Romanesque Architecture

The Architectural style of Medieval

Europe
 Outline
Introduction
Time and Place Characteristics

Building types and Examples

History and Society

The Church
The Monastery
Religion The Fortified Town
The Castle
Why Romanesque?

Materials
Time and Place
Period: 1000-1200 AD
Place: Western Europe
The Migration and Invasion of the
Tribes
 The Decline of Rome and the
beginning of the Dark Ages
Rome was occupied by barbarians in 476. The
Roman Empire in the West had already come to an
end in A.D. 475.
Franks France
Burgundians-Burgundy
Lombards-Lombardy
Goths/Visigoths-Gothic
Vandals-vandalism

Because of these invasions, Romanesque architecture was

obsessed with security, each building was a fortress. Constant
warfare rendered the condition of the people unsettled and
craftsmanship was consequently at a low ebb.
 The Romanesque World
Period: 1000-1200 AD

Romanesque building types

Churches
Castles
Monasteries
Fortified Towns
Norman Romanesque in Britain
Ottonian Romanesque in Germany

Medieval society:
Landowning lords and knights
Peasants and laborers
Monks and priests
HISTORY AND SOCIETY

Charlemagne
Feudalism
The Pilgrimage
The Crusades
 The election of the first Frankish King
Charlemagne (A.D. 799) as Holy Roman
Emperor marks the beginning of a new
era.

Between the time of Charlemagne (about

800 AD) and the beginning of Romanesque
two hundred years later, people had built
practically no big new buildings.

Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman

Emperor on Xmas Day 800. He
encouraged the building of churches and
monasteries using masonry.

Carolingian from Carolus, latin for

Charles

Charlemagne (Reign: 768-

814)
 The Politics of Feudalism

The Romanesque period saw the introduction of the system of feudal tenure,
or the holding of land on condition of military service
The Crusades 10951270
The Crusades were a series of religiously
sanctioned military campaigns waged by
much of Western Christian Europe,
particularly the Franks of France and the
Holy Roman Empire. The specific crusades
to restore Christian control of the Holy
Land were fought over a period of nearly
200 years, between 1095 and 1291.

The Crusades 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.
 The Crusades originally had the
goal of recapturing Jerusalem and The Crusades
Godefroy de Bouillon a French
the Holy Land from Muslim rule knight, leader of the First Crusade
and their campaigns were and founder of the Kingdom of
launched in response to a call Jerusalem.
from the Christian Byzantine
Empire for help against the
expansion of the Muslim Seljuk
Turks into Anatolia.
Crusaders took vows and were
granted penance for past sins,
often called an indulgence.
There was a total of nine crusades
in the Middle Ages.
Although Europe had been
exposed to Islamic culture for
centuries through contacts in
Iberian Peninsula and Sicily,
much knowledge in areas such as
science, medicine, and
architecture was transferred from
the Islamic to the western world
during the crusade era.
 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.
Religion in the Middle Ages
Christianity was the chief
source of education and
culture. The erection of a
church often resulted in
the foundation of a city.

The Monastic system the

religious become
members of an order with
common ties and a
common rule, living in a
mutually dependent
community.
Promoted new methods in
agriculture
Exercised influence on
architecture Angoulme Cathedral, France
1128 AD
In medieval times, people made long
trips to visit the relics or resting
The Pilgrimage
places of revered saints.
However, as the number of pilgrims
increased, there were simply too
many people to be housed in monastic
buildings and so inns and boarding
houses offered an alternative.
The pilgrimages allowed for the
exchange of ideas including those of
architecture and construction. The
pilgrims way was filled with
Romanesque churches, monasteries,
inns and castles.

Head reliquary Medieval society was often divided sharply

of St Martin of into rich and poor. But, on a pilgrimage,
Tours people from all walks of life could meet
and travel together.
 The pilgrim route to
Santiago de Compostela
 Santiago de Compostela, 1078

Many pilgrims who were unable to take on the huge prospect of a visit to the Holy
Land would instead travel to Rome, home of the worldwide Roman Catholic
Church, or Santiago de Compostella in Spain, where the shrine of St James was
housed.
ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive

style to spread across Europe since the Roman
Empire. It is used to describe the style which was
identifiably Medieval and prefigured the Gothic.
WHY ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE?
On the decline of the Roman Empire in 478AD, the Romanesque
style grew up in those countries of Western Europe which had
been under the rule of Rome.

Romanesque style is called that because it is a little like Roman

architecture with similarities between the barrel vault and
Roman arch, but it is made around 1000-1200 AD instead of
during the Roman Empire.

Apart from its Roman origin, from which it took its name, the
Romanesque style owed something to Byzantine art, which was
carried westwards along the great trade routes, by way of such
centers as Venice, Ravenna, and Marseilles.

With the church as the unifying force, this period was devoted
to the glorification of Christianity and the church was the
predominant building type.
 Climate and Materials
Geographical position determined many of the peculiarities of the
style in each country.

Use of local materials (stone or brick, marble or terra-cotta,

ready-made columns) depended on the region. The use of local
materials, whether stone or brick, marble or terra-cotta, as well
as of ready-made columns and other features from old Roman
buildings, accounts for many of the varying characteristics in each
country over this wide area, with its different geological
formations.

Climatic conditions contributed to differences of treatment north

and south of the Alps & Pyrenees.

North window openings were enlarged

high-pitched roofs
South small window openings
flat roofs
 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.

San Vittore alle Chiuse, Genga,

Italy, of undressed stone, has
Sant'Ambrogio, Milan is a typically fortress-like
constructed of bricks, 1099AD. appearance. 1011AD
 CHARACTERISTICS

Distinctive features of Romanesque

walls, openings, roofs, columns,
mouldings and ornaments.
 Characteristics of Romanesque:

thick walls which support

stone roofs
round arches
sturdy piers
groin and barrel vaults
large towers
decorative arcading
small windows to keep
the strength of the walls
strong

Right: Abbaye-aux-
Hommes, Caen,
France 11th C
 Characteristics of Romanesque:

stone was cut with precision

a blocky, earthbound
appearance
large, simple geometric
masses
the exterior reflects the
interior structure and
organization
interiors tend to be dark
because of the massive
walls that dictate small
windows
growing sophistication in San Antonino, Piacenza, Italy 1104 AD
vaulting to span the large
spaces
system of construction:
arcuated
WALLS
characterized by
corbelleza arches at
the cornice, one
series of corbel is
called corbel table
or blind arch ROOF
OPENINGS
a) introduced the wheel window
b) the recessed plane of door
jambs also called as the order
with quarter shaft.
a) used the dome which is
normally found at the
intersection of the nave and
transept

b) use of vaults

Left: a corbel table Above: wheel window and recessed arches,

San Pedro, Avila, Spain 1100
Columns
1. used variation of the Corinthian and the
Ionic capital with a twisted shaft known as the
scallop

2. developed the cushion or cubiforal type

and the scalloped capital

Used the following shafts:

a. fluted c. twisted or scallop e. wreathed columns
b. zigzag d. chevron
Moldings
1. usually in vegetable form/animal form
2. elaborately carved

Ornament
1. principal ornamentation were fresco
paintings
2. characteristic ornamentations in sculpture,
carvings and fresco painting usually :
a. vegetables
b. animal forms
 Other Romanesque features
Recessed arch entrance
Arches
Groin and barrel Vaults
Blind arcade
Absidioles and Ambulatory
Square Towers
Columns paired, attached, decorated
Tympanum
Historiated capitals
Underground vaults
Westwork
Recessed arched entrance
 Arch, barrel vault and the blind arcade
The half round arch and the
barrel vault. St Sernin,
Toulouse, France. A Lombard band is a decorative
blind arcade, usually exterior.
Below: A Lombard band in the
Basilica di Santa Giulia, northern
Italy.
 The Ambulatory and the Absidiole
Ambulatories-The creation of the ambulatory helped to accommodate the
growing number of pilgrims. In this arrangement, the aisles flanking the nave
were extended alongside the sanctuary and around the apse. Small relic chapels
or niche shrines radiated out from this ambulatory facilitating the flow of
pilgrims.

Absidioles round chapels around the

ambulatory. Below: Cluny Abbey, France
1131

St Martin of Tours, France

 Square Towers and Round Arches
Facade of Santa Maria, Cosmedin,
with bell tower, 6th C

Round arches at the facade

of the cathedral of Lisbon
 Square Towers and Round Arches
South transept of Tournai Facade of Angoulme
Cathedral Belgium, 12th Cathedral, France with towers
century with buttresses. and rounded arches.
 Domes
At St. Andrew's Church, The Cathedral of Saint-Front,
Krakw, the paired towers are Prigueux, France, has five domes
octagonal in plan and have like Byzantine churches, but is
domes of the Baroque period. Romanesque in construction.
 Columns with attached shafts, internal horizontal
divisions
The cathedral of Santiago de
Compostela, Spain, has large
columns constructed of drums, with
attached shafts

Mainz Cathedral, Germany,

possibly the earliest example of
an internal elevation of 3 stages
 Paired and decorated columns

Paired columns like those at Duratn,

near Seplveda, Spain, are a feature of
Romanesque cloisters in Spain, Italy
and southern France

Durham Cathedral, England,

has decorated masonry
columns and the earliest
pointed high ribs.
 Alternating piers and columns and the blind arcade
The "blind arcade" beneath this
St. Michael's, Hildesheim has window at Canterbury Cathedral
alternating piers and columns. has overlapping arches forming
points, a common decorative
feature of Romanesque architecture
in England
 Dwarf galleries, stone mouldings

Dwarf Galleries encircle Speyer
Cathedral.
On these much-restored
mouldings around the portal of
Lincoln Cathedral are formal
chevron ornament, tongue-
poking monsters, vines and
figures, and symmetrical
motifs in the Byzantine style.
 Tympanum and Historiated Capitals
A Capital from Seu Vella,
Lleida, Spain, showing spiral
The tympanum of Vzelay and paired motifs.
Abbey, Burgundy, France,
1130s, has much decorative
spiral detail in the draperies
 Doorways with a tympanum
Also called Romanesque Portal. They were later decorated and
the space between the doorhead and the inner arch was filled
by a stone slab called a TYMPANIUM which acted as the focal
point of the ornament.

St. Trophime
 Groin vaults and Underground Crypts

Bayeux Cathedral, the crypt

has groin vaults and simplified The painted crypt of San
Corinthian capitals. Isidoro at Len, Spain.
 The Westwork
A westwork is the monumental, west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian,
Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories
between two towers. The interior includes an entrance vestibule, a chapel and a
series of galleries overlooking the nave.

St Pantaleon, Cologne (960, 1150-

The westwork of Corvey Abbey (873-885) 60)
ORNAMENTS and PATTERNS

Some of the ornamentation and

patterns of the Romanesque
originated from the Northern tribes.
 Decorative Patterns

Chevron
A zigzagmolding used in
Romanesque archs

Billet
moldingformed by a series of circular,
cylinders, disposed alternately with the
notches in single or multiple rows
Lozenges
tongue-like protrusions. Adiamond
shape decoration found carved onpillars
andarches.

Star
also called chip-carved star,
motive star flower, or saltire cross
Nailheads
moulding featuring a series of small
contiguous projecting pyramids

Cable
a convex molding carved in
imitation of a rope or cord, and
used
to decorate the moldings of the

Romanesque style
 Frescoes and Stained Glass
Fresco from Church of St.
Clement, now in Museu Stained glass, the Prophet
Nacional d'Art de Catalunya . Daniel from Augsburg
Cathedral, late 11th century.
ARCHES AND COLUMNS

Some examples of arches and

column capitals.
 THE ROUND ARCH
Semi Circular Arch

~A round arch whose

intrados is a full semicircle.

Segmented Arch
~a shallow arch; an arch that
is less than a semicircle
 THE ROUND ARCH

Stilted Arch
~An arch whose curve begins
above the impost line.

Horseshoe Arch
~also called theMoorish archand
theKeyhole arch
 Romanesque
Capitals
Block, cushion, or cubic capital: A
simple cube-like capital with bottom
corners tapered. The block capital is
particularly characteristic of
Ottonian and Romanesque
architecture in Germany and
England.
Historiated or figured capital: A
capital which is decorated with
figures of animals, birds, or
humans, used either alone or
combined with foliage. The figures
need not have any meaning,
although they may be symbolic or
part of a narrative sequence.
Historiated capitals were most
commonly used in the
Romanesque from the late
eleventh to mid-twelfth centuries.
ROMANESQUE BUILDING
TYPES
Churches
Monasteries
Castles
Fortified Towns
 CHURCHES

Christianity, the chief source of education and culture,

was gradually extending throughout northern Europe,
and the erection of a church often resulted in the
foundation of a city ; for the Papacy had been rising to
great power and influence, and rivaled, or even
controlled, such civil government as existed.
 ITALIAN ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE
EXAMPLES
NORTH ITALY
CENTRAL ITALY S. Antonino, Piacenza (A.D.
Pisa Cathedral (A.D. 106392) 1104)

S. Ambrogio, Milan (A.D. 1140)

San Michele, Lucca(A.D. 1188,
facade A.D. 1288) S. Michele, Pavia (A.D. 1188)

Pistoia Cathedral (c. A.D. 1150) S. Zeno Maggiore, Verona (A.D.

1139)

The Cloisters of S. Giovanni in The Baptistery, Cremona (A.D.

Laterano, Rome (A.D. 1234) 1167)

San Paolo Fuori le Mura, Rome The Baptistery, Asti (A.D.

1050)
(A.D. 1241)
The Baptistery, Parma (A.D.
San Miniato, Florence (A.D. 1196)
1013)
Romanesque, Central Italy

Pisa Cathedral (A.D. 106392) with

Baptistery, Campanile
 Romanesque, Central Italy

San Martino, Lucca

San Michele, Lucca
(A.D. 1060, facade, A.D. 1204)
(A.D. 1188, facade A.D. 1288)
 Romanesque, Central Italy

Pistoia Cathedral (c. A.D. San Paolo Fuori le Mura,

1150) Rome
(A.D. 1241)
 Romanesque, Central Italy
The Cloisters of S.
Giovanni, Laterano,
Rome (A.D. 1234)
San Miniato, Florence
(A.D. 1013)
 Romanesque, North Italy

San Antonino, Piacenza (A.D. 1104) San Ambrogio, Milan (A.D. 1140)
 Romanesque, North Italy

San Zeno Maggiore, Verona (A.D. 1139),

San Michele, Pavia (A.D. 1188)

 Romanesque, North
The Baptistery, Italy
The Baptistery,
Parma Cremona (A.D.
(A.D. 1196) 1167)
 Romanesque, Southern Italy

Monreale Cathedral (A.D.

1174)

S. Giovanni degli Eremiti,

Palermo (A.D. 1132)

La Martorana, Palermo
(A.D. 1129-1143)

S. Cataldo, Palermo (A.D.

1161)

S. Nicolo, Bari (A.D. 1197)

Monreale Cathedral (A.D. 1174)

 Romanesque, Southern Italy
La Martorana, Palermo
(A.D. 1129-1143)

S. Giovanni degli Eremiti,

Palermo (A.D. 1132)
 Romanesque, Southern Italy
S. Cataldo, Palermo
(A.D. 1161) S. Nicolo, Bari (A.D.
1197)
 FRENCH ROMANESQUE
Notre Dame la Grande,
The Abbaye-aux-Dames, Caen
Poitiers (A.D. 11th
(A.D. 1083)
century)

S. Nicholas, Caen (A.D. 1084) Fontevrault Abbey (A.D.

Saint Sernin, Toulouse, France
(1080 1120)
S. Madeleine, Vezelay (A.D. 1100)
Autun Cathedral (A.D. 1090-1132)
110119)
Abbey Church of Mont S.
Michel (A.D. 1023)
The Church at S. Gilles (c.
A.D. 1150)

The Abbey of S. Denis (A.D. 1132)

S. Philibert, Tournus,
S. Trophime, Arles (A.D. 1150) Burgundy
 French Romanesque

The Abbaye-aux-Hommes, Caen Abbeye-aux- Dames, Caen

or S. Etienne, 1120AD 1083AD
 French Romanesque
S. Nicholas, Caen
Saint Sernin, Toulouse,
(A.D. 1084) (1080 1120)
 French
S. Madeleine,
Romanesque
Vezelay Autun Cathedral
(A.D. 1100) (A.D. 1090-1132)
 French Romanesque
The Abbey of S. Denis S. Trophime, Arles
(A.D. 1132) (A.D. 1150)
 French Romanesque
Notre Dame la
Grande, Poitiers
(A.D. 11th century) Fontevrault Abbey
(A.D. 110119)
 French Romanesque
The Church at S.
Gilles
(c. A.D. 1150)

Abbey Church of
Mont S. Michel (A.D.
1023)
 GERMAN ROMANESQUE
Speyer Cathedral (A.D. 1030)

Worms Cathedral
(A.D. 11101200)

Laach Abbey (A.D. 1093-1156)

Lubeck Cathedral (A.D. 1173)

Treves Cathedral (A.D. 101647)

Speyer Cathedral, Germany 1030-1061

 GERMAN ROMANESQUE

Laach Abbey
(A.D. 1093-1156)

Worms Cathedral
(A.D. 11101200)
 GERMAN ROMANESQUE
Lubeck Cathedral Treves Cathedral
(A.D. 1173) (A.D. 101647)
 Plans

The cruciform and the Greek plan.

 PLANS USED BY ROMANESQUE CHURCHES
1. adopted the Greek and the Latin cross
plan
2. faces the east

aint Sernin, Toulouse, France,1080 - 1120

 PLANS USED BY ROMANESQUE
The Greek CrossCHURCHES
Plan, with four
equal arms

Saint Front, Perigueux,

France, 1100
MEDIEVAL MONASTARIES

Monasteries were often sited just

outside the city gates and provided
work, medical care, education, and
hostels for travellers.
 Science, letters, art, and culture
were the monopoly of the
religious Orders.
The Mediaeval Monasteries
Schools attached to monasteries
trained youths for the service of
religion; monks and their pupils
were the designers of the
cathedrals.

architecture sacred science

They initiated the agricultural

development of the time:
grain production
sheep-rearing
dry-stone walling techniques
water wheels
drainage.

St Martin Canigou, 1001-26 They also trained masons, carvers,

joiners and engineers.
 The Medieval Monasteries

e Abbey Church, Cluny (A.D. 1089-1131)

A Typical
Monastery
 CASTLES

The castles started as defence

structures.
The motte and bailey
 Building type-Castles
Rochester Castle, Kent,
England 1130AD
Cardiffe Castle, England
1091AD
 La Zisa, Palermo (A.D. 1154-66), is a rectangular, three-
storey Norman castle with battlemented parapet, and shows
the influence of Saracenic art.
 FORTIFIED TOWNS

A defensive wall is
a fortification used to defend a city
or settlement from potential
aggressors.
 Fortified Town
Monterriggioni, 13th C Sienna
In the heart of Tuscany, in the southwest corner of the Chianti region, Monteriggioni
castle was built in the second decade of the thirteenth century by the Republic of
Siena. Its original purpose was as a defensive outpost against Sienas rival,
Florence.
The Carcassonne, France 1226AD

Since the pre-Roman period, a fortified

settlement has existed on the hill where
Carcassonne now stands. In its present
form it is an outstanding example of a
medieval fortified town, with its massive
defences encircling the castle and the
surrounding buildings, its streets and its
fine Gothic cathedral.
Avila, Spain, 1090AD

Founded in the 11th century to protect the

Spanish territories from the Moors, this
'City of Saints and Stones', the birthplace
of St Teresa and the burial place of the
Grand Inquisitor Torquemada, has kept its
medieval austerity. This purity of form can
still be seen in the Gothic cathedral and the
fortifications which, with their 82
semicircular towers and nine gates, are the
most complete in Spain.
Peniscola, Spain, 1294AD

Peniscola, often called the

"Gibraltar of Valencia," is a fortified
seaport, with a lighthouse, built on a rocky
headland about 67 m high, and joined to
the mainland by only a narrow strip of land.
 The Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel, France,
1017AD

A Benedictine Abbey, Normandy, France. It is unquestionably the finest example

both of French medieval architecture and of a fortified abbey. The buildings of
the monastery are piled round a conical mass of rock which rises abruptly out of
the waters of the Atlantic to the height of 300 feet, on the summit of which
stands the great church.
FIN
 Romanesque Capitals
Cushion Capital ~ A capital resembling a cushion that
is pressed down because of weight on it.

Scalloped Capital ~ a capital when each lunette is

developed into several truncated cones.
Pisa Cathedral and Campanile, 1063, 1089-1272