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MASONRY CHURCHES OF MEDIEVAL CHERNIHIV 381restored to its original form by the project of the architect P. D.Baranovskii. 55Architectural and archaeological studies showed that the P"iatnytsiachurch was not a monastic church, but a parish church standing on themarket square of a commercial suburb of medieval Chernihiv. Brick marksindicate that the church was built not so much by princely artisans as byfree town craftsmen. Many scholars suggest that the church's architect wasPetro Miloneh, the architect of Prince Riurik Rostislavich, who built aseries of famous masonry buildings in Kiev, Ovruch, and Bilhorod in thelate twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. 56 Some specialists believe, however,that the church's architect was a representative of the local Chernihivarchitectural school. 57Of all the extant churches of the Dnieper region, the P"iatnytsia churchmost expressively embodies the new stylistic trend of Old Rus' architecturewhich appeared toward the end of the twelfth century, and contains manycompositional and constructive innovations. Its builders skillfully andboldly developed, according to Rus' tastes, the traditional scheme of thedomed cruciform church inherited from Byzantium. It is possible that thearchitectural composition of the P"iatnytsia church was influenced bywooden Rus' folk architecture. 58 The church's builders also displayed abroad knowledge of the architectural legacy of eleventh-century Rus' alongwith the contemporary architecture of Kiev, Volodymyr-Volyns'kyi,Ovruch, Smolensk, Polatsk, Pskov, and the West. Some influences ofGothic architecture are evident in the use of arrow-point arches in the windowsand niches of the church, the proliferation of the pilasters, and thebrickwork techniques. 59The P"iatnytsia church is small in size, has a cruciform plan, four pillars,three naves, three apses, and one dome. The church itself is distinguishedfrom the traditional type of domed cruciform church by an innovationin the design of the dome and ceilings. There, instead of the usualsemicircular gables (zakomary), for the first time three levels of steppedvaults were constructed, which allowed the drum of the dome to be raised55P. D. Baranovskii, "Sobor Piatnitskogo monastyria v Chemigove," in Pamiatnikiiskusstva, razrushennye nemetskimi zakhvatchikami v SSSR (Moscow and Leningrad, 1948),pp. 13-35; N. V. Kholostenko, "Arkhitekturno-arkheologicheskie issledovaniia Piatnitskoitserkvi v g. Chemigove (1953-1954 gg.)," SA 1956, no. 26, pp. 271-92.56Baranovskii, "Sobor Piatnitskogo monastyria," p. 33; Kholostenko, "Arkhitekturnoarkheologicheskieissledovaniia Piatnitskoi tserkvi," p. 292; Lohvyn, Chernigov, p. 59; Rappoport,Drevnerusskaia arkhitektura, p. 56.57Aseev, Arkhitektura, p. 170.58Ignatkin, Chernigov, p. 50; Faensen and Ivanov, Early Russian Architecture, p. 338.59Istoriia ukrains 'koho mystetstva, 1:207 - 208.