Building the Churches of Kievan Russia

Variorum
P. A. Rappoport
ISBN: 0860783278
price: $94.95   hardcover

This monograph is the first systematic study of how monumental buildings were constructed in medieval Russia. It deals specifically with ecclesiastical architecture, because churches are above all what survive, but also discusses such secular architecture--palaces or towers--as remains. In scope it covers the territory of the Kievan state and the principalities that succeeded it, from the 10th to the 13th century.
Pavel Aleksandrovich Rappoport was the author of many of the standard works on the architectural history of Russia, whether monumental, military or domestic, as well as a leading archaeologist. Here his aim is not to describe the monuments nor analyze their forms, but to investigate how people went about building them: from brickmaking and limefiring to the roofing and decoration; from how the churches were laid out to how much brickwork was laid in a day-treating all this as one integrated and interconnected process.
Rappoport's detailed analysis enables him to identify the work of particular teams of builders, even individual masters, and to follow their progress from one site to another. Similarly, he documents how the Byzantine styles and methods of church building, imported into Russia after its conversion in 989, were gradually adapted to meet the needs of local circumstances and climate.
Building the Churches of Kievan Russia is of direct relevance to those concerned with the architecture and the Church of pre-Mongol Russia, as well as its social history. The investigation of the earliest churches represents the sole extended discussion of Byzantine building practices. In terms of methodology, the book is of interest to all architectural historians and archaeologists concerned with the Middle Ages, and makes accessible in English material that has hitherto only been available in Russian.
Contents: Note on translation and transliteration; List of illustrations; List of abbreviations; Foreword, Cyril Mango; Acknowledgements; Map; Introduction; Builidng Materials: Brick; Stone; Lime and mortars; Ceramic floor tiles; "Resonators"; Window glass and mosaic; Structural Elements: Foundations; Walls; Arches, vaults, openings; Staircases; Wooden elements in the buildings; Floors; Roofs; The Organization of Construction Work: Laying the foundations and laying out the building on the site; The period of construction; The construction process; The size and structure of the building teams; The social position of the builders; Conclusion; Indexes.