Home Prayers and conspiracies Abbe Suger in the construction of the myth of the liberal West. Dostoevsky contro Granovsky - Sergey — LiveJournal. Basic principles of Gothic art. Abbot Suger, Saint-Denis God is light

Prayers and conspiracies

Abbe Suger in the construction of the myth of the liberal West. Dostoevsky contro Granovsky - Sergey — LiveJournal. Basic principles of Gothic art. Abbot Suger, Saint-Denis God is light

For the abbot, there was no doubt that ordinary light is a symbol of the intelligible (that is, sensually intangible) Divine light given to us in sensations, that, falling under the rays of the sun, we also get a chance to be in the jets of Heavenly good. However, the temple is not a beach, there is simply little sunshine here. The energy of the luminary, in order to influence the parishioners, must be transformed and concentrated. First of all, gold and precious stones are the best suited for this, it is not for nothing that the walls of Heavenly Jerusalem are lined with them. Suger stubbornly defended the temple's right to luxury, so fiercely contested by Saint Bernard, a supporter of the idea of mandatory renunciation of wealth in monasteries. Under Abbot Sugeria in Saint-Denis, jewelers always found work. The altar, the crucifixion on the altar - everything, according to the rector, should sparkle, reflect and radiate, fill the space with joyful light, letting you know about the presence of other, invisible radiations right there. And this monk did not think about personal wealth at all when, having invited another aristocrat to pray together, with ostentatious piety he removed a precious ring from his hand and donated it to decorate the temple, prompting the wealthy guest to do the same: the teaching of Dionysius about Divine light, including reflected brilliance jewelry, obviously haunted him since the time of his service in the monastery library.

However, even the entire area of gold and precious stones of the altar was not enough for the temple to truly bathe in light, and the ambitious abbot came up with a fantastic idea: to replace the stone walls with panels of light. The technology already existed. Somewhere they knew how to cook colored glass, somewhere lancet arches were used, and rib vaults were used in Romanesque cathedrals. It remained to find craftsmen who could put it all together. So in the rebuilt altar part of the Cathedral of Saint-Denis, structures appeared, where grandiose glass paintings - stained-glass windows - were placed instead of walls. However, to call them paintings is not entirely fair. The main thing was not in what was depicted, but in the abundant streams of light pouring through transparent barriers, taking the form of sacred plots and testifying to the Divine good that is always present here, the True Light, which you can come to by soaring with your soul, mystically rising along the descended from Heaven beam.

Therefore, due to the fact that the texts of an unknown Christian Neo-Platonist, who spoke so beautifully and convincingly about the invisible Divine light, were signed with the name of St. Dionysius, and the rector of the abbey of St. , the new style acquired features so recognizable now.

Like the art of ancient Greece, Gothic is easily divided into early, high and late. This last gave us a few more special terms. For example, there is "international gothic". As a rule, they talk about it only in relation to painting. But the phrase "perpendicular Gothic" refers exclusively to architecture. We are talking about English buildings, plans, facades and - especially - window casings avoided, as far as possible in the refined era of the late Middle Ages, complex curved lines and more or less accurately fit into rectangular "matrices" (which did not interfere with the existence in the same rooms of fan vaults with enchanting interweaving of ribs that no longer support anything). The French, a few centuries after Abbot Suger, created “flaming” Gothic. The name comes from the characteristic details of the decor in rose windows, reminiscent of a candle flame swayed by the wind.

Abbot Suger, as a major political and ecclesiastical figure of the Middle Ages, attracted the attention of Russian researchers, but his role in the formation of aesthetic and architectural ideas was noted in Russian literature only sporadically. For researchers of medieval spiritual culture, Abbot Suger is interesting not only in himself - as an ideological inspirer and direct organizer of the Gothic "coup" in architecture, but also as a person who left a description of the history of the transformation of the abbey of Saint-Denis and set the standard for understanding new architecture.

The most complete study of Suger's artistic views is the commented edition of the texts of Suger's writings translated from Latin into English language. We will mainly use the results of this study, relying on the translation of the text and poetic inserts done by L.B. Sharinova.

First of all, it should be noted that the reconstruction of the Saint-Denis church was the result and concentrate of a number of activities carried out by Suger. Firstly, this is the streamlining and strengthening of the state and economic position of France and its main abbey of Saint-Denis, undertaken with the active participation of Suger. The abbey for him is the center and symbol of France, and its transformation is not only an expression of the increased power of the country, but also an example of further achievements. Secondly, this is the development of a well-thought-out program of worship and mass ceremonies, which set a set of functional requirements for the planning and design of the church. Thirdly, Suger's struggle for the realization of his ideas about the way of life and the role of the clergy, which was embodied in his reorganization of the life of the monastery, in his views on the role of public ceremonies and the methods of their design.

The main ideological opponent of Suger was another major authority of the era - Bernard of Clairvaux, who consistently pursued a policy of implementing the ascetic doctrine of monasticism, increasing the role of personal responsibility of believers and preaching the ideal of apostolic poverty and the simplicity of life for clergy, church service and decoration. Bernard equally hated both the superfluous details and splendor of Romanesque architecture and the sophistication and brilliance of the works of the new Gothic style. Like St. Jerome earlier, he believed that the caves of the first Christian ascetics, the simplicity and severity of the first temples are true role models and a criterion for assessing the authenticity of the spiritual aspirations of the builders of cathedrals. His objections to the architectural decoration of the church are widely known: “And further, in the galleries, before the eyes of the brothers absorbed in reading, why is there this ridiculous ugliness, this amazing deformed proportionality and proportional deformity? Those obscene monkeys? Those ferocious lions? Those ugly centaurs? These semi-human beings? Those spotted tigers? These fighting warriors? Those hunters blowing their horns? Here you see several bodies with a single head, and there - already several heads on one body. Here you see a quadruped with the tail of a snake, and there you see a fish with the head of a quadruped. There the animal resembles a horse in front and a half-goat in the back; here the horned beast flaunts the hindquarters of the horse. In a word, such a rich and astonishing variety of forms appears from all sides here that reading marble sculptures seems more tempting than manuscripts, just as spending a whole day admiring these works piece by piece is preferable to thinking about the Law of God.

According to E. Panofsky, this description of the decorative ensemble “in the Cluniac spirit” not only gives a concise formula of this ensemble, but also indicates that St. Bernard did not approve of art, not because he did not feel its charms, but because he too keenly felt they could not be considered dangerous. He expelled art as a manifestation of transient rebellion against the eternal, human reason against faith, feelings against the spirit.

Suger held a different point of view. His worldview, requiring an acute experience of all the phenomena of the world as manifestations of divine wisdom, as parts of a single world order, his passion for beautiful things, found their support in the philosophy of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite.

In the cult of St. Dionysius, to whom the monastery of Saint-Denis was dedicated, several mythical and historical figures merged, including the figure of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, the largest early Christian mystic and representative of Neoplatonic philosophy, a follower, in many respects, of the philosophy of Proclus, the author of so called "Areopagitic". We have already spoken above about the aesthetic ideals of Proclus and the role of light in his philosophy. Pseudo-Dionysius developed and substantiated the ideas of experiencing the degrees of light as a way of knowing the absolute.

The main provisions of the philosophy of Pseudo-Dionysius and their criticism can be found in the works of domestic scientists, but it is important for us that, considering the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius the word of St. Dionysius himself, to whom the monastery was dedicated, Suger relied on his provisions as on the instructions of the saint about how to comprehend God, and revealed what features should be emphasized first of all in the architecture of the temple. The writings of Pseudo-Dionysius were well known to Suger, since it was the Abbey of Saint-Denis that became the historical center for their study and commentary, including in the person of such a major representative medieval philosophy like John Scotus Eriugena.

It seems to us necessary to cite that passage from the preface of E. Panofsky to the writings of Suger, which describes the main features of the philosophy of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and John Scotus Eriugena, which influenced the concept of worship and the temple at Suger.

“Our mind,” says Pseudo-Dionysius at the very beginning of his main work “On the Heavenly Hierarchy” (and, therefore, John Scotus at the very beginning of his commentary), “can rise to that which is not material, only under “physical guidance” what is material." Even to the prophets, God and the heavenly powers can appear only in some visible form. But this is possible because all visible things are “material sources of light”, reflecting intelligible things and phenomena and, finally, the true light of the Deity itself: “Every creature, visible or invisible, is a light called into being by the Father of light This stone or that a piece of wood is a light to me For I feel that it is good and beautiful; that it exists (in accordance with) its own laws of proportionality; that in species and genus it differs from other species and genera; that it is determined by the quantity by which it is "one" thing; that he does not overstep the bounds of his order; that he is looking for his place according to his specific gravity.

As I comprehend these and other similar features in this stone, they become a light for me, or rather, they enlighten (illuminate) me. For I begin to wonder where the stone is endowed with such properties; and soon, under the guidance of reason, I am led through all phenomena to that cause of all things, which gives them a place and order, quantity, kind and kind, quality and beauty, and essence, and all other gifts and talents.

Thus, the entire material world becomes one big "light", consisting of countless small light sources, like a lot of lanterns; every tangible, perceptible thing, man-made or natural, natural, becomes a symbol of what is not perceived, a stepping stone on the path to Heaven; human mind leaning towards "harmony and radiance", which is the criterion of earthly beauty, feels "directed upwards" towards the transcendental cause of "harmony and radiance", which is God.

This ascent from the material to the immaterial world is what Pseudo-Dionysius and John Scotus describe as the "anagogical approach" (literally: the upward method); and this is what Suger professed as a theologian, proclaimed as a poet, put into practice as a patron of the arts and an organizer of liturgical spectacles. The stained-glass window, showing plots of an allegorical rather than typological nature (for example, “Prophets carrying grain to the mill rotated by St. Paul” or “The Ark of the Covenant crowned with the Cross”), “drives us from the material to the immaterial, spiritual.” The twelve columns supporting the high vaults of the new aisle "represent a row of the Twelve Apostles", while the columns of the covered gallery, also twelve in number, "mean the (minor) prophets". And the ceremony of consecrating the new narthex was carefully designed to isolate the idea of the Trinity: “there was one magnificent procession of three people” (one archbishop and two bishops) making three distinct movements, leaving the building through a single-leaf door, passing in front of the three main portals and the three of us returning to the church through another single-leaf door.

E. Panofsky, among the many reasons that, in his opinion, caused the appearance of Suger's notes, does not mention the need to ensure an understanding of the new architecture, and we believe that this function of the notes was far from the last among personal and economic considerations. Suger not only wrote many poetic formulas of perception (although not forgetting to mention his name and emphasize his merits), but also placed them in the most important parts of the temple, thereby conveying his understanding and interpretation of the new architecture and decoration of the church to the broad masses of believers.

According to Sugeria, "Purity of heart is necessary to serve God, but it is no less legitimate and effective to add to it the beauty of furnishings and decorations. Our limited spirit is able to comprehend the truth only through material ideas."

Suger left a unique testimony of how the process of perception of architecture took place. “When, in my admiration for the beauty of the house of God, the splendor of multi-colored stones distracts me from external cares, and worthy meditation prompts me to reflect on the variety of holy virtues, moving from material to non-material, then I seem to myself to be staying, as it were, in some unusual sphere of the Universe, which exists and does not exist. completely in earthly dirt, and not completely in heavenly purity, and that with the help of God I can ascend in an anagogical way from this lower to that higher world.

In a poem dedicated to the decoration of his church, Suger writes: “Pay no attention to gold, but marvel at the art of creation. the inert mind rises to the truth through the material and, having been humiliated before, rises again, seeing this light.

Suger laid the foundations Gothic aesthetics and set the standard for the perception of new architecture. It is characteristic that the birth of a new aesthetics and architecture took place in an atmosphere of reliance on the tradition of wide discussion, accompanied by a change in the functional program of worship.

A vivid portrait of Abbot Suger is created by art historian Erwin Panofsky, author of the book Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism (1951), which tells a fascinating story about the relationship between medieval art, philosophy and theology. In most of his writings, Panofsky seeks to present the history of art as constituent part history of scientific thought. From these positions, he approaches Abbot Suger. And yet, in the book dedicated to Suger, Panofsky manages to resurrect the unique personality of the rector of Saint-Denis: “Fiery patriot and diligent host; somewhat prone to pompous speeches and in love with pompous splendor, but practical and thorough in worldly affairs and moderate in personal habits; hardworking and sociable, good-natured and sensible, conceited, witty and indomitably cheerful”, Suger undoubtedly knew how to enjoy life and was keenly susceptible to the charm and brilliance of beautiful things.

All these features, and in particular the love of beautiful things, sharply distinguished Suger from another outstanding personality of that time - Saint Bernard of Clairvaux (1090 - 1153). This great Cistercian abbot, a passionate polemicist and the most powerful and influential monk of the 12th century, argued the need for the strictest discipline in monastic life and the extreme self-restraint of monks in everything that concerns personal comforts, food and sleep. Filled with missionary zeal, Saint Bernard intervened vigorously wherever, in his opinion, monastic life, liturgical practice, or religious views lacked rigor or focus on the main goal. He also spoke with extreme severity against any deviation from orthodox positions in theology.

As for the abbot Suger, he valued discipline and modesty, but was strongly opposed to such "monastic virtues" as humiliated humility and asceticism. However, Suger could not discount Bernard's opinion about Saint-Denis, since the pope himself was under the influence of the powerful Cistercian. It could not escape the attention of St. Bernard that at times in the Abbey of Saint-Denis, so closely associated with the French monarchy, “inappropriate” things are happening: “Without hesitation and unfeignedly, they render to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But far from being so conscientious in repaying the God of God.” Presumably in 1127, in the sixth year of Suger's tenure as abbot, Bernard congratulated his brother, who was closer to worldly affairs, on the successful "reform" in the abbey of Saint-Denis. However, as Panofsky notes, “this “reform” not only did not weaken the political influence of the abbey, but also provided Saint-Denis with independence, prestige and prosperity, which allowed Suger to strengthen and legalize the traditional ties of this abbey with the French crown.” So why was Saint Bernard more tolerant of the state of affairs at Saint-Denis than at other monasteries that did not live up to his harsh standards? What made him treat Abbot Suger much more respectfully than with all those whose views also made him dissatisfied? Panofsky comes to the conclusion that there was some kind of tacit agreement between these two potential adversaries: “Realizing how much harm they could do to each other, being enemies, the royal adviser [...] and the greatest spiritual leader of Europe, who instructed the pope himself, decided to become friends."

Nevertheless, Abbe Suger and Saint Bernard shared a hidden opposition, which manifested itself, in particular, in the nature of innovations in the abbey of Saint-Denis. Suger had a passionate love for sacred images and all kinds of church interior decorations, for gold, enamel and precious stones, in general for everything shiny and sparkling; stained-glass windows evoked special admiration from him. Bernard, on the contrary, condemned such jewelry - not because he was immune to their charm, but because such things, in his opinion, distracted from pious reflections and prayers. As a result, the builders of Cistercian monasteries and churches, which were erected in abundance throughout Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, had to adhere to the style prescribed by the ascetic aesthetics of St. Bernard, with its many rules and restrictions. Nevertheless, the growing strength of the Cistercian order played an important role in the spread of Gothic art throughout Europe: it widely borrowed the technical innovations that distinguished the constructive principles of the Gothic, and in itself was no stranger to innovation (for example, in the field of hydraulic engineering methods developed in monasteries, which located in remote valleys from settlements).

Pierre Abelard

In order to refute the opinion that in the Middle Ages people were deprived of a distinctly expressed individuality, we decided to include in this panoramic review of medieval culture a short story about another contemporary of Abbot Suger - a man who was also at odds with St. Bernard and even joined with him into open conflict. Let's talk about the philosopher Pierre Abelare (1079-1142).

Josef Pieper, in Scholastica, a fascinating and colorful introduction to the subject of medieval philosophy, draws the following sketch portrait of this scientist. “Pierre Abelard ... as a boy began to visit the famous philosophical school Roscelina. When he arrived in Paris, he was barely twenty; after studying for another two or three years, he opened his own philosophical school, at first located in the suburbs. At twenty-nine, thanks to his success in the field of teaching, he moved the school to the city limits - in the area where the university quarter is now located. In 1115, Abelard had already headed the cathedral school of Notre Dame - and he was then only thirty-five years old! Shortly thereafter, he met with Eloise. In the autobiographical “History of my disasters” (“Historia calamitatum”), Abelard himself tells how, succumbing to sensual passion rather than love, he seduced this girl, his student. When Eloise gave birth to a child from him, they secretly married. The continuation of this story is tragic. Heloise's guardian cruelly took revenge on Abelard: he suffered severe beatings and was castrated. As a result, the career of this illustrious and authoritative professor was cut short, and Abelard had to seek refuge in a monastery. He was received by the Abbey of Saint-Denis. But the famous love story, which we cannot trace in all its details here, did not stop there. Eloise also retired to a monastery, but the letters that she exchanged with Abelard over the years indicate that the former lovers were bound by close spiritual friendship until the end of their days.

In the person of Abelard, we see one of the first scientists of a new type - a professional thinker, or a mental worker. This type began to take shape simultaneously with the revival of cities in the 12th century. At first, a typical representative of it was a school teacher, and then, from the 13th century, a university professor. The Italian scholar Giovanni Santini writes in his study of the early period of the University of Modena (one of the first Italian universities founded at the end of the 12th century): A prerequisite for the development of universities was a common cultural environment in which these newly appeared “cathedrals of science” arose, flourished and could conduct free disputes among themselves.

Abelard played an important role in the development of Paris as a center of lively philosophical and theological debate. Medieval scholars got a lot of opportunities here to hone the blades of their intellect. But Abelard himself remained the brightest and most eloquent orator of that era. He participated in the annual debates on the topic of universals - one of the main problems of medieval philosophy, and thanks to his dialectical work “Yes and no” (“Sic et non”), he entered, along with John Scotus Eriugena (9th century), Lanfranc (11th century .) and Anselm of Canterbury (11th century), among the founders of the scholastic method. The method of scholasticism - the dominant form of thinking and reasoning in medieval philosophy and theology - included a long process of putting forward arguments and counterarguments (sic et non), leading eventually to the final "definition". Thus, Abelard, among other thinkers, laid the foundation of those “cathedrals of ideas” that were to arise in the era of developed scholasticism, just as the abbot Suger, having reconstructed the monastery church, laid the cornerstone of all future Gothic cathedrals. However, as we have already noted in connection with Panofsky's Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism, such parallels are sometimes drawn too hastily and often do not withstand more careful analysis.

The philosophy of Abelard, which was formed under the powerful influence of logic as an independent philosophical discipline, in the light of its critical, anti-doctrinal tendencies, can be represented as a kind of early attempt at the Enlightenment. The focus of Abelard's attention is often not so much theological as human problems. For example, considering questions of ethics, Abelard emphasizes that a misconduct committed without conscious malicious intent cannot be considered a sin. Following the dictates of our reason, we may be mistaken, but on this basis alone we still do not bear guilt: after all, we were guided by the belief that we are doing good.

On the issue of the relationship between faith and reason, which was extremely pressing in that era, Abelard took a clearly progressive position, declaring that faith should be based only on a rational understanding free from prejudices. In other words, Abelard was an early representative of the urban intelligentsia, who took on faith most of the dogmas christian church, but possessed at the same time a free and inquisitive mind.

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INTRODUCTION

Relevance of the topic. Traditionally, it is believed that the first work of Gothic art appeared under the auspices of the Abbe Suger, rector of the Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris. Suger was rector from 1122 to 1151, and under him they began to rebuild the abbey church. The features of the architecture and design of this building had a great influence on the development of French art. The restructuring of the abbey church, seemingly a fairly common event in the country, has become one of the symbols of the restoration of monarchical power in France. It was during this period that the French kings did not have significant political influence, since their unconditional dominance was recognized only in the territory that belonged to the king. However, the ambitions of the French kings were grandiose: they wanted the complete subjugation of France. And a number of historians are of the opinion that Louis VII decided to use the reconstruction of the abbey church as a way not only to raise the prestige of royal power, but also to show that the monarchy is part of the Divine Plan of Salvation. This version is supported by the fact that Louis VII personally transferred the relics of St. Dionysius to the renovated church.

Abbot Suger was involved in the national policy implemented by the French monarchs, the purpose of which was to strengthen the power of the monarch. All this makes the study of the chosen topic relevant, as it allows us to study the beginning of the formation of many processes that had a significant impact on the future development of not only a person and the state, but also Gothic in general.

Goals and objectives of the study. The aim of the study is to analyze the influence of the ideas of Abbot Suger on the formation of Gothic as an art style in France. suger gothic stained glass art

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks:

Analyze the initial stage of the birth of Gothic as a style of architecture;

Consider the Gothic architectural style in France;

To trace the period of the life of Abbot Suger, revealing the conditions for the formation of his view of architecture;

To study the influence of Abbot Suger on the architecture of France.

Object of study. The object of the study is the artistic style of Gothic.

Subject of study. The subject of the study is the ideas of Abbot Suger, as a tool that had a special influence on the initial stage of the formation of Gothic.

Sources. A significant number of works, both domestic and foreign authors, are devoted to the study of the Gothic style as a direction of art. It should be noted that most scientific works explores the architectural direction of Gothic art, since it originated precisely as temple construction.

The fact that Gothic symbolized the past, against which the progressive forces of the present opposed and fought, for a long time did not make it possible to view Gothic art with an open mind and obscured the true originality and artistic integrity of the Gothic style.

The well-known characteristic of the Gothic style, given by Vasari, perfectly shows the negative attitude towards Gothic, towards the traditions and techniques of Gothic craftsmanship, which developed in Renaissance Italy and had a significant impact on the understanding of Gothic and the activities of Gothic masters in the future. Criticism of Vasari is directed, first of all, to the "Gothic manner", to the creative methods of artistic expression. Gothic was perceived by people of the Renaissance not as an independent finished style, as it began to be understood in modern times, but as an "old style" of artistic creativity, a complex of outdated techniques of craftsmanship.

Also, the most important historical source is the book "The Life of Louis VI of the King of France", written by Abbot Suger himself.

Among the architectural sources, it is worth noting the Abbey of Saint-Denis, which had a tremendous impact on the development of Gothic.

We can trace the very heyday of French Gothic in such architectural structures as Chartres Cathedral, Le Beau Murel Castle, Reims Cathedral, the town of Saint-Michel, Noyon Cathedral, the town hall in Saint-Quentin, Rouen Cathedral, a whole street of houses in Corday and Lanay, Strasbourg Cathedral, Compiègne Town Hall, Amiens Cathedral, Notre Dame, Louvre Castle, and Saint Pierre Cathedral, Albi Cathedral, Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris, the papal palace in Avignon and the fortifications of the city of Aigues-Mortes.

It is worth noting that Gothic combined different elements art and in this case, it is necessary to mention as a source the psalter of Queen Ingeborg, the manuscript of Manesse, the psalter of St. Louis and the stained-glass window "The Parable of the Prodigal Son".

Foreign research literature. The study of Gothic art originates in the 18th - XIX centuries. Among the works of that time, one can note the English architect K. Wren, who noted the Arabic roots of the Gothic style. However, Goethe was convinced that the Gothic style reflected the "German soul", which he wrote about in his article "On German Architecture", published in 1772.

Among our contemporaries, one can note such authors R. Toman, who in his work described the development of Gothic in France, as well as the forms that Gothic acquired in other European countries. Attention to the Gothic style in France was devoted to their works by such authors as E. Martindale, A. Kube, B. Klein. Modern French medieval studies, devoted to the study of Gothic culture, demonstrate a great commitment to the methodology of A. Faucillon's formal school. Proof of which can be the work of C. Cazes “The quarter of the canons and the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne in Toulouse” (1998), based on new archaeological finds in 1996, “The Cathedral of Menda” (1993) by Isabella Darnes and Helene Duty, A. Gerard “Gothic of the cathedral Holy Spirit in Avignon XIII-XV centuries. (1996). Of the latest publications on the features of the Occitan Gothic, it is worth noting: the doctoral dissertation of Professor Christophe Balagne "Cult Gothic architecture of Gascony" (1999), N. Pustomi-Dalle "Commanders of the Hospitallers in Toulouse and its environs of the XII-XIV centuries." (2005), "Gothic architecture of the towns of the South-East of France in the XII-XV centuries." (2010), as well as the collective work of scientists from the Center for Medieval Archeology of Languedoc "The Abbey and the City of Cannes-Minerve" (2010), under the general editorship of Nelly Pustomi-Dallet and Dominique Baudry.

Domestic research literature. Among the works of domestic authors, one can note such authors as K.M. Muratova, N. Petrusevich. However, a feature of the study of the Gothic style as an art in domestic science is its consideration together with other styles and trends. Among such manuals on art, one can note H. V. Janson, E. F. Janson “Fundamentals of Art History”, “History of Art of Foreign Countries. Middle Ages. Revival” (under the editorship of Ts.G. Nesselshtraus.), “History of foreign art” (under the editorship of M.T. Kuzmina and N.L. Maltseva), T.V. Ilyin, History of Art. Western European Art" and others.

Chronological and geographical framework. The chronological framework of the study is limited to the initial period of the development of Gothic as a style of architecture. The initial boundary of the study refers to 1140. The upper limit of the study is 1230. The geographical scope of the study includes the territory of France, which was recognized during the study period.

Methodological basis of the study. The following methods were used in the work: historical and comparative (consideration of the transition of French architecture from the Romanesque style to the Gothic style); historical and typological (identification and analysis of architectural objects, as well as analysis of the influence of French Gothic on the position of the monarchy in the country); historical and systemic (the study of the Gothic architecture of France and the influence of Abbot Suger on it).

Work structure. The structure of the work corresponds to the goals and objectives. The work consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion and a list of references.

CHAPTER 1. ABBAT SUGER, AS THE FOUNDER FRENCH GOTHIC

1.1 France before the birth of the abbot Sugeria

In the 11th century, even before the birth of Abbot Suger, France was in feudal fragmentation. The French economy at that time gave positive results, hinting at the imminent centralization of the state.

From the second half of the XI century. the growth of agriculture can be traced throughout France. Gradually, new lands are being developed and forests are being cleared. Thanks to the improvement of land cultivation, productivity increased, which increased the standard of living of the population. Less and less people get sick and starve.

In the same period, life resumes in old cities, and new ones also appear. Crafts and trade are concentrated in them. However, even the urban population was engaged in agriculture.

The development of Northern and Southern cities differed significantly. Southern cities such as Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux and others flourished on trade with the Eastern countries. They were not interested in either royal power or its patronage. In such cities, the local self-government was the consulate, and the legislature was the Grand Council. The southern cities have practically turned into separate independent republics.

The northern cities of France, such as Amiens, Reims, Beauvais, and others, developed in a completely different way. Their flourishing was associated, first of all, with the development of crafts, namely cloth making. But despite their growth, these cities were under the rule of large lords and bishops. Northern cities still had to fight for their freedom and self-government.

Northern cities of France, starting from the 11th century. made attempts to achieve freedom through ransom, but many feudal lords neglected the contracts, and then the townspeople were forced to arm themselves. During the following centuries, many cities won communal liberties. Such city-communes as Beauvais, Amiens, Saint-Quentin, Lan, Noyon, Reims, etc., acquired elective self-government, their own court and taxation. Most often, the king himself was the seigneur of such communal cities, to whom they were obliged to pay a vassal tax, which was fixed in the local charter.

The royal power itself did not immediately support the liberation movement of the cities, but gradually, realizing that the cities were reliable allies against the big feudal nobility, it began to help the cities. Thanks to the support of the cities, the monarchy managed to rise, defeat its main opponents and gain independence.

But at that time, the royal power still had no influence, all its rights were formal and in fact, the power of the king extended no further than his domain. Large vassals did not want to submit to the crown and pay fief for their lands. The kings themselves, at first, were only busy with the improvement of their domain, resolving conflicts with vassals. At that time, not a single state law was issued, since it would simply be ignored. The royal court was in charge of local self-government in the domain, and the royal curia, in which the vassal nobility met, was in charge of state affairs.

Also, the royal power tried to find support from the clergy. She glorified the king, noted his "divinity" and "holiness", which strengthened his authority, in return, the crown protected the rights of the clergy from attempts on her by the local nobility.

1.2 Abbot Suger and his era. Philosophical-historical context

Many experts associate the birth of Gothic with the name of the French abbot of Saint-Denis - Suger. Therefore, the study of Gothic is impossible without considering the biography of this abbot, and even more so without his worldview.

Suger began his life path around 1081 near Paris. There is no exact documentary evidence about the family of the future abbot. It is assumed that he was a representative of a family of wealthy peasants, or small knights who owned land in the village of Channevière-le-Louvre, located just 18 kilometers from the abbey of Saint-Denis, which played a significant role in the fate of Suger. Such an assumption is built due to the fact that Suger's father was a relative (brother or uncle) of Suger the Great, Sir de Chenneviere. Currently, the Roissy airport is located on the territory of this village.

Only a few names of Suger's relatives have been preserved in history. This is his father - Helinad and his two brothers - Raul and Pierre. Pierre, like Suger, devoted himself to serving catholic church by becoming a cleric. Nothing is known about other relatives, including Suger's mother. Suger also never mentioned her anywhere, on the basis of this, historians believe that he did not know her at all. Since Suger was considered an orphan, he could become an initiate of the Church (oblatus), which his father did, giving ten-year-old Suger to the abbey of Saint-Denis.

The consecration of the Church had different consequences for boys who were admitted to abbeys and monasteries. So in the West of the country the Basilian traditions were honored, according to which the boy could return to worldly life when he reached the age of manhood. In the East, where the Suger family lived, the charter of St. Benedict was held in high esteem, which recognized paternal authority as decisive in determining the path of family members. Thus, Suger's father, having brought him to the abbey, predetermined his future fate, which connected the boy's entire future life with the service of the church. Once in the abbey, Suger found his adoptive family, which helped him overcome the complete gap from the worlds in which he lived before. Subsequently, Suger always recalled life in the abbey with love and gratitude, calling Abbé Saint-Denis Adam his spiritual father and breadwinner.

The admission of young Suger to the school of the Estre shelter is assessed differently by historians. This school accepted not only boys from the orphanage, but also children who did not plan to devote themselves to the service of the church, for their initial education. So the orphans became classmates of the sons of the main court servants and the surrounding chatelains. And in 1091, the future king of France also entered there.

Some researchers are of the opinion that it was here that the friendship between the future King of France Louis VI and the future abbot was born.

Someone is of the opinion that Louis VI could not single out Suger from the crowd of boys, even though they were almost the same age. It is this version that is considered more plausible, since the future king was physically more developed than the future abbot, so Sugeria could not participate in sparring.

The joint visit to the school of the prince and the orphan was not long, because in 1092 Louis left the school. His father, Philip I, entrusted the upbringing of his son to the knight Herluin of Paris and sent them to the Norman frontier.

The meeting, which became decisive in the fate of Louis VI and Suger, took place in 1111, which some researchers call real.

Suger studied at school for ten years, developing shorthand skills almost to the speed of speech. It was noted that he was an excellent storyteller and had a good memory, memorizing the works of many Roman poets. He was especially inspired by the creation of Mark Anya Lucan "Pharsalia", quotes from which he will insert into his work "The Life of Louis Tolstoy". The researchers also note the imitation of Lucan in the lines that Suger wrote on his own.

In 1101, Suger returned to the abbey of Saint-Denis. Most of his time was devoted to prayer and meditation on holy scripture. IN free time Suger continued his studies, studying in the monastery library under the guidance of its keeper. There is an opinion that it was during this period that Suger began to put the monastery archive in order. Perhaps this happened on behalf of Abbot Adam. Working with archival documents of the abbey, allowed him to study well the possessions of the abbey, which, in turn, in the future allowed him to defend the rights of the abbey to lost domains and privileges. His obedience and diligence became the first steps in his career.

In 1104, Suger again leaves the abbey in order to continue his education. There is no consensus among researchers about the venue for the next two years. Among the places where Suger continued his education are called:

Marmoutier;

Fontevraud;

Saint-Florent-de-Samur;

Saint-Benoit-sur-Loire

The next step was the first participation in the Synod, which took place on May 26, 1106 in Poitiers under the leadership of the legate of Pope Paschal II.

In 1107, Suger took part in the public life of the church.

So in the priory of the Charité-sur-Loire in Berry (where Sugery participated in the consecration of the church), Suger discovered the talent of a judicial orator, managed to defend the rights and privileges of Saint-Denis in a dispute with the Parisian Bishop Galon and earned the fame of a speaker in skill with which no one could not be compared, even in the royal curia.

Suger also participated:

On a joint pastoral trip to France with the Pope (late March - early April 1107);

In the meeting of the King and Prince of France (Philip I and Louis VI) with Pope Paschal II (end of April);

At a meeting with imperial envoys in Châlons-on-Marne (early May);

Soon Suger received his first position - prevost, and moved to Normandy in Berne-val-le-gran-en-Co, where he stayed until 1109. The receipt of the first administrative post was accompanied by a transfer to the priory of Turi-en-Bos, which was located in the holy lands.

The period of service in Turi-en-Bos gave Suger invaluable experience, which was useful to him in the future, when he rose to the top of his career.

Priorie Turi-en-Bos was quite rich and more significant than Bernay-val-le-gran-en-Caux, but was surrounded by the possessions of the restless barons of Châtrrain. Since the position of Suger meant not only the conduct of church duties, but also the implementation of the administrative management of the priory, serving in Turi-en-Bos, Suger was able to:

To comprehend the science of prudent management;

Get military experience during the military conflict between Louis VI and Seigneur du Puizet,

Get acquainted with the Norman institutions, which were the result of the organizational work of the King of England and the Duke of Normandy Henry I Beauclerk in order to find a compromise solution in the process of fighting the federal freemen;

To resist the unrest of the barons, which in his Life of Louis Tolstoy he called the "rebellious tyranny" of the greedy barons.

It was the service in Turi-en-Bos that allowed King Louis VI and Sugeria to meet. This happened on March 12, 1111 in Melun at a meeting of the royal curia, where Louis VI listened to the bishops and abbots who asked for protection from Hugh III and his vassals.

In the same year, the king was convinced of the loyalty of the prevost and appreciated his organizational talents.

In the next 1112, the second meeting of the king and Suger took place in Corbey. The reason for this meeting was the petition of Suger for Hugo du Puise before the king. Suger's petition amused the king, and the second siege of Puizet Castle was the answer to Hugo's requests.

Sugeria remained the prev of Turia until 1115, but most likely he was already engaged not only in priori affairs, since it is known that at the end of 1113 he had the mayor of Turia, the royal serf Hugo, as his assistant.

In the summer of 1115, Suger received a promotion, taking the post of subdeacon. According to historians, around this period, Suger takes an active part in church politics. Evidence of this is a number of assignments that he carried out in relation to the pope from 1118. Among the official orders are known, such as:

Participation in the delegation, as its head, who welcomed Pope Gelasius II in the south of France (Magelonne, 1118-1119);

Preparation of the meeting of Pope Calixtus II (autumn 1119);

A trip to Italy on royal business to meet with Pope Bitonto In the winter of 1122, after the death of Abbot Adam, Suger was elected abbot of Saint-Denis. Entering a new position for Suger was not unambiguous. This appointment was made when Suger was returning from Italy from a meeting with Pope Bitonto. The new position caused controversy among Suger, since he did not have a priesthood, moreover, the chapter of the abbey did not ask the approval of the candidate from the French king Louis VI. And the reaction of Pope Bitonto was not known, because the abbey of Saint-Denis was directly dependent on the Holy See.

However, Pope Bitonto and Louis VI accepted such an appointment, and on March 11, 1122, Suger was ordained a priest, and the next day he was ordained an abbot.

Suger became abbot of Saint-Denis at a difficult time for the abbey, which was experiencing spiritual and secular decline. Significant territorial possessions and legal authority obliged the abbey to take part in secular politics, which obliged the abbot to demonstrate not only the humility of a monk, but also secular luxury worthy of neighboring lords, for which the abbey was criticized.

1124 was the year of recognition of Suger as the faithful and best adviser to the French king. This was preceded by a difficult time for the kingdom. The coalition between the English king Heinrich Beauclerk and the German king Henry V began to threaten the eastern lands of France, planning to strike at Reims.

In response to this threat, Louis VI turned to the French people for support in the fight against enemies. The king was actively supported by Suger. To form a national army and raise morale, the king and the abbot organized a ceremony in Saint-Denis for the transfer of the banner from the altar of St. Dionysius to Louis VI. This banner was positioned as a symbol of the main patron of the kingdom and a special patron of the dynasty.

However, the conflict was limited to border skirmishes, which did not develop into a decisive battle, since Henry V had to withdraw troops to solve his own internal problems.

Upon returning to Paris, Louis VI immediately went to Saint-Denis to express gratitude to Saint Dionysius for the victory. After that, it became a tradition among the French kings to raise the flag of St. Dionysius before significant military enterprises.

From 1125, Abbot Suger gradually began to move away from papal politics, and gradually switched to the problems of Saint-Denis. He took up:

Restoration of the rights of the abbey to the lands he had lost;

Settlement of property and legal disputes;

Increasing the profitability of the abbey;

Construction and reconstruction of the abbey itself.

But he did not depart from the internal affairs of the kingdom. This is how he took part:

In the consecration of the main cathedral of the abbey of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, after reconstruction (1128);

In the synod in Saint-Germain-des-Pres (1129), at this synod, Sugeria achieved the return to the abbey of the female abbey of Argenteuil;

At the coronation of the heir to the throne, Prince Philip;

In the assembly on the recognition of Innocent II as the supreme pontiff and on the provision of support to him (1130, Etampes).

In 1131, Suger convinced Louis VI to crown his second son, Louis the Younger, after the tragic death of Prince Philip. An important role in the fate of Suger was played by his appointment to accompany Prince Louis the Young. In 1137, Louis the Young - heir to the French crown - married Eleanor of Aquitaine in Bordeaux. The heir to the French crown in his first such a long and distant journey, no doubt, came in handy with the advice and help of the highly experienced abbe of Saint-Denis.

That year was a terrible heat and dryness. Suger, already 56 years old, made a will before this trip. But the journey went well, only upon his return he no longer found his royal friend alive: King Louis VI left this world on August 1, when the wedding cortege was only on the outskirts of Poitiers.

For Suger, a new round of political activity began - he became the closest adviser to the young king, as opposed to his mother, Queen Adelaide and cousin uncle Raoul I, Count de Vermandois. In the autumn of 1137, together with Louis VII, Suger made a long journey to Burgundy from Langres to Osser to take the oath of allegiance from local vassals; and in the spring next year for the same purpose they went to Poitou. In the autumn of 1138, Louis VII undertook a military expedition to Poitou to suppress the rebellion and lay siege to the castle of Talmont.

However, in 1140, Louis VII declared his desire to become independent from his father's adviser and appointed Kadurka to the post of royal adviser, which led to a decrease in Suger's political influence.

Suger never occupied any official position at court, he did not seem to be disgraced - he simply quietly stepped into the shadows and, from time to time acting as a peacemaker, gave himself entirely to the reorganization and decoration of the abbey.

After being removed from the royal court, Suger set about rebuilding the main cathedral dedicated to St. Dionysius. So on June 9, a new narthex was consecrated, and on July 14, the construction of the narthex ceilings began. It went on for almost four years.

After the completion of external work in the cathedral (in the spring of 1144), the decoration of the interior began: the installation of altars, the strengthening of the first stained-glass windows. In the depths of the choirs, an altar of the Holy Martyrs - Dionysius, Rusticus and Eleutherus - was erected from carved gray porphyry, the front side of which was decorated with a golden antependium, literally covered with many precious stones: rubies, sapphires, topazes, hyacinths; Suger even forced his noble guests to give stones from their rings for this altar and he himself set an example. At the beginning of 1145, Suger specially invited famous Lorraine jewelers to make a large gold cross, work on which would last more than two years. This cross will be erected behind the main altar and consecrated by Pope Eugene III (1145-1153) on Easter 1147.

On June 11, 1144, the consecration of the new church of St. Dionysius took place, which shocked contemporaries with its grandeur and beauty. Unfortunately, little has come down to us from the buildings of that time - in the second half of the 13th century. abbots Ed and Mathieu undertook new alterations that distorted the original appearance of the cathedral.

In 1147, Suger was appointed regent of France for the period of the Second Crusade. Suger accepted this appointment only at the insistence of the pope. He motivated his refusal to accept the regency of Sugeria by the fact that it would be too heavy a burden for the elder he is. On Holy Saturday, April 19, Eugene III entrusted Suger with the care of running the state in words that were completely unambiguous, elevating him to the rank of apostolic vicar, and subjecting all disturbers of public order to anathema.

On June 8, 1147, King Louis VII, together with his mother Adelaide of Savoy and a huge retinue, visited Saint-Denis. Like his father, Louis the Young took the banner from the altar of St. Dionysius "according to the custom of ancient kings, when they should go to war or fulfill a vow of pilgrimage." It is possible that it was then that Suger recommended to Louis VII as a chaplain and historiographer the monk Odon († 1170), originally from the village of Dey, who was formerly the prior of La Chapelle-Aude and was distinguished by diplomatic abilities.

But just before leaving in August 1147, the king nevertheless appointed his regents: Samson de Mauvoisin, Archbishop of Reims (1140-1162), and Raoul, Comte de Vermandois (1119-1152). Fortunately, Samson, a man of outstanding spiritual merit, always maintained good relations with Suger and now, for the good of the state, he agreed to act in submission. Count Raul was a more inconvenient person, but his appointment was actually annulled by the fact of his excommunication, which was removed only after the death of his first wife, at the Synod of Reims on March 21, 1148. In addition, at the end of 1147, Suger wisely instructed the militant and energetic Raoul loved what he loved most - he sent the count to the Norman border in Gisors to bring the castle into a state of defense.

The regency set a difficult task for Suger: protecting France from the encroachments of her many enemies, preserving the rights of the crown within the country and resisting the rebels, increasing income from crown domains and regular financial assistance needed overseas by King Louis VII - that is, justice, order and peace. For the period of regency, Suger was forced to leave Saint-Denis and arrive at the royal palace in Paris. In his writings, Suger was supported by Pope Eugene III, who, by a bull of October 6, 1147, asked Suger to inform him of bishops who were opposed to helping him. St. Bernard reinforced Suger with his advice and influence, addressing him with respect as a real head of state. The great vassals of the crown: Geoffroy V Plantagenet, Count of Anjou and Duke of Normandy (1128-1151), and Etienne de Blois, King of England (1135-1154) and Count de Boulogne, carried on friendly correspondence with him, in which they showed deep respect. Theodoric of Alsace, Count of Flanders (1128-1168), revealed to Suger the machinations of the royal brother Robert and offered his help up to military support.

At the instigation of the younger brother of the French king Robert, Comte de Droz and the former royal chancellor Kadurka, rumors were circulating in the country that discredited Louis VII, reproaching him for disgracing the life and power of the king. He was accused of hypocrisy, cowardice, excessive simplicity; he was credited with all the failures of the troops in the East. On the other hand, the conspirators tried to discredit Suger in the eyes of the king, and partly they succeeded.

The propaganda was on the rise. The situation became even more complicated when Louis VII announced that after Easter on April 3, 1149 he would leave the Holy Land. Saint Bernard supported Suger in opposing Robert, the Comte de Droz and the former royal chancellor Kadurka.

Based on this support, on May 8, 1149, Suger convened in Soissons all the secular and spiritual grandees of the kingdom, starting with the Archbishop of Reims and the Count of Flanders. The sovereigns spoke unanimously, showing loyalty to Louis VII, and this was enough to calm the indignation: Robert humbly resigned himself, abandoned his plans and clearly repented; maybe even punished in some way. In any case, in a letter to St. He promised Bernard to improve. At the same time or shortly after the assembly in Soissons, Sugeria, both among the people and in the palace, began to be called the “Father of the Fatherland”.

On the way back to France, Louis VII met with the pope in Tusculum on October 9, 1149. Eugene III tried to smooth over the slander and raise the authority of Suger in the eyes of the king, who was advised to meet with the regent face to face. Louis heeded the advice and ordered his minister, in great secrecy, to come to the meeting. A secret meeting turned the situation in a favorable direction for Suger.

As soon as the king returned to Paris, Suger lost power. At the very end of the year, he once again acted as an intermediary between Louis VII and Geoffroy V Plantagenet, who suddenly laid siege to the royal castle of Montreuil-Bellay, and convinced both to look for ways to consent, having managed to save France from a new war.

The unsuccessful siege of Antioch and the completely fruitless, inglorious outcome of the crusade shocked Suger. In March 1150, on his initiative, an assembly of nobility was convened in Lana to resolve the issue of helping Antioch and saving the True Cross. A new assembly held at Chartres on May 7 showed that neither the king nor the grandees were ready to act immediately. The decision was postponed for a month. But the third assembly took place only on July 15 in Compiegne and suffered a complete fiasco: at the moment of truth, Suger was left alone.

At the end of the summer, Suger decided to make a pilgrimage to the grave of St. Martin of Tours. Having done a long and hard way to Tours and back to Saint-Denis, the 70-year-old abbé came down with a fever. Suger spent three months in bed, while improving his health, constantly returning to business: he wrote letters, reformed the abbey of Saint-Corney-de-Compiègne, selected applicants for episcopal chairs in Arras and Lana, received endless visitors. Already, being quite ill, he intervened in the quarrel between Louis VII and his brother Henry, Bishop of Beauvais (1144-1162, † 1175), and asked the latter to obey the will of the king. In a farewell letter to Louis VII, entrusting the king and France to God, and Saint-Denis to the king, he wrote: “Keep this letter with you forever, since you won’t be able to me ...”.

Realizing that he had little time left, Suger ordered to call his friends - the bishops of Soissons, Noyon and Senlis - and entrusted them with taking care of his soul and his body. Abbot Suger died on Saturday, January 13, 1151, on the feast of the Epiphany, in his cell in Saint-Denis, in the 71st year of his life and the 29th year of his tenure as abbot. He was buried in the Cistercian monastery of Barbeau with great solemnity, in the presence of six bishops and many abbots and King Louis VII.

According to legend, Suger once again returned to his beloved Saint-Denis - a hundred years after his death: in 1259, Abbot Mathieu de Vendome ordered his body to be transferred and placed in the thickness of the wall of the south transept of the cathedral; outside, only a simple inscription remained: Hic jacet Sugerius abbas (Here lies Abbot Sugerius).

Abbot Suger was one of the most educated people of his time. Theologian, historian, adviser, regent of the French king Louis VII, in addition to philosophical writings, he wrote a treatise on the aesthetics of Christian architecture, in which he substantiated symbolic meaning many elements of the architectural composition, including stained-glass windows and lancet arches.

1.3 The influence of the ideas of Abbot Suger on the development of French Gothic

July 14, 1140 is considered the birthday of Gothic architecture. It was on this day that work began on the reconstruction of the choir of the church in the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Denis, which began with the initiative of Abbot Suger.

This church was recognized, and is still recognized, as the pinnacle of artistic excellence, in which elements and motifs of architecture, which are currently considered signs of Gothic art, harmoniously combined. It is this church that is considered the source of a new architectural style for that time - Gothic.

The formation of a new vision of cathedral construction was preceded by a long period of transformation not only of the spiritual, but also of the social and political aspects of the society of that time. Abbot Sugeria, who was the head of the abbey and initiated the construction work, also plays a significant role in the recognition of the church of Saint-Denis on a global scale.

The increase in the status and importance of both the church and the abbey itself was played by a number of external factors that formed the development of the society of the Middle Ages. Historians highlight two conditions that contributed to this:

The active development of trade in the north of France led to the accumulation of wealth by the abbey;

Strengthening royal power in the domains under her control.

It is believed that to strengthen the royal power significant role played and Suger, who was familiar with King Louis VI.

This church not only became the center of the monastery and its land holdings, but also played a key role in the establishment of the French monarchy.

However, the architecture of the renovated church itself has received worldwide recognition due to the use of the latest achievements of the architecture of the Middle Ages. It was in the royal domains with the center in Paris that new trends in architecture began to form, which had not been used anywhere before. Therefore, the renovated church of Saint-Denis should be considered as an object that managed to reflect the best architectural innovations, which allows us to speak of the church, not as an original example of Gothic architecture, but as a catalyst for its development.

Suger's participation in the fate of royal power in France allows us to consider the abbey of Saint-Denis involved in strengthening the power of monarchs, which is also reflected in the architectural expression of the new look of the church.

The first consisted in the revival of ancient traditions, thanks to which the French kings could establish themselves as direct descendants of the legitimate royal dynasty and prove themselves worthy of this heritage. This is expressed in the fact that at the beginning of the 12th century the French kings, in comparison with other monarchs, played a rather modest role in political life. Moreover, their hereditary lands were surrounded on all sides by territories belonging to more powerful French rulers.

However, the French monarchs differed from all these feudal lords in their grandiose ambitions: they claimed dominance over all of France, referring to their involvement in the legacy of the imperial power of Charlemagne, who was crowned in Saint-Denis in 754 as king of the Franks. Later, the grandson of Charlemagne, Emperor Charles the Bald, was buried here. How important it was to maintain the tradition of the Carolingians is evidenced by the decision of Abbot Suger to begin the reconstruction of Saint-Denis with the restoration of the monument to Charles the Bald. Not only Frankish kings and representatives of the Merovingian dynasty were buried here, in Saint-Denis there is also the tomb of St. Dionysius (Denis), the patron saint of France. In the Middle Ages, this legendary first bishop of Paris was confused with Dionysius the Areopagite, a disciple of the Apostle Paul, to whom the extremely important writings of Pseudo-Dionysius in the Christian tradition (probably written in Syria around 500 AD) were attributed. In these influential works, the theory of heavenly hierarchies was developed, according to which the king was the representative of God on earth.

For supporters of this theory, the restoration of monarchical power was not an end in itself, but part of the divine plan of Salvation, in which an important place was assigned to the French kings. Of the extent to which the French monarchy and sacred tradition, is evidenced by the fact that during the consecration of the new church of Suger, Louis VII personally transferred the relics of St. Dionysius from the old crypt to the place reserved for them on the upper tier of the choir.

The second strategy was to promote new ideas aimed at eradicating the memory of the events of the recent past. In other words, the new (both in politics and architecture) was seen as a means to appreciate and revive the old. Gothic architecture, as it originated in the Abbey of Saint-Denis, was intended to express this idea visually and tangibly.

Formulating his aesthetic principles, Suger relied on the doctrine of light and emanation, the author of which was his patron Saint Denis. Suger and his contemporaries believed that Saint Denis (the great martyr who brought Christianity to France) and Dionysius the Areopagite (the disciple of Saint Paul) are one and the same person (Acts 17, 34). The abbey, built on the alleged burial site of Saint Denis, kept Greek copies philosophical writings Dionysius. Later it was established that these books were written by an anonymous author, who was called Pseudo-Dionysius. Pseudo-Dionysius lived in the 5th century, was a Neoplatonist, a student, if not of Proclus, then of his heir Damascus, one of the last leaders of the Athenian Platonic school. Then Pseudo-Dionysius converted to Christianity.

The works of Pseudo-Dionysius, which are both Christian and Neo-Platonic, must be counted among the most mystical writings. In his work "On Divine Names" it is about the inexpressible, light-bearing nature, the Deity. And in " Heavenly Hierarchy" describes the harmonious emanation structure of creation, the trinity of God and the consistent progress from the "divine principles" along the nine-step hierarchy of angels. For Pseudo-Dionysius, as well as for St. Augustine, the number is inseparable from nature, both from the higher and lower levels of being. The beliefs of both philosophers were based on Pythagorean and Platonic principles.

The theology of Pseudo-Dionysius is essentially a message about light, since he describes God and the mystical hierarchy in terms of light. He identifies God with light and "Good" - a word that means "the pinnacle of Divinity", and which Plato often used as a definition of the Absolute. According to Pseudo-Dionysius, God as Good is "Archetypic Light, standing above any other light." He "gives light to all that can receive it ... and he is the measure of all beings and their Principle of eternity, number, order and unity."

This quote applies to all the main elements of Suger's theology:

God is like the light that is the source of everything;

Divine emanation from abstraction to a denser form;

Number, order and measure as the source of all creation.

It was these principles that served as the philosophical model for the forms of Saint-Denis and all subsequent Gothic cathedrals. It was the Gothic church that turned, first of all, after the innovations of Suger, into an expression of this light philosophy of proportions.

Suger believed that the divine emanation is concentrated in precious stones and metals. So he enlisted skilled craftsmen to fill the space around the altar with objects made from these materials. The cathedral began to resemble the description given by St. John of the New Jerusalem.

Suger, who left a detailed description of the restructuring of the church, inscribed several sentences on the main doors of the temple, in which he described his achievements. In his dedication, the Abbé Saint-Denis indicated the path of man's return to the divine light, and the image of the new church can serve as an instrument for such a transformation.

The reconstruction of the church proceeded gradually. The first step was to update the Westwerk. Three new portals have been added to make it easier for parishioners to access old church. Also, the addition of new portals helped to disguise several chapels on the upper tiers, the walls of which protruded beyond the plane of the wall. The narthex of the new façade was equipped with bundles of thick columns and a new type of vaults with crisscross ribs. The crenellated walls that crowned the façade were underlined by buttresses. All this made the new church dynamic and plastic, and reflected the current symbolism. A new approach in architecture made it possible to emphasize the secular power of the abbey and the triumph of the monarchy. And the rich sculptural decor of the portals, the bronze gates, preserved by order of Suger from the old building, explanatory inscriptions and the constantly repeating motif of the number three on the wall of the facade turn this westwork into a symbolic threshold of Heavenly Jerusalem.

The restoration of the church choir began even before the completion of the restoration of the church itself and was completed in 1144. At the same time, the renovated choir did not have a pronounced symbolism, like the facade of the church. However, in 1231, the upper tier of the choir had to be redone, as there was a threat of its collapse, which is associated with very fine filigree work.

In the ambulatory with graceful columns on which massive vaults rest, the planes of the walls are almost indistinguishable. But in contrast, the area in which the windows reaching almost to the floor are located is spacious and flooded with light. Instead of the previously accepted simple bypass, the new church of Saint-Denis uses a double-arcade ambulatory, separated from the side aisles by elegant monolithic columns that bear the weight of the ribbed vaults with such grace as if they had no weight at all. The vaults of the outer arcade are combined with the vaults of the chapels, as a result of which a single, undivided space is created. It should be noted that the architectural techniques (Burgundian lancet arch, Norman rib vault) were not new to the Middle Ages, but their combination reflected a new approach to architectural solutions.

With the joint work of Suger and the architects, a sanctuary was completed, which became a worthy crown of all the structure, striking in its beauty. The choir of the renovated church equally shocked the imagination of both the simple, uneducated parishioner and the abbot, who was able to give this sanctuary a refined allegorical interpretation. The fact that for the construction of a new choir (adjacent to the old central nave, which was preserved intact, because, according to legend, it was consecrated by Christ himself), Abbot Suger intended to bring antique columns from Rome, allows us to see the origins of Gothic architecture

A style that, by all accounts, is innovative and non-classical - in a new light, namely as an attempt to revive old traditions. At the same time, the new choir and façade gave the historic nave a modern twist. In accordance with the political strategy, the old and the new strengthened and supported each other and, according to Abbot Suger, formed a whole, which surpassed its constituent parts in grandeur.

The theoretical basis and practical guidance for the plans for the reconstruction of the church developed by Sugeria were classical theories rhetoric. Variety is one of the classic virtues of an orator.

In Suger's plan, diversity is reflected in the nature of the structural parts of the building. An indirect confirmation of this is the different style of performance of the crypt and the choir located above it. The second concept of rhetoric

Imitation also found expression in the reconstruction of the church, carried out under the leadership of Suger. In this case, the old central nave of Saint-Denis with the columns decorating it served as such a model. At the same time, the quality of the new creation was evaluated on the basis of the merits of the old one.

The Gothic architecture of Saint-Denis was not just an improved example of the Romanesque style. Rather, it was the fruit of a bold attempt to develop a new direction in architecture based on a critical study of the past. Undoubtedly, the architectural innovations of the 30s of the 12th century were a prerequisite for the emergence of this new style. However, it was in the Abbey of Saint-Denis, which played a special role in the fate of the French kings and was headed by the educated, intelligent and energetic abbot Suger, that all these prerequisites finally found the ground necessary for a decisive step towards the birth of the Gothic style.

Summing up this chapter, we can conclude that the recognition of Gothic as a style of architectural art took place at a difficult time for France, which is considered its homeland.

The power of the monarch in the domains of the feudal lords is nominal, and decisive steps are required to strengthen it. Such a step was the hoisting of the flag of St. Dionysius in the Abbey of Saint-Denis. Many historians attribute the authorship of this idea to Abbot Sugeria, who at that time managed the abbey. It was this event that contributed to the formation of the national army, which was supposed to resist the coalition of the German and English kings.

Suger's participation in the political life of France made it possible to raise the abbey to a new level.

During the reconstruction of the abbey church, Suger used all the new achievements of the architecture of his time, which made it possible to create a unique masterpiece of political and social significance.

Thus, the significance of Suger - the abbot of Saint-Denis - and the position of the abbey itself in the life of France served as the basis for the emergence of a new style in architecture.

CHAPTER 2. GO TIC ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE

2.1 W birth of gothic. Style history

The concept of "Gothic style" was first used in the Renaissance. Then this word was synonymous with the word "barbarian" and was opposed to the "Roman" style, which was considered as sublime as possible and strictly followed all ancient traditions. These ideas were revised only in the 19th century, when the era of the Middle Ages ceased to seem like the “dark ages”. In the history of art, it is customary to single out early, high and late Gothic.

Gothic as a direction in art was developed in those countries where the positions of the Catholic Church were strong. It was under her influence that various feudal and ecclesiastical trends penetrated the culture.

Gothic was preceded by the Romanesque style. It originated in the North of France at the beginning of the 12th century. and reached its peak by the second half of the next century.

It is the beginning of the XII century. was a time of active development of culture and architecture in France. The appearance of cities began to change, many old church buildings burned down and new ones grew in their place, which were completely different from the previous ones. It was at the time when the clash of different worldviews began that Gothic art began to emerge. It is for this reason that the most significant monuments of Gothic architecture were built in the next century. This style was gradually reborn and existed in architecture and art in different versions for almost a hundred years.

Gothic cathedrals can be called the highest expression of Gothic.

In contrast to the Romanesque period, cities, and not monasteries, now became the centers of all spheres of life. Now they were used not only for worship, but also to protect the inhabitants of the city (it was necessary to fit all the population). Also, in front of the cathedrals, one could often see speeches by preachers, disputes between professors and students. Also, theatrical and religious performances. Professional builders began to build city cathedrals.

The architecture of cathedrals, in fact, became the common cause of the townspeople, and therefore it contained almost all the features of the ideology of the Middle Ages.

We can say that the Gothic style is the completion of the development of medieval art throughout Europe. Gothic is characterized by a symbolic-allegorical type of thinking and a conventional artistic language. Gothic borrowed from the Romanesque style that architecture became dominant in the system of arts. A significant role in Gothic art was played by the construction of cathedrals, which became the highest examples of the synthesis of several areas of art at once, such as painting, architecture and sculpture. A significant space inside the cathedral, vertical towers and vaults, dynamic rhythms of architecture, stained-glass windows could evoke different feelings among believers, but at the same time did not leave them indifferent.

The development of Gothic art was a reflection of changes in the culture of society as a whole, for example, centralized states began to form, cities grew and strengthened, secular forces began to play an increasingly important role, as well as trade, craft and court-knight communities.

As social consciousness, technology and crafts developed, the foundations of the religious-dogmatic worldview of a religious person became weaker, and therefore the possibilities for cognition of reality and aesthetic comprehension expanded significantly. New architectural systems and types were also revealed quite tightly. Urban planning and the architecture of civil buildings developed quite quickly.

The city architectural ensembles quite often included buildings (secular and cultural), various fortifications, bridges and even wells. The main city square was quite often built up with houses with arcades, and shops and warehouses were located on the first floors. Several (usually three) streets diverged from the squares, on which one-, two- and three-story houses with high gables were located. As a rule, a fortress wall with richly decorated towers was built around the city. Castles gradually became complex complexes of fortresses, palaces and other structures. As a rule, in the center of the city, the building was dominated by the cathedral, which turned into the center of life for the inhabitants of the city. Divine services, debates, city meetings were held in it, mysteries were played on holidays. The cathedral became a body of knowledge and symbolized the Universe. At the same time, his artistic structure always combined solemnity, dynamics, various plastic motifs, and at the same time was strictly hierarchically structured. He expressed not only the idea of a medieval hierarchy in society and the power of the divine over the human, but also the rapidly growing human self-consciousness.

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