Accessibility statement

The Art of the Dome: Building Heaven on Earth in the Early Medieval World - HOA00020I

« Back to module search

  • Department: History of Art
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23
    • See module specification for other years: 2023-24

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2022-23

Module aims

This module will focus on the architectural use of domes, both externally and internally, as symbolic structures selected for specific purpose in a number of highly influential buildings in the late antique and early medieval periods, from the Pantheon in Rome to the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

It aims to give students an introduction to:

  • The buildings most commonly associated with domed features in late antiquity and the early medieval period.
  • A specific architectural feature and its associated symbolic vocabularies.
  • The changing perceptions and symbolic functions of domes across early cultures in western Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.
  • The language used to discuss domed features by their contemporaries.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of this module, students should have an understanding of:

  • The architectural feature of the dome in late antiquity and the early medieval period.
  • The ways in which architecture can function symbolically.
  • How to assess such symbolic potentials.
  • The ways in which symbolic architectural vocabularies can be adopted, appropriated and re-articulated by different cultures.

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 100

Module feedback

You will receive feedback on assessed work within the timeframes set out by the University - please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.

The purpose of feedback is to help you to improve your future work. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further, you are warmly encouraged to meet your Supervisor during their Office Hours..

Indicative reading

  • X. Barral i Altet, The Early Middle Ages: from late antiquity to AD 1000 (K ¶ln, 1997)
  • R. Krautheimer, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture (New Haven, 1986)
  • J. Elsner, Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph (Oxford, 1998)
  • D. Janes, God and Gold in Late Antiquity (Princeton 1996)
  • R. Stalley, Early Medieval Architecture (Oxford, 1999)
  • R. M. Harrison, A Temple for Byzantium (London, 1989)
  • M. Hattstein & P.Delius (eds), Islam: Art and Architecture (K ¶ln, 2000)
  • K. Armstrong, A History of Jerusalem: one city, three faiths (London, 1996)
  • H. Stierlin, Islam, I: early architecture from Baghdad to Jerusalem and Cordoba (K ¶ln, 1996)


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.