Romanesque Architecture

Romanesque refers to an architectural style from early medieval Europe that mixes elements from Roman and Byzantine styles. However, the style did not have a proper name until the nineteenth century, when scholars sought to identify the early medieval style that began approximately during the era of Charlemagne and became the dominant European style from 1000 to approximately the 1200s. Romanesque structures are generally known for massive structures, dark interiors, and simple ornamentation. Builders from Italy, France, Spain, and even Britain had more knowledge about Roman architectural style and thus, the Romanesque is most prevalent in these areas, although it was the first period of medieval art to span western Europe and beyond. In time, Romanesque architecture became a sacred art, the material expression of Christianity, in an era when all of the arts were imbued with Christian spirituality and conceived as appropriate only for the greater glory of God.

Brief History

Monasticism began to spread through Europe in the early Middle Ages; monks had begun to travel even to the most remote places in order to live communally and spread Christianity. By the inception of the High Middle Ages (1000–1200), many new orders existed, such as the Benedictines from Italy, the Carthusians from Cologne, and the Cistercians and Cluniacs from France. These were driving forces of a monastic building boom. The High Middle Ages, a period of relative stability and prosperity that lasted for about two centuries, was a time of population growth, a flourishing of the arts, and an expansion of monasteries, churches, castles, palaces, universities, libraries, and infrastructure building such as bridges.

For the first time since the Fall of Rome in 476, monumental doorways, religious sculptures, sculpted bands carved on church doors and facades, and other architectural adornments were created. Builders strove to erect structures that would accommodate large numbers of the faithful. Churches endeavored to attract pilgrims by housing relics—a sure path to a church’s prosperity—and monasteries and convents expanded in order to shelter growing numbers of the cloistered.

Many churches incorporated aisles called ambulatories, in which pilgrims were expected to walk and appreciate the relics exhibited within. Pilgrims donated funds and also spent significant amounts of money in church towns, leading to the economic growth of monasteries and cities, which in turn resulted in even further building.

The imposing Romanesque architecture, however, was principally meant to inspire religious awe. Besides massively thick walls, the new style incorporated vaults, apses, naves, lateral aisles with chapels at the ends, and vaulted ceilings. Massive churches allowed for larger groups of the faithful to congregate in a single space. Frescoes in striking colors were abundant, decorating interior walls and ceilings.

The vaults and domes in Romanesque architecture were adopted from the Byzantine style, which flourished in the eastern part of the former Roman Empire. The semicircular arches, which appear everywhere in Romanesque architecture, were adopted from classical Roman architecture. The style also incorporated some Germanic, Norman, and Lombard features. The Romanesque adopted different regional elements, which created local variations and some specific schools, such as the Romanesque of the Poitou-Charentes and Périgord schools, and the Auvergne school, which is represented by the famous Santiago of Compostela Cathedral in Spain.

Overview

The fall of the Roman empire resulted in political instability in Europe and a number of important cultural shifts over several centuries. By the High Middle Ages, however, political stability, commercial growth, and the dominance of Christendom had led to one of the major architectural developments in Europe: the rise of Romanesque architecture.

Romanesque architecture is primarily a religious architecture, made to reflect the power of the church, with vaulted, dark interiors that moved the occupant toward prayer and reflection. The sense of classical harmony disappeared and a fundamentally severe and solid aspect appeared. The arches set over columns, adopted from classical Rome but brought into the interior, served to join the naves. The preferred layouts were the Latin Cross, which divided a church into 3 naves, or the Greek Cross, which divided the building into 4 equilateral sections. A transversal nave, known as an ambulatory, crossed the lateral naves, and was meant for pilgrims to walk around and observe the relics. The central nave became increasingly higher—in the Gothic period it would reach its apogee—and narrow windows were set along the nave, providing a softly luminous ambiance.

Usually a second level was built above the lateral naves, in order to provide shelter for pilgrims. The naves were finished with chapels at the ends, which in turn served to better distribute the weight. The belfry was built in different places, according to the builders’ preference, commonly situated by the main façade. The main altar was often flanked by fresco murals in striking colors.

In Romanesque architecture, the external walls are thick and reinforced by exterior buttresses, which support the vaults and dome. One or two frontal towers flank the entrance. Sometimes, external walls were decorated with geometric relief or other simple elements. Such decorations were usually limited to adorn the portal or arcade. Some Romanesque facades are more ornamented than others; the facades of the Auvergne school, for example, are blank walls.

Romanesque architecture was impelled by the desire to build grand and long-lasting structures that would withstand the destructive elements of time. In consequence, stone became the most important building material for walls. Vaults were preferred, not only for aesthetic and symbolic reasons, but also for practical purposes. Vaults deterred the frequent fires that commonly destroyed medieval buildings that were roofed with wood and thatch. Romanesque masons, then, built massively thick walls that could carry the huge weight of the vaults and were more impervious to fire and the elements.

Windows, which could detract from the strength required to hold up the domes and vaults, were relatively small and few. They were, however, important because of the need to illuminate the murals and for the symbolic value of light. Therefore, light inside Romanesque churches is a diffuse, soft light that invites spiritual contemplation and introspection.

Romanesque monasteries and cloisters were usually square layouts, surrounded by arched galleries supported by colonnades. The Spanish Romanesque developed portico galleries, especially in the southern regions. Porticoes surrounded up to three walls, and were used as a space for reflection, socialization, and processions.

The end of the Romanesque style came gradually with the development of the Gothic period in the late twelfth century, although it would know a couple of revivals in later centuries, such as the neo-Romanesque or Romanesque revival of the nineteenth century. Among its most renowned monuments are the Abbeys of Cluny and Vezelay in Burgundy, France; the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem; and Durham Cathedral in England, which houses the relics of St. Cuthbert, St. Oswald, and the Venerable Bede.

Bibliography

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