A Global History of Architecture, fig. 13.87
Study Questions
TOP
Choose five of the study questions to answer.
1. Choose two case studies from the Study Guide for this unit. Find their sections
in A Global History of Architecture, chapters “1200 CE” and “1400 CE,” and
then examine two online resources covering each of these cases. What is the
difference in the organization of information, point of view, analysis,
emphasis, visualization, and use of sources between your print textbook and
the online media?
2. During this period, 800 CE to 1400 CE, we note a structural change in the
world economy, from agrarian–village societies to urban mercantile economies
based on large–scale agriculture. What were some of the technical advances in
the agriculture and economy of China, South East Asia, and Europe and how
did they impact the development of cities?
3. Major religious monuments from this era seem to have one dominant
intention: to create for the faithful a personal experience of the numinous
“other.” Briefly describe how this was achieved by the builders of Chartres,
France; the Phoenix Hall, Byodo–in, Kyoto; and Angkor Wat (Vrah Vishnulok)
Cambodia.
4. Numerous temple complexes introduced water as a symbolic landscape
element. Using sketch plans of three of the following: the Sun Temple at
Modhera; Phoenix Hall (Byodo–in), Kyoto; Sage Mother Hall, Jinci Temple,
China; Golden Pavilion, Kyoto; Angkor Wat, Cambodia; Itsukushima Shrine,
Hiroshima, mark major elements of the sites, the ritual use of those elements,
and their symbolic significance.
5. Using annotated ground plans, compare and contrast how belief, ritual, and
function were accommodated in the following two monastic establishments:
Horyu–ji Temple, Nara, Japan.
6. Speyer Cathedral, Germany; Durham Cathedral, England; Chartres Cathedral,
France: each mark a progression in construction technology, and ultimately
support change in the Christian religious experience of the faithful. What were
these technical developments, and what was their effect on the European
populace who witnessed this reordering of church architecture?
7. Greek temples and their decorative statuary were garishly painted. Looking at
many other religious monuments as they survive today we forget what a
sumptuous colourful experience they presented to pilgrim visitors. With this
in mind, describe the use of colour on the interior of Durham Cathedral and,
similarly, on the external stucco surfaces of Angkor Wat.
8. Unlike the Holy Roman Empire, where a distinction was made between
secular and religious authority, Islam, as it arose, exhibited a very different
approach to the role of political governance and religious belief in the
ordering of society. In a short, illustrated narrative, and using examples from
any of the previous units, explain how the mosque developed as a unique
architectural form to express these ideas such that by the end of the 9th
century the mosque tied together the largest political entity west of China.
9. The development of monastic institutions supported both civic and economic
order as well as religious institutionalization. Focusing on the plans for the
monastery of St. Gall, Switzerland, and on those for the Mahabodhi Temple,
India (A Global History of Architecture, “400 CE,” p. 255), describe how
these purposes were served in both symbolic and practical terms.
10. The minaret, (e.g., Qutb Minar), either attached to a mosque or free–standing,
became a symbol of Islam from West Asia to India. What were its
distinguishing characteristics and what practical functions did it serve?
