内接十字型教会堂の主要な内部建築構成の地理的分布と地域性

<p> In Byzantine architecture, diverged from Roman architecture and acquiring its own distinctive characteristics, the so-called ʻcross-in-squareʼ churches offer characteristic examples. This church type was distributed both within and beyond the Byzantine Empire, while the geographical architectural configuration for most studies in this field are based on the current national and even regional borders, and do not discuss the architectural characteristics of areas based on the similarity of churches constructed during Byzantine times. Moreover, while several previous studies have discussed construction methods, they have overlooked their chronological and geographical differences. In this context, this paper aims to investigate the locality of two lineages of the cross-in-square during the Middle Byzantine period (9th–12th centuries), using as many churches as possible whose three-dimensional information is available (82 churches; Fig. 2; Table 1).</p><p> </p><p> First, the churches have been categorised into 10 types based on the wall part: according to the arrangement of arches and the number of the highest arches (Fig. 4), the shape (horizontal section) of the supports (Fig. 5), the number of the bays in the churches and the methods by which the arches and supports are connected (Fig. 6). Then, the churches were categorized into 5 types based on the ceiling part: according to the way the arches were arranged and the number of the highest arches, the number of ceilings and the number of transverse arches at the western and the eastern corner bays (Fig. 7). In total, 15 categories emerged from a combination of the wall and ceiling elements, referred to as architectural configurations.</p><p> </p><p> Then Byzantine world has been divided into 17 areas based on the distribution of the churches and Byzantine administrative divisions (Themata). The prototypes of each lineage of cross-in-square churches have the largest number of the churches of each lineage and are distributed into most many areas (Aα-type: six areas; Gδ-type: eight areas). These are only categories that were constructed through the Middle Byzantine. The other categories of cross-in-square churches were distributed into one to six areas, as Table 2 shows. From the perspective of locality, there is only one architectural configuration in each of nine areas (Constantinople, Opsikion, Thraksēon, Kappadokia, Thrakē, Paristrion, Makedonia, Thessaloniki and Sicily). On the other hand, eight areas (Cyprus, Aegaios Palagos, Crete, Boulgaria, Ellas, Nikopolis, Peloponnēsos and South Italy) have three or more architectural configurations. It is notable that Ellas has six architectural configurations.</p><p> </p><p> As Figure 8 shows, each lineage is derived of Aα-type and Gδ-type; the former lineage can be identified as having arches on the supports and ceilings on the corner bays with the other bays constructed separately, while the latter lineage can be identified as originally arches penetrate the walls, and ceilings on the corner bays are under the those on the other bays, then arches are on the supports and ceilings on the corner bays and the other bays are constructed separately. The churches of the former lineage mainly are distributed in the central area of the Byzantine world, as in the capital, Constantinople, or Thessaloniki, the second largest city of the empire. The original and derivative architectural configurations are located on the different area, while the configuration of this lineage gradually distributed from the centre part of Byzantine world to its surrounding regions, or periphery. The churches of the latter lineages are mainly distributed around the periphery of the Byzantine world. In this lineage, the original and derivative configurations are often located on the same area and theconfiguration of this lineage seems to migrate from the periphery to the periphery. It is also noted that Ellas is an area in which the two lineages are mixed.</p>