12th-century Byzantine domes

The larger scale of some Byzantine buildings of the 12th century required a more stable support structure for domes than the four slender columns of the cross-in-square type could provide. The use of piers as part of large cruciform plans is documented, a practice that had been out of fashion for several centuries. A variant of the cross-in-square, the "so-called atrophied Greek cross plan", also provided greater support for a dome than the typical cross-in-square plan by using four piers projecting from the corners of an otherwise square naos, rather than four columns.Ousterhout 2008a 202–203 Greece The cross-in-square katholikon of Kaisariani Monastery in Athens was built from the end of the 11th to the beginning of the 12th centuries. Its central dome is supported on four marble pillars. A narthex with a lower central dome was added in the 16th or 17th century.Spyrakos Pugi Maniatakis Francioso 2015 1, 3 Other examples of 12th century cross-in-square churches include the Nikolaos chapel at Lavra monastery, the Church of Panagia Chalkeon in Thessaloniki, the Church of Panagia Kapnikarea in Athens, the Megali Panagia Monastery in Samos, the katholikon at Church of St George in Kolusha, Sagmata Monastery el Μονή Μεταμορφώσεως Σωτήρος Σαγματά, the church of Agios Geōrgios in Keryneia, Agia Nikolaos mk Црква „Св. Никола“ - Дутлија in Elaiōnas mk Дутлија, the Archangels chapel bg Свети Архангели (Рилски манастир) at Rila Monastery, Ai Kyr Giannēs in Alikianos, the church of Agia Dēmētrios on Crete, the church of Agia Iōannēs Prodromos in Schimatari, Agia Ioannes in Episkopi, Panagia church in Phodele fi Neitsyt Marian temppeliintuomisen kirkko (Fódele), the Panagia church in Lambēnē, the katholikon of Zemen Monastery, the Church of St Demetrius in Patalenitsa, Monē Acheiropoiētou in Lambousa, Agios Geōrgios in Sōtēra, Panagia tis Angeloktistis, A. Filōn el Εκκλησία Αγίου Φίλωνος in Rizokarpaso, Metamorphōsis el Ναός Μεταμορφώσεως Σωτήρος (Πλάκα) in Athens, Agios Petros in Kastania, Metamorphōsis in Nomitzi el Nomitsi, Messinia, Agios Sergios & Bakchos in Kitta, Agios Barbara in Latziana, the katholikon of Kaisariani Monastery, Gorgoepēkoos in Athens, Agios Iasōnas & Sōsipatros in Kerkyra, Agios Nikolaos in Arta, Panagia Episkopi, Panagia Agētria in Agia Kyriaki, Agios Nikolaos in Ochia, Agios Triada in Ligortys, Theotokos Kosmosoteira in Pherrai, Metamorphōsis in Amphissa, A. Iōannēs ho Theologos el Ναός Αγίου Ιωάννη Θεολόγου (Πλάκα) in Athens, katholikon of Panagia monastery, Zōodochos Pēgē in Samari, Taxiarches in Melida, Agios Ioannēs ho Eleēmōn in Lygourio, Taxiarchēs in Andros, and the Church of Saint Panteleimon in Gorno Nerezi.Higuchi Nasu 2019 534-536 The domed octagon Church of the Saviour in Chortiatis, near Thessaloniki, is dated to the middle of the 12th century and is similar to the Haghioi Apostoloi at Pyrgi.Bouras 1979 26-27 The ruined church of Haghios Demetrios, near Haghios in northern Euboea, had a domed octagon design (or pseudo-octagon, given the narrow corner niches) dated to the 12th century.Bouras 1979 27 The Panagia Krina on the island of Chios has a domed octagon design similar to that of the Nea Moni on the same island, but is dated to the 12th or 13th centuries.Bouras 1979 26 Constantinople thumb|left|alt=Exterior view of the central dome of Kalenderhane Mosque in Istanbul|Kalenderhane Mosque in Istanbul The Byzantine churches today called Kalenderhane Mosque, Gül Mosque, and the Enez Fatih mosque all had domes greater than 7 m us in diameter and used piers as part of large cruciform plans. The "so-called atrophied Greek cross plan" was used in the Chora Church of Constantinople in the 12th century after the previous cross-in-square structure was destroyed by an earthquake.Ousterhout 2008a 202–203 The 12th century Pantokrator monastic complex (1118–36) was built with imperial sponsorship as three adjoining churches.Ousterhout 2008b 360 The south church, a cross-in-square, has a ribbed dome over the naos, domical vaults in the corners, and a pumpkin dome over the narthex gallery. The north church is also a cross-in-square plan. The middle church, the third to be built, fills the long space between the two earlier churches with two oval domes of the pumpkin and ribbed types over what appear to be separate functional spaces. The western space was an imperial mausoleum, whereas the eastern dome covered a liturgical space.Ousterhout 2008a 121, 208 There is a written account by Nicholas Mesarites of a Persian-style muqarnas dome built as part of a late 12th century imperial palace in Constantinople.Grabar 1990 19 Called the "Mouchroutas Hall", it may have been built as part of an easing in tensions between the court of Manuel I Komnenos and Kilij Arslan II of the Sultanate of Rum around 1161, evidence of the complex nature of the relations between the two states. The account, written by Nicholas Mesarites shortly before the Fourth Crusade, is part of a description of the coup attempt by John Komnenos in 1200, and may have been mentioned as a rhetorical device to disparage him.Walker 2012 144–146 The domed Mouchroutas was built next to the Byzantine throne room at the imperial palace while a Rum Seljuk prince was living there and may have been used as a reception hall.Tabbaa 2008 144 North Macedonia An examples of a 12th century cross-in-square church is the Church of Saint Panteleimon in Gorno Nerezi.Higuchi Nasu 2019 534-536 Cyprus Examples of 12th century cross-in-square churches include the church of Agios Geōrgios in Keryneia, Monē Acheiropoiētou in Lambousa, Agios Geōrgios in Sōtēra, Panagia tis Angeloktistis, and A. Filōn el Εκκλησία Αγίου Φίλωνος in Rizokarpaso.Higuchi Nasu 2019 534-536 Bulgaria Examples of 12th century cross-in-square churches include the katholikon at Church of St George in Kolusha, the Archangels chapel bg Свети Архангели (Рилски манастир) at Rila Monastery, the katholikon of Zemen Monastery, and the Church of St Demetrius in Patalenitsa.Higuchi Nasu 2019 534-536 Turkey The Byzantine churches today called the Enez Fatih mosque had a dome greater than 7 m us in diameter and used piers as part of a large cruciform plan.Ousterhout 2008a 202–203 See also Domes List of Roman domes History of architecture References Citations 25em 20em Sources 35em Bouras Charalambos 1979 Twelfth and Thirteenth Century Variations of the Single Domed Octagon Plan (pl. 3-6) Deltion of the Christian Archaeological Society 9 The Christian Archaeological Society (ChAE) 21–34 https://scholar.archive.org/work/g6v2ogwxnrhfhmlxe34d66s2zq/access/wayback/https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/deltion/article/download/4540/4316 10.12681/dchae.869 free Grabar Oleg March 1990 From Dome of Heaven to Pleasure Dome Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 49 1 University of California Press Berkeley, CA 10.2307/990496 990496 15–21 Higuchi Ryo Nasu Satoshi 2019 The derivation of cross-in-square churches in terms of their interior tectonic configuration: The genealogy of cross-in-square churches during the Middle Byzantine period (1) Japan Architectural Review 2 4 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Architectural Institute of Japan 530–544 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2475-8876.12116 10.1002/2475-8876.12116 free Ousterhout Robert G. 2008 Master Builders of Byzantium University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology Philadelphia, PA paperback https://archive.org/details/masterbuildersof2008oust registration 978-1-934536-03-2 Ousterhout 2008a Ousterhout Robert 2008 Chapter II.7.2: Churches and Monasteries Jeffreys Elizabeth Haldon John Cormack Robin The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Studies Oxford University Press Oxford, England https://books.google.com/books?id=liFKua_cWL8C 978-0-19-925246-6 Ousterhout 2008b Spyrakos Constantine C. Pugi Francesco Maniatakis Charilaos A. Francioso Alessio 2015 Evaluation of the dynamic response for a historic byzantine crossed-dome church through block-joint and kinematic analysis Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Techniques Methods in Structural Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering COMPDYN Papadrakakis M. Papadopoulos V. Plevris V. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281405335 Tabbaa Yasser 2008 Andalusian Roots and Abbasid Homage in the Qubbat Al-Barudiyyin in Marrakech Muqarnas 25 Brill 133–146 10.1163/22118993-90000128 27811116 free Walker Alicia 2012 The Emperor and the World: Exotic Elements and the Imaging of Middle Byzantine Imperial Power, Ninth to Thirteenth Centuries C.E. Cambridge University Press Cambridge, England https://books.google.com/books?id=HcRkAwAAQBAJ 978-1-316-02569-7 Category:Byzantine architecture Category:Domes Category:History of structural engineering