HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Romanesque architecture is an
architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...
of
medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this later date being the most commonly held. In the 12th century it developed into the
Gothic style Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths ** Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken ...
, marked by pointed arches. Examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman architecture. The Romanesque style in England and Sicily is traditionally referred to as
Norman architecture The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used f ...
. Combining features of ancient Roman and
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
buildings and other local traditions, Romanesque architecture is known by its massive quality, thick walls, round arches, sturdy
pillars A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
, barrel vaults, large towers and decorative arcading. Each building has clearly defined forms, frequently of very regular,
symmetrical Symmetry (from grc, συμμετρία "agreement in dimensions, due proportion, arrangement") in everyday language refers to a sense of harmonious and beautiful proportion and balance. In mathematics, "symmetry" has a more precise definiti ...
plan; the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics and different materials. Many castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by churches. The most significant are the great
abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...
churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete and frequently in use.Bannister Fletcher, ''A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method''. The enormous quantity of churches built in the Romanesque period was succeeded by the still busier period of Gothic architecture, which partly or entirely rebuilt most Romanesque churches in prosperous areas like England and Portugal. The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of southern France, rural Spain and rural Italy. Survivals of unfortified Romanesque secular houses and palaces, and the domestic quarters of monasteries are far rarer, but these used and adapted the features found in church buildings, on a domestic scale.


Definition

According to the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a co ...
'', the word "Romanesque" means "descended from Roman" and was first used in English to designate what are now called
Romance languages The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...
(first cited 1715). The French term "" was first used in the architectural sense by archaeologist Charles de Gerville in a letter of 18 December 1818 to
Auguste Le Prévost Auguste Le Prévost (3 June 1787 in Bernay, Eure – 14 July 1859 in La Vaupalière) was a French geologist, philologist, archaeologist and historian. While studying classics and law, Le Prevost developed a passion for history and archeology. T ...
to describe what Gerville sees as a ''debased Roman architecture''. (I have sometimes spoken to you about Romanesque architecture. It is a word of my own which I invented (I think successfully) to replace the insignificant words of Saxon and
Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...
. Everyone agrees that this architecture, heavy and rough, is the ''opus romanum'' successively denatured or degraded by our rude ancestors. So too, out of the crippled Latin language, was made this Romance language whose origin and degradation have so much analogy with the origin and progress of architecture. Tell me, please, that my name Roman (esque) was invented with success.), group=Notes In 1824 Gerville's friend
Arcisse de Caumont Arcisse de Caumont (20 August 1801, Bayeux – 16 April 1873) was a French historian and archaeologist. Biography Arcisse Caumont was born at Bayeux to François de Caumont and Marie-Louise de Mathan Hue. One of his mentors was Charles de Gervil ...
adopted the label "" to describe the "degraded" European architecture from the 5th to the 13th centuries, in his ''Essai sur l'architecture religieuse du moyen-âge, particulièrement en Normandie'', at a time when the actual dates of many of the buildings so described had not been ascertained:Jean Hubert, ''Romanesque Art''. The first use in a published work is in William Gunn's ''An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture'' (London 1819). The word was used by Gunn to describe the style that was identifiably Medieval and prefigured the Gothic, yet maintained the rounded Roman arch and thus appeared to be a continuation of the Roman tradition of building. The term is now used for the more restricted period from the late 10th to 12th centuries. The term "
Pre-romanesque Pre-Romanesque art and architecture is the period in European art from either the emergence of the Merovingian kingdom in about 500 AD or from the Carolingian Renaissance in the late 8th century, to the beginning of the 11th century Romanesqu ...
" is sometimes applied to architecture in Germany of the Carolingian and
Ottonian The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...
periods and
Visigothic The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kno ...
, Mozarab and Asturian constructions between the 8th and the 10th centuries in the Iberian Peninsula while " First Romanesque" is applied to buildings in north of Italy and Spain and parts of France that have Romanesque features but pre-date the influence of the
Abbey of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churche ...
. File:Viu_de_Llevata,_Alta_Ribagorça._Església_de_Sta._Maria_(A-SiT_D9236).jpg, Portal, Church of Santa Maria, Viu de Llevata,
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...
, Spain File:Voûte_en_berceau_Conques.JPG, The vault at the
Abbey Church of Saint Foy The Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy in Conques, France, was a popular stop for pilgrims traveling the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela, in what is now Spain. The main draw for medieval pilgrims at Conques were the remains of Sainte-Foy, ...
, Conques, France File:Rooma 2006 047.jpg, Cloister of the
Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano The Archbasilica Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran ( it, Arcibasilica del Santissimo Salvatore e dei Santi Giovanni Battista ed Evangelista in Laterano), also known as the Papa ...
, Rome File:Ang cath c1.JPG, Bell tower of
Angoulême Cathedral Angoulême Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême) is a Roman Catholic church in Angoulême, Charente, France. The cathedral is in the Romanesque architectural and sculptural tradition, and is the seat of the Bishop of Angoul ...
, Charente, SW France Tomè14.JPG, Window and Lombard band of the Rotunda of San Tomè,
Almenno San Bartolomeo Almenno San Bartolomeo ( Bergamasque: or simply ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region Lombardy, located about northeast of Milan and about northwest of Bergamo. Almenno San Bartolomeo borders the f ...


Scope

Buildings of every type were constructed in the Romanesque style, with evidence remaining of simple domestic buildings, elegant town houses, grand palaces, commercial premises, civic buildings, castles, city walls, bridges, village churches, abbey churches, abbey complexes and large cathedrals.Rolf Toman, ''Romanesque: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting'' Of these types of buildings, domestic and commercial buildings are the most rare, with only a handful of survivors in the United Kingdom, several clusters in France, isolated buildings across Europe and by far the largest number, often unidentified and altered over the centuries, in Italy. Many castles exist, the foundations of which date from the Romanesque period. Most have been substantially altered, and many are in ruins. By far the greatest number of surviving Romanesque buildings are churches. These range from tiny
chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
s to large
cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...
s. Although many have been extended and altered in different styles, a large number remain either substantially intact or sympathetically restored, demonstrating the form, character and decoration of Romanesque church architecture. File:Cieszyn 9891 crop.JPG, Saint Nicholas Rotunda in
Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...
, Poland File:Poreč064.jpg, alt=A small three-storey stone house with an exterior stone staircase to the first floor, and a wooden balcony around the upper floor, Romanesque house in
Poreč Poreč (; it, Parenzo; la, Parens or ; grc, Πάρενθος, Párenthos) is a town and municipality on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, in Istria County, west Croatia. Its major landmark is the 6th-century Euphrasian Basilica, wh ...
, Croatia File:Palazzo Comunale Massa Marittima crop.JPG, alt=An imposing four-storey stone building with battlements and rows of paired windows, facing onto a town square., The Civic Hall in
Massa Marittima Massa Marittima (Latin: ''Massa Veternensis'') is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto. There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, iron ...
, Italy File:Lebeny-churche1.jpg, alt=The facade of a tall grey church with paired towers and a single ornately carved doorway, Abbey Church of St James,
Lébény Lébény ( la, Quadrata or ) is a town in Győr-Moson-Sopron County, midway between Mosonmagyaróvár and Győr, Hungary. It has a Romanesque monastic church commenced in 1208. Similar family or clan-financed medieval Hungarian monastic churches ...
, Hungary (1208) File:Conisbrough Castle keep - geograph.org.uk - 922015 crop.JPG, alt=A circular castle tower with enormous jutting buttresses. There are few windows and entrance is on an upper floor, is reached by a modern staircase., The keep of Conisbrough Castle, England


History


Origins

Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
. With the decline of Rome, Roman building methods survived to an extent in Western Europe, where successive
Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...
, Carolingian and
Ottonian The Ottonian dynasty (german: Ottonen) was a Saxon dynasty of German monarchs (919–1024), named after three of its kings and Holy Roman Emperors named Otto, especially its first Emperor Otto I. It is also known as the Saxon dynasty after the ...
architects continued to build large stone buildings such as monastery churches and palaces. In the more northern countries, Roman building styles and techniques had never been adopted except for official buildings, while in Scandinavia they were unknown. Although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost. There was a loss of stylistic continuity, particularly apparent in the decline of the formal vocabulary of the
Classical Orders An order in architecture is a certain assemblage of parts subject to uniform established proportions, regulated by the office that each part has to perform. Coming down to the present from Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilization, the arch ...
. In Rome several great Constantinian
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
s continued in use as an inspiration to later builders. Some traditions of Roman architecture also survived in Byzantine architecture with the 6th-century octagonal Byzantine Basilica of San Vitale in
Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...
being the inspiration for the greatest building of the
Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...
in Europe, the
Emperor Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Em ...
's
Palatine Chapel, Aachen The Palatine Chapel in Aachen is an early medieval chapel and remaining component of Charlemagne's Palace of Aachen in what is now Germany. Although the palace itself no longer exists, the chapel was preserved and now forms the central part of A ...
, Germany, built around the year AD 800.Helen Gardner, ''Art through the Ages''. Dating shortly after the Palatine Chapel is a remarkable 9th-century Swiss manuscript known as the
Plan of Saint Gall The Plan of Saint Gall is a medieval architectural drawing of a monastic compound dating from 820–830 AD. It depicts an entire Benedictine monastic compound, including churches, houses, stables, kitchens, workshops, brewery, infirmary, an ...
and showing a very detailed plan of a monastic complex, with all its various monastic buildings and their functions labelled. The largest building is the church, the plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an
apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
at both ends, an arrangement not generally seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is its regular proportion, the square plan of the crossing tower providing a module for the rest of the plan. These features can both be seen at the Proto-Romanesque
St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim The Church of St. Michael (german: Michaeliskirche) is an early- Romanesque church in Hildesheim, Germany. It has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list (along with the nearby Hildesheim Cathedral) since 1985 because of its outstanding Rom ...
, 1001–1030. Architecture of a Romanesque style also developed simultaneously in the north of Italy, parts of France and in the
Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
in the 10th century and prior to the later influence of the
Abbey of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churche ...
. The style, sometimes called First Romanesque or
Lombard Romanesque The term Lombard refers to people or things related to Lombardy, a region in northern Italy. History and culture * Lombards, a Germanic tribe * Lombards of Sicily, a linguistic minority living in Sicily, southern Italy * Lombard League, a me ...
, is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a
Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to h ...
. File:Santa Maria del Naranco 2 crop.JPG,
Santa María del Naranco The church of St Mary at Mount Naranco ( es, Iglesia de Santa María del Naranco; ast, Ilesia de Santa María'l Narancu) is a pre-Romanesque Asturian building on the slope of Mount Naranco situated from Oviedo, northern Spain. Ramiro I of As ...
, Oviedo, Spain, AD 848. Built as a palace for
Ramiro I of Asturias Ramiro I (c. 790 – 1 February 850) was king of Asturias (modern-day Spain) from 842 until his death in 850. Son of King Bermudo I, he became king following a succession struggle after his predecessor, Alfonso II, died without children. During ...
. File:Santa Maria in Cosmedin-templom belso.jpg, alt=The interior of a narrow and rather dark church that has columns down each side supporting a plain wall with small high windows.,
Santa Maria in Cosmedin The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin or ''de Schola Graeca'') is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa. History According to Byzantine historian Andrew Ekonom ...
, Rome (8th – early 12th century) has a basilical plan and reuses ancient Roman columns. File:Aachener1723aDom.jpg, alt=The interior of a tall octagonal church, rising in three rows of decorated arches. A large candelabra hangs above the central altar.,
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
's
Palatine Chapel, Aachen The Palatine Chapel in Aachen is an early medieval chapel and remaining component of Charlemagne's Palace of Aachen in what is now Germany. Although the palace itself no longer exists, the chapel was preserved and now forms the central part of A ...
, 9th century, modelled on the Byzantine church of San Vitale, Ravenna File:Hildesheim-St Michaels Church.interior.01.JPG, alt=The interior of another long narrow church with high windows. The arch leading into the chancel at the far end has alternating red and white stones., Interior of St. Michael's, Hildesheim, (1001–1031) with alternating piers and columns and a 13th-century painted wooden ceiling File:Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F078941-0014, Hildesheim, Michaeliskirche.jpg, alt=The exterior of the same church shows a short square tower with a pointed metal roof over the crossing, and a small round tower at the end of the transept.,
St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim The Church of St. Michael (german: Michaeliskirche) is an early- Romanesque church in Hildesheim, Germany. It has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list (along with the nearby Hildesheim Cathedral) since 1985 because of its outstanding Rom ...
has similar characteristics to the church in the Plan of Saint Gall.


Politics

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first ...
was crowned by Pope Leo III in
Old St. Peter's Basilica Old St. Peter's Basilica was the building that stood, from the 4th to 16th centuries, where the new St. Peter's Basilica stands today in Vatican City. Construction of the basilica, built over the historical site of the Circus of Nero, began dur ...
on Christmas Day of 800, with an aim to re-establishing the old
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
. Charlemagne's political successors continued to rule much of Europe, with a gradual emergence of the separate political states that were eventually to become welded into nations, either by allegiance or defeat, into the
Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( la, regnum Teutonicorum "kingdom of the Germans", "German kingdom", "kingdom of Germany") was the mostly Germanic-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843, especi ...
giving rise to the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. The invasion of England by
William, Duke of Normandy William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
, in 1066, saw the building of both castles and churches that reinforced the Norman presence. Several significant churches that were built at this time were founded by rulers as seats of temporal and religious power, or places of
coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...
and burial. These include the Abbaye-Saint-Denis,
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
and
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
(where little of the Norman church now remains). At a time when the remaining architectural structures of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
were falling into decay and much of its learning and technology lost, the building of masonry domes and the carving of decorative architectural details continued unabated, though greatly evolved in style since the fall of Rome, in the enduring
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. The domed churches of
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
and Eastern Europe were to greatly affect the architecture of certain towns, particularly through trade and through the
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
. The most notable single building that demonstrates this is St Mark's Basilica,
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
, but there are many lesser-known examples, particularly in France, such as the church of Saint-Front,
Périgueux Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is al ...
and
Angoulême Cathedral Angoulême Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême) is a Roman Catholic church in Angoulême, Charente, France. The cathedral is in the Romanesque architectural and sculptural tradition, and is the seat of the Bishop of Angoul ...
.George Holmes, ed. ''The Oxford History of Medieval Europe''. Much of Europe was affected by
feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
in which peasants held tenure from local rulers over the land that they farmed in exchange for
military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job ( volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require ...
. The result of this was that they could be called upon, not only for local and regional spats, but to follow their lord to travel across Europe to the Crusades, if they were required to do so. The
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
, 1095–1270, brought about a very large movement of people and, with them, ideas and trade skills, particularly those involved in the building of fortifications and the metal working needed for the provision of arms, which was also applied to the fitting and decoration of buildings. The continual movement of people, rulers, nobles, bishops, abbots, craftsmen and peasants, was an important factor in creating a homogeneity in building methods and a recognizable ''Romanesque style'', despite regional differences. Life became generally less secure after the Carolingian period. This resulted in the building of castles at strategic points, many of them being constructed as strongholds of the Normans, descendants of the Vikings who invaded northern France under
Rollo Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...
in 911. Political struggles also resulted in the fortification of many towns, or the rebuilding and strengthening of walls that remained from the Roman period. One of the most notable surviving fortifications is that of the city of
Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Au ...
. The enclosure of towns brought about a lack of living space within the walls, and resulted in a style of town house that was tall and narrow, often surrounding communal courtyards, as at San Gimignano in
Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...
.Rolf Toman, pp. 114–17 In Germany, the Holy Roman Emperors built a number of residences, fortified, but essentially palaces rather than castles, at strategic points and on trade routes. The Imperial Palace of Goslar (heavily restored in the 19th century) was built in the early 11th century by Otto III and Henry III, while the ruined Palace at
Gelnhausen Gelnhausen () is a town, and the capital of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located approximately 40 kilometers east of Frankfurt am Main, between the Vogelsberg mountains and the Spessart range at the river Kinzig. It is one o ...
was received by Frederick Barbarossa prior to 1170.Rolf Toman, pp. 70–73 The movement of people and armies also brought about the building of bridges, some of which have survived, including the 12th-century bridge at
Besalú Besalú () is a town in the '' comarca'' of Garrotxa, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current ''coma ...
,
Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...
, the 11th-century Puente de la Reina, Navarre and the Pont-Saint-Bénézet, Avignon. File:London Tower (1).JPG, alt=A huge square tower of grey stone is seen beyond fortifications on the edge of a river., The
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
(1078);
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
built the central White Tower as his stronghold and residence File:Speyer---Cathedral---South-View---(Gentry).jpg, alt=An enormous cathedral, of red stone with green copper roofs, has a two tall towers framing an octagonal dome at each end of the building.,
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
, begun by
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II ( – 4 June 1039), also known as and , was the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 until his death in 1039. The first of a succession of four Salian emperors, who reigned for one century until 1125, Conrad ruled the kingdoms ...
in 1030, as an expression of imperial power and architectural innovation File:Erice castle.jpg, alt=A castle with a tall narrow tower and walls topped by battlements stretches along the edge of a cliff covered in trees and palm trees, ,
Erice Erice (; scn, Èrici) is a historic town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, Sicily, in southern Italy. Geography The main town of Erice is located on top of Mount Erice, at around above sea level, overlooking the city of Trapani, the ...
(12th–13th century), is one of many built by the
Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...
in
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
, Italy. File:San Gimignano.JPG, alt=View of a small town on a hilltop surrounded by trees and vineyards. There are eight tall square towers rising from among the densely packed houses., Many towns, such as San Gimignano, were enclosed with walls, causing crowding and the building of tower houses


Religion

Across Europe, the late 11th and 12th centuries saw an unprecedented growth in the number of churches. A great number of these buildings, both large and small, remain, some almost intact and in others altered almost beyond recognition in later centuries. They include many very well known churches such as
Santa Maria in Cosmedin The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin or ''de Schola Graeca'') is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa. History According to Byzantine historian Andrew Ekonom ...
in Rome, the Baptistery in Florence and
San Zeno Maggiore The Basilica di San Zeno (also known as ''San Zeno Maggiore'' or ''San Zenone'') is a minor basilica of Verona, northern Italy constructed between 967 and 1398 AD. Its fame rests partly on its Romanesque architecture and partly upon the traditi ...
in Verona. In France, the famous abbeys of Aux Dames and Les Hommes at Caen and Mont Saint-Michel date from this period, as well as the abbeys of the pilgrimage route to
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
. Many cathedrals owe their foundation to this date, with others beginning as abbey churches, and later becoming cathedrals. In England, of the cathedrals of ancient foundation, all were begun in this period with the exception of Salisbury, where the monks relocated from the Norman church at
Old Sarum Old Sarum, in Wiltshire, South West England, is the now ruined and deserted site of the earliest settlement of Salisbury. Situated on a hill about north of modern Salisbury near the A345 road, the settlement appears in some of the earliest r ...
, and several, such as
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
, which were rebuilt on the site of Saxon churches.John Harvey, ''English Cathedrals''Alec Clifton-Taylor, ''The Cathedrals of England'' In Spain, the most famous church of the period is
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
. In Germany, the Rhine and its tributaries were the location of many Romanesque abbeys, notably
Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
,
Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...
,
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
and Bamberg. In
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, then the largest city north of the Alps, a very important group of large city churches survived largely intact. As monasticism spread across Europe, Romanesque churches sprang up in Scotland, Scandinavia, Poland, Hungary, Sicily, Serbia and Tunisia. Several important Romanesque churches were built in the
Crusader kingdom The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...
s.Rolf Toman, ''Romanesque''.


Monasticism

The system of monasticism in which the religious become members of an order, with common ties and a common rule, living in a mutually dependent community, rather than as a group of hermits living in proximity but essentially separate, was established by the monk
Benedict Benedict may refer to: People Names *Benedict (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Benedict (surname), including a list of people with the surname Religious figures * Pope Benedict I (died 579), head of the Catholic Chu ...
in the 6th century. The
Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...
monasteries spread from Italy throughout Europe, being always by far the most numerous in England. They were followed by the
Cluniac The Cluniac Reforms (also called the Benedictine Reform) were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The movement began wi ...
order, the Cistercians,
Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...
s and
Augustinian Canons Canons regular are priests who live in community under a rule ( and canon in greek) and are generally organised into religious orders, differing from both secular canons and other forms of religious life, such as clerics regular, designated by ...
. During the
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
, the military orders of the
Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
and the Knights Templar were founded. The monasteries, which sometimes also functioned as cathedrals, and the cathedrals that had bodies of secular clergy often living in community, were a major source of power in Europe. Bishops and the abbots of important monasteries lived and functioned like princes. The monasteries were the major seats of learning of all sorts. Benedict had ordered that all the arts were to be taught and practiced in the monasteries. Within the monasteries books were transcribed by hand, and few people outside the monasteries could read or write. In France, Burgundy was the centre of monasticism. The enormous and powerful monastery at
Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...
was to have lasting effect on the layout of other monasteries and the design of their churches. Unfortunately, very little of the abbey church at Cluny remains; the "Cluny II" rebuilding of 963 onwards has completely vanished, but we have a good idea of the design of "Cluny III" from 1088 to 1130, which until the Renaissance remained the largest building in Europe. However, the church of St. Sernin at
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
, 1080–1120, has remained intact and demonstrates the regularity of Romanesque design with its modular form, its massive appearance and the repetition of the simple arched window motif. File:Slidredomen, Vestre Slidre.JPG, alt=A little stone church with a little steeple on a wooden belfry sits in a green graveyard overlooking a lake and mountains., Many parish churches across Europe, such as this in
Vestre Slidre Vestre Slidre is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Valdres. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Slidre. Other villages in Vestre Slidre include Lomen and Røn. ...
, Norway, are of Romanesque foundation. File:Abbey-of-senanque-provence-gordes.jpg, alt=In a wooded valley is a large church with small windows and a square stone belfry. It is surrounded by ancient buildings arranged around courtyards, and a lavender garden., The Romanesque Sénanque Abbey church and surrounding monastic buildings, Gordes,
Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...
, France File:Celles JPG00.jpg, alt=The houses of a small town, surrounded by green hillsides, are dominated by a huge church with a large square tower and a spire like a witch's hat., Collegiate churches such as that of
Saint Hadelin Saint Hadelin (or Adelin, Hadelinus) (d. about 690),
Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 3 December 2021
born ...
, Celles, Belgium, were administered by lay canons. File:Trier Dom BW 24.JPG, alt=A huge cathedral with numerous towers, both square and round, rises above a town square where people are sitting in the shade of clipped trees., Many cathedrals such as Trier Cathedral, Germany, date from this period, with many later additions.


Pilgrimage and Crusade

One of the effects of the
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
, which were intended to wrest the Holy Places of the Levant from Islamic control, was to excite a great deal of religious fervour, which in turn inspired great building programs. The Nobility of Europe, upon safe return, thanked
God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
by the building of a new church or the enhancement of an old one. Likewise, those who did not return from the Crusades could be suitably commemorated by their family in a work of stone and mortar. The Crusades resulted in the transfer of, among other things, a great number of
Holy Relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
of saints and apostles. Many churches, like Saint-Front, Périgueux, had their own home grown saint while others, most notably
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
, claimed the remains and the patronage of a powerful saint, in this case one of the
Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...
.
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
, located in the
Kingdom of Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia ( gl, Reino de Galicia, or ''Galiza''; es, Reino de Galicia; pt, Reino da Galiza; la, Galliciense Regnum) was a political entity located in southwestern Europe, which at its territorial zenith occupied the entire north ...
(present day Galicia, Spain) became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe. Most of the pilgrims travelled the Way of St. James on foot, many of them barefooted as a sign of penance. They moved along one of the four main routes that passed through France, congregating for the journey at
Jumièges Jumièges () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. Geography A forestry and farming village situated in a meander of the river Seine, some west of Rouen, at the junction of the D 65 and th ...
, Paris,
Vézelay Vézelay () is a commune in the department of Yonne in the north-central French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is a defensible hill town famous for Vézelay Abbey. The town and its 11th-century Romanesque Basilica of St Magdalene are de ...
,
Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...
,
Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
and St. Gall in Switzerland. They crossed two passes in the
Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
and converged into a single stream to traverse north-western Spain. Along the route they were urged on by those pilgrims returning from the journey. On each of the routes abbeys such as those at
Moissac Moissac () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Garonne and Tarn at the Canal de Garonne. Route nationale N113 was constructed through ...
,
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
,
Roncesvalles Roncesvalles ( , ; eu, Orreaga ; an, Ronzesbals ; french: Roncevaux ) is a small village and municipality in Navarre, northern Spain. It is situated on the small river Urrobi at an altitude of some in the Pyrenees, about from the French bor ...
, Conques, Limoges and
Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...
catered for the flow of people and grew wealthy from the passing trade. Saint-Benoît-du-Sault, in the Berry province, is typical of the churches that were founded on the pilgrim route. File:Jerusalem Holy Sepulchre BW 23.JPG, alt=The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem, a major pilgrimage site from the 4th century onwards, its rotunda inspired the construction of many Romanesque circular churches., The Church of the Holy Sepulchre,
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, a major pilgrimage site from the 4th century onwards. Its rotunda inspired the construction of many Romanesque circular churches. File:Krak des chevaliers15(js).jpg, Like many castles built by crusader knights, the inner fortress of
Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers, ar, قلعة الحصن, Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn also called Hisn al-Akrad ( ar, حصن الأكراد, Ḥiṣn al-Akrād, rtl=yes, ) and formerly Crac de l'Ospital; Krak des Chevaliers or Crac des Chevaliers (), is a medieva ...
, Syria, was mainly constructed in this period, with the outer walls being later. File:Abbatiale de Conques.jpg, The Abbey of Saint Foy, Conques, France, was one of many such abbeys to be built along the pilgrimage
Way of St James The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...
that led to
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
. File:Périgueux 3.JPG, alt=The plan of the Church of Saint Front, Périgueux, France, was influenced by Byzantine architecture seen by the Crusaders. The present appearance is largely due to restorer Paul Abadie, mid-19th Century, The plan of the Church of Saint Front, Périgueux, France, was influenced by Byzantine architecture seen by the Crusaders. The present appearance is largely due to restorer
Paul Abadie Paul Abadie (9 November 1812 – 3 August 1884) was a French architect and building restorer. He is considered a central representative of French historicism. He was the son of architect Paul Abadie Sr. Abadie worked on the restoration of Not ...
, mid-19th Century. File:Toulouse - View on Saint Sernin.jpg, The
basilica of Saint-Sernin The Basilica of Saint-Sernin (Occitan: ''Basilica de Sant Sarnin'') is a church in Toulouse, France, the former abbey church of the Abbey of Saint-Sernin or St Saturnin. Apart from the church, none of the abbey buildings remain. The current churc ...
in
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
is the archetype of large pilgrimage churches, where pilgrims could walk around the church via the transept and the choir chapels.


Characteristics

The general impression given by Romanesque architecture, in both ecclesiastical and secular buildings, is one of massive solidity and strength. In contrast with both the preceding
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
and later
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...
, in which the load-bearing structural members are, or appear to be, columns, pilasters and arches, Romanesque architecture, in common with Byzantine architecture, relies upon its walls, or sections of walls called piers. Romanesque architecture is often divided into two periods known as the " First Romanesque" style and the "Romanesque" style. The difference is chiefly a matter of the expertise with which the buildings were constructed. The First Romanesque employed rubble walls, smaller windows and unvaulted roofs. A greater refinement marks the Second Romanesque, along with increased use of the vault and dressed stone.


Walls

The walls of Romanesque buildings are often of massive thickness with few and comparatively small openings. They are often double shells, filled with rubble. The building material differs greatly across Europe, depending upon the local stone and building traditions. In Italy, Poland, much of Germany and parts of the Netherlands, brick is generally used. Other areas saw extensive use of limestone, granite and flint. The building stone was often used in comparatively small and irregular pieces, bedded in thick mortar. Smooth ashlar masonry was not a distinguishing feature of the style, particularly in the earlier part of the period, but occurred chiefly where easily worked limestone was available.Rene Hyughe, ''Larousse Encyclopedia of Byzantine and Medieval Art''


Buttresses

Because of the massive nature of Romanesque walls,
buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral ( ...
es are not a highly significant feature, as they are in Gothic architecture. Romanesque buttresses are generally of flat square profile and do not project a great deal beyond the wall. In the case of aisled churches, barrel vaults, or half-barrel vaults over the aisles helped to buttress the nave, if it was vaulted. In the cases where half-barrel vaults were used, they effectively became like
flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
es. Often aisles extended through two storeys, rather than the one usual in Gothic architecture, so as to better support the weight of a vaulted nave. In the case of Durham Cathedral, flying buttresses have been employed, but are hidden inside the triforium gallery. File:Abaziasanvittorefrasassi.jpg, alt=A small church sits on a steep rise, surrounded by craggy mountains. It is basically square with three bulging projections and a castle-like tower., The monastery of
San Vittore alle Chiuse San Vittore alle Chiuse is a Roman Catholic abbey and church in the ''comune'' of Genga, Marche, Italy. The edifice is known from the year 1011, and constitutes a notable example of Byzantine-influenced architecture in Italy. Description The rea ...
, Genga, Italy, of undressed stone, has a typically fortress-like appearance with small windows of early Romanesque. File:Castle-rising-castle.JPG, alt=A large square castle keep of pinkish-grey stone, with a projecting entrance tower, has architectural details to its windows, mouldings and stonework.,
Castle Rising Castle Castle Rising is a ruined medieval fortification in the village of Castle Rising, Norfolk, England. It was built soon after 1138 by William d'Aubigny II, who had risen through the ranks of the Anglo-Norman nobility to become the Earl of Arunde ...
, England, shows flat buttresses and reinforcing at the corners of the building typical in both castles and churches. File:FranceNormandieCerisyLaForetAbbaye.jpg, alt= A tall church of grey stone with fine details and a crossing tower topped with a slate-covered spire rises out of rural countryside, where two mares are grazing.,
Cerisy Abbey Cerisy Abbey, otherwise the Abbey of Saint Vigor (french: Abbaye de Cerisy, Abbaye Saint-Vigor de Cerisy), located in Cerisy-la-Forêt (near Saint-Lô), Manche, France, was an important Rule of Saint Benedict, Benedictine monastery of Normandy. ...
,
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, France, has a compact appearance with aisles rising through two storeys buttressing the vault. File:StAlbansCathedral-PS01.JPG, alt=A long, low cathedral has a fine Norman brick crossing-tower rising in three stages of round-topped paired windows. The rest of the building is a conglomeration of styles in ancient brick, modern brick, ashlar and flint.,
St Albans Cathedral St Albans Cathedral, officially the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban but often referred to locally as "the Abbey", is a Church of England cathedral in St Albans, England. Much of its architecture dates from Norman times. It ceased to be ...
England, demonstrates the typical alterations made to the fabric of many Romanesque buildings in different styles and materials


Arches and openings

The arches used in Romanesque architecture are nearly always semicircular, for openings such as doors and windows, for vaults and for arcades. Wide doorways are usually surmounted by a semi-circular arch, except where a door with a lintel is set into a large arched recess and surmounted by a semi-circular "lunette" with decorative carving. These doors sometimes have a carved central jamb. Narrow doors and small windows might be surmounted by a solid stone lintel. Larger openings are nearly always arched. A characteristic feature of Romanesque architecture, both ecclesiastic and domestic, is the pairing of two arched windows or arcade openings, separated by a pillar or colonette and often set within a larger arch. Ocular windows are common in Italy, particularly in the facade gable and are also seen in Germany. Later Romanesque churches may have wheel windows or rose windows with
plate tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...
. There are a very small number of buildings in the Romanesque style, such as
Autun Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Lazarus of Autun (french: Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d'Autun), commonly known as Autun Cathedral a Roman Catholic cathedral in Autun and a national monument of France. Famous for its Cluniac inspiration and its Romanesque scu ...
in France and
Monreale Cathedral Monreale Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuova di Monreale; Duomo di Monreale) is a Catholic church in Monreale, Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. One of the greatest existent examples of Norman architecture, it wa ...
in Sicily in which pointed arches have been used extensively, apparently for stylistic reasons. It is believed that in these cases there is a direct imitation of
Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ...
. At other late Romanesque churches such as Durham Cathedral, and Cefalù Cathedral, the pointed arch was introduced as a structural device in ribbed vaulting. Its increasing application was fundamental to the development of
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...
.


Arcades

An arcade is a row of arches, supported on piers or columns. They occur in the interior of large churches, separating the nave from the aisles, and in large secular interiors spaces, such as the great hall of a castle, supporting the timbers of a roof or upper floor. Arcades also occur in cloisters and atriums, enclosing an open space. Arcades can occur in storeys or stages. While the arcade of a cloister is typically of a single stage, the arcade that divides the nave and aisles in a church is typically of two stages, with a third stage of window openings known as the clerestory rising above them. Arcading on a large scale generally fulfils a structural purpose, but it is also used, generally on a smaller scale, as a decorative feature, both internally and externally where it is frequently " blind arcading" with only a wall or a narrow passage behind it. File:9986 - Milano - Sant'Ambrogio - Atrio - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 25-Apr-2007.jpg, alt=The facade and forecourt of a redbrick church are composed of simple arcades. A brick tower rises up to one side., The atrium and arcaded narthex of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, Italy, is a harmonious composition of similar arches. File:Le Puy en Velay 03.jpg, alt=A highly ornamental church facade built in alternating courses of red and white stone., The facade of Notre Dame du Puy, le Puy en Velay, France, has a more complex arrangement of diversified arches: Doors of varying widths, blind arcading, windows and open arcades. File:Nivelles JPG00 (5) lighter sky.JPG, alt=A tall rectangular structure of grey stone and stern appearance with a jutting apse and a small octagonal belfry.,
Collegiate Church of Saint Gertrude, Nivelles The Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude is a historical building in Nivelles, Walloon Brabant, Wallonia, Belgium, which was built in the 11th century. Saint Gertude is the patron saint of cats. History This church was built to serve the Abbe ...
, Belgium, uses fine shafts of Belgian marble to define alternating blind openings and windows. Upper windows are similarly separated into two openings by colonettes. File:Detall de la Catedral de Worms sky adj.JPG, alt=The apsidal end of a tall red stone church framed by circular towers.,
Worms Cathedral St Peter's Cathedral (German: ''Wormser Dom'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral in Worms, southern Germany. The cathedral is located on the highest point of the inner city of Worms and is the most important building of the Roma ...
, Germany, displays a great variety of openings and arcades including wheel and rose windows, many small simple windows, galleries and Lombard courses. File:Abadia de Saint-Pierre de Moissac - Portalada sud.JPG, alt=A very large porch of yellowish stone, with a single enormous, slightly pointed archway, juts from the side of a building., The south portal of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, has a square door divided by an ornate doorpost, surmounted by a carved tympanum and set within a vast arched porch.


Piers

In Romanesque architecture,
pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
s were often employed to support arches. They were built of masonry and square or rectangular in section, generally having a horizontal moulding representing a capital at the springing of the arch. Sometimes piers have vertical shafts attached to them, and may also have horizontal mouldings at the level of the base. Although basically rectangular, piers can often be of highly complex form, with half-segments of large hollow-core columns on the inner surface supporting the arch, or a clustered group of smaller shafts leading into the mouldings of the arch. Piers that occur at the intersection of two large arches, such as those under the crossing of the nave and transept, are commonly cruciform in shape, each arch having its own supporting rectangular pier at right angles to the other.


Columns

Columns are an important structural feature of Romanesque architecture. Colonnettes and attached shafts are also used structurally and for decoration. Monolithic columns cut from a single piece of stone were frequently used in Italy, as they had been in Roman and Early Christian architecture. They were also used, particularly in Germany, when they alternated between more massive piers. Arcades of columns cut from single pieces are also common in structures that do not bear massive weights of masonry, such as cloisters, where they are sometimes paired.


Salvaged columns

In Italy, during this period, a great number of antique Roman columns were salvaged and reused in the interiors and on the porticos of churches. The most durable of these columns are of marble and have the stone horizontally bedded. The majority are vertically bedded and are sometimes of a variety of colours. They may have retained their original Roman capitals, generally of the
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...
or Roman Composite style. Some buildings, like
Santa Maria in Cosmedin The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin or ''de Schola Graeca'') is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa. History According to Byzantine historian Andrew Ekonom ...
(illustrated above) and the atrium at
San Clemente San Clemente (; Spanish for " St. Clement") is a city in Orange County, California. Located in the Orange Coast region of the South Coast of California, San Clemente's population was 64,293 in at the 2020 census. Situated roughly midway between ...
in Rome, may have an odd assortment of columns in which large capitals are placed on short columns and small capitals are placed on taller columns to even the height. Architectural compromises of this type are seen where materials have been salvaged from a number of buildings. Salvaged columns were also used to a lesser extent in France.


Drum columns

In most parts of Europe, Romanesque columns were massive, as they supported thick upper walls with small windows, and sometimes heavy vaults. The most common method of construction was to build them out of stone cylinders called drums, as in the crypt at
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
.


Hollow core columns

Where really massive columns were called for, such as those at Durham Cathedral, they were constructed of ashlar masonry and the hollow core was filled with rubble. These huge untapered columns are sometimes ornamented with incised decorations.


Alternation

A common characteristic of Romanesque buildings, occurring both in churches and in the arcades that separate large interior spaces of castles, is the alternation of piers and columns. The most simple form that this takes is to have a column between each adjoining pier. Sometimes the columns are in multiples of two or three. At
St. Michael's, Hildesheim The Church of St. Michael (german: Michaeliskirche) is an early- Romanesque church in Hildesheim, Germany. It has been on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list (along with the nearby Hildesheim Cathedral) since 1985 because of its outstanding Rom ...
, an A B B A alternation occurs in the nave while an A B A alternation can be seen in the transepts. At
Jumièges Jumièges () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in north-western France. Geography A forestry and farming village situated in a meander of the river Seine, some west of Rouen, at the junction of the D 65 and th ...
there are tall drum columns between piers each of which has a half-column supporting the arch. There are many variations on this theme, most notably at Durham Cathedral where the mouldings and shafts of the piers are of exceptional richness and the huge masonry columns are deeply incised with geometric patterns. Often the arrangement was made more complex by the complexity of the piers themselves, so that it was not piers and columns that alternated, but rather, piers of entirely different form from each other, such as those of Sant' Ambrogio, Milan, where the nature of the vault dictated that the alternate piers bore a great deal more weight than the intermediate ones and are thus very much larger. File:Hildesheim St Michael alternation of arcade.jpg, St Michael's,
Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the L ...
, shows two columns set between the piers. File:Mainzer Dom Wandaufriss.jpg, alt=Mainz Cathedral, Germany, has rectangular piers and possibly the earliest example of an internal elevation of 3 stages. (Gothic vault),
Mainz Cathedral , native_name_lang = , image = Mainzer Dom nw.jpg , imagesize = , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , relief = , map caption = , iso regi ...
, Germany, has rectangular piers and possibly the earliest example of an internal elevation of three stages. (Gothic vault) File:MalmesburyAbbey.JPG,
Malmesbury Abbey Malmesbury Abbey, at Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England, is a religious house dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. It was one of the few English houses with a continuous history from the 7th century through to the dissolution of the monasteri ...
, England, has hollow core columns, probably filled with rubble. (Gothic vault) File:SantCompostela21.jpg, The
cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...
, Spain, has large drum columns with attached shafts supporting a barrel vault. File:Durham.2.jpg, Durham Cathedral, England, has decorated masonry columns alternating with piers of clustered shafts supporting the earliest pointed high ribs.


Capitals

The foliate
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...
style provided the inspiration for many Romanesque capitals, and the accuracy with which they were carved depended very much on the availability of original models, those in Italian churches such as
Pisa Cathedral Pisa Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the t ...
or church of Sant'Alessandro in Lucca and southern France being much closer to the Classical than those in England. The Corinthian capital is essentially round at the bottom where it sits on a circular column and square at the top, where it supports the wall or arch. This form of capital was maintained in the general proportions and outline of the Romanesque capital. This was achieved most simply by cutting a rectangular block and taking the four lower corners off at an angle so that the block was square at the top, but octagonal at the bottom, as can be seen at St. Michael's Hildesheim. This shape lent itself to a wide variety of superficial treatments, sometimes foliate in imitation of the source, but often figurative. In Northern Europe the foliate capitals generally bear far more resemblance to the intricacies of manuscript illumination than to Classical sources. In parts of France and Italy there are strong links to the pierced capitals of Byzantine architecture. It is in the figurative capitals that the greatest originality is shown. While some are dependent on manuscripts illustrations of Biblical scenes and depictions of beasts and monsters, others are lively scenes of the legends of local saints. The capitals, while retaining the form of a square top and a round bottom, were often compressed into little more than a bulging cushion-shape. This is particularly the case on large masonry columns, or on large columns that alternate with piers as at Durham.(See illustrated above) File:PM 33323 P Lourosa.jpg, Simple capital of a Doric form supporting a Mozarabic arch, São Pedro de Lourosa Church, Portugal File:Capitel en la Torre de Pisa.JPG, Capital of Corinthian form with anthropomorphised details, Pisa Campanile, Italy File:Fromista - Iglesia San Martin 20.jpg, Capital of Corinthian form with Byzantine decoration and carved dosseret, San Martín de Tours,
Frómista Frómista is a municipality located in the Palencia (province), province of Palencia, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2009 data (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality had a population of 822 inhabitants. ...
, Palencia File:San Martín de Castañeda capital1116.JPG, alt=Capital of simplified concave Corinthian form with billeted abacus, simple dosseret and pronounced annulet. Church of Santa Maria, San Martín de Castañeda, Spain, Capital of simplified concave Corinthian form with billeted abacus, simple dosseret and pronounced annulet. Church of Santa Maria, San Martín de Castañeda, Spain. File:Herina capital crop.jpg, Capital of convex cubic form with its abacus, concave dosseret and cable decoration defined by polychrome. Herina. Capitals of this shape are often decorated with "Barbaric" carvings of foliage, and mythical creatures. File:Abbaye de la Sauve Majeure - Interlaced Asps.JPG, Capital retaining Corinthian form decorated with intertwined beasts derived from
Irish manuscripts This is a list of manuscripts produced in Ireland as well as other manuscripts of Irish interest, including both vellum and paper manuscripts. See also *Cín Dromma Snechtai *Irish Manuscripts Commission Notes Sources *General: ** *Brussels: ...
. Grande-Sauve Abbey, France File:Capitel románico.jpg, alt=Capital of amorphous form surmounting a cluster of shafts. The figurative carving shows a winged devil directing Herod to slaughter the Innocents. Monastery of San Juan de Duero, Soria, Spain, Capital of amorphous form surmounting a cluster of shafts. The figurative carving shows a winged devil directing Herod to slaughter the Innocents. Monastery of San Juan de Duero, Soria, Spain.


Vaults and roofs

The majority of buildings have wooden roofs, generally of a simple ''truss'', ''tie beam'' or ''king post'' form. In the case of trussed rafter roofs, they are sometimes lined with wooden ceilings in three sections like those that survive at Ely and
Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
cathedrals in England. In churches, typically the aisles are vaulted, but the nave is roofed with timber, as is the case at both Peterborough and Ely. In Italy where open wooden roofs are common, and tie beams frequently occur in conjunction with vaults, the timbers have often been decorated as at
San Miniato al Monte San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic ...
, Florence. Vaults of stone or brick took on several different forms and showed marked development during the period, evolving into the pointed ribbed arch characteristic of
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...
.


Barrel vault

The simplest type of vaulted roof is the barrel vault in which a single arched surface extends from wall to wall, the length of the space to be vaulted, for example, the nave of a church. An important example, which retains Medieval paintings, is the vault of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe, France, of the early 12th century. However, the barrel vault generally required the support of solid walls, or walls in which the windows were very small.


Groin vault

Groin vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...
s occur in early Romanesque buildings, notably at
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
where the high vault of about 1060 is the first employment in Romanesque architecture of this type of vault for a wide nave. In later buildings employing ribbed vaultings, groin vaults are most frequently used for the less visible and smaller vaults, particularly in crypts and aisles. A groin vault is almost always square in plan and is constructed of two barrel vaults intersecting at right angles. Unlike a ribbed vault, the entire arch is a structural member. Groin vaults are frequently separated by transverse arched ribs of low profile as at Speyer and
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...
. At Sainte Marie Madeleine, Vézelay, the ribs are square in section, strongly projecting and polychrome.Nikolaus Pevsner, ''An Outline of European Architecture''


Ribbed vault

Ribbed vault A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic a ...
s came into general use in the 12th century. In ribbed vaults, not only are there ribs spanning the vaulted area transversely, but each vaulted bay has diagonal ribs, following the same course as the groins in a groin vault. However, whereas in a groin vault, the vault itself is the structural member, in a ribbed vault, it is the ribs that are the structural members, and the spaces between them can be filled with lighter, non-structural material.Banister Fletcher, p. 307 Because Romanesque arches are nearly always semi-circular, the structural and design problem inherent in the ribbed vault is that the diagonal span is larger and therefore higher than the transverse span. The Romanesque builders used a number of solutions to this problem. One was to have the centre point where the diagonal ribs met as the highest point, with the infill of all the surfaces sloping upwards towards it, in a domical manner. This solution was employed in Italy at
San Michele, Pavia The Basilica of San Michele Maggiore is a Roman Catholic church in Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. The building, dating to the 11-12th centuries, is a well-preserved example of the Lombard- Romanesque style. History Archeological evidence, s ...
, and Sant' Ambrogio, Milan. The solution employed in England was to stilt the transverse ribs, maintaining a horizontal central line to the roof like that of a barrel vault. The diagonal ribs could also be depressed, a solution used on the sexpartite vaults at both the Saint-Étienne, ( Abbaye-aux-Hommes) and Sainte-Trinité, ( Abbaye-aux-Dames) at Caen, France, in the late 11th and early 12th centuries.


Pointed arched vault

The problems encountered in the structure and appearance of vaults was solved late in the Romanesque period with the introduction of pointed arched ribs which allowed the height of both diagonal and transverse ribs to be varied in proportion to each other. Pointed ribs made their first appearance in the transverse ribs of the vaults at Durham Cathedral in northern England, dating from 1128. Durham is a cathedral of massive Romanesque proportions and appearance, yet its builders introduced several structural features that were new to architectural design and were later to be hallmark features of the Gothic. Another Gothic structural feature employed at Durham is the
flying buttress The flying buttress (''arc-boutant'', arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey lateral forces to the ground that are necessary to pu ...
. However, these are hidden beneath the roofs of the aisles. The earliest pointed vault in France is that of the narthex of La Madeleine, Vézelay, dating from 1130. They were subsequently employed with the development of the Gothic style at the east end of the Basilica of St Denis in Paris in 1140. An early ribbed vault in the Romanesque architecture of Sicily is that of the chancel at the
Cathedral of Cefalù A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...
.


Domes

Domes in Romanesque architecture are generally found within
crossing tower A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church. In a typically oriented church (especially of Romanesque and Gothic styles), the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, ...
s at the intersection of a church's
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
and
transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
, which conceal the domes externally. Called a ''tiburio'', this tower-like structure often has a blind arcade near the roof. Romanesque domes are typically octagonal in plan and use corner squinches to translate a square bay into a suitable octagonal base. Octagonal cloister vaults appear "in connection with basilicas almost throughout Europe" between 1050 and 1100. The precise form differs from region to region. File:Saint-Savin nef.jpg, alt=A tall narrow church interior with rounds columns in delicate pastel colours that rise without interruption from floor to vault., The painted barrel vault at the Abbey Church of Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe is supported on tall marbled columns. File:Lisboa IMG 6823 (20933435239).jpg, The nave of Lisbon Cathedral is covered by a series of transverse barrel vaults separated by transverse arches and has an upper, arched gallery (triforium). File:TournusTonnengewölbe.jpg, alt= A church interior of yellow stone with arches of alternating red and cream crossing the nave to support an unusual vaulting system., The Church of St Philibert, Tournus, has a series of transverse barrel vaults supported on diaphragm arches. File:F08.Mozac.0191.JPG, alt=A narrow space with grey columns with ornate capitals supporting a plastered cross vault without ribs., The aisle of the Abbey Church at Mozac has groin vaults supported on transverse arches. File:Peterborough south choir aisle.JPG, alt=A side aisle with masonry of massive proportions is ribbed with arches of a bold profile., The aisles at
Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Pau ...
have quadripartite ribbed vaults. (The nave has an ancient painted wooden ceiling.) File:Abbaye aux hommes intérieur 03.jpeg, alt=A tall wide church of grey stone, elegantly vaulted with fine ribs., The ribbed vaults at Saint-Étienne, Caen, are sexpartite and span two bays of the nave. File:Speyer (DerHexer) 2010-12-19 014 vertical.jpg, The crossing of
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
, Germany, has a dome on squinches.


Ecclesiastical architecture


Plan

Many parish churches, abbey churches and cathedrals are in the Romanesque style, or were originally built in the Romanesque style and have subsequently undergone changes. The simplest Romanesque churches are aisleless halls with a projecting apse at the chancel end, or sometimes, particularly in England, a projecting rectangular chancel with a chancel arch that might be decorated with mouldings. More ambitious churches have aisles separated from the nave by arcades. Abbey and cathedral churches generally follow the
Latin Cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...
plan. In England, the extension eastward may be long, while in Italy it is often short or non-existent, the church being of T plan, sometimes with apses on the transept ends as well as to the east. In France the church of St Front, Périgueux, appears to have been modelled on St. Mark's Basilica, Venice, or the Byzantine
Church of the Holy Apostles The Church of the Holy Apostles ( el, , ''Agioi Apostoloi''; tr, Havariyyun Kilisesi), also known as the ''Imperial Polyándreion'' (imperial cemetery), was a Byzantine Eastern Orthodox church in Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman E ...
and is of a
Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
plan with five domes. In the same region,
Angoulême Cathedral Angoulême Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême) is a Roman Catholic church in Angoulême, Charente, France. The cathedral is in the Romanesque architectural and sculptural tradition, and is the seat of the Bishop of Angoul ...
is an aisleless church of the Latin cross plan, more usual in France, but is also roofed with domes. In Germany, Romanesque churches are often of distinctive form, having apses at both east and west ends, the main entrance being central to one side. It is probable that this form came about to accommodate a baptistery at the west end. NOTE: The plans below do not show the buildings in their current states. File:Dehio I 42 St Gallen.jpg, The plan of the Abbey of St Gall, Switzerland File:Dehio 48 Speyer.jpg, Germany,
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
File:Plan.cathedrale.Autun.png, France,
Autun Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Lazarus of Autun (french: Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d'Autun), commonly known as Autun Cathedral a Roman Catholic cathedral in Autun and a national monument of France. Famous for its Cluniac inspiration and its Romanesque scu ...
File:Plan.cathedrale.Angouleme.png, France,
Angoulême Cathedral Angoulême Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême) is a Roman Catholic church in Angoulême, Charente, France. The cathedral is in the Romanesque architectural and sculptural tradition, and is the seat of the Bishop of Angoul ...
File:ElyPlanDehio vertical.jpg, England, Ely Cathedral File:Santiago de Compostela plan vertical.jpg, Spain,
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...
File:Plan-st-Sernin-Toulouse.png, France, Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse File:San Isidoro Plan Vertical.JPG, Spain, San Isidoro de León File:Modena cathedral vertical.JPG,
Modena Cathedral Modena Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta e San Geminiano but colloquially known as simply ''Duomo di Modena'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Modena, Italy, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint ...
The Abbey Church of St. Gall, Switzerland, shows the plan that was to become common throughout Germanic Europe. It is a
Latin Cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...
with a comparatively long nave and short transepts and eastern end, which is apsidal. The nave is aisled, but the chancel and transepts are not. It has an apsidal west end, which was to become a feature of Churches of Germany, such as
Worms Cathedral St Peter's Cathedral (German: ''Wormser Dom'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral in Worms, southern Germany. The cathedral is located on the highest point of the inner city of Worms and is the most important building of the Roma ...
.
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
, Germany, also has aisleless transept and chancel. It has a markedly modular look. A typical Germanic characteristic is the presence of towers framing the chancel and the west end. There is marked emphasis on the western entrance, called ''Westwerk'', which is seen in several other churches. Each vault compartment covers two narrow bays of the nave At
Autun Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Lazarus of Autun (french: Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d'Autun), commonly known as Autun Cathedral a Roman Catholic cathedral in Autun and a national monument of France. Famous for its Cluniac inspiration and its Romanesque scu ...
, France, the pattern of the nave bays and aisles extends beyond the crossing and into the chancel, each aisle terminating in an apse. Each nave bay is separated at the vault by a transverse rib. Each transept projects to the width of two nave bays. The entrance has a narthex which screens the main portal. This type of entrance was to be elaborated in the Gothic period on the transepts at Chartres.
Angoulême Cathedral Angoulême Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême) is a Roman Catholic church in Angoulême, Charente, France. The cathedral is in the Romanesque architectural and sculptural tradition, and is the seat of the Bishop of Angoul ...
, France, is one of several instances in which the Byzantine churches of Constantinople seem to have been influential in the design in which the main spaces are roofed by domes. This structure has necessitated the use of very thick walls, and massive piers from which the domes spring. There are radiating chapels around the apse, which is a typically French feature and was to evolve into the chevet. As was typically the case in England, Ely Cathedral was a Benedictine monastery, serving both monastic and secular function. To facilitate this, the chancel or "presbytery" is longer than usually found in Europe, as are the aisled transepts which contained chapels. In England, emphasis was placed on the orientation of the chapels to the east. The very large piers at the crossing signify that there was once a tower. The western end having two round towers flanking a tall central tower was unique in Britain. Ely Cathedral was never vaulted and retains a wooden ceiling over the nave. The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela shares many features with Ely, but is typically Spanish in its expansive appearance. Santiago held the body of St. James and was the most significant pilgrimage site in Europe. The narthex, the aisles, the large aisled transepts and numerous projecting chapels reflect this. The chancel is short, compared to that of Ely, and the altar set so as to provide clear view to a vast congregation simultaneously. The basilica Saint-Sernin of Toulouse is a typical example of a pilgrimage church. It is very large and its interior plan made it possible to direct traffic. With double side aisles and with an aisled transept and an ambulatory surrounding the apse, pilgrims could make the circuit around the church and were able to stop for meditation and prayer at the apsidal chapels of the transept and the radiating chapels of the choir.
Modena Cathedral Modena Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana di Santa Maria Assunta e San Geminiano but colloquially known as simply ''Duomo di Modena'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Modena, Italy, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and Saint ...
shows a typically Italian Romanesque plan, often architecturally termed a "
basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
", because of its similarity in plan to a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
basilicas.


Section

In section, the typical aisled church or cathedral has a nave with a single aisle on either side. The nave and aisles are separated by an arcade carried on piers or on columns. The roof of the aisle and the outer walls help to buttress the upper walls and vault of the nave, if present. Above the aisle roof are a row of windows known as the clerestory, which give light to the nave. During the Romanesque period there was a development from this two-stage elevation to a three-stage elevation in which there is a gallery, known as a ''
triforium A triforium is an interior gallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto the nave from above the side aisles; it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be locat ...
'', between the arcade and the clerestory. This varies from a simple blind arcade decorating the walls, to a narrow arcaded passage, to a fully developed second story with a row of windows lighting the gallery. File:Dehio I 56 Konstanz Section.jpg, This drawing is a reconstruction by Dehio of the appearance of the Romanesque
Konstanz Cathedral Konstanz Minster or Konstanz Cathedral (german: Konstanzer Münster) is a historical building in Konstanz, southern Germany, the proto-cathedral of the former Roman Catholic diocese of Konstanz (dissolved in 1821). History The first mention o ...
before its alterations in the Gothic style. It has a typical elevation of nave and aisles with wooden panelled ceilings and an apsidal east end. File:Kloster arnsburg zisterzienser klosterkirche aufriss langhaus dehio 1888.jpg, alt=This nave elevation of Arnsburg Abbey, Germany, shows the typical arrangement of the nave arcade, aisle, clerestory windows and ribbed vault, This nave elevation of Arnsburg Abbey, Germany, shows the typical arrangement of the nave arcade, aisle, clerestory windows and ribbed vault. File:PeterElevDetailDehio.jpg, Exterior elevation,
Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Pau ...


Church and cathedral east ends

The eastern end of a Romanesque church is almost always semi-circular, with either a high chancel surrounded by an ambulatory as in France, or a square end from which an apse projects as in Germany and Italy. Where square ends exist in English churches, they are probably influenced by Anglo-Saxon churches. Peterborough and Norwich Cathedrals have retained round east ends in the French style. However, in France, simple churches without apses and with no decorative features were built by the Cistercians who also founded many houses in England, frequently in remote areas. File:PM 33251 P Lourosa.jpg, alt=Rural church of São Pedro de Lourosa, Portugal, built in the 10th century it has the simplest type of square-shape apsidal east end., Rural church of São Pedro de Lourosa, Portugal, built in the 10th century. It has the simplest type of square-shape apsidal east end. File:Xhignesse JPG02.jpg, The small church of Saint-Pierre Xhignesse, Belgium, already has a semi-circular termination at the same height as the choir and nave. File:Romanesque church of Saint-Andreas Szprotawa, Poland.jpg, The small church of Saint-Andreas
Szprotawa Szprotawa (german: Sprottau) is a town in western Poland, in Żagań County, Lubusz Voivodeship. It has 11,820 inhabitants (2019). History The region was part of Poland after the emergence of the Piast monarchy in the 10th century. The first me ...
, Poland, built in the 13th century has an apsidal east end projecting from a chancel. File:Seu urgell.jpg, The
Cathedral of Santa Maria d'Urgell La Seu d'Urgell Cathedral, otherwise Urgel Cathedral of the Cathedral of Santa Maria d'Urgell, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the city of la Seu d'Urgell ( Alt Urgell) in Catalonia. It is the seat of the Bishops of Urgell, who are al ...
, Catalonia, has an apsidal east end projecting at a lower level to the choir and decorated with an arcade below the roofline. This form is usual in Italy and Germany. File:Abbazia di Sant'Antimo J.JPG, alt=The Abbey of Sant'Antimo has a high apsidal end surrounded by an ambulatory and with small projecting apses, The
Abbey of Sant'Antimo The Abbey of Sant'Antimo, it, Abbazia di Sant'Antimo, is a former Benedictine monastery located in Castelnuovo dell'Abate, in the comune of Montalcino, Tuscany, central Italy. It is approximately 10 km from Montalcino about 9 km from t ...
has a high apsidal end surrounded by an ambulatory and with small projecting apses. File:F06.Nevers St.-Etienne.1066.JPG, alt=Saint-Étienne, Nevers, displays a round chancel with ambulatory, apsidal chapels and strongly projecting transepts, Saint-Étienne, Nevers, displays a round chancel with ambulatory, apsidal chapels and strongly projecting transepts.


Church and cathedral façades and external decoration

Romanesque church facades, generally to the west end of the building, are usually symmetrical, have a large central portal made significant by its mouldings or porch, and an arrangement of arched-topped windows. In Italy there is often a single central ocular or wheel window. The common decorative feature is arcading. Smaller churches often have a single tower that is usually placed to the western end in France or England, either centrally or to one side, while larger churches and cathedrals often have two. In France, Saint-Étienne, Caen, presents the model of a large French Romanesque facade. It is a symmetrical arrangement of nave flanked by two tall towers each with two buttresses of low flat profile that divide the facade into three vertical units. The lowest stage is marked by large doors, each set within an arch in each of the three vertical sections. The wider central section has two tiers of three identical windows, while in the outer sections there are two tiers of single windows, giving emphasis to the mass of the towers. The towers rise above the facade through three further tiers, the lowest of tall blind arcading, the next of arcading pierced by two narrow windows and the third of two large windows, divided into two lights by a colonnette. This facade can be seen as the foundation for many other buildings, including both French and English Gothic churches. While the form is typical of northern France, its various components were common to many Romanesque churches of the period across Europe. Similar facades are found in Portugal. In England,
Southwell Cathedral Southwell Minster () is a minster and cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated miles from Newark-on-Trent and from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and N ...
has maintained this form, despite the insertion of a huge Gothic window between the towers.
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
and
Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
must once have looked like this. In Germany,
Limburg Cathedral Limburg Cathedral (german: Limburger Dom, also known as ''Georgsdom'' ("George's Cathedral") after its dedication to Saint George, is located above the old town of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg ...
has a rich variety of openings and arcades in horizontal storeys of varying heights. The churches of San Zeno Maggiore, Verona, and
San Michele, Pavia The Basilica of San Michele Maggiore is a Roman Catholic church in Pavia, region of Lombardy, Italy. The building, dating to the 11-12th centuries, is a well-preserved example of the Lombard- Romanesque style. History Archeological evidence, s ...
, present two types of facade that are typical of Italian Romanesque, that which reveals the architectural form of the building, and that which screens it. At San Zeno, the components of nave and aisles are made clear by the vertical shafts that rise to the level of the central gable and by the varying roof levels. At
San Miniato al Monte San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic ...
the definition of the architectural parts is made even clearer by the
polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...
marble, a feature of many Italian Medieval facades, particularly in Tuscany. At San Michele the vertical definition is present as at San Zeno, but the rooflines are screened behind a single large gable decorated with stepped arcading. At
Santa Maria della Pieve Santa Maria della Pieve is a church in Arezzo, Tuscany, central Italy. History The church is documented since as early as 1008, and, during the communal period of Arezzo, it was the stronghold of the city's struggle against its bishops. After ...
, Arezzo, this screening is carried even further, as the roofline is horizontal and the arcading rises in many different levels while the colonettes that support them have a great diversity of decoration. In the
Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...
and Netherlands the Carolingian form of west end known as the
westwerk A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interio ...
prevailed. Towers and apse of the western end are often incorporated into a multi-storey structure that bears little structural or visual relationship to the building behind it. These westwerks take a great variety of forms as may be seen at
Maria Laach Abbey Maria Laach Abbey (in German: ''Abtei Maria Laach'', in Latin: ''Abbatia Maria Lacensis'' or ''Abbatia Maria ad Lacum'') is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See (Lake Laach), near Andernach, in the Eifel ...
, St Gertrude, Nivelles, and St Serviatius, Maastricht. File:Coimbra Old Cathedral - Sé Velha de Coimbra crop.JPG, The
Old Cathedral of Coimbra The Old Cathedral of Coimbra ( pt, Sé Velha de Coimbra) is a Romanesque Roman Catholic building in Portugal. Construction of the Sé Velha began some time after the Battle of Ourique (1139), when Prince Afonso Henriques declared himself King ...
, Portugal, is fortress-like and battlemented. The two central openings are deeply recessed. File:Arles kirche st trophime fassade sky.JPG,
Church of St. Trophime The Church of St. Trophime (french: Cathédrale Saint-Trophime d'Arles) (''Trophimus'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral located in the city of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône Department of southern France. It was built between the ...
,
Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...
, France. The ornamentation is focused on the porch and the carved Christ in Majesty on the tympanum, typical of French cathedrals. File:Verona Zeno-cropped.JPG, alt=Church of San Zeno, Verona, Italy, The facade is neatly divided vertically and horizontally. The central wheel window and small porch with columns resting on crouching lions is typical of Italy., Church of
San Zeno, Verona The Basilica di San Zeno (also known as ''San Zeno Maggiore'' or ''San Zenone'') is a minor basilica of Verona, northern Italy constructed between 967 and 1398 AD. Its fame rests partly on its Romanesque architecture and partly upon the traditi ...
, Italy. The facade is neatly divided vertically and horizontally. The central
wheel window Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...
and small porch with columns resting on crouching lions is typical of Italy. File:Duomo di Pisa Front Facade 2009.jpg,
Pisa Cathedral Pisa Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the t ...
, Italy. The entire building is faced with marble striped in white and grey. On the facade this pattern is overlaid with architectonic decoration of blind arcading below tiers of dwarf galleries. The three portals became increasingly common. File:San michele facciata1.jpg, San Michele Maggiore,
Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...
, The façade has a higher profile than the roof of the central nave, and is embellished along the slopes by a small arcade. The façade is adorned with a large repertoire of sandstone sculptures, with a sacred but also profane theme. File:Empoli, collegiata 03.JPG, The
Collegiate Church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...
, Empoli, Italy, represents a screen facade. The polychrome marble decoration divides the facade into zones while giving little indication of the architectural form behind it. File:Angouleme cathedral StPierre ac.JPG,
Angoulême Cathedral Angoulême Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Pierre d'Angoulême) is a Roman Catholic church in Angoulême, Charente, France. The cathedral is in the Romanesque architectural and sculptural tradition, and is the seat of the Bishop of Angoul ...
, France. The facade here, richly decorated with architectonic and sculptural forms, has much in common with that at Empoli in that it screens the form of the building behind it.
File:Mairie de caen 030 crop.JPG, Saint-Étienne,
Abbaye aux Hommes An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...
, Caen, France, 11th century, with its tall towers, three portals and neat definition of architectural forms became a model for the facades of many later cathedrals across Europe. 14th-century spires File:St. Mary's Minster , West End - geograph.org.uk - 948257.jpg,
Southwell Cathedral Southwell Minster () is a minster and cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. It is situated miles from Newark-on-Trent and from Mansfield. It is the seat of the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham and the Diocese of Southwell and N ...
, England, 1120, follows the Norman model with pyramidal spires as were probably at Saint-Étienne. The Perpendicular window and battlement are late Gothic. File:Se de Lisboa Frente adj sky.JPG, Lisbon Cathedral, Portugal, 1147, has a similar form to the Old Cathedral of Coimbra above with the addition of two sturdy bell towers in the Norman manner and a wheel window. File:Limburg Cathedral, West facade 20140917 1.jpg,
Limburg Cathedral Limburg Cathedral (german: Limburger Dom, also known as ''Georgsdom'' ("George's Cathedral") after its dedication to Saint George, is located above the old town of Limburg in Hesse, Germany. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Limburg ...
, Germany. The facade, c. 1200, with polychrome plaster, follows the paired-tower model found at several
Rhineland The Rhineland (german: Rheinland; french: Rhénanie; nl, Rijnland; ksh, Rhingland; Latinised name: ''Rhenania'') is a loosely defined area of Western Germany along the Rhine, chiefly its middle section. Term Historically, the Rhinelands ...
churches. The rose window has
plate tracery Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone ''bars'' or ''ribs'' of moulding. Most commonly, it refers to the stonework elements that support the ...
and the spires are Rhenish helms. File:Maria Laach 02.jpg, The
westwork A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interio ...
of the
Maria Laach Abbey Maria Laach Abbey (in German: ''Abtei Maria Laach'', in Latin: ''Abbatia Maria Lacensis'' or ''Abbatia Maria ad Lacum'') is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See (Lake Laach), near Andernach, in the Eifel ...
, Germany, 12th century, (porch 1225) is typical of Germany, a form that dates to
Carolingian architecture Carolingian architecture is the style of north European Pre-Romanesque architecture belonging to the period of the Carolingian Renaissance of the late 8th and 9th centuries, when the Carolingian dynasty dominated west European politics. It was ...
with grouped towers of different plans and both "candle-snuffer" and Rhenish helm spires. File:Parma Dom Fassade4 adjusted.JPG,
Parma Cathedral Parma Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Parma; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. ...
, Italy, 1178, has a screen facade ornamented with galleries. At the centre is an open porch surmounted by a ceremonial balcony. The tower, (Gothic 1284) is a separate structure as usual in Italy.


Church towers

Towers were an important feature of Romanesque churches and a great number of them are still standing. They take a variety of forms: square, circular and octagonal, and are positioned differently in relation to the church building in different countries. In northern France, two large towers, such as those at Caen, were to become an integral part of the facade of any large abbey or cathedral. In central and southern France this is more variable and large churches may have one tower or a central tower. Large churches of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
usually have two towers. Many abbeys of France, such as that at Cluny, had many towers of varied forms. This is also common in Germany, where the apses were sometimes framed with circular towers and the crossing surmounted by an octagonal tower as at
Worms Cathedral St Peter's Cathedral (German: ''Wormser Dom'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral in Worms, southern Germany. The cathedral is located on the highest point of the inner city of Worms and is the most important building of the Roma ...
. Large paired towers of square plan could also occur on the transept ends, such as those at
Tournai Cathedral The Tournai Cathedral, or Cathedral of Our Lady (french: Notre-Dame de Tournai, nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Doornik), is a Roman Catholic church, see of the Diocese of Tournai in Tournai, Belgium. It has been classified both as a Wallonia's majo ...
in Belgium. In Germany, where four towers frequently occur, they often have spires that may be four or eight sided, or the distinctive ''Rhenish helm'' shape seen on the cathedrals of
Limburg Limburg or Limbourg may refer to: Regions * Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium * Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands * Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
or
Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
. In England, for large abbeys and cathedral buildings, three towers were favoured, with the central tower being the tallest. This was often not achieved, through the slow process of the building stages, and in many cases the upper parts of the tower were not completed until centuries later as at Durham and Lincoln. Large Norman towers exist at the cathedrals of Durham, Exeter, Southwell,
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
and
Tewkesbury Abbey The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury–commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey–is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of No ...
. Such towers were often topped during the late Medieval period with a
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
spire of wooden construction covered with lead, copper or shingles. In the case of Norwich Cathedral, the huge, ornate, 12th-century crossing-tower received a 15th-century masonry spire rising to a height of 320 feet and remaining to this day. In Italy towers are almost always free standing and the position is often dictated by the landform of the site, rather than aesthetics. This is the case in nearly all Italian churches both large and small, except in Sicily where a number of churches were founded by the Norman rulers and are more French in appearance. As a general rule, large Romanesque towers are square with corner buttresses of low profile, rising without diminishing through the various stages. Towers are usually marked into clearly defined stages by horizontal courses. As the towers rise, the number and size of openings increases as can be seen on the right tower of the transept of
Tournai Cathedral The Tournai Cathedral, or Cathedral of Our Lady (french: Notre-Dame de Tournai, nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Doornik), is a Roman Catholic church, see of the Diocese of Tournai in Tournai, Belgium. It has been classified both as a Wallonia's majo ...
where two narrow slits in the fourth level from the top becomes a single window, then two windows, then three windows at the uppermost level. This sort of arrangement is particularly noticeable on the towers of Italian churches, which are usually built of brick and may have no other ornament. Two fine examples occur at
Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...
, at the church of San Frediano and at the ''
Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...
''. It is also seen in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. In Italy there are a number of large free-standing towers that are circular, the most famous of these being the
Leaning Tower of Pisa The Leaning Tower of Pisa ( it, torre pendente di Pisa), or simply, the Tower of Pisa (''torre di Pisa'' ), is the ''campanile'', or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unst ...
. In other countries where circular towers occur, such as Germany, they are usually paired and often flank an apse. Circular towers are uncommon in England, but occur throughout the Early Medieval period in Ireland. Polygonal towers were often used on crossings and occur in France, Germany, Italy and Spain such as that of the Old Cathedral, Salamanca, which is covered by a dome supported on a ribbed vault. Smaller churches sometimes had bell-gables instead of towers, a feature which, according to some authors, is characteristic of the simplicity of much architecture in the Romanesque style. File:San Frediano, Lucca, Italy - tower.JPG, The tower of the
Basilica of San Frediano The Basilica of San Frediano is a Romanesque architecture, Romanesque church in Lucca, Italy, situated on the ''Piazza San Frediano''. History Fridianus (Frediano) was an Irish bishop of Lucca in the first half of the 6th century. He had a c ...
,
Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...
, has openings that graduate in number, typical of Italian and Spanish Romanesque campanile. (See pic. San Esteban, Segovia, below) File:Les tours de l'église abbatiale à Plankstetten en automne.JPG, Paired towers such as those of
Plankstetten Abbey Plankstetten Abbey (Kloster Plankstetten) is a monastery of the Benedictines located between Berching and Beilngries in Bavaria, Germany. It is a member of the Bavarian Congregation of the Benedictine Confederation. First foundation The monas ...
, are a typical feature of
Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n and Central European church architecture. (See image of Abbey Church of St James, Lébény, above) File:Abbaye de Cluny, 2010 crop.jpg, The octagonal crossing tower of the Abbey church at Cluny influenced the building of other polygonal crossing towers in France, Spain and Germany. (See pic. Maria Laach Abbey, above) File:Sunlit tower, Tewkesbury Abbey - geograph.org.uk - 1037432.jpg, The most massive Romanesque crossing tower is that at
Tewkesbury Abbey The Abbey Church of St Mary the Virgin, Tewkesbury–commonly known as Tewkesbury Abbey–is located in the English county of Gloucestershire. A former Benedictine monastery, it is now a parish church. Considered one of the finest examples of No ...
, in England, where large crossing towers are characteristic. (See pic. St Alban's Cathedral, above) File:Pisa - Campo Santo - Campanile 1 - 2005-08-08 10-15 4638.JPG, The
Leaning Tower of Pisa The Leaning Tower of Pisa ( it, torre pendente di Pisa), or simply, the Tower of Pisa (''torre di Pisa'' ), is the ''campanile'', or freestanding bell tower, of Pisa Cathedral. It is known for its nearly four-degree lean, the result of an unst ...
with its encircling arcades is the best known (and most richly decorated) of the many circular towers found in Italy.


Portals

Romanesque churches generally have a single portal centrally placed on the west front, the focus of decoration for the facade of the building. Some churches such as Saint-Étienne, Caen, (11th century) and
Pisa Cathedral Pisa Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the t ...
(late 12th century) had three western portals, in the manner of Early Christian basilicas. Many churches, both large and small, had lateral entrances that were commonly used by worshippers. Romanesque doorways have a character form, with the jambs having a series of receding planes, into each of which is set a circular shaft, all surmounted by a continuous abacus. The semi-circular arch which rises from the abacus has the same series planes and circular mouldings as the jambs.Banister Fletcher p. 309 There are typically four planes containing three shafts, but there may be as many as twelve shafts, symbolic of the apostles. The opening of the portal may be arched, or may be set with a lintel supporting a tympanum, generally carved, but in Italy sometimes decorated with mosaic or fresco. A carved tympanum generally constitutes the major sculptural work of a Romanesque church. The subject of the carving on a major portal may be Christ in Majesty or the Last Judgement. Lateral doors may include other subjects such as the
Birth of Christ The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is described in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judaea, his mother Mary was engaged to a man n ...
. The portal may be protected by a porch, with simple open porches being typical of Italy, and more elaborate structures typical of France and Spain. File:Verona Italy San Zeno DSC08235.JPG, alt=San Zeno, Verona, has a porch typical of Italy. The square-topped doorway is surmounted by a mosaic. To either side are marble reliefs showing the Fall of Man and the Life of Christ, San Zeno, Verona, has a porch typical of Italy. The square-topped doorway is surmounted by a mosaic. To either side are marble reliefs showing the
Fall of Man The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. * * * * The doctrine of the ...
and the Life of Christ. File:Lincoln cathedral Gallery of Kings.jpg, The mouldings of the arched central west door of Lincoln Cathedral are decorated by chevrons and other formal and figurative ornament typical of English Norman. The "Gallery of Kings" above the portal is Gothic File:Arles,ancienne cathédrale St Trophime,portail roman1190.jpg, The Basilica of Saint-Trophime, Arles, France, has an elaborate sculptural scheme which includes Christ in Majesty, a frieze extending over the lintel and a gallery of sculptured figures. File:SantiagoCompostela-PortaPlaterias-bis.jpg, The Porta de Praterías,
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...
, by Master Esteban, has two wide openings with tympanums supported on brackets. The sculptured frieze above is protected by an eave on corbels. File:Portal moissac.jpg, alt=The portal of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, has unusual features including the frieze of roundels on the lintel, the scalloped jambs and figures of prophets on the central jamb, The portal of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, has unusual features including the frieze of roundels on the lintel, the scalloped jambs and figures of prophets on the central jamb.


Interiors

The structure of large churches differed regionally and developed across the centuries. The use of piers of rectangular plan to support arcades was common, as at Mainz Cathedral and St Gertrude Nivelle, and remained usual in smaller churches across Europe, with the arcades often taking the form of openings through the surface of a wall. In Italy, where there was a strong tradition of using marble columns, complete with capital, base and abacus, this remained prevalent, often reusing existent ancient columns, as at San Miniato al Monte. A number of 11th-century churches have naves distinguished by huge circular columns with no clerestory, or a very small one as at St Philibert, Tournus. In England stout columns of large diameter supported decorated arches, gallery and clerestory, as at the nave of Malmesbury Abbey (see "Piers and columns", above). By the early 12th century composite piers had evolved, in which the attached shafts swept upward to a ribbed vault or were continued into the mouldings of the arcade, as at Vézelay Abbey, Saint-Étienne, Caen, and Peterborough Cathedral. The nature of the internal roofing varied greatly, from open timber roofs, and wooden ceilings of different types, which remained common in smaller churches, to simple barrel vaults and groin vaults and increasingly to the use of ribbed vaults in the late 11th and 12th centuries, which were to become a common feature of larger abbey churches and cathedrals. A number of Romanesque churches are roofed with a series of Domes. At
Fontevrault Abbey The Royal Abbey of Our Lady of Fontevraud or Fontevrault (in French: ''abbaye de Fontevraud'') was a monastery in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in the former French duchy of Anjou. It was founded in 1101 by the itinerant preache ...
the nave is covered by four domes, while at the Church of Saint Front,
Périgueux Périgueux (, ; oc, Peireguers or ) is a commune in the Dordogne department, in the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. Périgueux is the prefecture of Dordogne, and the capital city of Périgord. It is al ...
, the church is of
Greek cross The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a ''crucifix'' and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
plan, with a central dome surrounded by four smaller domes over the nave, chancel and transepts. Internal decoration varied across Europe. Where wide expanses of wall existed, they were often plastered and painted. Wooden ceilings and timber beams were decorated. In Italy walls were sometimes faced with polychrome marble. Where buildings were constructed of stone that was suitable for carving, many decorative details occur, including ornate capitals and mouldings. The apsidal east end was often a focus of decoration, with both architectonic forms such as arcading and pictorial features such as carved figures, murals and occasionally mosaics. Stained glass came into increasing use from the 11th century. In many churches the eastern end has been rebuilt in a later style. Of England's Norman cathedrals, no eastern end remains unchanged. In France the eastern terminals of the important abbeys of Caen, Vézelay and, most significantly, the Basilica of St Denis were completely rebuilt in the Gothic style. In Germany, major reconstructions of the 19th century sought to return many Romanesque buildings to their original form. Examples of simple Romanesque apses can be seen in the images of St Gertrude, Nivelles; St Philibert, Tournus, and San Miniato al Monte. File:Nivelles JPG00 (13).jpg, St Gertrude,
Nivelles Nivelles (; nl, Nijvel, ; wa, Nivele; vls, Neyvel) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Walloon Brabant. The Nivelles municipality includes the former municipalities of Baulers, Bornival, Thines, and Monst ...
, Belgium, (consecrated 1046) has a nave and aisles divided by piers supporting a clerestorey. The nave is divided by transverse arches. The interior would have been plastered and painted. File:San Miniato al Monte Florence Italy.jpg,
San Miniato al Monte San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain) is a basilica in Florence, central Italy, standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and one of the most scenic ...
,
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
(1013–1090) has basilical form, open timber roof and decoration of polychrome marble and mosaic. The decoration continued harmoniously until the apsidal mosaic of 1260. File:Tournus 43 .jpg, The Church of St Philibert, Tournus, (990–1019) has tall circular piers supporting the arcade and is roofed with a series of barrel vaults supported on arches. Small clerestory windows light the vault. File:Vezelay-Basilique-Nef.JPG, Abbey of St Mary Magdalene, Vézelay, (consecrated 1104) has clusters of vertical shafts rising to support transverse arches and a groin vault. The dressed polychrome stonework has exquisitely detailed mouldings. East end is Gothic. File:Peterborough interior 01 adjusted.jpg, The nave of
Peterborough Cathedral Peterborough Cathedral, properly the Cathedral Church of St Peter, St Paul and St Andrew – also known as Saint Peter's Cathedral in the United Kingdom – is the seat of the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough, dedicated to Saint Peter, Saint Pau ...
(1118–1193) in three stages of arcade, gallery & clerestory, typical of Norman abbey churches. The rare wooden ceiling retains its original decoration (c. 1230). Gothic arches beneath tower (c. 1350).


Other structures

Among the structures associated with church buildings are crypts, porches, chapter houses, cloisters and baptisteries. Crypts are often present as an underlying structure to a substantial church, and are generally a completely discrete space, but occasionally, as in some Italian churches, may be a sunken space under a raised chancel and open, via steps, to the body of the nave. Romanesque crypts have survived in many instances, such as Canterbury Cathedral, when the church itself has been rebuilt. The usual construction of a Romanesque crypt is with many short stout columns carrying groin vaults, as at
Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bles ...
.
Porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
es sometimes occur as part of the original design of a facade. This is very much the case in Italy, where they are usually only one bay deep and are supported on two columns, often resting on couchant lions, as at St Zeno, Verona.See above. Elsewhere, porches of various dates have been added to the facade or side entrance of existent churches and may be quite a substantial structure, with several bays of vaulting supported on an open or partially open arcade, and forming a sort of narthex as at the Church of St Maria, Laach.See above In Spain, Romanesque churches often have large lateral porches, like loggias. Chapter houses often occur adjacent to monastic or cathedral churches. Few have survived intact from the Romanesque period. Early chapter houses were rectangular in shape, with the larger ones sometimes having groin or ribbed vaults supported on columns. Later Romanesque chapter houses sometimes had an apsidal eastern end. The chapter house at Durham Cathedral is a wide space with a ribbed vault, restored as originally constructed in 1130. The circular chapter house at Worcester Cathedral, built by Bishop Wulfstan (1062–95), was the first circular chapter house in Europe and was much imitated in England.
Cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...
s are generally part of any monastic complex and also occur at cathedral and collegiate churches. They were essential to the communal way of life, a place for both working during daylight hours and relaxing during inclement weather. They usually abut the church building and are enclosed with windowless walls on the outside and an open arcade on the inside, looking over a courtyard or "cloister garth". They may be vaulted or have timber roofs. The arcades are often richly decorated and are home to some of the most fanciful carved capitals of the Romanesque period with those of Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain and the Abbey of St Pierre Moissac, being examples. Many Romanesque cloisters have survived in Spain, France, Italy and Germany, along with some of their associated buildings. Baptisteries often occur in Italy as a free standing structure, associated with a cathedral. They are generally octagonal or circular and domed. The interior may be arcaded on several levels as at
Pisa Cathedral Pisa Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the t ...
. Other notable Romanesque baptisteries are that at
Parma Cathedral Parma Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Parma; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. ...
remarkable for its galleried exterior, and the polychrome Baptistery of San Giovanni of Florence Cathedral, with vault mosaics of the 13th century including Christ in Majesty, possibly the work of the almost legendary
Coppo di Marcovaldo Coppo di Marcovaldo (c. 1225 – c. 1276) was a Florentine painter in the Italo-Byzantine style, active in the middle of the thirteenth century, whose fusion of both the Italian and Byzantine styles had great influence on generations of It ...
. File:Worcester cathedral 031 crop.JPG, The groin-vaulted crypt of
Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bles ...
File:Monasterio de la Oliva - Sala Capitular 01.jpg, The chapter house of
Santa María de la Oliva The abbey of Santa María la Real de la Oliva, or simply ''La Oliva'', is a Cistercian monastery in Carcastillo, Navarre, Spain. An example of Romanesque architecture, the buildings have been protected by a heritage listing since 1880,Heritag ...
, Carcastillo, Spain File:SegoviaSEstebán2 22.4.2003.jpg, The lateral porch of the Church of San Esteban,
Segovia Segovia ( , , ) is a city in the autonomous community of Castile and León, Spain. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Segovia. Segovia is in the Inner Plateau ('' Meseta central''), near the northern slopes of t ...
File:Abbaye de Lavaudieu - Cloître - JPG1.jpg, The cloister of Lavaudieu Abbey File:Battistero.jpg, The Baptistery of
Parma Cathedral Parma Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Parma; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. ...


Decoration


Architectural embellishment

Arcading is the single most significant decorative feature of Romanesque architecture. It occurs in a variety of forms, from the
Lombard band A Lombard band is a decorative blind arcade, usually located on the exterior of building. It was frequently used during the Romanesque and Gothic periods of Western architecture. It resembles a frieze of arches. Lombard bands are believed to h ...
, which is a row of small arches that appear to support a roofline or course, to shallow blind arcading that is often a feature of English architecture and is seen in great variety at Ely Cathedral, to the open dwarf gallery, first used at
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
and widely adopted in Italy as seen on both
Pisa Cathedral Pisa Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale Metropolitana Primaziale di Santa Maria Assunta; Duomo di Pisa) is a medieval Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa, Italy, the oldest of the t ...
and its famous
Leaning Tower This is a list of leaning towers. A leaning tower is a tower which, either intentionally or unintentionally (due to errors in design, construction, or subsequent external influence such as unstable ground), does not stand perpendicular to the g ...
. Arcades could be used to great effect, both externally and internally, as exemplified by the church of Santa Maria della Pieve, in Arezzo. File:Iglesia de São Bento de Castro de Avelãs (5819068854).jpg, alt=Blind arcading in brick in the Mozarabic style of Asturia and Leon on the apse of Castro de Avelãs Monastery, a unique example in Portugal., Blind arcading in brick in the Mozarabic style of
Asturia Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive ...
and
Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...
on the apse of Castro de Avelãs Monastery, a unique example in Portugal File:St Lawrence's church in Castle Rising - Norman west facade - geograph.org.uk - 1878796.jpg, Overlapping arches form a blind arcade at St Lawrence's church
Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some north-east of the town of King's Lynn and west of the city of Norwich. The River Babingley skirts the north of the village separating C ...
, England. (1150) The semi-circular arches form pointed arches where they overlap, a motif which may have influenced Gothic. File:San Juan de Rabanera-Soria - P7234547.jpg, alt=Flat striated pillars (one of which forms the axis of symmetry, separating two windows with semi-circular arches) and richly decorated blind windows in the apse of San Juan de Rabanera Church in Soria, Spain., Flat striated pillars (one of which forms the axis of symmetry, separating two windows with semi-circular arches) and richly decorated blind windows in the apse of San Juan de Rabanera Church in
Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populati ...
, Spain File:2010.08.14.164600 Dom Speyer lighter.JPG, Dwarf galleries are a major decorative feature on the exterior of
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
, Germany (1090–1106), surrounding the walls and encircling the towers. This was to become a feature of Rhenish Romanesque. File:Duomo di parma, abside sx 01.JPG, alt=The eastern apse of Parma Cathedral, Italy (early 12th century) combines a diversity of decorative features: blind arcading, galleries, courses and sculptured motifs., The eastern apse of
Parma Cathedral Parma Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Parma; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Parma, Emilia-Romagna (Italy), dedicated to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Parma. ...
, Italy, early 12th century, combines a diversity of decorative features: blind arcading, galleries, courses and sculptured motifs. File:Toscana Lucca5 tango7174 lighter.JPG, alt=The arcading on the facade of Lucca Cathedral, Tuscany (1204) has many variations in its decorative details, both sculptural and in the inlaid polychrome marble., The arcading on the facade of
Lucca Cathedral Lucca Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Lucca, Cattedrale di San Martino) is a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours in Lucca, Italy. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Lucca. Construction was begun in 1063 by Bishop Anselm (later P ...
, Tuscany (1204), has many variations in its decorative details, both sculptural and in the inlaid polychrome marble. File:Monreale-bjs-17.jpg, alt=Polychrome blind arcading of the apse of Monreale Cathedral, Sicily (1174–82) The decoration indicates Islamic influence in both the motifs and the fact that all the arches, including those of the windows, are pointed., Polychrome blind arcading of the apse of
Monreale Cathedral Monreale Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Nuova di Monreale; Duomo di Monreale) is a Catholic church in Monreale, Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily, southern Italy. One of the greatest existent examples of Norman architecture, it wa ...
, Sicily (1174–82). The decoration indicates Islamic influence in both the motifs and the fact that all the arches, including those of the windows, are pointed.


Architectural sculpture

The Romanesque period produced a profusion of sculptural ornamentation. This most frequently took a purely geometric form and was particularly applied to mouldings, both straight courses and the curved moldings of arches. In La Madeleine, Vezelay, for example, the polychrome ribs of the vault are all edged with narrow filets of pierced stone. Similar decoration occurs around the arches of the nave and along the horizontal course separating arcade and clerestory. Combined with the pierced carving of the capitals, this gives a delicacy and refinement to the interior. In England, such decoration could be discrete, as at Hereford and Peterborough cathedrals, or have a sense of massive energy as at Durham where the diagonal ribs of the vaults are all outlined with
chevron Chevron (often relating to V-shaped patterns) may refer to: Science and technology * Chevron (aerospace), sawtooth patterns on some jet engines * Chevron (anatomy), a bone * '' Eulithis testata'', a moth * Chevron (geology), a fold in rock ...
s, the mouldings of the nave arcade are carved with several layers of the same and the huge columns are deeply incised with a variety of geometric patterns creating an impression of directional movement. These features combine to create one of the richest and most dynamic interiors of the Romanesque period. Although much sculptural ornament was sometimes applied to the interiors of churches, the focus of such decoration was generally the west front, and in particular, the portals. Chevrons and other geometric ornaments, referred to by 19th-century writers as "barbaric ornament", are most frequently found on the mouldings of the central door. Stylized foliage often appears, sometimes deeply carved and curling outward after the manner of the acanthus leaves on
Corinthian capitals The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order w ...
, but also carved in shallow relief and spiral patterns, imitating the intricacies of manuscript illuminations. In general, the style of ornament was more classical in Italy, such as that seen around the door of San Giusto in
Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...
, and more "barbaric" in England, Germany and Scandinavia, such as that seen at
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
and
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
s. France produced a great range of ornament, with particularly fine interwoven and spiralling vines in the "manuscript" style occurring at Saint-Sernin, Toulouse. File:Modillonsarthous2.JPG, alt=Detail of an apse of Abbey d'Arthous, Landes, France showing corbels representing aspects of sin such as lust, drunkenness and ignorance., Detail of an apse of Abbey d'Arthous, Landes, France, showing corbels representing aspects of sin such as lust, drunkenness and ignorance File:Avila - Ermita de San Segundo 3.jpg, The portal of the Hermitage of St Segundo, Avila, has paired creatures. and decorative bands of floral and interlacing. The pairing of creatures could draw on Byzantine and Celtic models. File:Aiguilhe - Chapelle St-Michel - JPG3.jpg, alt=The carving of the polychrome porch of the Saint-Michel-D'aiguilhe chapel, the Aiguilhe, Haute-Loire, France, (11th century), has paired mermaids, and the Lamb of God, The carving of the polychrome porch of the Saint-Michel-D'aiguilhe chapel, the
Aiguilhe Aiguilhe () is a commune in the Haute-Loire department in south-central France. Aiguilhe is close to Le Puy-en-Velay, and famous for the Saint Michel chapel. Raymond of Aguilers was from here. Population See also *Communes of the Haute-Loire ...
, Haute-Loire, France, 11th century, has paired mermaids, and the Lamb of God. File:Lincoln cathedral 03 West portal.jpg, On these mouldings around the portal of Lincoln Cathedral are formal chevron ornament, tongue-poking monsters, vines and figures, and symmetrical motifs. File:Eglise StMartin Gensac detail portail.JPG, St Martin's Church,
Gensac-la-Pallue Gensac-la-Pallue () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Charente department The following is a list of the 364 communes of the Charente department of France. The communes co ...
has capitals with elaborate interlacing.


Figurative sculpture

With the fall of the Roman Empire, the tradition of carving large works in stone and sculpting figures in bronze died out. The best-known surviving large sculptural work of Proto-Romanesque Europe is the life-size wooden Crucifix commissioned by Archbishop Gero of Cologne in about 960–65. During the 11th and 12th centuries, figurative sculpture flourished in a distinctly Romanesque style that can be recognised across Europe, although the most spectacular sculptural projects are concentrated in South-Western France, Northern Spain and Italy. Major figurative decoration occurs particularly around the portals of cathedrals and churches, ornamenting the tympanum, lintels, jambs and central posts. The tympanum is typically decorated with the imagery of
Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whos ...
with the symbols of the Four Evangelists, drawn directly from the gilt covers of medieval
Gospel Book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth ...
s. This style of doorway occurs in many places and continued into the Gothic period. A rare survival in England is that of the "Prior's Door" at Ely Cathedral. In France, many have survived, with impressive examples at the Abbey of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, the
Abbey of Sainte-Marie, Souillac An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conc ...
, and Abbey of la Madaleine, Vézelay – all daughter houses of Cluny, with extensive other sculpture remaining in cloisters and other buildings. Nearby,
Autun Cathedral The Cathedral of Saint Lazarus of Autun (french: Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d'Autun), commonly known as Autun Cathedral a Roman Catholic cathedral in Autun and a national monument of France. Famous for its Cluniac inspiration and its Romanesque scu ...
has a
Last Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
of great rarity in that it has uniquely been signed by its creator Giselbertus (who was perhaps the patron rather than the sculptor). The same artist is thought to have worked at la Madeleine Vezelay which uniquely has two elaborately carved tympanum, the early inner one representing the Last Judgement and that on the outer portal of the narthex representing Jesus sending forth the Apostles to preach to the nations. It is a feature of Romanesque art, both in manuscript illumination and sculptural decoration, that figures are contorted to fit the space that they occupy. Among the many examples that exist, one of the finest is the figure of the Prophet Jeremiah from the pillar of the portal of the Abbey of Saint-Pierre, Moissac, France, from about 1130. A significant motif of Romanesque design is the spiral, a form applied to both plant motifs and drapery in Romanesque sculpture. An outstanding example of its use in drapery is that of the central figure of Christ on the outer portal at La Madaleine, Vezelay. Many of the smaller sculptural works, particularly capitals, are Biblical in subject and include scenes of
Creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...
and the
Fall of Man The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. * * * * The doctrine of the ...
, episodes from the life of Christ and those Old Testament scenes that prefigure his
Death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
and
Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...
, such as
Jonah and the Whale Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...
and
Daniel in the lions' den Daniel in the lions' den (chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel) tells of how the biblical Daniel is saved from lions by the God of Israel "because I was found blameless before him" (Daniel 6:22). It parallels and complements chapter 3, the story of S ...
. Many Nativity scenes occur, the theme of the
Three Kings The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the ...
being particularly popular. The cloisters of Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey in Northern Spain, and
Moissac Moissac () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Garonne and Tarn at the Canal de Garonne. Route nationale N113 was constructed through ...
are fine examples surviving complete. File:Tympan - Porte Miégeville - Basilique Saint-Sernin.jpg, The tympanum of the side entrance of Saint-Sernin of Toulouse, (c. 1115) shows the Ascension of Christ, surrounded by angels, in a simple composition of standing figures. File:02 Basilique Ste-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay - Tympan.jpg, The tympanum of the inner portal of la Madeleine Vezelay has the scene of Christ in Majesty, at the Last Judgement. The figure of Christ is highly formalised in both posture and treatment. (1130s) File:Portail sud de l' Abbatiale Saint-Pierre de Moissac (3).JPG, alt=The tympanum of the Saint-Pierre, Moissac, is a highly sophisticated, tightly packed design, like a manuscript illumination. Christ is surrounded by the symbols of the Four Evangelists, The tympanum of the Saint-Pierre, Moissac, is a highly sophisticated, tightly packed design, like a manuscript illumination. Christ is surrounded by the symbols of the Four Evangelists. File:Cathedrale Sainte-Marie Oloron portail avaleur.jpg, Details of the portal of
Oloron Cathedral Oloron Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Sainte-Marie d'Oloron-Sainte-Marie), now St. Mary's Church (french: Eglise Sainte-Marie), is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral located in the town of Oloron-Sainte-Marie, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...
show a demon, a lion swallowing a man and kings with musical instruments. File:Saint-Trophime 805.jpg, A relief from St Trophime, Arles, showing King Herod and the
Three Kings The biblical Magi from Middle Persian ''moɣ''(''mard'') from Old Persian ''magu-'' 'Zoroastrian clergyman' ( or ; singular: ), also referred to as the (Three) Wise Men or (Three) Kings, also the Three Magi were distinguished foreigners in the ...
, follows the conventions in that the seated Herod is much larger than the standing figures. File:ND-en-Vaux Chapiteau 4 adjusted.JPG, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux,
Châlons-en-Champagne Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the capital of the department of Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renam ...
. This paired capital representing Christ washing the feet of the disciples is lively and naturalistic.


Murals

The large wall surfaces and plain curving vaults of the Romanesque period lent themselves to mural decoration. Unfortunately, many of these early wall paintings have been destroyed by damp or the walls have been replastered and painted over. In most of Northern Europe such pictures were systematically destroyed in bouts of
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...
iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...
. In other countries they have suffered from war, neglect and changing fashion. A classic scheme for the full painted decoration of a church, derived from earlier examples often in
mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
, had, as its focal point in the
semi-dome In architecture, a semi-dome (or half-dome) is a half dome that covers a semi-circular area in a building. Architecture Semi-domes are a common feature of apses in Ancient Roman and traditional church architecture, and in mosques and iwans in Isla ...
of the apse,
Christ in Majesty Christ in Majesty or Christ in Glory ( la, Maiestas Domini) is the Western Christian image of Christ seated on a throne as ruler of the world, always seen frontally in the centre of the composition, and often flanked by other sacred figures, whos ...
or Christ the Redeemer enthroned within a
mandorla A mandorla is an almond-shaped aureola, i.e. a frame that surrounds the totality of an iconographic figure. It is usually synonymous with '' vesica'', a lens shape. Mandorlas often surround the figures of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary in tr ...
and framed by the four winged beasts, symbols of the Four Evangelists, comparing directly with examples from the gilt covers or the illuminations of
Gospel Book A Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels (Greek: , ''Evangélion'') is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth ...
s of the period. If the
Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
was the dedicatee of the church, she might replace Christ here. On the apse walls below would be saints and apostles, perhaps including narrative scenes, for example of the saint to whom the church was dedicated. On the sanctuary arch were figures of apostles, prophets or the twenty-four " elders of the Apocalypse", looking in towards a bust of Christ, or his symbol the Lamb, at the top of the arch. The north wall of the nave would contain narrative scenes from the Old Testament, and the south wall from the New Testament. On the rear west wall would be a
Doom painting A "Doom painting" or "Doom" is a traditional English term for a wall-painting of the Last Judgment in a medieval church. This is the moment in Christian eschatology when Christ judges souls to send them to either Heaven or Hell. The s ...
or
Last Judgement The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...
, with an enthroned and judging Christ at the top.James Hall, ''A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art'', p. 154, 1983, John Murray, London, One of the most intact schemes to exist is that at Saint-Savin-sur-Gartempe in France. (See picture above under "Vault") The long barrel vault of the nave provides an excellent surface for fresco, and is decorated with scenes of the Old Testament, showing the
Creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...
, the
Fall of Man The fall of man, the fall of Adam, or simply the Fall, is a term used in Christianity to describe the transition of the first man and woman from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience. * * * * The doctrine of the ...
and other stories including a lively depiction of
Noah's Ark Noah's Ark ( he, תיבת נח; Biblical Hebrew: ''Tevat Noaḥ'')The word "ark" in modern English comes from Old English ''aerca'', meaning a chest or box. (See Cresswell 2010, p.22) The Hebrew word for the vessel, ''teva'', occurs twice in ...
complete with a fearsome figurehead and numerous windows through with can be seen the Noah and his family on the upper deck, birds on the middle deck, while on the lower are the pairs of animals. Another scene shows with great vigour the swamping of Pharaoh's army by the Red Sea. The scheme extends to other parts of the church, with the martyrdom of the local saints shown in the crypt, and Apocalypse in the narthex and Christ in Majesty. The range of colours employed is limited to light blue-green, yellow ochre, reddish brown and black. Similar paintings exist in Serbia, Spain, Germany, Italy and elsewhere in France. File:Leon (San Isidoro, panteón).jpg, alt=The painted crypt of San Isidoro in León, Spain has a detailed scheme illustrating Biblical stories., The painted crypt of San Isidoro in León, Spain, has a detailed scheme illustrating Biblical stories. File:Segovia - San Justo 22 adjust.JPG, Apse of the Church of St Justus, Segovia. ''Christ in Majesty'' was a common theme for the apse. File:Absis de Sant Pere del Burgal, 11th c. fresco crop.JPG, alt=A frieze of figures occupies the zone below the semi-dome in the apse. Abbey of St Pere of Burgal, Catalonia, Spain, A frieze of figures occupies the zone below the semi-dome in the apse. Abbey of St Pere of Burgal, Catalonia, Spain. File:12th-century paintings of Last Judgement (Clayton Church, Sussex).jpg, alt=In England the major pictorial theme occurs above the chancel arch in parish churches. St John the Baptist, Clayton, Sussex, In England the major pictorial theme occurs above the chancel arch in parish churches. St John the Baptist, Clayton, Sussex. File:Galenoghippokrates.jpg, alt=This fresco showing Galen and Hippocrates is part of a complex scheme decorating the crypt of Anagni Cathedral, Italy, This fresco showing
Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...
and
Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...
is part of a complex scheme decorating the crypt of
Anagni Cathedral Anagni Cathedral ( it, Cattedrale di Santa Maria Annunziata; Cattedrale di Anagni) is a Catholic cathedral in Anagni, Lazio, Italy, notable as the summer residence of the Popes for centuries (before Castel Gandolfo). Home to the cathedra of t ...
, Italy.


Stained glass

The oldest-known fragments of medieval pictorial stained glass appear to date from the 10th century. The earliest intact figures are five prophet windows at Augsburg, dating from the late 11th century. The figures, though stiff and formalised, demonstrate considerable proficiency in design, both pictorially and in the functional use of the glass, indicating that their maker was well accustomed to the medium. At Canterbury and Chartres Cathedrals, a number of panels of the 12th century have survived, including, at Canterbury, a figure of Adam digging, and another of his son Seth from a series of
Ancestors of Christ The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham, while Luke begins with Adam. The lists are identical between Abraham and David, but ...
. Adam represents a highly naturalistic and lively portrayal, while in the figure of Seth, the robes have been used to great decorative effect, similar to the best stone carving of the period. Many of the magnificent stained glass windows of France, including the famous windows of Chartres, date from the 13th century. Far fewer large windows remain intact from the 12th century. One such is the Crucifixion of Poitiers, a remarkable composition that rises through three stages, the lowest with a quatrefoil depicting the Martyrdom of St Peter, the largest central stage dominated by the crucifixion and the upper stage showing the
Ascension of Christ The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate la, ascensio Iesu, lit=ascent of Jesus) is the Christian teaching that Christ physically departed from Earth by rising to Heaven, in the presence of eleven of his apostles. According to the ...
in a mandorla. The figure of the crucified Christ is already showing the Gothic curve. The window is described by George Seddon as being of "unforgettable beauty".George Seddon in Lee, Seddon and Stephens, ''Stained Glass'' File:King David in Augsburg Cathedral light.JPG, King David from Augsburg Cathedral, late 11th century. One of a series of prophets that are the oldest stained glass windows in situ. File:Canterbury, Canterbury cathedral-stained glass 03 Seth and Adam.JPG, alt=Two panels of lively figures, Seth and Adam from the 12th-century Ancestors of Christ, Canterbury Cathedral, now set into a Perpendicular Gothic window with panels of many different dates., Two panels of lively figures, Seth and Adam from the 12th-century
Ancestors of Christ The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham, while Luke begins with Adam. The lists are identical between Abraham and David, but ...
, Canterbury Cathedral, now set into a Perpendicular Gothic window with panels of many different dates File:Bas-côté nord, baie VI Otto II Rex (dernier tiers XIIe).jpg, alt=Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor, from a series of Emperors (12th and 13th centuries) The panels are now set into Gothic windows, Strasbourg Cathedral, Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor, from a series of Emperors (12th and 13th centuries). The panels are now set into Gothic windows,
Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...
. File:David et Salomon, vitrail roman, Cathédrale de Strasbourg.jpg, alt=Detail of a small panel showing Kings David and Solomon set in an architectonic frame from a large window at Strasbourg. Late 12th century. The alternation of red and blue is a typical device of simpler window designs. It is approximately 1/3 the height, and is much less complex in execution than the Emperor series of which Otto II is a part.See left, Detail of a small panel showing Kings David and Solomon set in an architectonic frame from a large window at Strasbourg. Late 12th century. The alternation of red and blue is a typical device of simpler window designs. It is approximately 1/3 the height, and is much less complex in execution than the Emperor series of which Otto II is a part. See left File:Poitiers, Cathédrale Saint-Pierre -PM 34985 lighter.JPG, alt=A rare and remarkable survival, of "unforgettable beauty", the very large Crucifixion window of Poitiers Cathedral, France., A rare and remarkable survival, of "unforgettable beauty", the very large Crucifixion window of
Poitiers Cathedral , native_name_lang = French , image = File:Poitiers Cathédrale Saint-Pierre AL1.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of St Peter in Poitiers , pushpin map ...
, France


Transitional style and the continued use of Romanesque forms

During the 12th century, features that were to become typical of
Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It ...
began to appear. It is not uncommon, for example, for a part of building that has been constructed over a lengthy period extending into the 12th century, to have very similar arcading of both semi-circular and pointed shape, or windows that are identical in height and width, but in which the later ones are pointed. This can be seen on the towers of
Tournai Cathedral The Tournai Cathedral, or Cathedral of Our Lady (french: Notre-Dame de Tournai, nl, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Doornik), is a Roman Catholic church, see of the Diocese of Tournai in Tournai, Belgium. It has been classified both as a Wallonia's majo ...
and on the western towers and facade at Ely Cathedral. Other variations that appear to hover between Romanesque and Gothic occur, such as the facade designed by Abbot Suger at the Abbey of Saint-Denis, which retains much that is Romanesque in its appearance, and the Facade of
Laon Cathedral Laon Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon) is a Roman Catholic church located in Laon, Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France. Built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it is one of the most important and stylistically unified exampl ...
, which, despite its Gothic form, has round arches.Wim Swaan, ''Gothic Cathedrals'' Abbot Suger's innovative choir of the
Abbey of Saint-Denis The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
, 1140–44, led to the adoption of the Gothic style by Paris and its surrounding area, but other parts of France were slower to take it up, and provincial churches continued to be built in the heavy manner and rubble stone of the Romanesque, even when the openings were treated with the fashionable pointed arch. In England, the Romanesque groundplan, which in that country commonly had a very long nave, continued to affect the style of building of cathedrals and those large abbey churches which were also to become cathedrals at the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century. Despite the fact that English cathedrals were built or rebuilt in many stages, substantial areas of Norman building can be seen in many of them, particularly in the nave arcades. In the case of
Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...
, the Gothic arches were literally carved out of the existent Norman piers. Other cathedrals have sections of their building which are clearly an intermediate stage between Norman and Gothic, such as the western towers of Ely Cathedral and part of the nave at
Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Worcester, in Worcestershire, England, situated on a bank overlooking the River Severn. It is the seat of the Bishop of Worcester. Its official name is the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Bles ...
. The first truly Gothic building in England is the long eastern end of Canterbury Cathedral commenced in 1175. In Italy, although many churches such as Florence Cathedral and
Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The ch ...
were built in the Gothic style, or utilising the pointed arch and window tracery, Romanesque features derived from the Roman architectural heritage, such as sturdy columns with capitals of a modified Corinthian form, continued to be used. The pointed vault was utilised where convenient, but it is commonly interspersed with semicircular arches and vaults wherever they conveniently fit. The facades of Gothic churches in Italy are not always easily distinguishable from the Romanesque. Germany was not quick to adopt the Gothic style, and when it did so in the 1230s, the buildings were often modelled very directly upon French cathedrals, as
Cologne Cathedral Cologne Cathedral (german: Kölner Dom, officially ', English: Cathedral Church of Saint Peter) is a Catholic cathedral in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and of the administration of the Archdiocese o ...
was modelled on Amiens. The smaller churches and abbeys continued to be constructed in a more provincial Romanesque manner, the date only being registered by the pointed window openings. File:2-Cathédrale de Laon.JPG, The facade of
Laon Cathedral Laon Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Laon) is a Roman Catholic church located in Laon, Aisne, Hauts-de-France, France. Built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it is one of the most important and stylistically unified exampl ...
, 1225, a Gothic cathedral, maintains rounded arches and arcading in the Romanesque manner. File:Ely Cathedral 3.jpg, Ely Cathedral, England, the central western tower and framing smaller towers all had transitional features, 1180s. The tower to the left fell. Gothic porch, 1250s; lantern, 1390s. File:Cattedrale di San Lorenzo Genoa.jpg, The facade of the Cathedral of Genoa has both round and pointed arches, and paired windows, a continuing Romanesque feature of Italian Gothic architecture.


Romanesque castles, houses and other buildings

The Romanesque period was a time of great development in the design and construction of defensive architecture. After churches and the monastic buildings with which they are often associated, castles are the most numerous type of building of the period. While most are in ruins through the action of war and politics, others, like William the Conqueror's White Tower within the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
have remained almost intact. In some regions, particularly Germany, large palaces were built for rulers and bishops. Local lords built great halls in the countryside, while rich merchants built grand
town house A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type of city residence ...
s. In Italy, city councils constructed town halls, while wealthy cities of Northern Europe protected their trading interests with
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...
s and commercial premises. All over Europe, dwellers of the town and country built houses to live in, some of which, sturdily constructed in stone, have remained to this day with sufficient of their form and details intact to give a picture of the style of domestic architecture that was in fashion at the time. Examples of all these types of buildings can be found scattered across Europe, sometimes as isolated survivals like the two merchants' houses on opposite sides of Steep Hill in Lincoln, England, and sometimes giving form to a whole medieval city like San Gimignano in Tuscany, Italy. These buildings are the subject of a separate article. File:London Tower (1).JPG, alt=A huge square tower of grey stone is seen beyond fortifications on the edge of a river.,
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...
(1078);
William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
built the central White Tower as his stronghold and residence. File:Great Hall, Oakham Castle - geograph.org.uk - 92787.jpg, alt=A tidy building like a large barn, of red brick with long sloping roofs, dormer windows and a low arched doorway., The Great Hall of
Oakham Castle Oakham Castle is a historic building in Oakham, Rutland. The Castle is known for its collection of massive horseshoes and is also recognised as one of the best examples of domestic Norman architecture in England. It is a Grade I listed building ...
, England, once part of the fortified manor of a Norman baron File:Krak des chevaliers15(js).jpg, alt=An enormous castle with encircling walls, on a rise in barren country with distant mountains., Crusader castle,
Krak des Chevaliers Krak des Chevaliers, ar, قلعة الحصن, Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn also called Hisn al-Akrad ( ar, حصن الأكراد, Ḥiṣn al-Akrād, rtl=yes, ) and formerly Crac de l'Ospital; Krak des Chevaliers or Crac des Chevaliers (), is a medieva ...
, Syria, was mainly constructed in this period, with the outer walls being later. File:San Gimignano.JPG, alt=View of a small town on a hilltop surrounded by trees and vineyards. There are eight tall square towers rising from among the densely packed houses., Many towns, such as San Gimignano, were enclosed with walls, causing crowding and the building of tower houses.


Romanesque Revival

''See also'' Romanesque Revival architecture in the United Kingdom During the 19th century, when
Gothic Revival architecture Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th cent ...
was fashionable, buildings were occasionally designed in the Romanesque style. There are a number of Romanesque Revival churches, dating from as early as the 1830s and continuing into the 20th century where the massive and "brutal" quality of the Romanesque style was appreciated and designed in brick. The
Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, 1879, on the other hand, is a Romanesque revival building that makes full use of the decorative potential of Romanesque arcading and architectural sculpture. The Romanesque appearance has been achieved while freely adapting an overall style to suit the function of the building. The columns of the foyer, for example, give an impression of incised geometric design similar to those of Durham Cathedral. However, the sources of the incised patterns are the trunks of palms, cycads and tropical tree ferns. The animal motifs, of which there are many, include rare and exotic species. The type of modern buildings for which the Romanesque style was most frequently adapted was the warehouse, where a lack of large windows and an appearance of great strength and stability were desirable features. These buildings, generally of brick, frequently have flattened buttresses rising to wide arches at the upper levels after the manner of some Italian Romanesque facades. This style was adapted to suit commercial buildings by opening the spaces between the arches into large windows, the brick walls becoming a shell to a building that was essentially of modern steel-frame construction, the architect
Henry Hobson Richardson Henry Hobson Richardson, FAIA (September 29, 1838 – April 27, 1886) was an American architect, best known for his work in a style that became known as Richardsonian Romanesque. Along with Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright, Richardson is one ...
giving his name to the style, Richardsonian Romanesque. Good examples of the style are Marshall Field's Wholesale Store, Chicago, by H.H. Richardson, 1885, and the Chadwick Lead Works in
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, United States, by William Preston, 1887. The style also lent itself to the building of cloth mills, steelworks and powerstations. File:Natural History Museum London Jan 2006.jpg,
Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
, Alfred Waterhouse, 1879 File:Absolute Eglise St Pierre Le jeune 01.JPG, The façade of Catholic church of Saint-Pierre-le-Jeune, Strasbourg (built 1888–1893), is of a type adopted for many churches in the early 20th century. File:Speyer---Cathedral---West-View---(Gentry).jpg, The 19th-century reconstruction of the westwerk of the Romanesque
Speyer Cathedral , native_name_lang = German , image = Speyer_dom_11.jpg , imagesize = 280px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption = , pushpin ma ...
. see above File:Royce Hall straight.JPG, Royce Hall, at
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, inspired by The
Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio The Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio (official name: ''Basilica romana minore collegiata abbaziale prepositurale di Sant'Ambrogio'') is a church in the center of Milan, northern Italy. History One of the most ancient churches in Milan, it was built by ...
in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, Italy. see above File:Stanford Memorial Church May 2011 002 crop.JPG,
Stanford Memorial Church Stanford Memorial Church (also referred to informally as MemChu) is located on the Main Quad at the center of the Stanford University campus in Stanford, California, United States. It was built during the American RenaissanceGregg, p. 34 by ...
at Stanford University, US, is a loose interpretation of a Romanesque facade. File:Smithsonian Building NR.jpg, alt=The Smithsonian Institution Building, also known as "The Castle"., The
Smithsonian Institution Building The Smithsonian Institution Building, located near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. behind the National Museum of African Art and the Sackler Gallery, houses the Smithsonian Institution's administrative offices and information center. Th ...
, also known as "The Castle"


Notes


See also

*Regional Styles **
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
**
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
**
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
**
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
**
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
* List of Romanesque buildings * List of Brick Romanesque buildings * Mendicant monasteries in Mexico


References


Further reading

* * V.I. Atroshenko and Judith Collins, ''The Origins of the Romanesque'', Lund Humphries, London, 1985, * Rolf Toman, ''Romanesque: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting'', Könemann, (1997), *
Banister Fletcher Sir Banister Flight Fletcher (15 February 1866 – 17 August 1953) was an English architect and architectural historian, as was his father, also named Banister Fletcher. They wrote the standard textbook ''A History of Architecture'' ...
, ''A History of Architecture on the Comparative method'' (2001). Elsevier Science & Technology. . *
Alfred Clapham Sir Alfred William Clapham, (1883 – 1950) was a British scholar of Romanesque architecture. He was Secretary of the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England) and President of the Society of Antiquaries. Early life Alfred Clapham ...
, ''Romanesque Architecture in England'' British Council (1950) * Helen Gardner; Fred S. Kleiner, Christin J. Mamiya, ''Gardner's Art through the Ages''. Thomson Wadsworth, (2004) . * George Holmes, editor, ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe'', Oxford University Press, (1992) * René Huyghe, ''Larousse Encyclopedia of Byzantine and Medieval Art'', Paul Hamlyn, (1958) * François Ischer, ''Building the Great Cathedrals''. Harry N. Abrams, (1998). . * Conrad Rudolph, ed., A Companion to Medieval Art: Romanesque and Gothic in Northern Europe, 2nd ed. (2016) *
Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (1 ...
, ''An Outline of European Architecture''. Pelican Books (1964) * * John Beckwith, ''Early Medieval Art'', Thames and Hudson, (1964) * Peter Kidson, ''The Medieval World'', Paul Hamlyn, (1967) * T. Francis Bumpus,, ''The Cathedrals and Churches of Belgium'', T. Werner Laurie. (1928) * Alec Clifton-Taylor, ''The Cathedrals of England'', Thames and Hudson (1967) * John Harvey, ''English Cathedrals'', Batsford (1961). * * Trewin Copplestone, ''World Architecture, and Illustrated History'', Paul Hamlyn, (1963) * Tadhg O'Keefe, ''Archeology and the Pan-European Romanesque '', Duckworth Publishers, (2007), * Mary Curtis Webb ''Ideas and images in twelfth century sculpture '', https://lib.ugent.be/fulltxt/RUG01/001/879/684/RUG01-001879684_2012_0001_AC.pdf, privately published (2012)


External links


Corpus of Romanesque Sculpture in Britain and IrelandFrench Romanesque art through 300 places

Romanesque Churches in Southern Burgundy

Círculo Románico – Visigothic, Mozarabic and Romanesque art in Europe
* ttp://archive.cyark.org/sainttrophime-info Saint-Trophime Digital Media Archive (creative commons-licensed HD documentation) on the Romanesque
Church of St. Trophime The Church of St. Trophime (french: Cathédrale Saint-Trophime d'Arles) (''Trophimus'') is a Roman Catholic church and former cathedral located in the city of Arles, in the Bouches-du-Rhône Department of southern France. It was built between the ...
, using data from a
World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...
/
CyArk CyArk (from "cyber archive") is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Oakland, California, United States founded in 2003. CyArk's mission is to "digitally record, archive and share the world's most significant cultural heritage and ensure ...
research partnership {{DEFAULTSORT:Romanesque Architecture * Architectural styles European architecture *Architecture Catholic architecture de:Romanik