Romanesque Architecture

The Architectural style of Medieval

Europe
 Outline
 Introduction  Characteristics
Time and Place
 Building types and
 History and Society
Examples

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

 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.
Charlemagne (Reign: 768-
814)  Carolingian – from Carolus,
latin for Charles
 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 1095–1270
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 The Crusades
Godefroy de Bouillon a French
and the Holy Land from Muslim
knight, leader of the First Crusade
rule 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
Angoulême Cathedral, France
architecture
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
pilgrim’s 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
vaulting to span the large
spaces
 system of construction: San Antonino, Piacenza, Italy 1104 AD
arcuated
WALLS
characterized by
corbelleza arches at the
cornice, one series of
corbel is called “corbel
table” or “blind arch”
OPENINGS
a) introduced the wheel window
b) the recessed plane of door
jambs also called as the order
with quarter shaft.
ROOF
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 Angoulême
Cathedral Belgium, 12th Cathedral, France with towers
century with buttresses. and rounded arches.
 Domes
At St. Andrew's Church, The Cathedral of Saint-Front,
Kraków, the paired towers are Périgueux, 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 Duratón,

near Sepúlveda, 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 Vézelay 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 León, 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 zigzag molding used in
Romanesque archs

Billet
molding formed by a series of circular,
cylinders, disposed alternately with the
notches in single or multiple rows
Lozenges
tongue-like protrusions. A diamond
shape decoration found carved on pillars
and arches.

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 the Moorish arch and
the Keyhole 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
CENTRAL ITALY NORTH ITALY
Pisa Cathedral (A.D. 1063–92) S. Antonino, Piacenza (A.D. 1104)

San Michele, Lucca(A.D. 1188, facade S. Ambrogio, Milan (A.D. 1140)

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 Laterano,
Rome (A.D. 1234)
The Baptistery, Cremona (A.D. 1167)

San Paolo Fuori le Mura, Rome

The Baptistery, Asti (A.D. 1050)
(A.D. 1241)

The Baptistery, Parma (A.D. 1196)

San Miniato, Florence (A.D. 1013)
Romanesque, Central Italy

Pisa Cathedral (A.D. 1063–92) 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

San Paolo Fuori le Mura, Rome

Pistoia Cathedral (c. A.D. 1150)
(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 Italy
The Baptistery, Parma The Baptistery, Cremona
(A.D. 1196) (A.D. 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
The Abbaye-aux-Dames, Caen (A.D. 1083)
Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers
S. Nicholas, Caen (A.D. 1084) (A.D. 11th century)

Saint Sernin, Toulouse, France Fontevrault Abbey (A.D. 1101–19)

(1080 – 1120)
Abbey Church of Mont S. Michel
S. Madeleine, Vezelay (A.D. 1100) (A.D. 1023)

Autun Cathedral (A.D. 1090-1132) The Church at S. Gilles (c. A.D.

1150)
The Abbey of S. Denis (A.D. 1132)

S. Trophime, Arles (A.D. 1150)

S. Philibert, Tournus, 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 Romanesque
S. Madeleine, 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, Fontevrault Abbey
Poitiers (A.D. 11th century) (A.D. 1101–19)
 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. 1110–1200)

Laach Abbey (A.D. 1093-1156)

Lubeck Cathedral (A.D. 1173)

Treves Cathedral (A.D. 1016–47)

Speyer Cathedral, Germany 1030-1061

 GERMAN ROMANESQUE

Laach Abbey
(A.D. 1093-1156)

Worms Cathedral
(A.D. 1110–1200)
 GERMAN ROMANESQUE
Lubeck Cathedral Treves Cathedral
(A.D. 1173) (A.D. 1016–47)
 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

Saint Sernin, Toulouse, France,1080 - 1120

 PLANS USED BY ROMANESQUE CHURCHES
The Greek Cross 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.
 The Mediaeval Science, letters, art, and culture
were the monopoly of the
Monasteries religious Orders.

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.

They also trained masons, carvers,

joiners and engineers.

St Martin Canigou, 1001-26

 The Medieval Monasteries

The 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 Siena’s 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