A Crusader with System in the Middle Ages

Eric and Matilda decided not to wait for the larger group and returned to Canossa Castle first.

After their conversation, Eric couldn’t keep his hands off her.

He held her tightly, the sound of rustling silk mingling with an indescribable, exotic floral scent as he ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the nape of her neck.

The tingling sensation that spread through her made Matilda feel as if she’d had too much wine. She instinctively tried to break free from Eric, but she had no strength.

”What’s wrong?”

The sound of tearing silk brought Matilda back to her senses. ”Wait,” she said, pushing him away and panting. ”Let me catch my breath...”

The moment Eric loosened his grip, she broke free and dismounted with swift, clean movements. ”I have to remain chaste today. This is as far as we go. I’m serious.”

Matilda turned away from Eric and rubbed her face, trying to compose herself.

Eric shrugged, dismounted, and suddenly said, ”Do you hear that? It’s a bit noisy.”

”What?” Matilda frowned, thinking Eric was mocking her.

However, after a moment, she too heard a continuous clamor. Someone was arguing.

No, it was a whole group of people arguing.

”What’s going on?” Eric asked a nearby guard.

”They’re the architects, recruited at the Marchioness’s request. On her orders, they were all summoned today. It seems they’re arguing over the Cathedral’s construction. They’ve been at it for a long while.”

”I remember they had already arrived before I left. Have they not reached a conclusion yet?” Matilda had presented her requirements for the project to them before she left on her tour.

”It’s worse than that. The argument got so heated this afternoon that they nearly came to blows. I had to call a dozen men just to restrain them.”

”Nobility only need to state their requirements; the architects have to consider much more. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. At least it proves they’re genuinely dedicated to this project.” Eric patted Matilda’s shoulder. ”Let’s go see what progress they’ve made. Surely they haven’t argued all day and accomplished nothing.”

A project of this scale only required one or two lead architects to design the Cathedral’s blueprints, yet more than twenty had come to apply. The rest could only serve as master craftsmen, responsible for overseeing the construction and managing the workforce.

The lead architect’s pay was the highest; a master craftsman’s salary would be a quarter of that at best, perhaps even less.

It was a heated discussion, but also a fierce competition.

Matilda wanted to build a Cathedral so impressive it would be awe-inspiring and unforgettable at first glance.

For a church—or any building—to be impressive and eye-catching, the first consideration is height. It had to be a massive structure of staggering scale, forcing people to crane their necks to see its highest point, and in doing so, inspire reverence for God, the Almighty Lord.

And for a church, the part most affected by an increase in height is the dome.

While increasing the Cathedral’s height, they also had to account for the dome’s aesthetic beauty. It would be the first thing people saw when looking at the Cathedral, and it would preside over the place they would frequent most for worship, mass, and various sacred ceremonies—the nave.

A good cathedral must have a dome with perfect proportions, one that appears naturally and perfectly rounded.

However, as the Cathedral’s height increased, the nave would have to be larger. This meant more support pillars would be required, which in turn would crowd the nave, making the trade-off not worth it.

Consequently, whenever someone attempted to build a large cathedral, architects who prided themselves on their skill would often reduce the number of support pillars in the name of space and aesthetics. They tried to find that perfect number, but it usually ended in tragedy. The weight of the timber and lead sheeting on the roof would be too great for the walls alone to support, leading to the cathedral’s collapse.

Furthermore, to increase the dome’s height for aesthetic reasons, the nave’s length would often be extended, which made erecting the scaffolding all the more difficult.

The architects in the room were now arguing over plans to construct an exceptionally high dome.

”A dome of this magnitude can’t be designed conventionally. We’ll have to build a massive pillar right in the center of the dome. It will sacrifice some space, but the Marchioness said what she wants most is a lasting impression...”

”Aisles! We should add aisles, half the height of the nave, on either side! Your ignorance and stupidity are astounding! Is this the best Tuscan architecture has to offer? It’s not worth a single stone from Frank...”

”You’re all spouting nonsense! We can’t build scaffolding that large! It will collapse, and your reckless talk will get craftsmen killed, you imbeciles...!”

”Who are you to question me? Do you know who I am? I built the Nikili Cathedral on Chios Island!”

”The past is the past, and now is now! Seriously, pal, you’re always bringing up your past glories. Why don’t you compare yourself to when you were a newborn? If you’re so great, what are you doing here trying to steal our jobs?”

”Well, well, if it isn’t Andrea Leonidas. You’re the one who built that botched Cathedral in Pavia, aren’t you? How did the Archbishop of Milan not have you skinned alive? Oh, right, I remember now. You’re a heretic, so he can’t excommunicate you.

”Crawl back to Greece. I can smell the stench of Greek scheming from a mile away.”

”Greeks!? You stinking outsiders, coming to our Tuscany to beg for scraps?”

”Who are you calling a Greek? Who’s the Greek here? Your whole family is Greek! I’ve been a Tuscan for ages. I’m a citizen of Tuscany!”

”No one knows more about domes than I do! You’re all just a pack of ignorant fools, good for nothing but venting and bragging about your credentials. Building a dome of this level doesn’t depend on some flash of inspiration you had in a dream, and it certainly doesn’t depend on your filthy hands that are only good for mucking about in mud and timber!

”It requires great learning! Do you know what that is? Mathematics! Understand? You country bumpkins! It requires a profound understanding of mathematics! Do you even know how to calculate a dome’s surface area and load-bearing capacity?”

”...”

As Eric and Matilda entered, the guard quickly banged his Long Spear against a nearby Shield.

The jarring noise instantly quelled the argument, and the architects hastily changed their tune.

”Mr. Andrea, your proposal is quite constructive. Upon reflection, my earlier design was indeed somewhat shortsighted.”

”Ah, such ingenuity is simply perfect, Mr. Mikhail! A design like this, I believe, is worthy of a place in the annals of art history.”

”Mr. Claire, your insight was truly inspiring. You’ve hit upon the very problem I’ve been trying to solve for years. Perhaps I should go to Greece to study mathematics. The Greeks are born mathematicians and architects.”

”Mr. Luo Ximan, I have always revered your talent and scholarship. I would be honored if you would offer some advice on my blueprints.”

”Mr. Ferraris, I am in complete agreement with you. I had a similar idea, and my blueprints also require...”

”After you...”

”After you...”

”No, no, no, I insist, after you.”

”Please, you first.”

”...”

Eric and Matilda: ”....(+_+)?(￣_￣|||)”

”Have you still not reached a conclusion?” Matilda asked, clearing her throat.

”We are trying to solve the problem of the dome,” said a white-bearded, elderly architect, stepping forward and bowing to Matilda.

”Just the dome?” Matilda was speechless.

”Er... as for the other parts, we’ve... we’ve more or less reached a consensus.” The white-bearded architect wiped his forehead with a handkerchief, looking rather embarrassed. ”Marchioness, Marquis, you needn’t worry. This is perfectly normal. I believe any great work of architecture requires deep deliberation. It was the same for the great masters of antiquity.

”Take the great Saint Ambrose Cathedral. It is said its architect spent three full years just on the drawings. O-of course, with modern techniques, we will be much faster than that,” the white-bearded architect added hastily, realizing his misstep.

”What is the point of contention regarding the dome?” Eric asked suddenly.

”Well, since the Marchioness requires the Cathedral to be as impressive as possible, it must be built as high as possible. And so the dome... According to convention, the dome must be aesthetically pleasing and create a sense of vast space.

”But as the height increases, we must add more pillars to ensure safety. Even though we can adjust angles, calculate loads, increase wall thickness, and add aisles to try and reduce the number of pillars needed...

”...if the requirement is to go as high as possible, I’m afraid we’ll still have to add more. Moreover, thickened walls are quite unsightly, which the Marchioness would likely find displeasing.

”On top of that, the Marchioness also requires windows—windows that are as large as possible to let in the light. This... frankly, is unprecedented. It does not conform to traditional Romanesque architecture...” The white-bearded architect bowed to Matilda again.

”Could we... put the pillars on the outside?” Eric said suddenly. He had walked over to the architects and was now looking at the wooden model of the Cathedral on the table. Tapping his finger on the model’s dome, he seemed to have had an idea.

”What?” The white-bearded architect was stunned.

”I said, put the support pillars on the outside of the Cathedral. By using an arched or semi-arched support structure, the lateral pressure from the high walls would be transferred to these external pillars. This would lighten the load on the walls themselves, allowing them to be made thinner,” Eric said again, turning to face the architects.