2. Europe in the
Romanesque
Period
Romanesque: 1000-1150/1200. Overlap w/Byzantine… 500 - 1400 (late Byzantine)
William the Conqueror invades England and conquers it in 1066; ties w/Normandy
3. Early Medieval = 500 yrs of
Illiteracy, Invaders & Instability
• Did NOT promote major architectural innovation, except
brief periods w/Charlemagne & Ottonian rulers
• Many expected the world to end in flames & the Second
Coming in 1033 (2012 ??)
• Hey! We’re still here… Europe got back its VERVE and
JOIE DE VIVRE.
• Still war threatened… and they’d forgotten about civilized
amenities like sanitation, concrete, roads…
• But fragments of Rome leftover inspired
Romanesque architects
4. Europe Settles Down…
• Vikings were Christianized; Islamic invaders
neutralized
• Trade & the arts flourished in cities, that finally
began to expand
• Strong bonds between Kings & feudal leaders and
the Church brought stability, kind of like the old
Roman Empire…
5. Feudal Life
Land was main source of wealth and power for aristocracy (hereditary)
Feudalism: land for services, Lord gave property & protection to vassal,
who worked for the lord & gave military service. Peasants worked the land.
Worcester Chronicle
Illustrates the 3 classes
Church was closely aligned
With Kings & Feudal Lords
Aristocracy gave church
Land for monasteries
Church gave education
Unified communities
6. Church as Center of Medieval Life
• Towns outdoing each other building churches: civic pride
• Record keeping, birth, wedding, death, worship, trade in
town center
• “Shortly after the year 1000, all Christian peoples were seized with a
great desire to outdo one another in magnificence. It was as if the
very world had shaken itself, and casting off her old garments, was
clothing herself everywhere in a white robe of churches.”- Ralph
Glaber, monk, 1050
• Medieval masons: master builders, architects,
artists, who learned through experience &
apprenticeship, vs. formal study.
8. A Pilgrim’s Progress…
“ a hank of hair, and a piece of bone…from every shire’ s end.. .Of
England to Canterbury they went…the blessed martyr for to
seek.” -Chaucer, Canterbury Tales
• Mass phenomenon that sent 1000s of religious
pilgrims across Europe and Holy Lands, wending
from 1 church to next, seeing holy relics such
as?????
• Crusades in 11th and 12th centuries…Europe
previously playing defense against Islamic
invaders, now became aggressor (WHY??)
9. The Pilgrim’s Journey
•Tomb of St. Peter &
Constantian churches in
Rome
•Cathedral of St. James
in Santiago de
Compostela Spain
•Journeys 1 year +
•Monasteries provided
food & lodging
•Visit relics on way
•TOURISM for towns
and $$-build churches
•Ex: Chartres had piece
of tunic of St. Mary
•Injured/sick looking for
miracles with holy relics
10. Romanesque : Pilgrim’s Progress
•Sculpture shows Jesus as a pilgrim..
Pilgrim’s hat, satchel with seashell…
on road to Emmaus with disciples.
•Great religious fervor, increasing
prosperity of monasteries, & cult of
pilgrimages inspired construction of
tens of thousands of churches!
•Between 1050-1350, in France
alone, 80 cathedrals, 500 large
churches, and 10,000’s of churches
were constructed.
•Where else have we seen religious
pilgrimages?????
Christ and Disciples on Road to Emmau,
Pier relief, 1100, Cloister of the Abbey of
Santo Domingo, Castile, Spain.
11. Romanesque Architecture:
A Mighty Fortress
Roman revival, sort of ...
Really a combination of styles!
Watch video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSiD5Jinpuw&playnext=
1&list=PL7F02240CB490E6C3&index=15
12. ROMANESQUE: A KIND OF ROMAN
REVIVAL
Romanesque builders added apses,
variety of ambulatories, and chapels to
accommodate pilgrims & worshippers.
Use of cut stone masonry.. Enhanced
acoustics for Gregorian chants…
•Gregorian Monks Medieval Chant
Interior, Church of Saint Vincenc,
Cardona Spain
One of the first Romanesque churches
built in Spain, built in 1020s
Used strip buttresses and arched corbel
tables for decoration as well as support.
Needed thick walls and small windows
for security (threat of war)
13. Norman Romanesque
Mont St. Michel, France
• Largely intact
Romanesque with rare
wooden roof
• Gothic spires later
addition
• Completely cut off at high
tide
• 3 layer: ground floor,
tribune gallery, clerestory
windows
• Nave divided into regular
bays
17. Battle of 1066
• William the Conqueror
• Invaded Britain with the Norman knights,
British had no cavalry
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLy1Lsk
T6Y8&feature=related
19. Bishop Odo Blessing the Feast, Bayeux Tapestry
Norman-Anglo Saxon embroidery
300” long, 20” high, 1066-1082, Romanesque Period
Commemorated the conquest of England and defeat of King Harold by William the
Conqueror
flashcard
21. Cathedral of St. James, Santiago
de Compostela
1078-1122, Gallica, Spain
•MAJOR pilgrimage destination
•Model of functional planning &
traffic control of PILGRIMS
•Continuous aisles & ambulatories
let pilgrims move around the
church, visiting chapels and
saying prayers, w/o disrupting
main services @ high altar
•Solidity and geometric forms:
mighty fortress of Romanesque
style!
•Church was open 24/7 to
welcome pilgrims
•Held body of St. James, patron
saint of Iberian peninsula
•Flashcard
22. Reconstruction drawing & floor plan of
Cathedral of St James, Santiago de
Compostela, Spain, 1078-1122
23. Cross section of Cathedral
of St. James
Note: pointed arches,
possibly inspired by what
kind of architecture that
would have been seen in
Spain????????????
Pointed arches would later
be adopted in Gothic
churches…can bear more
weight and give higher
effect, let in more light.
24. Reliquary Statue of Sainte
Foy
Gilt over wood core, added
gems and cameos
33” high, Conques, France
9th or 10th century
Housed skull of child martyr
Sainte Foy (Saint Faith)
Romanesque pilgrims &
Christians wanted to
venerate & worship actual
relics of saints & holy
people…how was this
different than the Byzantine
Christian traditions????
25. flashcard
Palace Chapel of Charlemagne, 9th century, Aachen, Germany
Preceded or laid groundwork for Romanesque style architecture…
Remember this???
26. Last Judgment at
Autun, Tympamum on
West Portal, Cathedral
of Saint-Lazara, Autun
Giselbertus
flashcard
1120-1130
(Romanesque)
Stylized figures,
terrifying urgency of
last judgment
Thin, tall figures
swarming around
Christ
2 pilgrims in bottom
register
27. Christ in Majesty, Church of
San Clement, Spain
Flashcard
Mural painting in Romanesque
church
Byzantine influence in
elongated figures
Classical influence in drapery
28. Virgin & Child (aka Mary as Throne
of Wisdom)
Late 12th century (Romanesque)
Oak w/polychromy, 21” high
29. Some variations in
Romanesque style…
For example, Cistercian
monks believed in simplicity
rather than ornate decoration
Abbey Church of Notre-Dame,
Fontenay, 1139-47, Burgundy
Pointed rib barrel
vaults..churches such as this
one influenced the
International Gothic Style that
became popular in the
1300s…
Romanesque churches had
many regional variations…
30. Cathedral Complex, Pisa; 1063-13th century, Tuscany, Italy
Early Christian & Roman influence seen in columns & arcades
OOOPS>>. What’s happening with the CAMPANILE (Bell Tower?)
Rich marble facades, cruciform basilica, (tons of lead added to base, reinforced
so the leaning tower doesn’t fall!!) Jon Mora assigned (FAIL)
32. S
p 1st Romanesque church
e in Germany - 10th
y century - flashcard
e
r 80 years to build
c Engaged columns semi-
a circular, stone roof unlike
t other churches
h
e Typical arches & bays
d Built by Emperor Conrad
r
a 1st buliding constructed
l entirely from stone in
Europe
Largest crypt in Germany
Speyer Cathedral
33. Exterior of Speyer Cathedral
1080-1106 (Romanesque)
Largest Romanesque
architecture known
34. ENGLISH
INNOVATION: THE
RIB VAULT
Durham Cathedral, England,
1087-1133
Flashcard
Norman Conquest of England in 1066,
legacy of William the Conqueror
Part of a Benedictine monastery &
complex
Long narrow nave
Huge composite piers alternate with
carved & decorated columns
Stone ribs strengthened groin vaults so
they could carry more weight
Strong vertical emphasis, laid
groundwork for Gothic architecture
35. Dover Castle
England
Note Great
Tower, walled
defenses.
Invaders tried
to scale walls,
very difficult
due to location
on cliff
Round towers
more resistant
to tunneling
under and to
battering rams
