Introduction to the Special Issue on Medieval ArchitectureSource: The Journal of the American Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 4, No. 3/4,Medieval Architecture (Jul. - Oct., 1944), p. 3Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society of Architectural HistoriansStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/901171 .

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INTRODUCTION to the special issue on IiEDIEVAL AROHITECTURE

From time to time A.S.A.H. has devoted whole issues of the Journal to particular problans of architeotural history. The cumulative concen- tration of several minds on a special phase of our field forms an effec- tive means of emphasis that can remind us of and stimulate new interest in numerous tantalizing questions that still ranain unanswered.

In this issue five eminent scholars focus attention on Medieval Architecture, whose monuments have long suffered more fame than under- standing. Surely no period has depended more for its interpretation on the peouliar enthusiasms of nineteenth-century historians. Romantic an- tiquarianism found in Georgian Gothiok a weloome relief from neo-olassio- al formality. Riekman and Pugin preached a more studious exploitation justified by nationalistic and ecclesiastical motives, Viollet-le-Due championed Gothio constructivism,

Under the stimulus of men like Arthur Kingsley Porter, recent schol- ars have expanded our knowledge of the monuments of earlier medieval styles. We are beginning to recapture those missing links that will give continuity to the fascinating story of medieval architecture from the time of Constantine to seventeenth-century Virginia, Although the reli- gious preoccupations of the medieval world ensured the architectural su- zerainty of churches, we realize today that any age as vigorous and ac- tive as it was demands consideration from the vantage point of full oul- turil history, Castle, farmstead, guildhall, cornmill, bridge, and bas- tide can contribute indispensably to an appreciation of the sociological olimate that evoked shrine and cathedral. We need an architectural Coul- ton to paint a panorama of medieval architecture.

Strange as it may seemn the influence of medieval architecture can still be disoerned even in the work of self-sufficient devotees of con- temporary dogmas. The "organic plan" of the English manor house, the "glass cage" of the Sainte-Chapelle, the multi-storied "skeleton struo- tural system" of the Knoohenaueramtshaus, the "skyscraper towers" of San Gimignano or Bologna, the naval arsenal at Venice, all have a familiar ring. How many present-day names of structural members and craft tools descend directly from the jargon of medieval journeymenl Nor should the potent virulence of revivalism go unmentioned. Too often buttresses cling to steel brackets for support, ready-made saints are framed in mill-work tracery, or microphoned sermons and electrio organs labor against reoal- oitrant medieval acoustics. These very ineptitudes pay tribute to the persistent strength of the medieval tradition. It is the happy duty of modern architectural historians to, correct such perversions and to re- veal and emphasize the true and abiding lessons of that great age.

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