Posts tagged Constantine

Roman Architecture (HSAR 252) Professor Kleiner presents the architecture of Constantine the Great, the last pagan and first Christian emperor of Rome, who founded Constantinople as the “New Rome” in AD 324. She notes that Constantine began with commissions that were tied to the pagan past (the Baths of Constantine in Rome) but built others (the Aula Palatina at Trier) that looked to the Christian future. Professor Kleiner makes an impassioned case that some of the finest and most innovative Roman buildings date to the Constantinian period. The “Temple of Minerva Medica,” a garden pavilion, for example, is decagonal in shape and the colossal Basilica Nova was inventively modeled on the frigidaria of Roman imperial bath complexes. In addition, the Arch of Constantine, a triple-bayed structure commemorating Constantine’s victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, serves as a compendium of Constantine’s accomplishments in the context of those of the “good emperors” of the second century AD In conclusion, Professor Kleiner asserts that the transfer of the Empire’s capital from Rome to Constantinople diminished Rome’s influence, at least temporarily, but not the impact of its architecture, which like the city of Rome itself, is eternal. 00:00 – Chapter 1. The End of the Tetrarchy and the Rise of Constantine the Great 15:24 – Chapter 2. The Baths of Constantine in Rome and the Porta Nigra at Trier 27:00 – Chapter 3. The Basilica or Aula Palatina at Trier 34:36 …
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Henley-upon-Thames is in Binfield hundred, 22 miles from Oxford. The area of the parish is 1920 acres: the population in 1831, was 3618, not one-tenth agricultural. Henley was anciently called Hanlegang and Hanneburg. Some Roman coins have been found here, but no mention of the town occurs until after the Conquest. In 1643 it was the scene of a skirmish between the troops of Charles I and those of the parliament. Henley is delightfully situated on a gentle ascent from the west or left bank of the Thames, amid hills covered with extensive beech woods and other plantations. The town consists of four principal streets, well paved and lighted, having a plain stone cross and conduit at their intersection : several of the houses are spacious and handsome. The entrance to the town on the east side is by a handsome stone bridge of five arches over the Thames. The church is in the eastern part of the town ; it has a good tower, and several interesting portions both of decorated and perpendicular character. The east window has some good decorated tracery ; and some parts of the masonry are of chequered work in flint and chalk. The town-hall in the High-street is supported by sixteen Doric columns, forming a piazza used as a market-house : the building contains a hall and council-chamber, with some rooms, and a place of temporary confinement in the basement. There are some dissenting places of worship, some almshouses, and a small theatre. The market is on Thursday, and there are …
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