[gothic-l] Re: Goths as more than barbarians

Sat Nov 20 17:19:52 UTC 2004

F.E.J.D.
wow, thank you so much for your input. Aren't the
Goths originally from, or I should say the earliest
records of the Goths from modern day Poland, then
referred to as Dacia? This is how I understanad the
map...but I am new to this....
--- "F.E.J.D. IV" <jimenezf01 at mail.montclair.edu>
wrote:

>
>  Greetings (Allyn?)
> Indeed, the History channel's program titled "The
> Goths" (I think),
> was very entertaining and also informative, I am
> glad you enjoyed it.
> As concerns Peter Heather's book, however, one must
> understand that he
> did not write it as mere entertainment but rather as
> academic history,
> thus it may seem a bit pedantic in comparison. Peter
> however, has
> terrific insights and I believe, was featured in the
> previously stated
> program.
>
> I must also point to the fact that the Goths had
> nothing to do with
> the development of the arch (either the round arch
> or the pointed
> arch). It is debatable but the idea for constructing
> arched spaces may
> have come from the predominantly round forms of
> caves during our
> cave-dwelling days. Arched structures are evident in
> the mammoth bone
> structures of Mezhirich Ukraine as long ago as
> 18,000YBP. The
> entrances and interior of the latter structures were
> constructed by
> facing two mammoth tusks and binding a portion of
> their terminal ends
> together so that the form resembled an "arch".
> Nonetheless, it is well
> known that stone arches and archways were already in
> limited use in
> ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Ancient Greece (see
> the citadel at
> Tyrinis). The latter tended to be pointed due to the
> technique of
> corbelling stones until they met at the apex. The
> "refined" pointed
> arch as developed in about 12th century Europe is of
> course a motif of
> what later came to be called the "Gothic"
> architectural style,
> however, in its own day the style was known as the
> modern style or the
> French style. Many individuals think (erroneously)
> that the Gothic
> style and the pointed arch were developed by the
> Gothic peoples,
> however, they were not. The term "Gothic" as it
> pertains to
> architecture, is historically attributed to the
> Italian artist and
> historian Georgio Vasari. Vasari, esteemed the
> architecture of
> Michelangelo above all other styles and desired to
> delineate
> Michelangelo's style from the French style which was
> still in use at
> the time, thus, Vasari attributed the the French
> style as an "opus
> Gothorum", (the work of the Goths). Of course, in
> Vasari's day the
> Goths were thought to embody everything rude,
> uninformed and backward
> since they were thought to have destroyed classical
> Roman
> civilization, the very things that Renaissance
> society was then
> re-discovering. Thus the word Gothic became a
> pejorative term to
> indicate all things destructive, grotesque and
> uninformed.
> Interestingly however, very little is known about
> permanent
> architectural structures attributed to the Goths
> prior to their
> arrival in the Roman empire, just some post hole
> patterns in Poland
> around Kowalekwo and in a few other places. Also,
> relief carvings
> found on the storied column (of Trajan I believe)
> shows us Roman
> interpretations of what may have been temporary
> movable Germanic
> dwellings. It is finally on Roman soil that the
> first Gothic
> architectural forms are first seen, however these
> are built long after
> the Goths have borrowed greatly from Roman and
> Byzantine forms.
> Firstly, the Mausoleum of Theodoric (454-556?CE)
> follows the domed
> rotunda plan of the Romans. Also, it is well
> attested that the
> Visigoths in Spain built the church of Santa Maria,
> Quintanilla de las
> Vinas, in Burgos. Santa Maria made great use of the
> Horseshoe arch
> (borrowed from Rome). On these arches are seen many
> relief carvings
> that show designs and motifs in use by the Goths
> prior to their
> arrival in Rome. The latter include interlaced
> designs, vegetal and
> zoomorphic (animal) forms especially eagles (or
> raptors) and heraldic
> juxtaposition; more specifically, grapevines with
> heart shaped bunches
> of grapes, birds of pray, palmettes and sun discs.
> Architecturally,
> Santa Maria deviates substantially from the
> Roman/Christian use of
> space; though it is modeled on the basilican plan,
> its interior space
> in the nave is no longer flanked by two isles
> leading to the altar,
> instead, the isles open through two doorways into
> the choir, the which
> separates the clergy from the laity, thus the
> Visigothic congregation
> was barred from approaching the altar to receive
> communion.
> There are many other churches and palaces built by
> the Visigoths,
> including the architecture of the Asturian highlands
> in the north of
> Spain. Asturian art and architecture were the most
> advanced
> forerunners of what later became the Romanesque
> style. These buildings
> were the first to use large buttresses to bear the
> weight transmitted
> downward by vaulted roofs made from stone. Alas,
> these were the last
> works of the Visigoths but in them is clearly seen a
> continuation of
> the architectural techniques, forms, motifs and
> styles used by the
> Visigoths since the beginning of their building
> tradition in Spain.
> There Visigoths of course were more than just
> barbarians, they were
> well versed in all of the arts and gave Europe
> historic institutions
> such as the anointing of kings with holy oil (a
> tradition derived from
> the Bible) and in Europe first practiced in the
> coronations of
> Visigothic kings of Spain, a tradition that is still
> in use today. The
> jewel encrusted votive crowns of Visigothic kings
> are intact and
> reside in the treasury of several museums in Spain
> and France. The
> Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York houses an
> excellent collection
> of fibulae including ceremonial horse bits owned by
> King Witiza which
> I have researched extensively. There are Visigothic
> slate tiles
> inscribed with writing excercises, messages,
> inventories, stories "
> and even gossip. The Visigoths were also fond of
> music and played a
> variety of instruments including the Spanish
> bagpipes called "gaita"
> from the Gothic (gaits) meaning goat whence comes
> the material used in
> constructing the bellows.
>
> Of course, you must understand that the things I
> have mentioned are
> only a small part of the story since what I have
> mentioned occurs
> rather late in Gothic history. Also please see the
> beautiful treasure
> of Pietroassa in Romania and other finds in many
> other parts of Europe.
> Anyway...perhaps I will continue this thread when I
> settle back in, I
> have just returned from an extended trip to Poland
> and still have a
> bit of jet lag to overcome...
>
> Cheers,
> F.E.J.D. IV
> Fernando Eladio (Frithunanths Elatheus) Jimenez Diaz
>
>
>
>
>

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Meet the all-new My Yahoo! - Try it today!
http://my.yahoo.com

------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
$9.95 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything.
http://us.click.yahoo.com/J8kdrA/y20IAA/yQLSAA/wWMplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>.
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothic-l/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    gothic-l-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/