The Arch-gabled Church of Kyivan Rus: Byzantine Prototypes and the Formation of the Original Composition
The Arch-gabled Church of Kyivan Rus: Byzantine Prototypes and the Formation of the Original Composition

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the origins of the formation of the arch-gabled church, which is one of the first original innovations of the architectural tradition of Kyivan Rus, formed on the basis of transplanted Byzantine architectural forms. The analysis of Byzantine architecture revealed several variants of the placement of the arched gables on the church facades, but there was no compositional model of the arch-gabled church there. In Byzantine churches, the arched gables in the wall completions of the naos compartments or narthex are associated with the existence of galleries, except the cross-arm ends. The hypothesis is put forward that the impetus for the development of the arch-gabled church of Kyivan Rus was given by Byzantine church narthex, which had arched gables both on the western facade and at the ends. However, in Byzantine architecture, the arch-gabled completion of the narthex is the consequence of the structure, while in Kyivan Rus it becomes a compositional principle. Based on the analysis of Kyivan Rus architecture from the late 10th to early 12th century, the stages of formation of the arch-gabled completion in the churches are proposed.

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