Brabantine Gothic, occasionally called Brabantian Gothic, is a significant variant of Gothic architecture that is typical for the Low Countries. It surfaced in the first half of the 14th century at St. Rumbold's Cathedral in the city of Mechelen. [1] [2] [Note 1] [3]
Reputed architects such as Jean d'Oisy, [4] Jacob van Thienen, [5] Everaert Spoorwater, [6] Matheus de Layens, [7] and the Keldermans and De Waghemakere [8] families disseminated the style and techniques to cities and towns of the Duchy of Brabant and beyond. [Note 2] For churches and other major buildings, the tenor prevailed and lasted throughout the Renaissance. [9]
Brabantine Gothic, in a Low Countries context also referred to as High Gothic, differs from the earlier introduced Scheldt Gothic, which typically had the main tower above the crossing of a church, maintained Romanesque horizontal lines, and applied blue-gray stone quarried from the vicinity of Tournai at the river Scheldt that allowed its transportation in particular in the old County of Flanders. [10] [11]
Mosan Gothic (Meuse Gothic) refers to the river Maas (or Meuse, borrowed from French), mainly in the south-eastern parts of the Low Countries: the modern provinces of Limburg in the Netherlands, Limburg, and Liège in Belgium. Though of a later origin than Scheldt Gothic, it also still showed more Romanesque features, including smaller windows. Marlstone was used, and around the capitals on limestone columns are sculptured leaves of irises. [12]
Surface conditions and available materials varied. Larger churches could take centuries of building during which expertise and fashions caused successive architects to evolve further from the original plans. Or, Romanesque churches became rebuilt in phases of dismantling and replacing, as (apart from its crypt) St. Bavo's Cathedral in Ghent: the early 14th-century chancel is influenced by northern French and Scheldt Gothic, a century later a radiating chapel appeared, and between 1462 and 1538 the mature Brabantine Gothic west tower was erected; the nave was then still to be finished. [13] Though few buildings are of an entirely consistent style, the ingenuity and craftsmanship of architects could realize a harmonious blend. The ultimate concepts were drawn centuries after the earliest designs. It follows that Brabantine Gothic style is neither homogeneous, nor strictly defined. [Note 3] [14] [15]
The Brabantine Gothic style originated with the advent of the Duchy of Brabant and spread across the Burgundian Netherlands. Besides minor influences by the High Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Mary in Cologne, the architecture builds on the classic French Gothic style as practiced in the construction of cathedrals such as those in Amiens and Reims.
The structure of the church buildings in Brabant was largely the same: a large-scale cruciform floor plan with three-tier elevation along the nave and side aisles (pier arches, triforium, clerestory) and a choir backed by a half-round ambulatory. The slender tallness of the French naves however, was never surpassed, and the size tended to be slightly more modest.
It is characterized by using light-coloured sandstone or limestone, which allowed rich detailing but is erosion-prone. The churches typically have round columns with cabbage foliage sculpted capitals. From there half-pillar buttresses continue often without interruption into the vault ribs. The triforium and the windows of the clerestory generally continue into one another, with the windows taking the entire space of the pointed arch. An ambulatory with radiating chapels ( chevet ) is part of the design (though at the 15th-century choir in Breda added later on). Whereas the cathedrals in Brussels and Antwerp are notable exceptions, the main porch is straight under the single west tower, in French called clocher-porche.
An alternative type originated with the cathedral of Antwerp: instead of round columns with a capital impost, bundled pillars profiled in the columns continue without interruption through the ribs of vaults and arches – a style followed for churches in 's-Hertogenbosch and Leuven. In addition, the pier arches between nave and aisles are exceptionally wide, and the triforium is omitted. Instead, a transom of tracery is placed above the pier arches. This type was followed by other major churches in Antwerp, St. Martin Church in Aalst, and St. Michael's Church in Ghent.
Demer Gothic in the Hageland and Campine Gothic are regional variants of Brabantine Gothic in the south-eastern part of the former duchy. [Note 4] Those styles can be distinguished merely by the use of local rust-brown bricks. [Note 5] [16]
Brabantine Gothic city halls are built in the shape of gigantic box reliquaries with corner turrets and usually a belfry. The exterior is often profusely decorated.
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Many churches in the former Counties of Holland and Zeeland are built in a style sometimes inaccurately separated as Hollandic and as Zeelandic Gothic. These are in fact Brabantine Gothic style buildings with concessions necessitated by local conditions. Thus (except for Dordrecht), because of the soggy ground, weight was saved by wooden barrel vaults instead of stone vaults and the flying buttresses required for those. In most cases, the walls were made of bricks but cut natural stone was not unusual.
Everaert Spoorwater played an important role in spreading Brabantine Gothic into Holland and Zeeland. He perfected a method by which the drawings for large constructions allowed ordering virtually all natural stone elements from quarries on later Belgian territory, then at the destination needing merely their cementing in place. This eliminated storage near the construction site, and the work could be done without the permanent presence of the architect.
Nederweert is a municipality and a town in southeastern Netherlands with a population of 17,171 as of 2021 and has an area of 101.78 km2 (39.30 sq mi) of which 1.80 km2 (0.69 sq mi) is water.
Mechelen is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel, as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The river Dyle (Dijle) flows through the city, hence it is often referred to as the Dijlestad.
St. Rumbold's Cathedral is the Roman Catholic metropolitan archiepiscopal cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium, dedicated to Saint Rumbold, Christian missionary and martyr who founded an abbey nearby. His remains are rumoured to be buried inside the cathedral. State-of-the-art examination of the relics honoured as Saint Rumbold's and kept in a shrine in the retro-choir, showed a life span of about 40 years and a death date between 580 and 655, while tradition had claimed 775 AD.
The Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, usually shortened to the Cathedral of St. Gudula or St. Gudula by locals, is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral in central Brussels, Belgium. It is dedicated to Saint Michael and Saint Gudula, the patron saints of the City of Brussels, and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Brabantine Gothic architecture.
The Catholic Cathedral Church of St. John (Sint-Janskathedraal) of 's-Hertogenbosch, North Brabant, is the height of Gothic architecture in the Netherlands. It has an extensive and richly decorated interior, and serves as the cathedral for the bishopric of 's-Hertogenbosch.
Keldermans is a family of artists, originating from Mechelen. The members of the family were mostly architects working in the Brabantine Gothic style. As the most important architects of their time in the Netherlands, they defined the Brabantine Gothic style, and their works can still be seen today in cities like Mechelen, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Lier, Middelburg and Gouda. Anthonis II and Rombout II were court architects for Charles V. Laurens II, last in the line, was influenced by Renaissance architecture and marked the end of the Gothic period in this region. The Keldermans family became known for the design and construction of the large tower of St Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen. Jan II qualifies most as the designer, the architect and the most important master builder. However, he would not see the start of the works himself and the first stone was therefore laid under the supervision of his son Andries. Other members of the Keldermans family who successively directed the works are Anthonis I, Anthonis II, Rombout II and Laurens II.
The Duchy of Brabant, a state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries. The Duchy comprised part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1482, until it was partitioned after the Dutch revolt of 1566–1648.
Saint Gummarus of Lier is a Belgian saint. He was the son of the Lord of Emblem. An official in the court of his relative Pepin the Younger or Pepin of Herstal according to some other sources, after a number of years in military service he retired to live the life of a hermit. The town of Lier grew up around his hermitage.
Saint Peter's Church in Leuven, Belgium, is a Roman Catholic church built in the 15th century in the Brabantine Gothic style. The church has a cruciform floor plan and a low bell tower that has never been completed. It is 93 metres (305 ft) long. It is located on the city's Grote Markt, opposite the Town Hall. In 1999, the belfry and bell tower of the church was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, in recognition of the civil importance and architecture of the belfries in the region.
Vanden Gheyn, Van den Gheyn or Van den Ghein was a family of bellfounders and carillon makers. The bell foundry was established in 1506 in Mechelen and active until the 20th century. They have been called "the most famous family of bellfounders [Belgium] has had".
From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen was the highest court in the Burgundian Netherlands. It was responsible for the Dutch-, French- and German-speaking areas. In Luxembourgish the phrase "mir ginn op Mechelen" still means playing one's last trump card. The Grote Raad first sat in the Schepenhuis in Mechelen then, from 1616, in the (old) palace of Margaretha of Austria on Keizerstraat.
A cloth hall or linen hall is a historic building located in the centre of the main marketplace of a European town. Cloth halls were built from medieval times into the 18th century.
Jean d'Oisy (1310–1377) was the architect of several ecclesiastical buildings in Brabantine Gothic style. He was one of the earliest introducers of northern French Gothic style into the Low Countries and a teacher of the reputed Brabantian architect Jacob van Thienen.
Leon Lemmens was a Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop in Belgium.
The Sint-Lievensmonstertoren, also known as the Dikke Toren is a 62 metre tall, unfinished, free standing church tower in Zierikzee, Netherlands. The accompanying church was destroyed by a fire in 1832.
On 4 March 1853, Pope Pius IX restored the episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands with the papal bull Ex qua die arcano, after the Dutch Constitutional Reform of 1848 had made this possible. The re-establishment of the episcopal hierarchy led to the April movement protest in 1853.
The Heuvelse kerk is a neo-Gothic Catholic church in the center of the Dutch city Tilburg. Dedicated to Saint Joseph, it is one of two major Catholic churches in the city center together with the Heikese kerk. It is located along the square Heuvel, after which it is named. A 1921 statue of the Sacred Heart is located in front of the building.
The Big Arsenal, in Dutch: Groot Tuighuis, in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, is also known as Old St. James Church, or Oude Sint Jacobskerk. It is the former location of the Noordbrabants Museum. It now houses the municipal heritage department and its storage. It is open to visitors four days a week.
Jan Frans Boeckstuyns, Boekstuijns or Boecxstuyns was a Flemish sculptor and architect who spent most of his active career in his native city Mechelen. He was also active as a manufacturer of gilded leather. While he mainly created church furniture and decorations, he also produced a number of small-scale works, including crucifixes and terracotta figures. He further designed architectural elements of buildings. His works show a transition from the high Baroque towards a more realistic and decorative style closer to the Rococo.
Domien de Waghemakere, or Dominikus, was a Flemish architect and an important exponent of Brabantine Gothic.
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ignored (help)As the Gothic style develops in its secondary period (late thirteenth and beginning of fourteenth century) the windows increase in size, the pillars are fluted and the tracery of the windows becomes more and more complicated. The best examples of this particular Gothic still in existence are the choir of St. Paul at Liege and Notre Dame of Huy.