The
Visigoths
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 ...
entered
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...
(modern
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 ...
) in 415 and they rose to be the dominant people there until the
Umayyad conquest of Hispania
The Umayyad conquest of Hispania, also known as the Umayyad conquest of the Visigothic Kingdom, was the initial expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate over Hispania (in the Iberian Peninsula) from 711 to 718. The conquest resulted in the decline of t ...
of 711 brought their kingdom to an end.
This period in
Iberian art is dominated by their style. Visigothic art is generally considered in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
-speaking world to be a strain of
Migration art, while the Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking worlds generally classify it as
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 ...
.
Branches of Visigothic art include their architecture, crafts (especially jewellery), and their
script
Script may refer to:
Writing systems
* Script, a distinctive writing system, based on a repertoire of specific elements or symbols, or that repertoire
* Script (styles of handwriting)
** Script typeface, a typeface with characteristics of handw ...
.
Visigothic architecture
The only remaining examples of Visigothic architecture from the 6th century are the church of
San Cugat del Vallés in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, the hermitage and church of
Santa Maria de Lara
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...
in Burgos,
Saint Frutuoso Chapel
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
in
Braga
Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
, the
church of São Gião in
Nazaré and the few remnants of the church at
Cabeza de Griego
In Mexican cuisine, ''cabeza'' (''lit.'' 'head') is the meat from a roasted head of an animal, served as taco or burrito fillings.
Typically, the whole head is placed on a steamer or grill, and customers may ask for particular parts of the bod ...
in
Cuenca. However, their style developed over the next centuries, though the prime remaining examples of it are mostly rural and often run-down. Some of the characteristics of their architecture are:
* Generally
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 ...
n in layout, sometimes 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 or, more rarely, a combination of the two. The spaces are highly compartmentalised.
* Horseshoe
arches without
keystones
A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...
.
* A rectangular, exterior
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''. ...
.
* Use of
columns and pillars with Corinthian
capitals of unique design.
*
Barrel vaults with
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
The word derives, via Italian, fro ...
s at the crosses.
* Frequent use of marble as material.
* Walls of
ashlar blocks, occasionally alternating with Roman brickwork.
* Decoration commonly of animal or plant motifs.
Examples include:
* Church of San Juan de Baños,
province of Palencia
Palencia is a Provinces of Spain, province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered by the provi ...
, Spain.
*
Crypt of San Antolín in the
cathedral of Palencia,
province of Palencia
Palencia is a Provinces of Spain, province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered by the provi ...
, Spain.
*
Church of Santa Comba in
Bande,
province of Ourense, Spain.
*
Chapel of San Xes (or San Ginés) de Francelos in
Ribadavia
Ribadavia is a town and municipality located in the southwest of the province of Ourense, autonomous community of Galicia, Spain. The urban area lies on the right bank of the Miño river and the last course of the Avia river. It is the capital ...
,
province of Ourense, Spain.
*
Church of San Pedro de la Mata (in ruins) in
Sonseca
Sonseca is a municipality in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain.
According to the 2006 census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. ...
,
province of Toledo, Spain.
*
Church of Santa María de Melque in
San Martín de Montalbán
San Martín de Montalbán is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE
INE, Ine or ine may refer to:
Institutions
* Institut für Nukleare Entsorgung, a German nuclear rese ...
,
province of Toledo, Spain.
*
Suso monastery at San Millán de la Cogolla,
La Rioja
La Rioja () is an autonomous community and province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other cities and towns in the province include Calahorra, Arnedo, Alfaro, Haro, Santo Domingo de la Calzada, an ...
, Spain.
*
Basilica of Santa María de Batres
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...
in
Carranque,
province of Toledo, Spain.
*
Hermitage of Santa María in
Quintanilla de las Viñas Quintanilla is a Spanish surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Abraham Quintanilla, Jr. (born 1939), American singer-songwriter and record producer, father of Selena, Selena Quintanilla-Pérez
* A.B. Quintanilla (Abraham Quintanilla I ...
,
province of Burgos
The Province of Burgos is a province of northern Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered by the provinces of Palencia, Cantabria, Vizcaya, Álava, La Rioja, Soria, Segovia, and Valladoli ...
, Spain.
*
Church of Santa Lucía del Trampal near
Alcuéscar
Alcuéscar is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura
Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest ci ...
province of Cáceres
The province of Cáceres ( ; es, provincia de Cáceres, ) is a province of western Spain, and makes up the northern half of the autonomous community of Extremadura. Its capital is the city of Cáceres. Other cities in the province include Pla ...
, Spain.
* Crypt of the
Monastery of San Salvador de Leyre,
Navarre, Spain.
*
Church of San Miguel de los Fresnos
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
(in ruins) in
Fregenal de la Sierra
Fregenal de la Sierra (originally Frexnal or Frexenal) is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain.
Geography
Fregenal de la Sierra is located in the Sierra Suroeste comarca (county), among the small hills and ravi ...
,
province of Badajoz
The province of Badajoz () is a province of western Spain located in the autonomous community of Extremadura. It was formed in 1833. It is bordered by the provinces of Cáceres in the north, Toledo, Ciudad Real in the east, Córdoba in the s ...
, Spain.
* Interior of church of San Pedro de la Nave,
province of Zamora, Spain.
*
Saint Frutuoso Chapel
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...
in
Braga
Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...
,
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 ...
.
*
Church of São Gião in
Nazaré,
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 ...
.
The
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 ...
church of
San Pedro de la Nave in
San Pedro de la Nave-Almendra,
province of Zamora, Spain was formerly regarded as an exemplar of Visigothic architecture, but current thinking as to the date of the building suggests that it is better described as Mozarabic or
Repoblación
The ''Repoblación'' (, ; pt, Repovoação, ) was the ninth-century repopulating of a large region between the River Duero and the Cantabrian Mountains, which had been depopulated in the early years of the Reconquista.
In the reign of Alfonso ...
. A similar redating has been suggested for the
Church of San Juan Bautista in
Baños de Cerrato Banos or Baños ( es, baths) may refer to:
* Banos, Landes, a commune in the Landes department of France
* Baños de Agua Santa, a city and popular tourist destination in Tungurahua Province, Ecuador
*Baños Canton, Ecuador, of which Baños de Agua ...
,
province of Palencia
Palencia is a Provinces of Spain, province of northern Spain, in the northern part of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Castile and León in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. It is bordered by the provi ...
, Spain.
See also
*
Treasure of Guarrazar
The Treasure of Guarrazar, Guadamur, Province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain, is an archeological find composed of twenty-six votive crowns and gold crosses that had originally been offered to the Roman Catholic Church by the Kings ...
*
Verona Orational
The Verona Orational, also known as the ''Libellus Orationum'' (Verona, Cathedral, Biblioteca Capit. Cod. LXXXIX), is a late 7th or early 8th century Visigothic prayer book. It is the only liturgical book that was written before the Moorish invasi ...
*
Visigoths
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 ...
*
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
References
"Visigothic art" In ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
'' Online.
External links
*
Age of spirituality : late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century' from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
El portal del Arte Románico; Visigothic, Mozarabic and Romanesque art in Spain.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visigothic Art And Architecture
Architectural history
Early Germanic architecture