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Understanding the world of cathedrals: the slowing down of cathedrals construction
Cause of work interruption
Often construction remained untouched for long periods of time, explaining why it took so long to finish building a cathedral.
There were various reasons interrupting the work. It could have been just a matter of finances. Even if this was a time of economical growth in Europe, cash was not always available. When money was there, it would not last long. It is believed that the cathedral of Canterbury under Lanfranc in the 11th century took only 7 years to build. However it could take between 75 to 300 years or more to complete, depending on the supply of funds. Research shows it was a matter of a generation or two.
Historian Jon Cannon writes “it is a myth that it took centuries to build a cathedral. The difficulty was not in the construction itself but in maintaining the financial and political support needed to see it through.”
15th century painting – Plague and Pope Gregory I
From famine to diseases
Other causes could be famine, the death of workers or architects, the outbreak of disease like the Plague or just bad weather conditions.
For instance, during many months in the winter, construction had to cease because of the cold weather. Stones broke in the winter and water destroyed the walls. Everything was covered up until the spring. Work hours were shorter in the winter: 10 hours instead of 11.5.
We know that each year there was no work on the building site of the Durham Cathedral from November to February. It was difficult to move stones to the workplace during rainy days. It was too heavy pushing them in the chariots.
Only the workers who could work inside in the shops of the lodge, such as sculptors, glass makers and stonecutters, continued. Bricklayers could not.
Enguerrand de Monstrelet-Battle of Agincourt-Chronique de France 1495
There were fights between architects. In Milan for example they could not agree on a theme. Problems had to be resolved to continue. In case of death, replacements had to be fund. To build the cathedral of Notre-Dame of Paris, one knows of at least 4 architects.
The Black Plague killed about 24,000 millions people in Europe from 1348 to 1352.
Wars and the lack of money
Construction would stop because money was needed to finance the never-ending wars between kingdoms. In France, for example, the French and English kings fought against each other for years with interruptions here and there well before the 100 Years War. Having broke out finally in 1337, it lasted until 1453. There was also a civil war in England called “the War of Roses” from 1474 to 1487.
Crowning of Louis VI, Le Gros – 1455-1460 – Grande Chronique de France
Many French cathedrals were made during the time of the English kings. as the English had more money than the French.
From 1410 to 1440, almost no cathedrals were built. Architects and builders were only finishing what had been started. In the 1450’s the interest came back for a while. Many cathedrals like the one in Cologne (1248-1880) were only finished much later, a long time after Medieval Ages.
During the late Middle Ages, with wars starting and being more present in people’s daily life, the motivation to build cathedrals was low and slowly faded out.
People cared less for big cathedrals as they needed to protect themselves. Competing for the highest cathedral was no longer a priority. A new interest was born: building fortified castles.
