The Romanesque Architecture in

BRITISH
and
ISLES
SCANDINAVIA
(1st-12th Century)
INFLUENCING FACTORS

GEOGRAPHICAL INFLUENCE
IN NORTHERN EUROPE, DEVELOPMENT LARGELY DEPENDED ON THE SEA AND RIVER
ROUTES.

THE POLITICAL DIVISION OF SCANDINAVIA HAS GEOGRAPHICAL SIMILARITIES, WHICH

RESULTED THE WHOLE REGION A UNITY. THUS, GIVING THEM AN OPPOTUNITY TO SAIL
WITHIN THE REGION, INSTEAD OF CROSSING MOUNTAINS TOWARDS THE REST OF
EUROPE.

NAVIGATIONAL SKILLS LED TO THE NORDIC COLONIZATION OF ICELAND AND

GREENLAND, AND CULTURAL-COMMERCIAL CONTACT WITH IRELAND AND BRITAIN.
THE BRITISH ISLES IN THE SCANDINAVIA IN THE
12TH CENTURY 12TH CENTURY
INFLUENCING FACTORS
GEOLOGICAL INFLUENCE
HARDWOOD FORESTS WERE THE PRIMARY SOURCES OF ROOF-FRAMING MATERIALS
FOR MORE IMPORTANT BUILDINGS. WHEREAS, TIMBER WOOD WAS USED FOR THE
LESS IMPORTANT BUILDINGS
MOST INDIGENOUS BUILDING STONES WERE CONTRIBUTED TO THE MATERIALS OF
THE MORE MATURE MILITARY AND RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS.
LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS IN MASONRY DEVELOPED AT AN EARLY AGE.

CLIMATIC INFLUENCE
MASSIVE MASONRY CONSTRUCTION AND STEEPLY-PITCHED ROOFS - FOR DEALING
WITH THE MORE SEVERE NORTHERN EUROPEAN CLIMATE.
ROOF PITCHES IN SCANDINAVIA WERE OFTEN REDUCED SO IT COULD ASSIST IN
RETAINING HEAT WITHIN BUILDINGS.
H I S T O R I C A L, S O C I A L ,
A N D RELIG
((THE BRITI
I O U S
SH ISLES)
THE BRITISH ISLES
THE ROMAN CONQUEST OF BRITAIN WAS
PRECEDED BY THE LANDINGS OF JULIUS CAESAR IN
55 AND 54 B.C.

DURING THE MILITARY OCCUPATION FOLLOWING

THE CLAUDIAN INVASION OF A.D. 43, PROGRESS WAS
MADE IN DEVELOPING NATURAL RESOURCES SUCH
AS TIN, IRON AND LEAD.

THE BUILDING OF TOWNS AND LATER OF THE LARGE

COUNTRY SETTLEMENTS CALLED VILLAS, WAS
NECESSARY TO SUPPORT THE CIVIL
ADMINISTRATION AND TO PROPAGATE THE ROMAN
WAY OF LIFE.
THE BRITISH ISLES
CHRISTIANITY FIRST MADE ITS WAY INTO BRITAIN
DURING THE ROMAN OCCUPATION

CHURCH BUILDING WAS OF HISTORICAL

IMPORTANCE ONLY IN IRELAND, DURING THE
YEARS OF ANGLO-SAXON SETTLEMENTS (AFTER THE
MIDDLE OF THE 5TH CENTURY).

CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY OF ANGLO-SAXON

KINGS AND THEIR PEOPLE WAS EVIDENCED BY
NUMEROUS SURVIVING CHURCHES, TOWERS, AND
CROSSES OF THE 7TH AND 8TH CENTURIES.
THE BRITISH ISLES

WHEN EDWARD, THE SONE OF THE ENGLISH

ELTHELRED, ACCEDED TO THE THRONE IN 1042,
HE ASSURED THE NOR-MAN INFLUENCE OF
ENGLAND BEFORE THE NORMAN CONQUEST.

·IN 1045, HE BEGUN IN WESTMINSTER ABBEY,

THE CHURCH PLANNED IN THE CURRENT
NORMAN BENEDICTINE FASHION.
THE BRITISH ISLES
THE NORMAN CONQUEST OF 1066
LINKED ENGLAND TO THE CONTINENT
AND INTRODUCED A FULLY DEVELOPED
FEUDAL SYSTEM.

·CASTLES WERE BUILT TO STRENGTHEN

THE POSITION OF THE CONQUERORS.

TOWNS GREW UP AROUND ABBEYS

AND CASTLES, BECAME TRADING
CENTERS, AND THROUGH THEIR
MERCHANT GUILDS LAID THE
FOUNDATIONS OF URBAN
THE NORMAN CONQUEST GOVERNMENT.
SCANDINAVIA

KINGDOMS WERE FIRST IN DENMARK AND

NORWAY

NORTHERN INFLUENCES TO BEAR UPON EUROPEAN

DEVELOPMENT; DUE TO THE VIKING EXPANSION OF THE
9TH CENTURY, COLONIZATION OF NORMANDY, AND THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF SVEAR COLONIES IN LATVIA.

EARLIEST DOMESTIC BUILDING CUSTOMS WERE BASED

UPON TIMBER TECHNIQUES ALLIED TO FORMS.
SCANDINAVIA

CHRISTIANITY WAS BROUGHT BY THE FRANKISH

MISSIONARY ANAGR IN 826.

THE NORSE CHURCH WAS ESTABLISHED FROM BRITAIN,

AND CHRISTIANITY WAS MAINTAINED IN NORWAY,
GREENLAND, AND ICELAND.

IN 980, THE DANISH KING HAROLD MADE HIS PEOPLE

CHRISTIANS. AT THE SAME TIME, ENGLISH BISHOPS
WERE INTRODUCED AND THE EMPIRE WAS SPREAD
INTO ENGLAND.
 SCANDINAVIA
EARLIEST CHRISTIAN SCANDINAVIAN
BUILDINGS WERE TIMBER-BUILT, PARTICULARLY
IN NORWAY.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TIMBER TECHNIQUES

CONTINUED WELL INTO THE 13TH CENTURY.
SUBSEQUENT BUILDING IN STONE REFLECTS
PREDOMINANTLY GERMAN AND CLUNIAC
INFLUENCES IN DENMARK.

·THE MONASTIC ORDERS PLAYED AN

IMPORTANT PART IN REINFORCING
SCANDINAVIAN LINKS WITH EUROPE.
STAVE CHURCH
ARCHITECTURAL
CHARACTER
THE BRITISH ISLES
THE ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER OF
THE BRITISH ISLES HAS UNDERGONE
THREE PERIODS:
1. ROMAN PERIOD
2. ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
3. NORMAN PERIOD
ROMAN PERIOD
EXAMPLES: Mosaic flooring and pottery
Sculpture indicates the cave which the Romans bestowed on
dwellings, houses and public buildings.

Roman architecture inevitably influenced subsequent Anglo-

Saxon and Romanesque architecture in Britain.

Architectural elements under this period are the Basilical Plan

and uses of apses.
ROMAN PERIOD
BASILICAL PLAN
Oblong shaped, ending in a
semicircular apse
The interior is characterized by
strong horizontality, with little or
no attempt at rhythmic accents.
All spaces are usually covered
with timber roofs or ceilings
except for the apse or apses,
which are vaulted.
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD
Structures were dependent upon the use of timber

TWO MAIN IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS

"Claustral’’ plan of which the archetype was that of St. Gallen

in Switzerland

The Basilican aisle hall for the body of the church, which has
been anticipated in England only in the work of St. Wilfrid.
Aisled naves were not common in lesser churches, but they
did occasionally occur in example such as those wings.
Buckinghamshire
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

ANGLO-SAXON MASONRY BUILDING

Includes the decorative devices of carolingan Germany
probably based on timber forms

Inherited from roman antiquity (pilaster strips, triangular

arcading, and the ubiquitous monolithic arch with impost
blocks)

Occasionaly is associated with ashlar facings and either in

and out bands or ‘’long and short works’’ in quoins.
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

OLATORY OF GALLERUS
Rectangular in plan in
the form of corbel vault
Smoothed worked
internally
Has pointed extrados
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

EARLS BARTON
EARLS BARTON: TOWER TOWER WINDOW
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

TRIANGULAR -
HEADED
OPENINGS
DEERHURSTS
GLO'STERSHIRE WINDOW
ANGLO-SAXON PERIOD

TURNED
BALUSTER AND
MID-WALL
SHAFTS
ST. MARY THE YOUNG
TOWER WINDOW
NORMAN PERIOD
1. VAULTING SYSTEM
GROIN VAULT
"Double Barrel Vault"
Intersection of right angles
of two barrel vaults
NORMAN PERIOD

RIB VAULT
"Ribbed Vault"
Main thrust is carried by
masonry ribs to the corners
of each bay
NORMAN PERIOD

CHOIR AISLE VAULT

Parallel to the nave of the choir
Sometimes joined at right angles
or in a semicircle behind the
high-altar
NORMAN PERIOD
2. CATHEDRAL PLANS
LATIN CROSS PLAN
Shape of a Latin Cross
Have a nave with aisles, or
chapels, or both, and a transet
that forms the arms of the cross.
NORMAN PERIOD
3. COLUMNS & PIERS
COMPOUND PIERS
With rectangular recesses
containing shafts were often used
alternately with cylindrical piers.
The shape of piers was influenced
by the vaulting shafts which they
supported.
NORMAN PERIOD

CYLINDRICAL PIERS
SOMETIES CYLINDRICAL OR
POLYGONAL IN SHAPE.

CAPITAL IS USUALLY CUBIC FORM

OR CUSHION TYPE, SOMETIMES
CARVED OR SCALLOPED.
NORMAN PERIOD
4. EXTERNAL FEATURES

WHEEL WINDOW/
ROSE WINDOW
A circular window having
radiating mullions like the
spokes of the wheel.
NORMAN PERIOD
STAINED GLASS
WINDOW
It is a transparent colored glass
formed into decorative mosaics
and set into windows, primarily
in churches.
The art was inspired by Roman
mosaics and illuminated
manuscripts.
IMPORTANT ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS

The buildings have an extremely massive appearance

Rounded arches is a standard feature
Arches are sometimes decorated with a ‘zig-zag’ chevron
pattern.
Massive wide cylindrical pillars are a common characteristic
Arcading of intersecting arches alongside walls is frequent
and is often piled up in storey to ornament the whole wall
(ornamental arcades).
Stained glass, in small pieces, leaded together in mosaic-like
patterns
IMPORTANT ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS

Capitals are usually cubic form or cushion type, sometimes

carved and scalloped.
The small shafts in the recessed 'orders' of doorways and
windows were sometimes richly carved.
Wide use of long naves on Cathedrals.
 THREE MAIN ARCHITECTONICAL
TYPOLOGIES

CHURCHES MONASTERIES CASTLES

1. CATHEDRALS

A cathedral is a church that contains

the cathedra (Latin for 'seat') of a
bishop, thus serving as the central
church of a diocese, conference, or
episcopate.
Peterborough Cathedral
Known for its imposing
Early English Gothic West
Front (façade).

One of the most important

12th-century buildings in
England to have remained
largely intact, despite
extensions and restoration.
Peterborough Cathedral (Interior)
Peterborough Cathedral (Interior)
Bristol Cathedral

It was originally St.

Augustine's Abbey but
after the Dissolution of the
Monasteries it became in
1542 the cathedral of the
new Diocese of Bristol.
Bristol Cathedral (Interior)
Canterbury Cathedral
One of the oldest
and most
famous Christian
structures in
England.

A part of
UNESCO World
Heritage Site.
Canterbury Cathedral (Interior)
Canterbury Cathedral (Interior)
Durham Cathedral

Constructed between
1093 and 1133

Designated a UNESCO
World Heritage SIte in
1986.
Durham Cathedral (Interior)
Durham Cathedral (Interior)
Carlisle Cathedral, Carlisle, England
Second smallest of
England's ancient
cathedrals.
Notable features
include figurative stone
carving, a set of
medieval choir stalls
and the largest window
in the Flowing
Decorated Gothic style
in England.
Carlisle Cathedral (Interior)
2. MONASTIC BUILDINGS

A monastery is a building or complex of

buildings comprising the domestic quarters
and workplaces of monastics, monks or
nuns.

A representative example of mature largely

Romanesque monastic architecture is
Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire.
Fountains Abbey, Yorkshire (Interior)
One of the largest and best
preserved ruined Cistercian
monasteries in England.

Founded in 1132, the abbey

operated for 407 years,
becoming one of the
wealthiest monasteries in
England until its dissolution,
by order of Henry VIII, in
1539.
3. CASTLES

Castles were private strongholds for King or Lord.

There were 1,500 castles in England and 1,200 were

founded in the 11th to 12th centuries.
Tower of London
His Majesty's Royal
Palace and Fortress of the
Tower of London

Built by William the

Conqueror in 1078 and
was a resented symbol of
oppression, inflicted upon
London by the new ruling
elite.
Hedingman Castle, Essex

Arguably the best preserved

Norman keep in England

The castle fortifications and

outbuildings were built
around 1100, and the keep
around 1140.
Orford Castle, Suffolk
It was built between 1165 and
1173 by Henry II of England to
consolidate royal power in the
region.

Described by historian R.
Allen Brown as "one of the
most remarkable keeps in
England"
Conisborough Castle, Yorshire
A medieval
fortification in
Conisborough, South
Yorshire, England.

This castle was built

on a rocky Magnesian
Limestone spur
surrounded by steep
banks.
ARCHITECTURAL
CHARACTER
SCANDINAVIA
SCANDINAVIA

Romanesque characteristics did not appear in the

architecture of Scandinavia, until British and Continental
Europen influenced upon church building.

The traditions of ship-building and of timber-built pagan

temples supported the development of a distinctive
native architecture.
SCANDINAVIA

MEDIEVAL DWELLINGS
Shows continuous tradition of timber building, particulary in
Norway.
The customary technique was a form of ‘’ lafting’’ using logs
lapped at their ends.
In dome two-storey versions, the upper storey and occasionally
the outer walls and ground level, were constructed in palisade
fashion very much in the form of a cell of a stave church.
The Swedish version of this combined structure, which was
common throughout south Scandinavia is known as
‘’ramioftstuga’’.
SCANDINAVIA

LAPPED - a joint formed by placing one piece partly over another

and uniting the overlapped portions.
SCANDINAVIA

Church at Signatuna Hav Oxial towers and eastern apses with either
constinous or crossing vaults.
SCANDINAVIA

OSTERLAR CHURCH, BORNHOLM ISLAND DENMARK

The series of round churches

represents an incident in
Danish progress toward
mature Romanesque
architecture.

Have central vault, piers,

apsidal projections, and bold
plan buttresses.
 12th century cathedral churches in
Scandinavia progressively wore mature
Romanesque characters, incorporating the
effects of Norman and German
development in masonry techniques and
structural design aimed at fully-vaulted
composition.
EXAMPLES
1. RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS

STAVE CHURCH
A Scandinavian wooden
church with vertical planks
forming walls.

Represents a most distinctive

indigenous architectural
phenomenon of the early
middle ages in Scandinavia.
Lund Cathedral, Sweden
LOCATED IN LUND,
SCANIA, SWEDEN.

CALLED AS "THE MOST

POWERFUL
REPRESENTATIVE OF
ROMANESQUE
ARCHITECTURE IN THE
NORDIC COUNTRIES".

ONE OF THE OLDEST

STONE BUILDINGS STILL
IN USE IN SWEDEN.
Lund Cathedral, Sweden
Lund Cathedral doorway detail
EXAMPLES
2. SECULAR BUILDINGS

Generally conformed to the strong tradition of

timber construction, and little original work
survives

Stone built dwellings followed the continental

custom, and must have had much in common
with the Norman manor house in England.
EXAMPLES

TYNNELSO
The lower storey is a
cross-vaulted undercroft
provavly used for storage
and occasional
accommodation of
livestock, with a hall and
chamber at first- floor
level.
EXAMPLES
PLAN AND SECTION OF TYNNELSO
Salamat!
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