In the heart of the French region of
00:03
Burgundy, the small town of Clooney
00:05
holds a secret. Once a gigantic church
00:07
stood here, now barely onetenth of the
00:11
original remains.
00:13
In its day, it was the largest abbey in
00:16
the world.
00:18
[Music]
00:21
Its pillars rose more than 30 m.
00:23
Its nave spans 60 m longer than
00:27
Notradamand de Pari.
00:30
300 windows illuminated the building.
00:33
It was called Mayor Ecclesia, Latin for
00:38
the largest church.
00:41
>> It was an absolutely incredible
00:44
technical feat. They managed to build
00:46
something that was simply oversized for
00:48
the era.
00:50
Built by 11th century monks in less than
00:52
70 years, it would remain Western
00:55
Christianity's largest church for five
00:57
centuries, defying all architectural
01:00
standards and declared a second Rome.
01:03
>> It looked directly to the papacy in Rome
01:08
for direction.
01:11
But after the French Revolution, this
01:13
peerless abbey was abandoned, destroyed,
01:16
and sold stone by stone.
01:19
>> The site completely deviated from the
01:24
concept of an abbey.
01:26
>> For nearly a century, archaeologists and
01:28
historians have searched for traces of
01:30
the abbey in the walls of the city.
01:32
They've discovered that the builders of
01:35
this church had mastered extraordinary
01:37
techniques.
01:39
And so they must have wanted to build
01:41
very high from from the from the word
01:43
go. You don't build vast foundations if
01:46
you're going to have a small church with
01:50
nothing on top of them.
01:52
How did the monks meet the challenge of
01:55
building such a tall and stately abbey
01:57
almost a thousand years ago? Where did
01:59
they find the materials? How did they
02:01
transport them?
02:04
[Music]
02:09
Now the greatest experts on the Clooney
02:11
Abbey, meticulous computerenerated
02:13
reconstruction and 20 years of hard work
02:16
will reveal the lost secrets of the
02:19
Mayor Ecclesia.
02:22
[Music]
02:26
Clooney Abbey was located in a remote
02:33
valley in the heart of Burgundy in
02:36
southeastern France.
02:38
Within the walls of the lost religious
02:42
city once stood the largest abbey ever
02:44
built in the Middle Ages.
02:47
More than 90% destroyed after the French
02:50
Revolution. Only a few vestigages
02:53
remained which were swallowed up by the
02:55
city that developed over the centuries.
02:57
[Music]
03:01
How could one calculate the dimensions
03:03
of the original church? What did it look
03:05
like? Today, only the large southern
03:07
transep remains with its octagonal
03:10
tower, the last vestage that proves the
03:12
once colossal size of the building.
03:15
>> Because it's the only bit of Clooney
03:21
that's left, one forgets just how
03:23
gigantic it is.
03:26
And the transcept that survives is, you
03:29
know, twice the size of the average
03:32
church, isn't it? In in its own right,
03:34
and it's only one of two transcepts.
03:36
The dimensions of the tower were unheard
03:40
of for a building from the Middle Ages.
03:42
It was more than 60 m high and
03:45
overlooked the valley.
03:47
The interior vaults measured up to 30 m.
03:49
[Music]
03:57
This tower awakened the curiosity of
04:01
historians to find the plans of the
04:03
missing abbey.
04:05
Only one existed, preciously preserved.
04:07
It dates from 1700 and was made by an
04:10
anonymous person. The precision of the
04:13
drawing is the only trace of what this
04:16
extraordinary church was like.
04:18
>> This is the oldest plan of the abbey.
04:21
the earliest testimony to its existence
04:24
in Clooney.
04:26
It was a huge monastery.
04:31
To give you an idea, from the end of the
04:34
11th to the 12th century, it housed
04:36
approximately 300 monks.
04:39
At the height of its existence, Mosame
04:43
Michelle had only 80 monks. So, it was
04:44
truly colossal in size.
04:47
[Music]
04:49
The abbey was a veritable city that
04:52
stretched over 15 hectares, almost half
04:54
the size of today's Vatican with
04:56
buildings that were oversized for the
04:59
time.
05:01
Some are still visible in the city, such
05:04
as the Miller
05:06
and the inn.
05:08
Yet, the highlight of the map that
05:12
intrigued the researchers was the size
05:14
of the aashial church in the middle.
05:16
When you look at the scale of the large
05:21
aial church, you see that it was
05:23
colossal.
05:25
>> It was 187 m long. To put it into proper
05:29
perspective, it was 60 m longer than
05:33
Notradam de Par.
05:35
The church was bigger than Notraam de
05:38
Pari, St. Peter's Basilica in Rome,
05:40
Chartra Cathedral, and the Basilica of
05:42
Sandini.
05:45
In size, it beat any other church in the
05:47
Middle Ages.
05:50
Its unrivaled length held double aisles,
05:55
11 spans, two transcepts, a small and
05:58
large with a width of 75 m. A chancel
06:02
and an apps composed of multitudes of
06:05
radiating chapels named Apicidol.
06:08
To understand the size of this
06:13
monumental church, we must go back to
06:14
the time of its creation, which began
06:17
with a key asset.
06:19
[Music]
06:21
The location on the site itself is
06:24
linked to a donation made in 1910 by the
06:27
Duke of Akiten.
06:30
He gave a plot of land, an old villa to
06:32
a handful of monks.
06:35
But he had the distinction of placing
06:38
this community under the direct
06:40
responsibility of Rome.
06:42
>> It was directly
06:45
subservient or looked directly to the
06:47
papacy in Rome for direction. So it
06:51
considered itself in a sense I suppose
06:54
to be a second row.
06:56
Its direct attachment to Rome gave it a
07:00
privileged status. But the abbey became
07:03
even more important a few years after
07:05
its creation thanks to a specific event.
07:07
They brought relics to Clooney first of
07:10
St. Peter and St. Paul and then relics
07:12
in numbers such as Clooney competed with
07:14
St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and gave
07:16
rise to a very large veneration of
07:18
relics.
07:20
One could come to venerate the relics of
07:24
St. Peter or at least pray around the
07:26
abbey. It was a bit like making a
07:28
pilgrimage to Rome. I'm slightly
07:30
exaggerating but not much. There was a
07:31
very strong connection to Rome.
07:34
>> The first church called Clooney 1
07:39
quickly became too small.
07:41
The monks built what was named Clooney 2
07:44
and little larger. But 20 years later,
07:47
this church was deemed to be too narrow.
07:49
They then built Clooney 3, the Mayo
07:56
Elesia or biggest church.
07:58
The idea was to build a church that
08:05
could perhaps accommodate up to 1,000
08:06
monks or at least a very large number of
08:08
them that were either on site or passing
08:11
through. It was absolutely vital to have
08:14
something more imposing that was really
08:16
in the image of this second Rome.
08:18
They wanted the best, the greatest, the
08:22
most beautiful, and the brightest to
08:25
manifest their faith in God, but also to
08:27
show his strength and his power. And
08:31
that the greatest, be they emperors or
08:34
even the pope, should do that with
08:36
Clooney.
08:38
At one point, Rome could not do without
08:42
the Clooney Abbey. The abbott of Clooney
08:44
was an essential person in medieval
08:46
Europe of the 11th and 12th centuries.
08:48
Abbert
08:50
Hugh of Seamur launched the construction
08:55
of Clooney 3, the Mayo Ecclesia in 1080.
08:58
His goal was to build the largest church
09:02
ever. But the monks were immediately
09:04
faced with a problem, the location.
09:06
How could a huge church be built on a
09:12
cramped site at the junction of two
09:14
rivers and on the steep slope of a
09:16
valley?
09:18
The site where Clooney was built wasn't
09:22
very good for construction. In fact, it
09:24
was somewhat of a flooded basin. To the
09:27
east, there was the Grown River that
09:29
flooded often, creating silt. The soil
09:31
was very unstable up to the level we're
09:33
at now, where natural terrain began.
09:35
>> The heart of the church had to face east
09:41
towards Jerusalem. So the monks had to
09:44
level the hillside to create a base by
09:46
removing thousands of cubic meters of
09:49
earth.
09:51
These were considerable earth works.
09:56
They had a bit of difficulty since they
10:00
were perpendicular to the slope of the
10:02
hill and consequently were forced to
10:04
carry out a number of works to try to
10:07
get it leveled.
10:09
There were layers of land that were not
10:14
very homogeneous
10:16
and the eastern parts were still quite
10:19
wet.
10:21
That's why they built extremely strong
10:23
foundations.
10:25
>> You need solid foundations to build
10:31
high. The Clooney monks understood that
10:33
very well.
10:35
The chapel of Jean de Bourbon at the
10:38
extreme southeast of the aial church was
10:41
redesigned in the 16th century.
10:43
Excavations are underway to find the
10:46
ancient foundations of the abbey led by
10:48
Fabis Orion, an archaeologist at the
10:51
center of medieval studies.
10:53
What's quite extraordinary is that we're
10:57
in the foundations. This is extremely
10:59
well-designed and well-built masonry.
11:01
And yet it wasn't visible but in the
11:04
ground buried in the foundation
11:06
trenches.
11:08
It's a very high quality construction.
11:09
The limestone blocks are perfectly cut.
11:16
Their thickness varies from 6 to 18 cm
11:18
and they're connected by mortar.
11:21
The foundations were deep because the
11:26
builders looked for hard ground to use
11:28
as a base.
11:30
Here
11:32
they were really trying to make deep
11:34
solid foundations in order to bear the
11:36
weight of the whole structure.
11:39
The depth of the foundations followed
11:44
the slope of the valley to reach the
11:46
hard rock up to 4 m deep in certain
11:47
places.
11:50
They were also extremely thick. On the
11:52
western part of the transcept, the
11:54
foundation wall was 5 m wide.
11:56
From the start, um, the foundations were
12:02
colossal. They're big and they're very
12:05
deep on a site which is not easy to
12:07
build on. And so they must have wanted
12:11
to build very high from from the from
12:14
the word go. You don't build vast
12:17
foundations if you're going to have a
12:19
small church with nothing on top of
12:22
them.
12:24
>> To stabilize the foundations, the monks
12:26
went even further.
12:28
Each wall and each pillar base were
12:31
connected by 3.5 m thick masonry.
12:33
All the structures were firmly anchored
12:38
to each other.
12:39
These walls were brought together
12:46
including those under the arches.
12:48
So from one wall to another or from one
12:50
pillar to another were foundations that
12:53
followed each other.
12:55
It's called a sill plate, which is a
12:57
kind of grid.
12:59
>> This grid stabilizing the soil was a way
13:04
of connecting the support points that
13:06
these pillars represented.
13:08
>> Once it was done, you could build
13:11
whatever walls you wanted.
13:12
>> If the ground moved, the entire building
13:13
moved, but it wouldn't fracture. There
13:16
lies the genius behind the construction.
13:19
Engineers from National
13:22
did a simulation and realized that these
13:24
foundations had enormous purpose.
13:27
Had they not been there, the monument
13:30
wouldn't have stood.
13:32
At the beginning of the 20th century, an
13:36
archaeologist also took a keen interest
13:38
in the foundations of the lost church.
13:40
American Kenneth John Conand would
13:43
change the fate of the abbey.
13:46
when he arrived everything was under
13:52
grass. There was no sign of of
13:53
foundations or anything like that. The
13:55
only thing that survived was the the
13:58
great transcept and the little eastern
13:59
transcept and the chapel bon Jean de
14:02
Borbong and so on that little group of
14:04
buildings but apart from that there
14:06
wasn't anything really visible.
14:08
>> The site had completely taken over the
14:11
area. It was a little like the Camair
14:14
temples where vegetation invades the
14:16
temples. In Clooney, the city took over
14:19
the area completely surrounding the
14:21
abbey.
14:23
[Music]
14:25
The site had completely deviated from
14:31
the concept of an abbey.
14:33
So, Conant worked for nearly 40 years to
14:35
find not only the plan, but to
14:38
reconstruct the lost volumes of this
14:40
exceptional building.
14:42
Using rare artist drawings from the 18th
14:49
century showing the abbey and its
14:52
church, Kenneth John Conand had only one
14:54
obsession to find the exact dimensions
14:57
of the building.
14:59
To do so, he analyzed the foundations,
15:02
their thickness, and their composition.
15:05
Finally drawing hundreds of plans which
15:07
revealed the abbey in volume for the
15:09
first time.
15:11
[Music]
15:14
Conant was the one who rediscovered the
15:18
Clooney Abbey. He was the first to have
15:20
proposed reconstitutions of the aial
15:23
church in all its original and later
15:25
splendor.
15:27
[Music]
15:29
Through his research, Conan discovered
15:30
the entire size of the building.
15:33
The nave of the church was composed of a
15:39
double span punctuated by 18 monumental
15:41
pillars.
15:44
[Music]
15:50
It also featured a transcept itself
15:52
followed by a smaller one.
15:55
Finally, there was the chancel with 10
15:59
pillars that formed an ambulatory.
16:02
Three floors of windows bathed the
16:09
church in light
16:11
and the vaults were 30 m high.
16:15
[Music]
16:19
In the 11th century, no other church
16:21
matched it in height and dimensions. It
16:23
was the largest, highest, and brightest.
16:26
But how did the monks manage to create
16:34
such a masterpiece using the techniques
16:36
of the Middle Ages?
16:38
The 10th century was the golden age of
16:42
Romanesque arts. Churches were modest in
16:44
size, not exceeding 20 m tall with thick
16:47
walls and small windows, far from what
16:50
the monks wished to achieve.
16:53
>> The churches of the 11th century were
16:56
darker, usually because their windows
16:58
were cut into the walls of the tribunes.
17:00
The naves were rarely lit directly.
17:03
The churches were rather squat.
17:07
The monks of Clooney decided to raise
17:10
the walls
17:13
to build very high vaults and to add
17:14
many windows.
17:17
[Music]
17:21
At the time, the vaults had a
17:23
semic-ircular arched shape typical of
17:25
Romanesque art. The semicircle supported
17:27
the weight. The diameter was therefore
17:30
equal to the width of the vault. The
17:33
height of the vault was the radius.
17:36
To increase the height, the nave had to
17:45
be widened. But the bigger it got, the
17:47
more the forces at hand weakened the
17:49
structure.
17:51
To build higher, they had to find a
17:53
solution other than the semic-ircular
17:55
arch.
17:57
They were driven by the necessity of
18:00
solving this technological problem to
18:02
guarantee the stability of the building.
18:05
At one point, the genius idea of using
18:08
Gothic arches must have come into the
18:10
mind of the site manager as a way to
18:12
solve this issue.
18:14
The Gothic arch is two half circles with
18:19
centers located at the extremities of
18:22
the vault.
18:24
They intersect and this forms a Gothic
18:27
arch.
18:29
The width is no longer related to the
18:32
diameter as it is for the semic-ircular
18:34
arch. It can reach 2/3 of the arch.
18:36
It's therefore possible to build higher
18:42
than with a semic-ircular arch.
18:44
>> The Gothic arch existed before Clooney.
18:48
It wasn't conceived specifically for
18:52
Cooney, but it was used because of its
18:53
interesting characteristics.
18:56
In the Romanesque style, all arches were
18:58
systematically semic-ircular.
19:01
For Clooney, however, they could not be
19:04
used for reasons of stability.
19:06
At that time, it was quite innovative
19:09
because it would allow the weight to be
19:11
better distributed over fully volted
19:12
parts.
19:15
With semic-ircular arches, the weight is
19:18
evenly distributed horizontally and
19:21
vertically. This requires thick walls to
19:23
prevent them from spreading under
19:26
pressure.
19:28
By breaking the arch into two half
19:30
circles, the horizontal component of the
19:32
weight is reduced and carried over to
19:34
the vertical component.
19:36
As a result, the walls can be thinner
19:39
and higher without the risk of
19:41
spreading.
19:43
From the moment these walls could be
19:47
higher in elevation, they could also be
19:48
cut more easily to create bay windows.
19:51
It was these openings that allow light
19:55
into all the vessels that made up the
19:57
nave and the aisles of Clooney 3.
19:59
[Music]
20:03
It's clear that behind what appears to
20:08
us to be essentially new forms, there
20:09
was above all technological research
20:12
at a level we would deem quite advanced
20:15
today.
20:17
But Gothic arches were not enough to
20:20
flood the nave with light while
20:21
maintaining the stability of the
20:23
building. It is this church plan that
20:25
allowed the architects to grasp the
20:27
level of mastery with which the Clooney
20:29
monks understood the balance of forces.
20:31
This is a cross-section of the large
20:36
nave of Clooney 3.
20:38
It was composed of a central aisle and a
20:41
double aisle.
20:43
The forces were redistributed by
20:47
staggering the aisles.
20:49
This shared distribution of lateral
20:53
force was achieved through the stability
20:55
of the outer walls with powerful
20:57
buttresses.
20:59
So it was a massive structure but a
21:03
particularly wellbalanced one.
21:06
There was a genuine effort made to
21:12
understand these forces.
21:14
These people displayed an exceptional
21:16
level of conceptualization.
21:18
There was a clear architectural and
21:20
engineering approach
21:22
typical of Romanes. The central naves
21:29
were buttressed with aisles. Here the
21:32
size of the building is such that the
21:35
monks added a third aisle maintained by
21:36
powerful outer buttresses.
21:39
The monks pushed Romanes art to its
21:42
limits.
21:44
The three floors of successive Gothic
21:47
arch vaults rose to 29.5 m, 17 m, and 10
21:49
m, allowing for a perfect balancing of
21:54
forces.
21:57
It was then possible to cut rows of
21:59
windows on each floor.
22:01
These windows represented a 45% void
22:04
compared to the walls.
22:07
[Music]
22:09
There were several rows of overlaid
22:12
windows which obviously allowed them to
22:14
create an unrivaled luminosity inside.
22:16
This is to evoke another spirituality
22:20
that of the divine that floods the place
22:22
of contemplation with his light.
22:24
[Music]
22:27
At that time, people didn't dare open
22:30
walls under vaults like this, especially
22:32
in a building as important as the Mayor
22:34
Elesia. So, this was very important and
22:36
very bold, and it foreshadowed what
22:39
Gothic architecture would later become.
22:42
>> In Gothic art, the structure carries the
22:48
building, not the walls. In Kuni, the
22:50
monks pushed the thought process of
22:54
force distribution to an extreme in
22:56
order to exceed the heights allowed in
22:59
Romanesque art right down to details
23:01
essential to balance.
23:04
This is notably the case with the
23:06
position of the pillars.
23:08
This narrowing, very subtle at each
23:11
level, allowed the springing point of
23:13
the vaults to be brought into the design
23:15
of the building and thus offer more
23:17
stability.
23:20
And so the oblique lateral strain was
23:24
better contained in the design of the
23:26
building.
23:28
The building was a balance between force
23:32
applied vertically and horizontally.
23:34
Butresses, arches, and the position of
23:37
pillars. Everything was present to allow
23:39
the monks to build a gigantic church.
23:41
[Music]
23:45
However, because the building was also
23:46
subject to torsional movement, the monks
23:48
paid attention to the slabs that
23:51
supported the top floor.
23:52
>> There was a whole system of staples that
23:55
actually locked the inner bands, the
23:58
last band at the top of the transcept.
24:00
So, all the parts were actually sealed
24:02
by these metal staples.
24:05
These were large staples 50 cm in length
24:12
by 2 cm in width and across.
24:15
The building was so large that they had
24:21
to take every precaution and resort to
24:23
any technique imaginable to achieve
24:25
stability and avoid deformation.
24:27
[Music]
24:31
But that wasn't enough. The monks were
24:38
still concerned about the pressure put
24:40
on the walls by the vault. So they
24:42
placed large iron bars along the entire
24:44
length of the nave.
24:47
Across the transcept there were these
24:52
bars of metal which held the thing taut.
24:54
These huge tier horn affair had to hold
24:59
the walls from from falling outwards.
25:03
You know
25:07
>> if they did it it was because there was
25:08
a need. So it's clear that the building
25:10
called for this kind of buttress. The
25:13
project was rather bold anyway.
25:16
Everyone in the middle ages knew Clooney
25:22
and the builders of the great cathedrals
25:24
knew it too.
25:26
They knew what the advantages or
25:29
disadvantages of various strategies
25:30
were.
25:32
That's why the Gothic arch implemented
25:34
in Clooney was reproduced in the great
25:36
cathedrals. The use of iron with staples
25:38
was used in Gothic architecture and so
25:41
on.
25:43
The abbey was splendid, grandiose, and
25:46
impressive.
25:49
The first stone was laid on October
25:51
25th, 1088. The monks began with the
25:53
southern arm of the great transep, the
25:56
only part that remains today. The site
25:58
then moved south to north and then to
26:01
the west.
26:04
[Music]
26:07
On the walls of the church, you could
26:13
see a multitude of holes left by the
26:15
workers scaffolding. These are called
26:17
putlog holes.
26:20
>> Putlog holes are small orififices that
26:24
were made into the wall at the time of
26:26
construction. That's how they could
26:30
stack the beams, trays, scaffolding, and
26:31
so on.
26:34
Their location provides information on
26:36
the evolution of the construction site,
26:39
notably the part that survived the
26:41
destruction, the large southern
26:43
transcept of the abbey.
26:45
We can see that the putlog holes which
26:51
are aligned horizontally on the first
26:54
two spans are not on the third.
26:55
There is a difference of 30 to 40 cm.
26:59
This is a sign that construction
27:03
stopped. What happened?
27:05
If we look at the third span in more
27:09
detail, the three highest windows are
27:11
not aligned with those just below.
27:14
Moreover, the band that marks the floor
27:19
suddenly stops and does not continue on
27:21
the third span.
27:24
All of these clues help us understand
27:26
what happened on the site at that time.
27:28
[Music]
27:31
There was a change of purpose. At first,
27:34
they set out to build a vaulted church
27:37
with 20 m under the vaults in order for
27:39
it to be lit directly.
27:42
But at this stage of construction, in
27:45
the middle of the transcept, they
27:46
decided to build 10 m higher. Plans were
27:48
changed. You can clearly see it in the
27:52
transcept.
27:54
[Music]
27:58
The first dome was 20 m high, the second
27:59
30 m, and the third was supposed to have
28:02
been 20 m high.
28:05
But the monks decided to go higher. By
28:07
placing this third dome 30 m high, they
28:10
were forced to shift the windows to the
28:13
north to leave room for the support
28:15
pillar.
28:17
[Music]
28:18
In their dream of gigantism, raw
28:26
material was essential. And in that
28:28
respect, the location of the abbey was
28:30
perfect.
28:32
>> For materials, it was perfect.
28:37
Everything needed was on site, both in
28:40
abundance and quality. That's
28:41
exceptional. There were limestone
28:44
quaries.
28:46
If you cook limestone, you get lime,
28:48
which is the binder needed to build.
28:49
They had sand from the grown river and
28:53
large quantities of clay to make the
28:55
floors, tiles, etc.
28:57
>> Not to mention, the valley was
29:00
completely covered with forests.
29:02
Near the construction site, less than 3
29:10
km away, were a multitude of quaries
29:12
with an abundance of stones.
29:15
[Music]
29:19
The farthest one was 18 km away. It's
29:24
the last still visible today.
29:27
The monks extracted white limestone
29:31
called piselite limestone.
29:34
We're here at the library. This is one
29:38
of the rare sources of soft stones in
29:40
the region. We know that stone was
29:42
extracted for sculpture.
29:44
The other quaries were composed of hard
29:49
stones used for construction.
29:51
There were three types of limestone with
29:54
different physical characteristics,
29:56
micrite, oyte and krenoidal.
29:58
There was also aros, a kind of
30:04
sandstone.
30:06
>> The programs were deliberately very bold
30:11
in terms of budget and technique. So
30:13
they looked for the best stone possible,
30:15
large sheets of bedrock that could make
30:17
big walls.
30:19
>> The most beautiful stones were cut
30:23
directly on site and placed so that they
30:24
were visible on the exterior.
30:27
>> The walls were made with two facades
30:31
that were relatively similar with rubble
30:33
stone cut more or less finely depending
30:35
on the area.
30:37
And in the middle was a mixture of
30:40
coarse mortar with all types of stone
30:42
waste to create a stable uniform block.
30:44
The wider it was, the higher it could
30:48
go.
30:50
>> It was an absolutely incredible
30:55
technical feat. They managed to build
30:58
something that was simply oversized for
31:00
the era with fairly simple means as the
31:02
walls were made with basic rubble.
31:05
That's how buildings had been
31:07
constructed since antiquity.
31:08
>> From these quaries, the monks extracted
31:17
a single stone 6 m long, 3 m high, and
31:19
45 cm thick. The tempanum.
31:23
It was placed at the entrance of the
31:28
large gate to impress visitors.
31:30
It was an extraordinary block in terms
31:34
of size considering the supply of the
31:36
local quaries.
31:38
>> Then it had to be moved which was also a
31:42
technical feat.
31:44
>> The idea was to use intelligence rather
31:47
than strength.
31:49
To carry the stone, the monks installed
31:52
a ramp that compensated for the slope of
31:54
the valley over 10 m in elevation.
31:56
The tempanum was then rolled on logs to
32:00
the large gate.
32:02
It was then lifted up using a hoisting
32:05
device called a jack, which reduced the
32:07
weight of the stone by a factor of 100
32:09
using the principle of traction levers.
32:12
The 28 ton stone was then placed on its
32:15
base.
32:18
>> This huge temp was lifted vertically on
32:24
these jams and was then sculpted.
32:26
They didn't want to take the risk of
32:31
creating that sculpture of Christ in his
32:33
glory before setting it up and digging
32:35
into the mass of the tempenum. Because
32:38
of the 45 cm thickness, they dug up to
32:40
40 cm to give depth to the sculpture.
32:43
[Music]
32:49
>> Christ was surrounded by four angels
32:50
whose remains found on the site show a
32:53
quality of sculpture that was unmatched
32:55
at the time.
32:57
In certain areas of the tempanum, only 5
32:59
cm of stone thickness remained.
33:02
>> From that moment on, an immense gate was
33:06
built that measured 14 m wide at the
33:09
base and 20 m high.
33:11
An architeure was placed at the top to
33:17
complete the composition.
33:19
ed as a genuine triumphal arch.
33:24
>> This was really in line with the idea
33:29
that Clooney would be restoring the
33:31
ancient world and Rome.
33:32
[Music]
33:36
>> The quality of the sculpture was just
33:42
breathtaking. When you came in through
33:44
the west door under that lintil that you
33:47
know and all the sculpture of the west
33:49
door and you looked down the whole
33:51
length of the church, what you saw was
33:53
the enormous Christ in the apps painted.
33:57
[Music]
34:03
There were more than,200 capitals
34:13
inside. which entails a gigantic number
34:15
of highquality decorations.
34:17
These were large capitals, 80 cm wide by
34:23
80 cm high. It was a colossal building,
34:26
the scale of which was quite remarkable.
34:29
>> Only eight capitals were found almost
34:35
intact. They adorned the pillars of the
34:37
ambulatory in the chancel.
34:40
Here
34:43
again the sculpture was carved with a
34:46
lot of depth so as to play with shadow
34:48
and light.
34:50
The majority of the capitals had
34:55
Corinthian themes. They were modeled on
34:57
Corinthian capitals. The reference to
34:59
antiquity was tremendous.
35:02
In antiquity you had temples with
35:04
columns and Corinthian capitals.
35:06
In the Clooney 3, they replicated the
35:10
colonade and borrowed Roman marble
35:13
columns that they trimmed and installed
35:15
around the chancel.
35:18
So, Clooney 3 was representative of
35:21
ancient Rome in all its splendor.
35:23
Above all, the monks wanted monumental
35:34
architecture.
35:36
With that 2 m diameter, the vestigages
35:38
of the pillars that punctuated the nave
35:41
bore witness to this desire.
35:43
The choice of the stones that composed
35:46
them wasn't the result of chance.
35:48
They didn't put just any stone in any
35:51
place. The base of the first pillars was
35:53
made of micrite limestone. With
35:56
moisture, the open transcept and the
35:58
destruction these stones degraded. Next
36:01
was a mixture of aros and limestone. Why
36:04
did they use micrite limestone which is
36:07
not particularly known for being of good
36:10
quality? Well, that stone is interesting
36:12
because it's very resistant to
36:15
compression. What was above it was
36:16
extremely heavy. the pillars, the
36:19
vaults, the dome all weighed on the
36:22
pillars. So they chose this stone to
36:24
support the vertical load.
36:28
>> Likewise, when the composition of the
36:34
walls of the still existent transcept is
36:36
analyzed, each stone has its function.
36:39
At the base, micrite limestone to
36:42
support the weight. In the middle,
36:44
strong and rigid sandstone. and at the
36:46
top soft limestone for the sculpted
36:49
capitals.
36:51
[Music]
36:54
At this point, 30 years had passed since
36:58
the first construction of the great
37:00
church Lamayo Ecclesia. The Clooney
37:02
Order was at the height of its power.
37:05
The Abbotts were in permanent contact
37:08
with the emperors, sovereigns, leading
37:10
figures of the world, and the papacy.
37:13
The Abbey couldn't be overlooked.
37:15
Gradually, it created what we called an
37:17
empire. They called it a religious
37:19
order, but it truly was an empire.
37:21
Today, for a company or a firm, it would
37:23
be called an empire. It was an abbey
37:25
that had subsidiaries, so to speak, and
37:28
throughout Europe, from England to
37:30
Italy, from Spain to Poland. It had an
37:33
enormous influence, spiritual of course,
37:36
but also temporal.
37:38
[Music]
37:41
More than 800 monasteries were created
37:43
and directly attached to the abbey. The
37:45
order was based on the rule of St.
37:48
Benedict, a return to spiritual life and
37:50
prayer. It resonated with world leaders.
37:52
The Abbotts also put into place an
37:58
entire strategy around the worship of
38:00
the dead, the feast of the dead, and the
38:02
need to pray for the dead. They
38:06
multiplied the altars, held more and
38:09
more masses for the souls of the
38:12
deceased and in each mass obviously the
38:14
coffers of the abbey increased.
38:18
Clooney had vast wealth at this time and
38:22
certain great sponsors
38:26
and it's clearly was the kings of of
38:28
Leyon and Castile. uh their their great
38:31
gold treasury which they the tribute
38:34
which which came to Clooney annually
38:37
from the northwest of Spain uh meant
38:40
that the coffers of Clooney were
38:43
bursting
38:45
and uh this incredibly ambitious
38:46
uh church project was was undertaken.
38:51
Clooney had colossal means. It was a
38:55
building that was erected very quickly.
38:57
>> Perhaps too quickly because in 11:25 an
39:01
event changed the structure of the
39:04
building.
39:06
>> In 11:25, the vault of the nave
39:08
allegedly collapsed.
39:11
>> One of the vaults most likely collapsed.
39:13
We don't know where.
39:15
>> It could be the great nave. It could be
39:16
an aisle. Could just be a little aisle
39:19
or a chapel or something. You know, it's
39:22
not it's not at all clear. Obviously,
39:24
the monks were devastated. Their dream
39:26
of greatness and prestige was ruined.
39:29
>> The monks had to review their plans and
39:33
determine what happened. How could a
39:35
building that had been so well thought
39:37
out be fragile? What was the mistake?
39:38
>> They didn't anticipate the fact that the
39:43
nave was very long.
39:45
The entire length of the nave had been
39:48
built using the same vault and the same
39:50
walls. But given that length, there was
39:52
a certain flexibility to it.
39:56
For example, if you take a pencil that's
40:00
5 cm long and you try to break it,
40:02
that's hard to do. But with a 30 cm
40:05
pencil, all it takes is a little snap
40:08
and you break it. So, what did they do
40:10
in the Middle Ages? They constantly
40:12
monitored the vaults.
40:14
The monks placed steep and narrow
40:17
staircases in the thick walls of the
40:19
abbey approximately 40 m in height.
40:21
From there, the monks could control the
40:26
structure. They might have noticed that
40:28
the vaults were fragile despite all of
40:30
their precautions.
40:32
What we do know is that they reinforce
40:36
the vault with walls called buttress
40:38
walls
40:41
in order to transfer some of the weight
40:43
and stabilize the vault of the central
40:46
aisle.
40:48
And to avoid having massive walls that
40:53
would change the perspective a little,
40:55
an arch was hollowed out in them.
40:57
The arches thus counterbalanced the
41:03
forces applied by the vaults onto the
41:05
walls. These arches would later emerge
41:07
in Gothic churches as flying buttresses.
41:10
>> Clooney 3 was really the transitional
41:18
building between typical classic
41:20
Romanesque art and Gothic art that would
41:23
flourish a few decades later.
41:26
It's traditionally believed that Gothic
41:30
art was developed in the Parisian region
41:32
and indeed most of the great monuments
41:35
of this period are concentrated there.
41:38
But the genius of the techniques that
41:42
allowed Gothic art to blossom really
41:44
took place in Clooney around 11:30.
41:46
In 1095, Pope Innocent II came to
41:52
consecrate the church. It wasn't
41:55
entirely finished. The last stone wasn't
41:57
laid until 11:30,
42:00
but as soon as it was completed, the
42:03
monks decided to build a 38 m long narex
42:04
that would end with two large towers
42:08
called barabans, culminating at 17 1/2
42:10
m.
42:14
There was a problem. The hill had to be
42:17
dug once again to integrate the
42:19
extension.
42:21
>> They wanted the narthx to extend into
42:25
the hill. topography.
42:27
>> The topography of the site and the
42:29
choice of location made by the monks at
42:31
the end of construction led to the fact
42:34
that one entered the church by going
42:36
down the steps, thus bowing to the saint
42:38
of saints represented by the magnificent
42:41
chancel of Clooney 3.
42:44
It was in Clooney that the legendary
42:48
Narthx was created, an anti-urch located
42:50
right in the front of the nave called
42:53
Galile because it refers to a very
42:55
specific liturgy pertaining to Easter
42:57
and the observance of Easter.
43:00
[Music]
43:03
>> Easter celebrates the resurrection of
43:07
Jesus. In all its grander, the front of
43:09
the Nate symbolized the passage to
43:12
eternal life.
43:15
[Music]
43:18
The aial church was finally finished. It
43:26
had risen from the earth in less than 70
43:29
years.
43:31
It imposed its power by its gigantism
43:36
dominating the center of the abbey.
43:39
This religious city was surrounded by
43:44
walls.
43:46
Its ramparts rose to more than 8 m and
43:53
were made of defensive towers and gates.
43:56
[Music]
44:01
The walls of the abbey weren't there
44:09
simply for the prestige. They were also
44:10
meant to protect in case of an attack
44:13
and there were several. And then you had
44:16
the city around the abbey along with the
44:18
walls of the city. So the abbey was a
44:21
small town within the town of Clooney.
44:24
When the abbey expanded, the
44:30
fortifications were enlarged as well.
44:31
And gradually by expanding,
44:33
it brought more and more people to these
44:36
sites.
44:38
Pilgrims had to be accommodated. So, a
44:40
hotel was built.
44:42
Visiting guests needed accommodating,
44:44
too.
44:46
We tend to forget that an abbey isn't
44:48
just a church, a closter, and a few
44:50
buildings. It's an entire economic and
44:52
cultural complex.
44:55
Very quickly the question of water
45:02
arose. How could it be provided to the
45:03
community? The monks resorted to two
45:06
rivers located on either side of the
45:09
abbey. The Medas and the Grun.
45:11
But this required making adjustments.
45:16
The medasau is a small stream that
45:21
originated west of Clooney and was
45:23
channeled under the city of Clooney. It
45:26
was used for the hydraulics of the
45:28
monastery and part of the city.
45:29
The water from the source of this stream
45:32
was transported into the monastery as
45:34
drinking water.
45:36
It was brought to the fountain of the
45:39
cloister and from there water was
45:40
distributed to the kitchen, to other
45:43
fountains and perhaps to the baths.
45:45
The monks used gravity. The slope went
45:50
from west to east and the midass flowed
45:53
naturally into the gon. The fountain of
45:56
the closter that received the water was
45:59
the highest in the abbey.
46:01
Once filled, it supplied the various
46:03
locations.
46:05
Using the drop in elevation, the monks
46:08
increased the pressure and made the
46:10
water gush.
46:12
The midas also served as sewer water. A
46:16
parallel network was to be created
46:20
evacuating sewage.
46:22
There were sewer systems that were
46:27
several hundred meters long.
46:28
Running water was injected into them to
46:31
carry away the waste.
46:33
There were flushing systems upstream of
46:35
the monastic latrines
46:37
which were large longitudinal buildings.
46:39
In these upstream systems, the valves
46:43
were opened and the fecal matter was
46:45
sent further downstream.
46:47
Very quickly, the abbey expanded towards
46:53
the GR and the monks diverted the course
46:56
of the river. They set up water
46:58
retention ponds upstream and downstream
47:00
of the river by building 5 m high and
47:03
370 m long dams capable of holding 200
47:06
hectares of water. In doing so, they
47:10
created a diverted canal that ran along
47:13
the valley and irrigated the entire
47:16
abbey. It was one of the most complex
47:18
hydraulic systems ever built in the
47:20
Middle Ages.
47:22
>> Clooney took a natural water system and
47:25
changed it into a completely artificial
47:27
network.
47:29
There was no natural water passing
47:31
through the city or the abbey at all.
47:32
[Music]
47:35
The monks set up 187 mills along the Gun
47:37
and inside the abbey which brought them
47:41
a colossal income. It was one of the
47:43
greatest senori of the Middle Ages.
47:45
In the middle ages, mastering water was
47:51
of course a sign of power and
47:53
technological knowhow.
47:55
The monks of Clooney were no exception.
47:58
Beyond the domestic dimension, there's a
48:01
spiritual dimension to water that helped
48:04
demonstrate the richness of the abbey.
48:06
The Clooney Abbey prospered for five
48:13
centuries thanks to a succession of
48:15
powerful amb.
48:17
The abbey started to decline in the 15th
48:25
century. In the 16th century, it was no
48:28
longer attached to Rome and lost a large
48:31
part of its income. In 1789, the French
48:33
Revolution brought about the end of the
48:36
abbey with its sale in 1798.
48:38
>> The Bashel church was sold in lots to
48:44
material traders and developers
48:47
who stone after stone patiently
48:51
dismantled the entire building.
48:53
In this huge church that was a
48:58
masterpiece of architecture, they only
49:00
saw a pile of stones that would allow
49:02
them to get richer.
49:04
>> The town encroached on a large part of
49:10
the abbey, namely the land located close
49:12
to the village.
49:15
As a result, there is currently an
49:17
interweaving between the current town
49:20
and the historic buildings of the abbey.
49:22
The site completely deviated from the
49:29
concept of an abbey.
49:31
>> Strolling through the city, one can see
49:38
a multitude of medieval houses, some of
49:40
which have pieces of the great abbey in
49:42
their walls.
49:44
In the masonry of the houses and in
49:50
private owned gardens, we often see
49:52
elements of a sculpture, a piece of
49:54
capital, a fragment of a portal or a
49:56
statueette that came from this great
49:59
church.
50:01
Over the centuries, the abbey was
50:03
transformed. A new closter was built on
50:05
the site of the old one in the 18th
50:08
century,
50:10
as well as desar.
50:12
The gardens were redesigned.
50:16
[Music]
50:18
But Clooney's greater basial church
50:22
lives on, scattered around the city.
50:24
This architectural prowess in gigantism
50:29
still radiates through its vestigages.
50:32
[Music]
50:34
It's true that relatively little
50:38
remains, but there is enough to get an
50:40
idea of what the abbey was like if one
50:42
takes the time to look and really study.
50:44
As a site, Clooney has to be earned. It
50:51
isn't just handed to you on a silver
50:54
platter. You have to dig. And when
50:55
you're given the opportunity to do so,
50:58
you'll find it's wonderful.
51:00
[Music]
51:02
Every detail immerses you in the
51:06
glorious past of this prestigious order.
51:08
It's thanks to the power and fervor of
51:12
the abbotts that the abbey was able to
51:14
compete with the greatest buildings to
51:16
the point of being compared to Rome.
51:18
By wanting to create bigger and higher,
51:21
these monk builders advance the
51:24
architecture of the Middle Ages. Today,
51:26
all you have to do is let yourself be
51:30
carried by these premises to understand
51:32
the scale of this project and its
51:34
challenges.
51:37
Heat. Heat.
51:39
[Music]
51:49
You're going
52:16
歌词与翻译
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重点词汇
开始练习
| 词汇 | 含义 |
|---|---|
|
heart /hɑːt/ A1 |
|
|
region /ˈriːdʒən/ A2 |
|
|
small /smɔːl/ A1 |
|
|
town /taʊn/ A1 |
|
|
secret /ˈsiːkrɪt/ A2 |
|
|
gigantic /dʒaɪˈɡæntɪk/ B1 |
|
|
church /tʃɜːrtʃ/ A1 |
|
|
original /əˈrɪdʒənl/ A2 |
|
|
remain /rɪˈmeɪn/ A2 |
|
|
largest /ˈlɑːrdʒɪst/ A2 |
|
|
abbey /ˈæbi/ B1 |
|
|
world /wɜːrld/ A1 |
|
|
pillar /ˈpɪlər/ B1 |
|
|
rise /raɪz/ A2 |
|
|
nave /neɪv/ B2 |
|
|
span /spæn/ B1 |
|
|
window /ˈwɪndoʊ/ A1 |
|
|
illuminate /ɪˈluːmɪneɪt/ B2 |
|
|
Latin /ˈlætɪn/ B1 |
|
|
incredible /ɪnˈkrɛdəbl/ B1 |
|
重点语法结构
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