The Apse of the Gothic Cathedral of Tortosa versus Augustine of Hippo’s Civitate Dei

Abstract

This research delves into the influence of St. Augustine on the construction of the Gothic cathedral of Tortosa. The canonical cathedral of Tortosa underwent re-establishment in 1155, which was carried out by Bishop Godfrey who was the abbot of Saint Rufus of Avignon and was governed by Beati Augustini rule. The presence of St. Augustine in the Capitular archives with De Civitate Dei (ACTo-20) from the XII century is examined. This, coupled with a spatial analysis of the liturgical space using laser scanning (TLS), serves to validate the historiographical thesis put forth by Wilhelm Worringer, Erwin Panofsky, and Otto von Simson for understanding the construction of the apse of the Gothic cathedral (1346–1441). This methodology establishes a bijection between patristic and Neoplatonic sources and the interpretation of the liturgical space’s dimensions using statistical systems. This approach addresses the construction of the apse through the incorporation of a heptagon, a geometric figure that is absent in Euclid’s Elementa and Ptolemy’s Almagest. In conclusion, it is determined that both the imagery and metrics employed in the design of a radial heptagonal apse, as well as its cross-section, are influenced by both St. Augustine and the metrics of the Neoplatonics, which remain present in the Chapter Archives.

Keywords

• Augustine of Hippo
• cathedrals
• Neoplatonism
• proportion
• sacred geometry