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Atented roof (also known as apavilion roof) is a type of polygonalhipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak.[1] Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious architecture, were widely used to cover churches with steep, conical roof structures.
In theQueen Anne Victorian style, it took the form of a woodenturret with anoctagonal base with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak, usually topped with afinial.[1][2]A distinctive local adaptation of this roof style was widely used in 16th- and 17th-centuryRussian architecture forchurches, although there are examples of this style also in other parts of Europe. It took the form of a polygonalspire but differed in purpose in that it was typically used to roof the main internal space of a church, rather than as an auxiliary structure. The samearchitectural form is also applied tobell towers.
The term "tent roof" may also be applied in modern architecture to membrane and thin shell structures comprising roofs of modern materials and actual tents.[3]
The "tent-like church" (Russian:шатровая церковь) is a national type of church that was developed in late medieval Russia. It marks a sharp departure from the traditions ofByzantine architecture which never put emphasis on verticality.Sergey Zagraevsky has argued that tented roofs have something in common with EuropeanGothicspires. This architectural development has been described as a Russian parallel to theGothic architecture of Western Europe. In this local adaptation of the tent roof it took the form of either:
Tented roofs are thought to have originated in theRussian North, as they prevented snow from piling up on wooden buildings during long winters. In wooden churches (even modern ones) this type of roof is still very popular. The earliest specimen of such a church was recently transported to an abbey inVologda. Another notable example is an 18th-century church inKondopoga,Karelia.
The Ascension church ofKolomenskoye, built in 1532 to commemorate the birth of the first Russian tsar,Ivan IV, is often considered to be the first tented roof church built in stone. However, Zagraevsky has argued that the earliest use of the stone tented roof was in the Trinity Church inAlexandrov, built in the 1510s.[4]
Tented roof design has been prone to most unusual interpretations. Some scholars, for example, view hipped roofs of this variety asphallic symbols. However, it is more likely that this type of design symbolised high ambitions of the nascent unified Russian state and the liberation of Russian art fromByzantine canons after thefall of Constantinople to theOttoman Empire.
Tented churches were exceedingly popular during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. Two prime examples dating from his reign employ several tents of exotic shapes and colours arranged in a complicated design. These are the Church ofSt. John the Baptist in Kolomenskoye (1547) andSaint Basil's Cathedral on theRed Square (1561). The latter church unites nine hipped roofs in a striking circular composition.
In the 17th century, tented roofs were placed in a row, sometimes producing astonishing decorative effects. The first instance of this type is the Marvellous Church inUglich, whose three graceful tents remind one of three burning candles. They also became a typical architectural solution for church bell towers. In theNativity Church at Putinki, inMoscow, this trend was pushed to its limit, as there are five major and three minor tents used in the construction.
It is said thatPatriarch Nikon, who often passed near Putinki church on his way tothe Trinity, considered the monument to be in violation of canonical rules of Byzantine architecture and proscribed building tented churches altogether. During his time at office, many beautiful tented churches were demolished, notably the ones inStaritsa and theMoscow Kremlin. Only in the late 19th century was the ban lifted, and the tented roof design was revived in such remarkable monuments as theChurch of the Savior on Blood inSaint Petersburg andSt. Peter and Paul's Cathedral inPeterhof.
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