The Effect of the Norman Conquest on Anglo-Saxon Landscaping
The Effect of the Norman Conquest on Anglo-Saxon Landscaping The Anglo-Saxon way of life was drastically changed by the introduction of the Normans in the later eleventh century. At the time of the conquest, the Normans surpassed the Anglo-Saxons in building design and cultivation. But before concentrating on home-life or having the occasion to consider domestic architecture or decoration, the Normans had to subjugate an entire population.
Monasteries and castles served separate purposes, so while monasteries were massive stone structures constructed in only the most productive, wide dales, castles were set upon blustery knolls where the occupants focused on learning offensive and defensive practices. The sterile fortresses did not provide for the calm avocation of farming. Berkeley Castle is probably the most unchanged model in existence today of the early Anglo-Norman style of architecture. It is said that the keep was introduced during William the Conqueror's time. An enormous terrace encompasses the building, serving as an obstruction to assailants intending to dig under the castle walls. One of these terraces, a charming bowling green, is covered grass and flanked by an aged yew hedge trimmed into the shape of crude battlements.
Statuary As a Staple of Vintage Art in Archaic Greece
Statuary As a Staple of Vintage Art in Archaic Greece The first freestanding statuary was designed by the Archaic Greeks, a notable accomplishment since until then the sole carvings in existence were reliefs cut into walls and columns.
Kouros figures, statues of young, handsome male or female (kore) Greeks, made up the greater part of the statues. Thought of by Greeks to embody beauty, the kouroi were structured into rigid, forward facing positions with one foot outstretched, and the male statues were always nude, brawny, and athletic. Life-sized versions of the kouroi appeared beginning in 650 BC. The Archaic period was tumultuous for the Greeks as they evolved into more sophisticated forms of federal government and art, and obtained more data about the peoples and societies outside of Greece. Throughout this time and other durations of historical tumult, clashes often happened, most notably wars fought amongst city-states such as the Arcadian wars and the Spartan invasion of Samos.
Modern Garden Decor: Garden Fountains and their Roots
Modern Garden Decor: Garden Fountains and their Roots
A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to provide drinkable water, as well as for decorative purposes. The primary purpose of a fountain was originally strictly functional. Cities, towns and villages made use of nearby aqueducts or springs to provide them with drinking water as well as water where they could bathe or wash. Up to the late nineteenth century, water fountains had to be near an aqueduct or reservoir and higher than the fountain so that gravity could make the water move downwards or jet high into the air. Serving as an element of adornment and celebration, fountains also supplied clean, fresh drinking water. The main components used by the Romans to build their fountains were bronze or stone masks, mostly illustrating animals or heroes. To replicate the gardens of paradise, Muslim and Moorish garden planners of the Middle Ages added fountains to their designs. To demonstrate his dominance over nature, French King Louis XIV included fountains in the Garden of Versailles. The Romans of the 17th and 18th centuries created baroque decorative fountains to exalt the Popes who commissioned them as well as to mark the spot where the restored Roman aqueducts entered the city.
Since indoor plumbing became the norm of the day for fresh, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely ornamental. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity helped fountains to provide recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.
Nowadays, fountains adorn public spaces and are used to honor individuals or events and fill recreational and entertainment needs.