Office of the Vice Provost for International Relations
Columbia and the World

Introduction

Columbia University Art History and Archæology Professor Stephen Murray and his colleagues invite you to consider the Middle Ages through the intensive study and documentation of its architectural monuments in the heart of France: parish churches, abbeys, cathedrals, castles, manor houses, mills, granges, cities, and towns. The historic region of the Bourbonnais flourished in the eleventh and twelfth centuries immediately prior to the dramatic turn of history when France became France. It neighbors the ancient regions of Auvergne to the south, Burgundy to the north and east, and Berry to the west. The growing Web resource presents this unique research—documenting one hundred Romanesque structures through comprehensive digital photography panoramic QuickTime nodes, three-dimensional models and scaled plans.

http://www.learn.columbia.edu/bourb/ (beta)

Bourbonnais and France; Romanesque and Gothic

For five years we have studied the Romanesque churches of central France from our home base in a château occupied by the heir of the dynasty of Bourbon-Parme, Prince Charles-Henri de Lobkowicz.This area, at the heart of modern France, was controlled by the seigneurs and later the Dukes of Bourbon, a dynasty that was to rule France from the sixteenth century to the Revolution. In 2007 we will focus upon the relationship between the Bourbonnais and Paris. The former area flourished early but then fell into rapid decline; the latter entered into a period of dynamic growth and, in a process that now seems inevitable, became the capital city of the France that we know. We will thus spend three weeks investigating the Romanesque architecture of the Bourbonnais, using our interactive website and field study as our key tools. The last week will be spent in Paris, studying the great Gothic monuments of that city and reflecting upon the process by which France became France with Paris as its capital. We are negotiating for support from the Andrew Mellon Foundation to parallel the existing interactive website with a new project representing Paris and the immediately surrounding area and the greatest monuments of Gothic

Program of Study for 2007

First, the course will provide an introduction to medieval architecture through lectures and workshops undertaken in the classroom/media lab. These lectures will be coordinated with day-long field trips to some of the major monuments that find their way into every survey of medieval architecture. The monument to be visited will be introduced to the students the in a seminar the night before, so the students will be prepared to engage with the archaeology of the building and to consider it within a wider context. As in previous years, we will travel locally three days a week to work on parish churches. The principal difference from previous years was that while we were still preparing the digital survey we were formed to emphasize production, we will now identify a series of critical issues in the understanding of Romanesque architecture. We will begin the study of these issues using the website which will allow the students to conduct virtual visits to a hundred churches in order to familiarize themselves with the situation in general terms. Field visits will then take place to selected churches in order to explore the issues under discussion in the field. I anticipate that some data collection will continue, but the emphasis will be upon analysis and synthetic thought. The principal issues to be addressed in 2007 will be:

• The social/anthropological framework for architectural production.
• The role of "retro-fitting"—that is, the decision on the part of builders of churches in the 12th century to leave substantial portions of the older church intact, incorporating it in the newer structure.
• The structural behavior of arched and vaulted masonry. Failure mechanisms.
• The power of architecture as a means of projecting and controlling the future. The role of Gothic architecture in the emergence of Paris as capital of France

Allier google satellite maps

Eligibility

This Columbia University field school is open to both advanced undergraduate and graduate students from any major or discipline—including science and engineering. Emphasis will be on the architecture, history, culture, economics, and technology of the Middle Ages and the application of archival research, archæology, photography, videography, and digital media techniques.

For more information on this summer program:
http://www.learn.columbia.edu/bourb/school/

Faculty and Staff

Art History and Archæology Professor Stephen Murray; Graduate Field Director Andrew Tallon; and educational technologist Pilar Peters

Contact

Stephen Murray
sm42@columbia.edu