Carolingian period: * see Endnote <A>

between 751 & 987 AD the Carolingian dynasty ruled a large empire in W & central Europe, as kings of the Franks (from 751) & from 774 as kings of the Lombards in Italy.  In 800 Charlemagne was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III in a revival of the Roman Empire.  With the death of Emperor Louis the Pious, civil war (840–43) led to the division of the Empire.  However the emperor (without authority outside his kingdom) continued to be recognized thereby retaining the ideal of a untied empire & hereditary rights of the Carolingians.  In 884 Charles the Fat reunited the kingdoms though on this death (888) the empire again split up.  As the legitimate heir was a minor, the nobility elected regional kings. In the eastern kingdom an illegitimate Carolingian was elected & continued to rule until 911.  A legitimate Carolingian dynasty was restored in the West in 898 & ruled until 987 with an interruption from 922 to 936.

 

Mycenaean age:

1600–1100 BC (late Bronze Age) first advanced civilization in mainland Greece, with palatial city states, urban organization, art works & writing;  powerful urban centres at Pylos & Tiryns in the Peloponnese, Thebes & Athens in Central Greece; most prominent site was Mycenae, in Argolid.

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tomb of Chephren:

aka Khafra, this is a reference to the Pyramid of Khafra

see above page 189 Endnote B

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Hildesheim cathedral:

1010 -1020 AD, in Westphalia-Saxony, Romanesque style; symmetrical plan with 2 apses characteristic of Ottonian Romanesque architecture in Old Saxony; artwork include bronze works from the time of Bishop Bernward (the Bernward Doors & Bernward Column).

 

Gernrode Cathedral: *see Endnote<B>

959-65 AD, medieval church in Gernrode, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (Westphalia-Saxony), a surviving example of Ottonian architecture, built in by Margrave Gero.

 

PaulinzelIa: * see Endnote <C>

Benedictine monastery, Westphalia-Saxony, Romanesque style; founded early 12th century by Paulina (1067-1107), daughter of a high-ranking royal official; construction began 1102; in 1107 it joined the reform movement originating in the monastery of Hirsau in the Black Forest.  Because of this monks from Hirsau experienced in architecture helped to build the Monastery; erected in several construction stages & consecrated in 1124; it soon grew to a substantial size.  With the Reformation in 1534, it was dissolved completely.

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Paderborn:

13th century cathedral, in Westphalia-Saxony, reconstruction aiming to bring it up to the current artistic & ecclesial standards, construction began before 1220 at the western end (late Romanesque basilica); then the nave in the form of a hall church (3 aisles all reaching to the height of the central roof) in early Gothic style; completed late 13th century with High Gothic elements.

 

Southern France (Romanesque): * see Endnote <D>

in the south, the existence of Roman structures such as the Pont du Gard played a part in the development of storied arcades and other structural forms.   A distinctive Norman style developed in the north.  Normandy was a comparatively large & powerful political unit, and developed consistent styles that affected much of northern France.

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Norwich cathedral (Norman style):

1096-1145 AD, constructed of flint & mortar, faced with a cream-coloured Caen limestone; its Norman tower still visible today topped with a wooden spire covered with lead.

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Peterborough (Norman style):

founded in Anglo-Saxon period, architecture, considered 1 of the 3 great 12th century buildings.  Its destruction by fire in 1116 led to the building of a new church in the Norman style, begun 1118, finished 1193; the ceiling, completed between 1230 and 1250, still survives.

 

Classic unit-motive [sic]:* see Endnote <E>

Spengler clearly means motif, a recurring subject, theme, idea, especially in a literary, artistic or musical work;  a distinctive & recurring  shape or figure in a design, as in a painting or on wallpaper.

 

meander: * see Endnote <F>

a decorative border constructed from a continuous line, shaped into a repeated motif; a common decorative elements in Greek & Roman art. In Greece they appear in many architectural friezes & in bands on the pottery of ancient Greece from the Geometric Period onwards. 

 

arabesque (the spun surface):

see Chapter II, The Meaning of Numbers, page 72

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Mayan art: * see Endnote <G>

The Maya civilization, a Mesoamerican civilization developed by the Maya peoples, noted for its hieroglyphic script (only fully developed writing system of the pre-Columbian Americas) and its art, architecture, mathematics, calendar & astronomical system; it occupied an area that encompasses SE Mexico, Guatemala & Belize, W. Honduras & El Salvador.

 

Thunder pattern: * see Endnote <H>

ornamental pattern found on bronze vessels of the Zhou dynasty in China (1050-221 BC); this dynasty produced the best of Chinese bronze-ware. 

 

Chou period:

aka Zhou dynasty; Chinese dynasty followed Shang dynasty, preceded the Qin dynasty; lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history.  A great victory at the Battle of Muye (1046), marked the beginning of the dynasty.  The military control of China by the royal house lasted from 1046 to 771 BC (the Western Zhou period) & its influence continued well into Eastern Zhou for another 500 years.  Under the Zhou centralized power decreased throughout the Spring & Autumn period until the Warring States period in the last two centuries.  During this time the Zhou court had little control over its constituent states.  Only in 221 BC when Qin consolidated power and formed the Qin dynasty in 221 BC did peace return.  The last Zhou king is traditionally taken to be Nan, killed when Qin captured the capital Wangcheng in 256 BC.

 

warrior figures of Dipylon vases: * see Endnote <I>

Geometric Krater from Dipylon Cemetery, Athens (750 BC), height 4 feet

Groups of figures appear on gigantic vases intended for use as grave markers. Called Dipylon vases, they are named after a part of the cemetery in Athens where they were first found often very large.

see illustration

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Gothic cathedral (the statuary groups, sculpture): see Endnote <J>

the sculptures of Chartres Cathedral Roya Portly, (Chartres, France), are well preserved examples of Gothic group sculptures; constructed between 1194 -1220, in the Gothic and Romanesque styles.  Built as one of the last parts of the Romanesque Church of Chartres, the west portals, or Royal Portals, are one of the few surviving parts of the earlier church incorporated into the High Gothic Church constructed after 1194. They are major monuments of Early Gothic sculpture.

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hymn-strophe:

Strophic form, aka verse-repeating or chorus form, is applied to songs in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music; derived from the Greek word strophē, meaning "turn". Simplest & most durable of musical forms, extending a piece of music by repetition of a single formal section.  This additive method is the musical analogue of repeated stanzas in poetry or lyrics.  Where the text repeats the same rhyme scheme from one stanza to the next, the song's structure also often uses either the same or very similar material from one stanza to the next.

 

parallel motion parts (church music):

aka parallel organum is a style of composition based on plainsong or plainchant (e.g. Gregorian chanting). Organum is a form of polyphony developed in the Middle Ages (its earliest written form  900 AD) in which at least 1 voice is added to the melody to enhance the harmony.  An organum is considered "parallel" when the 2 or more voices are sung in perfect fifths, perfect fourths or octaves. The 2 voices may sometimes be in unison.  Early organum of this sort (9th–11th century) was spontaneously produced by specially trained singers before being committed to manuscript.