Blog Question 8

On this trip we went on so many wonderful historical excursions that it was almost impossible not to feel connected to the Middle Ages.  One of my favorite trips was the excursion to the walled city of Carcassonne.  I loved this city because it was a lot like what I envisioned a medieval city to be like.  One of the things that makes Carcassonne so special is that it was the only city in Southern France to remain fortified.  All of the other cities in Southern France were ordered to take down their walls by the King, that way the cities would be less likely to rebel (class notes).  Carcassonne was such a beautiful city because it was the wealthiest city in Southern France (class notes). 

The fact that the city was bustling with tourists made it easy to imagine what it was like navigating the tiny streets of the busy city back in medieval times.  The church in Carcassonne was very beautiful.  The stained glass windows were absolutely exquisite.  The group of men singing made the visit extra-memorable in comparison to the several other churches we saw while in France.  Another special characteristic of Carcassonne is that the chateau is intact.  All of the other chateaus we visited such as the ones at Montsegur and Puilaurens were just ruins.  At these locations it was difficult to picture what the castles were like back in the Middle Ages.  The castle in Carcassonne was completely put together, the only thing you needed to use your imagination for was to picture the furniture and decorations in the rooms.

Carcassonne is connected to this “France in the Middle Ages” course because it was a major city in Southern France during the Middle Ages.  A lot of historical events took place here during this time period.  The church in Carcassonne is connected to this course because Saint Dominic preached there during the Middle Ages.  Architecturally, Carcassonne is related to this course because the church there has aspects of both Romanesque and Gothic architecture styles, which we learned about in class.  The Romanesque features the church has are the rounded arches above the front door and the bare stone interior.  The Gothic features the church has are the pointed arches inside and the beautiful stained glass windows.  Also, the city and castle were fortified, which was considered to be an architectural highpoint of castles in Southern France during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries (class notes).