Medieval architecture: Architecture and Painting in England

Any sort of building and artistic pieces is a text. Norman and early English style is divided into the
Romanesque style that took place in the 11 th and 12 centuries and the Gothic style that is divided into three
different stages: Early English in the 13th century (belongs to Early Middle Ages), Decorated Style in the 14th
century and Perpendicular style in the 15th century (these two belongs to the Late Middle Ages).

The windows mark the different styles. During the Romanesque style, it was used the semicircular arch
and the pointed arch is a characteristic of the Gothic style. As regards the building type, the majority of
building of this period is ecclesiastical buildings and also castles. The building style of these periods was the
cathedral. During the perpendicular period, cathedrals were not built, and the typical building of this period
was the chapel and the parish church. This difference as regards building have to do with the powerful
position of the church in the Middle Ages. One of the factors that led to the deterioration of the church was
the emergence of a new social group  the Higher Middle Classes. (according to some authors the rise of
this new group led to the change from cathedrals to parish churches and chapels).

The plan of the churches had a cross shape, with the nave, the transept and the entrance, that is
usually called the west façade (the main façade). The English has preference for angularity; so the churches
end at right angles.

The Norman or Romanesque style

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