Anglo-Saxon Landscapes During the Norman Conquest

Anglo-Saxon Landscapes During the Norman Conquest The introduction of the Normans in the second half of the eleventh century considerably modified The Anglo-Saxon ways of living. Anglo-Saxon Landscapes Norman Conquest 8955152390.jpg

Anglo-Saxon Landscapes Norman Conquest 8955152390.jpg

The Normans were better than the Anglo-Saxons at architecture and horticulture when they came into power. But before concentrating on home-life or having the occasion to consider domestic architecture or decoration, the Normans had to subjugate an entire population. Castles were more basic constructions and often erected on blustery hills, where their tenants devoted both time and space to exercising offense and defense, while monasteries were large stone buildings, commonly located in the widest, most fertile hollows. The barren fortresses did not provide for the quiet avocation of gardening. The early Anglo-Norman style of architecture is symbolized in Berkeley Castle, which is perhaps the most unscathed sample we have. It is said that the keep was developed during William the Conqueror's time. An enormous terrace encompasses the building, serving as an obstacle to attackers attempting to excavate under the castle walls. On one of these parapets is a picturesque bowling green covered in grass and surrounded by an aged hedge of yew that has been designed into coarse battlements.

From Where Did Water Features Originate?

From Where Did Water Features Originate? Water Features Originate? 280526589141321.jpg

Pope Nicholas V, himself a learned man, reigned the Roman Catholic Church from 1397 to 1455 during which time he commissioned many translations of ancient classical Greek texts into Latin. It was imperative for him to embellish the city of Rome to make it worthy of being called the capital of the Christian world. Beginning in 1453, the ruined ancient Roman aqueduct known as the Aqua Vergine which had brought clean drinking water into the city from eight miles away, underwent restoration at the behest of the Pope. Building a mostra, a grandiose commemorative fountain built by ancient Romans to memorialize the arrival point of an aqueduct, was a tradition revived by Nicholas V. The architect Leon Battista Alberti was directed by the Pope to construct a wall fountain where we now see the Trevi Fountain. The Trevi Fountain as well as the well-known baroque fountains found in the Piazza del Popolo and the Piazza Navona were eventually supplied with water from the modified aqueduct he had rebuilt.

Early Water Delivery Techniques in Rome

Early Water Delivery Techniques in Rome Aqua Anio Vetus, the first raised aqueduct built in Rome, started supplying the many people living in the hills with water in 273 BC, even though they had depended on natural springs up until then. When aqueducts or springs weren’t accessible, people dwelling at greater elevations turned to water removed from underground or rainwater, which was made possible by wells and cisterns. In the early 16th century, the city began to make use of the water that ran below ground through Acqua Vergine to supply drinking water to Pincian Hill. The aqueduct’s channel was made attainable by pozzi, or manholes, that were installed along its length when it was first engineered. While these manholes were provided to make it much easier to maintain the aqueduct, it was also possible to use containers to pull water from the channel, which was carried out by Cardinal Marcello Crescenzi from the time he invested in the property in 1543 to his death in 1552. Early Water Delivery Techniques Rome 0033619011421.jpg

Early Water Delivery Techniques Rome 0033619011421.jpg

It seems that, the rainwater cistern on his property wasn’t adequate to meet his needs. That is when he made the decision to create an access point to the aqueduct that ran below his residential property.