ABBEY AUX HOMMES ,CANE

Also known as "Sainte Etienne, is French

Romanesque church located in the west side of
Caen, Normandy, located in northwestern France.

church was founded by William, Duke of

Normandy. Remember this is the ruler
who would eventually be known as
"William the Conqueror

semicircular arches following

the roman period is described
as romanesque, pointed arches
are indicative of gothic
period.this building is an
example of both.

Another outcome of gothic periodwalls began to be placed at right

angles to the building

 Flying buttresses -become a

feature of structural and
aesthetic design of Gothic church
development.
helpS to support the latest
construction of the church, that of
the upper nave,completed in the
12th century.
Earlier wooden roof construction
over the nave was removed in
1115
, the upper section of the nave
walls raised . to accommodate
sexpartite vaults,
.

the four-part groin vault, by the way, c"quadripartite"

vault, and seemingly resulted during Roman
construction from the intersection of two barrel vaults.
There are seven radiating chapels branching out
of the apse

The altar, with the apse behind.

The stone skeleton is

the structure, pure and
simple. The crossing
dome, divided into
eight segments. This is
the intersection of the
nave and the transepts.

As the nave extent

towards the altar, the
semi-circular pilasters
transforms the piers
into articulated
verticals.
The height is
approximately 66 feet
(20m.)

The columns begin as round shafts,

they do articulate above their
capitals, and can be traced up to a
convergence, from which some do
come down on the opposite side.


France is noted for the stained
glass within its churches. Aside
from the aesthetic beauty
achieved, and the spiritual
quality of the light
produced within the church,
church-goers were illiterate,
and these windows provided
pictorial representations of
biblical themes
* MATERIALS CANE STONE.
STAINED GLASS, WROUGHT
IRON

This is another step in the direction towards

articulated Gothic structural development.

THE END