 5 November 2011
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Pope Martin V
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Pope Martin V, born Otto Colonna, was Pope from 11 November 1417 to his death in 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism and he was born at Genazzano, the son of Agapito Colonna and Caterina Conti, between January 26 and February 20,1369. He belonged to one of the oldest and most distinguished families of Rome and his brother Giordano became Prince of Salerno and Duke of Venosa, while his sister Paola was Lady of Piombino between 1441 and 1445. Oddone studied law at the University of Pavia and he became apostolic protonotary under Pope Urban VI, and was created Cardinal-Deacon of San Giorgio al Velabro by Pope Innocent VII in 1405. In 1409 he took part in the Council of Pisa, and was one of the supporters of Antipope Alexander V and he was excommunicated for this in 1411 by Pope Gregory XII. Oddone was with John XXIIIs entourage at the Council of Constance, later he returned to Constance and took part in the process leading to the deposition of John XXIII. After deposing Antipope John XXIII in 1415, the Council of Constance was long divided by the claims of Pope Gregory XII. Martin was elected pope, at the age of 48, at the Council of Constance on St. Martins Day,11 November 1417, by a conclave consisting of twenty-three cardinals and he was ordained a priest on Saturday November 13,1417 and consecrated bishop the next day. Martin left Constance at the close of the council, but travelled slowly through Italy and his authority in Rome was represented by his brother Giordano, who had fought under Muzio Attendolo against the condottiero Braccio da Montone. After a long stay in Florence, Martin was thus able to enter Rome in September 1420 and he at once set to work, establishing order and restoring the dilapidated churches, palaces, bridges, and other public structures. For this reconstruction he engaged some famous masters of the Tuscan school, by 1415 Bohemia was in turmoil and the subject of much discussion at the Council of Constance. Adherents of Jan Hus adopted the practice of Communion under both kinds, the Council sent earnest letters to the civil and ecclesiastical authorities in Bohemia, insisting they deal with the heresy. Bohemian and Moravian nobles responded that the sentence on Hus was unjust and insulting to their country, prague was placed under interdict for sheltering the excommunicate Johann of Jesenic. Beghards arrived attracted by Bohemias reputation for religious liberty, in 1419 King Wenceslaus, who had resisted what he considered interference in his kingdom, commanded that all ejected Catholic beneficiaries should be reinstated in their offices and revenues. In Kuttenberg, hundreds of captured Hussites were thrown by the miners into the shafts of disused silver mines, King Wenceslaus swore death to all the rebels, but died of a stroke in August,1419. The next months were marked by deeds of violence, many citizens, Wenceslaus was succeeded by his brother Sigismund, German Emperor and King of Hungary, who prepared to restore order. On 1 March 1420, Pope Martin V issued a Bull inviting all Christians to unite in a crusade against the Wycliffites, Hussites, according to Burton Martin authorized a crusade against Africa in 1418 in relation to the slave trade. Martin declared two Crusades in 1420, the first was against heretics in Bohemia, as described above
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Grand Council of Basel-Stadt
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The Grand Council of Basel-Stadt is the legislature of the canton of Basel-Stadt, in Switzerland. The Grand Council has 100 seats, with members elected every four years, members of the cantons executive, the Executive Council, are elected on the same day. The legislature was reduced from 130 seats to 100, making all existing parties to lose ground, however, the SVP and Green Party both did relatively well, as did the new centrist Green Liberal Party, which won five seats. At the 2012 election, held on 28 October 2012, the Volksaktion, the Volksaktion lost their two seats they won four years before
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Council of Florence
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At stake was the greater conflict between the Conciliar movement and the principle of papal supremacy. The Council entered a second phase after Emperor Sigismunds death in 1437, Pope Eugene IV convoked a rival Council of Ferrara on 8 January 1438 and succeeded in drawing the Byzantine ambassadors to Italy. The Council of Basel first suspended him, declared him a heretic, the rival Council of Florence concluded in 1445 after negotiating unions with the various eastern churches. This bridging of the Great Schism proved fleeting, but was a coup for the papacy. In 1447, Sigismunds successor Frederick III commanded the city of Basel to expel the Council of Basel, ambrogio Traversari attended the Council of Basel as legate of Pope Eugene IV. Under pressure for reform, Pope Martin V sanctioned a decree of the Council of Constance obliging the papacy to summon general councils periodically. At the expiration of the first term fixed by this decree, due to an epidemic the location transferred almost at once to Siena and disbande, in circumstances still imperfectly known, just as it had begun to discuss the subject of reform. Martin himself, however, died before the opening of the synod, the Council was seated on December 14,1431, at a period when the conciliar movement was strong and the authority of the papacy weak. The Council at Basel opened with only a few bishops and abbots attending and it adopted an anti-papal attitude, proclaimed the superiority of the Council over the Pope and prescribed an oath to be taken by every Pope on his election. On December 18 Martins successor, Pope Eugene IV, tried to dissolve it and open a new council on Italian soil at Bologna, but he was overruled. Sigismund, King of Hungary and titular King of Bohemia, had defeated at the Battle of Domažlice in the fifth crusade against the Hussites in August 1431. Under his sponsorship, the Council negotiated a peace with Calixtine faction of the Hussites in January 1433, Pope Eugene acknowledged the council in May and crowned Sigismund Holy Roman Emperor on May 31,1433. The divided Hussites were defeated in May 1434, in June 1434, the pope had to flee a revolt in Rome and began a ten-year exile in Florence. When the Council was moved from Basel to Ferrara in 1438, some remained at Basel and they elected Amadeus VIII, Duke of Savoy, as Antipope. Driven out of Basel in 1448, they moved to Lausanne, where Felix V, the pope they had elected, the next year, they decreed the closure of what for them was still the Council of Basel. The new council was transferred to Florence in 1439 because of the danger of plague at Ferrara and because Florence had agreed, against future payment, some, perhaps feeling political pressure from the Byzantine Emperor, accepted the decrees of the Council. Others did so by sincere conviction, such as Isidore of Kiev, only Bishop Mark of Ephesus, however, refused to accept the union and became the leader of opposition back home. The Russians, upon learning of the union, angrily rejected it, despite the religious union, Western military assistance to Byzantium was meager, and the fall of Constantinople occurred in May 1453
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Pope Eugene IV
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Pope Eugene IV, born Gabriele Condulmer, was Pope from 3 March 1431 to his death in 1447. He is the last pope to take the name Eugene upon his election, Condulmer was born in Venice to a rich merchant family. He entered a community of Canons Regular of San Giorgio in Alga in his native city, at the age of twenty-four he was appointed by his maternal uncle, Pope Gregory XII, as Bishop of Siena. In Siena, the political leaders objected to a bishop who was not only 24, therefore, he resigned the appointment, becoming instead his uncles papal treasurer, protonotary and Cardinal Priest of the Basilica of San Clemente. Pope Martin V named him Cardinal Priest of the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere and he also served as papal legate at Picenum in the March of Ancona. Condulmer was quickly elected to succeed Martin V in the conclave of 1431. He was crowned as Eugene IV at St. Peters Basilica on 11 March 1431 and he is described as tall, thin, with a winning countenance, although many of his troubles were owing to his own want of tact, which alienated parties from him. Upon assuming the chair, Eugene IV took violent measures against the numerous Colonna relatives of his predecessor Martin V. This at once involved him in a serious contest with the house of Colonna that nominally supported the local rights of Rome against the interests of the Papacy. By far the most important feature of Eugene IVs pontificate was the struggle between the Pope and the Council of Basel, the final embodiment of the Conciliar movement. On 23 July 1431, his legate Giuliano Cesarini opened the council, canon Beaupère of Besançon, who had been sent from Basle to Rome, gave the pope an unfavourable and exaggerated account of the temper of the people of Basle and its environs. Distrustful of its purposes and emboldened by the attendance, the Pope issued a bull on 18 December 1431 that dissolved the council. The council resisted this expression of papal prerogative, Eugene IVs action gave some weight to the contention that the Curia was opposed to any authentic measures of reform. The council refused to dissolve, instead renewed the resolutions by which the Council of Constance had declared a council superior to the Pope. A compromise was arranged by the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, who had been crowned emperor at Rome on 31 May 1433 and this situation led also to establishment of an insurrectionary republic at Rome controlled by the Colonna family. The city was restored to obedience by Giovanni Vitelleschi, the militant Bishop of Recanati, in August 1435 a peace treaty was signed at Ferrara by the various belligerents. The Pope moved to Bologna in April 1436 and his condottieri Francesco Sforza and Vitelleschi in the meantime reconquered much of the Papal States. Traditional Papal enemies such as the Prefetti di Vico were destroyed, meanwhile, the struggle with the council sitting at Basel broke out anew
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