Sample Essay On Castle Of Munster At The Rock Of Cashel

Standing in one of the historic sites of Cashel, Ireland is the Rock of Cashel. Standing against a blue and white background and upon a green landscape, the dominantly black building produces a scenic scene worthy of praise and appreciation. Withstanding the heat and cold seasons for centuries, it remains standing in the plateau where its builders have erected it. Its rich history and unique architectural designs makes an interesting topic for sociology or even for a simple descriptive essay such as this.

Description of Components

The majority of the building as shown in the picture is made of rocks which is very common to the building erected during the 11th and 12th centuries. These rocks are thick and strong. The building has greyish, black, and white shades, which may be due to the wearing off of the materials through time as some of them have already been oxidized by air. The internal part is partly brownish in color which may be due to fact that the inside portions were not as exposed to the environment allowing them to retain the original color of the rocks used – they dominantly had the brownish shades of color. There are also evidences that the building had utilized steel for its construction. Its roofs are missing except for the one that remain on one of its spires at the right side. The spire has conical roofing and it appears to have as its main component.

Windows and Doors

There are three types of windows that are seen in the image. The building may have had windows at its exterior portions that are relatively small in width compared to their length. This design is most pronounced on the right side of the buildings. Such style is not verifiable at the left side due to the damage. What can be seen at the left side, however, is that the building had window at the structures in its inner portions. These windows have the arc design at the top portions just like the windows of the Roman coliseums. The last type of windows is the small windows which dot the walls the building. They are usually found at the top part starting at its mid-section. These windows are either squares or they may also have the same design as the inner windows which are surmounted by arcs. The small windows on the right side of the building have triangular (with one side removed) covers, it is not clear from the picture, however if these triangular covers are attached to the surmounted arcs. These windows may have acted as shades from the rays of the sun. As to its entrances or doors, there are only two of them in the picture. The first is small door at the left side wherein a person wearing red clothes is standing. The second door is inside of the destroyed portion. It appears to be a huge dome-shaped door.

The Romanesque Touch of Architecture

The building shows pre-Romanesque style of architecture. Accordingly, semi-circular arcs dominate the majority of its windows as shown in the exposed internal portions on the left side of the building. Its entrance also has the characteristic semi-circular arc. Cone shaped roofing has also survived and can be seen at the right side of the building together with a triangular part of the wall where roofs used to be present. Note that this triangular portion gives it the feel that it was a building that was also used for worship as the triangular portion is characteristics for churches and cathedrals during the medieval era. Its steep high walls are also common to cathedrals of the medieval era; they also serve as indications of Romanesque architectural designs.
The entire building seems to have a symmetrical plan. This symmetry may have been more pronounced if the left side is not yet destroyed. The point of symmetry is the steep Chimney at the center of the image. Behind the chimney is a massive square compartment of the building which one of its vertices is directly linked to the chimney to emphasize the symmetry in the architectural design. It walls are fortified and are massive which allowed them to withstand the scorching heat of the sun and the chilling cold of winter. Yet its immense fortifications remained inferior to the destructive forces of war as its left side was utterly destroyed. Moss and grasses now grows on the destroyed portions. There is also a white cross at the left most part which is slightly separated from the main building. The cross is clear proof that the building was at some time used for religious practices. The cross had a design that is more of Roman than the Greek style.

Conclusion

It is evident that the makers of the Castle of Munster at the Rock of Cashel have used the pre-Romanesque style of architecture, which is a common style during the medieval era. What makes the building unique however is that it has portions that show characteristics or Romanesque designs that are fitted for castles such the right portion of the building, and there are those portions that are characteristic for cathedrals such as the left portion. It designs that would immediately characterize it as Romanesque are its massive walls and arcs.