CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2018
| Author | Kinde, Anna |
|---|---|
| Title | Ambulatories in Fourteenth-Century Central European Cathedrals |
| Summary | While the ambulatory with polygonal radiating chapels was very popular in French cathedral architecture in the eleventh-twelfth centuries, it became less popular by 1300. However, it has seen a resurgence in Central Europe in six cathedrals: Kraków, Gniezno and Poznań in the Polish Kingdom, Eger and Várad in the Hungarian Kingdom and in Prague in the Kingdom of Bohemia. The aim of this research is to assess the reasons why the builders chose this choir type for the cathedrals. The monuments, along with the most important written and visual sources are examined to reconstruct their fourteenth-century building history, and then the possible reasons are considered. The traditional association of the ambulatories with pilgrimage seems less fitting for the more complicated political and liturgical settings of the fourteenth century. I argue that cathedral ambulatories could and did fulfill multiple roles. In the case of Kraków and Prague, the two most important centers, royal prestige, honoring the patron saint, liturgical considerations and creating a place for high-profile burials were all reasons that probably contributed to the choice. In all the cathedrals, ambulatories provided an ideal solution for wealthy patrons and bishops who wished to be buried close to the main altar. In addition, in the archcathedral of Gniezno and the cathedral of Várad, the development of the cults of Saints Adalbert and Ladislaus probably influenced the architecture. |
| Supervisor | Szakács, Béla Zsolt |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2018/kinde_anna.pdf |
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