Translated by Joanna Sobczak.
The book presents the panorama of social, cultural, and religious changes in the states of the Piast, Přemyslid, and Arpad dynasties. Major change occurred in the tenth century and again at the turn of the eleventh century. Given the scarcity of written sources, the author employs an analysis of architectural forms which she applies to buildings founded by dukes, kings, and nobles at this period. Architecture serves as a reliable source of knowledge and can be successfully read as a text using comparative analysis, iconology, and semiotics. No piece of art appeared without an historical context: forms, functions, and styles are all documents created by its founders and creators. The conclusions of this research help us to understand the era that shaped the foundations of the Polish, Czech, and the Hungarian states.
Author(s): Marta Graczyńska
Series: Beyond Medieval Europe
Publisher: Arc Humanities Press
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 126
City: Leeds
List of Illustrations vii
Introduction xiii
Chapter 1. Displays of Power — Architecture as Sign and Symbol 1
Chapter 2. Choice of Architectural Forms 25
Chapter 3. The Code of Form and Shape 37
Chapter 4. Composition of Spatial Arrangements 45
Chapter 5. Appropriation and/or Influence 53
Chapter 6. Architecture as a Vehicle of Meanings 65
Chapter 7. Form versus Function 71
Chapter 8. Interpreting Function 81
Chapter 9. Reading Architecture 91
Conclusion 97
Select Bibliography 99
Index 105
