ROMANESQUE

ROMAN-LIKE
ARCHITECTURE
The Architectural style of Christian Medieval
Europe
Period: 1000-1200 AD
Place: Western Europe
Group 3 – Ammar , Anisa , Anshal,Furkan, Nehal , Arshul , Muzaib , Srashti
 The Decline Of Rome
Rome was occupied by ‘Barbarians’ in 476.
 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..

Beginning Of Romanesque Architecture

• End Of Barbarian Invasions
• Vikings Conversion To Christianity

• Expansion because of
• Feudalism
• Religious Order Of Expanding Monasteries
• Pilgrimage
• Crusades
In the 10th century ,first or Lombard Romanesque was an early development in Lombardy
region(now northern italy),souther france and reaching to catalonia(northeasten spain).
 The Romanesque World
Period : 1000 – 1200 AD

Romanesque building types

• Churches
• Castles
• Monasteries
• Fortified Towns
CHURCH OF SAN MARTIN SPAIN BODIAM CASTLE UK
Norman – Romanesque in Britain
Ottonian – Romanesque in Germany

FORTIFIED TOWNS MONASTRY OF TRAVANCA PORTUGAL

History And Society
The Politics of Feudalism
CHARLEMAGNE
(CHARLES THE GREAT)
• King of Franks in 768 and
• king of Lombards in 774
• Holy Roman Emperor in 800

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.

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.

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

Santiago de Compostela, 1078 Angoulême Cathedral, France The pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela
1128 AD

• Across Europe, the late 11th and 12th centuries saw an unprecedented growth in the number of churches.
• Christianity was the chief source of education and culture.
• The erection of a church often resulted in the foundation of a city.
• The religions become members of an order with common ties and a common rule, living in a mutually dependent
community.
• The Monastry system promoted new methods in agriculture
• They Exercised influence on architecture
• In medieval times, 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.

Medieval society was often divided sharply into rich

and poor. But, on a pilgrimage, people from all
walks of life could meet and travel together.
 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.
• 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.

Canterbury Cathedral

Nave of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse, France .

WHY ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE?

• 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
• Materials used in the construction depended on the climatic conditions of different
places.
• 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.
• Following are some of the common design principles adopted for different regions-
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.

Sant'Ambrogio, Milan is constructed of bricks, 1099AD.

San Vittore alle Chiuse, Genga, Italy, of undressed stone, has a typically
fortress-like appearance. 1011AD
CHARACTERISTICS OF ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE
The following are some prominent chacteristics of Romanesque architecture-

• 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

decorative arcading small windows to keep the

strength of the walls strong

thick walls which round arches sturdy piers groin and barrel vaults large towers
support stone
roofs
ELEMENTS IN ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE
WALLS
These are characterized by corbel leza
arches at the cornice, one series of corbel
is called “corbel table” or “blind arch”
Used the following shafts
OPENINGS • Fluted
• Introduced the wheel window • Twisted or Scallop
• The recessed plane of door jambs also • Wreathed Columns
called as the order with quarter shaft. • Zigzag
• chevron
ROOF
• Used the dome which is normally found
at the intersection of the nave and
transept.
• Use of vaults.

a corbel table Above: wheel window and recessed arches,

San Pedro, Avila, Spain 1100

MOLDINGS
• Usually in vegetable form /
animal form
• Elaborately Carved

ORNAMENT
• Principal ornamentation
COLUMNS were Fresco paintings.
• Used variation of the Corinthian and the • Characteristic
iconic capital with a twisted shaft ornamentations in sculpture,
known as the “Scallop” carvings and fresco painting
• Developed the cushion or cubi foral usually- vegetables, animal
type and the scalloped capital. forms .
 OTHER FEATURES OF ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

• Recessed arch entrance

• Arches
• Groin and barrel Vaults
• Blind arcade
• Absidioles and Ambulatory
• Square Towers
• Columns – paired, attached, decorated Recessed Arch Entrance
• Tympanum
• Historiated capitals
• Underground vaults
• Westwork

The half round arch and the barrel vault. St Serein,

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 SQUARE TOWERS AND
ROUND ARCHES
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.

Facade of Santa Maria, Cosmedin, Round arches at the facade of

Cluny Abbey, France 1131 with bell tower, 6th C the cathedral of Lisbon
Absidioles – round chapels around the ambulatory.

DOMES SQUARE TOWERS AND ROUND ARCHES

At St. Andrew's Church,

Kraków, the paired South transept of Tournai
towers are octagonal in Cathedral Belgium, 12th
plan and have domes of century with buttresses.
the Baroque period.

The Cathedral of Saint-

Front, Périgueux, Facade of Angoulême
St Martin of Tours, France, has five domes Cathedral, France
like Byzantine churches, with towers and
France but is Romanesque in rounded arches.
construction.
COLUMNS – PAIRED, ATTACHED, DECORATED Durham Cathedral, England, has decorated masonry columns
and the earliest pointed high ribs.

The cathedral of
Santiago de
Compostela,
Spain, has large
columns
constructed of
drums, with
attached shafts

Paired columns like those at Duratón, near Sepúlveda, Spain, are a feature
of Romanesque cloisters in Spain, Italy and southern France

Mainz Cathedral, Germany, possibly the earliest

example of an internal elevation of 3 stages
DWARF GALLERIES , STONE MOULDING

It is a natural development of the blind arcade and consists of an

arcaded gallery, usually just below the roof, recessed into the thickness
of the walls. A dwarf gallery is an architectural ornament in
Romanesque architecture

Stone mouldings are the best option for giving greater impact to wall
covering. The Panespol decorative stone moulding brings an enviable
realism to the setting, perfectly imitating the stone and can be used
both indoors and outdoors.
Dwarf Galleries encircle Speyer portal of Lincoln Cathedral
TYMPANUM AND HISTORIATED CAPITALS Cathedral.

In a triangular pediment, the area is defined by the horizontal cornice

along the bottom and by the raking (sloping) cornice along the sides; in
a segmental pediment, the sides have segmental cornices

DOORWAYS WITH A TYMPANUM

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.Also called Romanesque Portal

The tympanum of Vézelay Abbey,

Burgundy, France
ARCHES AND COLUMNS (SOME EXAMPLES OF ARCHES AND COLUMN CAPITALS.)
Semi Circular Arch Stilted Arch Segmented Arch Horseshoe Arch
A round arch whose intrados is a full An arch whose curve begins above the A shallow arch, an arch that is less than a Also called Moorish arch and the Keyhole
semicircle. impost line. semicircle arch.

ROMANESQUE CAPITALS
Historiated or figured capital
Block, cushion, or cubic A capital which is decorated with figures of animals,
capital birds, or humans, used either alone or combined with
A simple cube-like capital with foliage. The figures need not have any meaning,
bottom corners tapered. It is the Historiated capitals were most commonly used in the
characteristic of Ottonian and Romanesque from the late eleventh to mid-twelfth
Romanesque architecture in centuries.
Germany and England.
ROMANESQUE BUILDING TYPES
• CHURCHES • MONASTERIES • CASTLES • FORTIFIED TOWNS

CHURCHES
Christianity, the chief source of education and culture, gradually extended
throughout northern Europe, and the erection of a church often resulted
in the foundation of a city.

SOME OF THE 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 A.D. 1288) – S. Ambrogio, Milan (A.D. 1140)
– Pistoia Cathedral (c. A.D. 1150) – S. Michele, Pavia (A.D. 1188)
– The Cloisters of S. Giovanni in Latera no – S. Zeno Maggiore, Verona (A.D. 1139)
– San Paolo Fuori le Mura, Rome – The Baptistery, Cremona (A.D. 1167)
– (A.D. 1241) – The Baptistery, Asti (A.D. 1050)
– San Miniato, Florence (A.D. 1013) – The Baptistery, Parma (A.D. 1196)
 Romanesque, Central Italy
Some characteristics of Romanesque Architecture
Thick Walls
Massive supporting walls with small openings and
arches for large openings. Rose windows are unique
characteristics.

Roofs
First from wood, then stone.
Vaulted roofs evolved into the pointed ribbed arch
were used in Gothic architecture.

Towers
Pisa Cathedral (A.D. 1063–92) with Baptistery, Campanile San Martino, Lucca (A.D. 1060, facade, A.D. 1204) Towers were a regular feature of a Romanesque
Architecture. They were usually circular, octagonal or
square.

Buttress
Romanesque buttresses are generally of flat square
profile and do not project a lot beyond the wall.

Plans
The simplest Romanesque churches are aisleless halls
with a projecting apse.

Pistoia Cathedral (c. A.D. 1150) San Paolo Fuori le Mura, Rome San Michele, Lucca (A.D. 1188, facade A.D. 1288)
Romanesque, North Italy

San Antonino, Piacenza (A.D. 1104) San Ambrogio, Milan (A.D. 1140) The Baptistery, Parma (A.D. 1196)

San Zeno Maggiore, Verona (A.D. 1139), San Michele, Pavia (A.D. 1188) The Baptistery, Cremona (A.D. 1167)
Romanesque, Southern Italy The outside of main gate and their pointed
arches are enriched with carving and
coloured inlay, a combination of three style-
Norman (French), Byzantine and Arab.
The Romanesque Style of southern Italy owes much to the Normans, who
brought both form and style to architecture and sculpture from France in the
11th century.

Monreale Cathedral, Sicily

Is one of the greatest extant example
Italy of Norman architecture in the world
and it was begun in 1147. Uses of Glass mosaic in the
interior and monolithic column on
each side support eight pointed
arches much stilted. And capital is
mainly Corinthian.

The church
plan is a
mixture of
eastern rite
and catholic
Sicily arrangement.
The best place to The nave is
admire southern like an Italian
architecture is in Sicily, basilica. The
Campania, Puglia. nave is wide
with narrow
aisles
Romanesque, Southern Italy Interior
The interior is Latin
cross plan.
The church was
San Paolo Maggiore, Campania notably
embellished by
Massimo stanzione
The baroque style church of san Paolo Maggiore in Naple who painted the
was built upon the ruin of 1st century temple of the nave ceiling with a
Campania Dioscuri. The church erected in 8th-9th century was
dedicated to St. Paul to celebrate a victory in 574.
series of canvas
depicting events in
the life of St. Paul

After

The front section

Before
of the latter,
including six
columns and
triangular
tympanum, was
visible until 1688,
when it was
destroyed by an
earthquake.
FRENCH ROMANESQUE Opening
• Semi-circular arches were used for the
entrance with a pointed dome.
Some characteristics of French Romanesque Architecture • The entrance to Romanesque churches
received a dramatic sculptural decoration.
Plans
• In the early Romanesque period, churches followed the traditional form of a Roman Roof
basilica, particularly the plan of the Byzantine Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. They
had a single long nave, usually without a transept, which ended in a hemispherical • The early treatment was a tunnel vault to the
apse. nave, buttressed by half tunnels over the aisles,
• In the later Romanesque period, in the last third of the 11th century, new building often in two stories,
techniques were introduced which allowed taller and wider churches. The new plan • In the later a long nave covered with rounded
was the Benedictine plan, used in Cluny Abbey. arch barrel vault and at the intersection of two
• These new churches were designed to accommodate large numbers of visitors, and barrel vault was used groin vault and all
included an ambulatory, or walkway, leading to several small chapels radiating in a supported by massive columns
semicircle from the apse.

Nave
Arches and vault
Aisle Apse • Rounded arches were the most common and
Transept Ambulatory most distinctive feature of the French
Romanesque style.
• Different vault structure one of the important
detail of French Romanesque.
• They were used barrel vault, groin vault, and rib Cluny Abbey
vault.

Plan of Cluny Abbey

Walls
• Massiveness is the characteristic of all the early work. Walls were of rubble with facing
stones.
• Buttresses are often mere strips of slight projection
Rib vault
Groin vault Barrel vault
French Romanesque

The Abbaye-aux-Hommes, Caen

Abbaye-aux- Dames, Caen 1083AD or S. Etienne, 1120AD S. Nicholas, Caen (A.D. 1084) Saint Sernin, Toulouse, (1080 – 1120)

Fontevrault Abbey (A.D. 1101–19)

The Abbey of S. Denis (A.D. 1132) S. Trophime, Arles (A.D. 1150) Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers (A.D. 11th century)
GERMAN ROMANESQUE

1.Churches were planned

on a large scale.
2.They used to be very
high.
3.They had an Apse or Laach Abbey
Sanctuary at each end. (A.D. 1093-1156)
4.Numerous round or
octagonal towers that The abbey church of Maria Laach is considered a masterpiece of German
Romanesque architecture, with its multiple towers, large westwork with arcaded
conferred them a
gallery, and unique west porch. The east end has a round apse flanked by twin square
picturesque silhouette. towers. Over the transept crossing is a broad cupola with cone-shaped roof.

The Cathedral of St. Peter

(Wormser Dom, Worms
Cathedral) is a basilica with
four round towers, two large
domes, and a choir at each
end. The interior is built in
red sandstone.

Worms Cathedral
Speyer Cathedral, Germany
1030-1061 (A.D. 1110–1200)
Lubeck Cathedral
(A.D. 1173)
TREVES CATHEDRAL
(A.D.1110–1200)
 Plans
The cruciform and the Greek plan

1. adopted the Greek and the Latin PLANS USED BY ROMANESQUE CHURCHES
cross plan
The Greek Cross Plan, with
2. faces the east four equal arms

Saint Sernin, Toulouse,

France,1080 - 1120

Saint Front, Perigueux,

France, 1100
 MEDIEVAL MONASTARIES
They initiated the agricultural development of
Science, letters, art, and culture were the monopoly of the time:
Monasteries were often sited just outside the city the religious Orders. —grain production
gates and provided work, medical care, education, and —sheep-rearing
hostels for travellers. Schools attached to monasteries trained youths for the —dry-stone walling techniques
service of religion; monks and their pupils were the —water wheels
designers of the cathedrals. —drainage.
architecture → “sacred science”
They also trained masons, carvers, joiners and
The Mediaeval Monasterie engineers.

St Martin Canigou, 1001-26 The Abbey Church, Cluny (A.D. 1089-1131)

 Wood keep Moat

Castles Motte

Ward

•Castles were defensive constructions

•They were fortified for providing
shelter.
•The wall was one of the essential
elements
•They tend to be build in stepped
areas, easier to defend

Wooden palisade

Crenellated Battlements

Arrow slits

Stone keep

Gatehouse
Motte

Rochester Castle, Kent, England 1130AD La Zisa, Palermo (A.D. 1154-66), is a rectangular, three-
storey Norman castle with battlemented parapet, and
Cardiffe Castle, England 1091AD shows the influence of Saracenic art.
 Fortified towns

• A defensive wall is a fortification used to defend a

city or settlement from potential aggressors

• In the heart of Tuscany , in the southwest corner of

chianti region . monteriggioni castle was built in the
second decade of the thirteenth century by the
republic of Siena . its original purpose was a
defensive outpost against Siena's rival ,Florence .

• 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 Fortified Town Monterriggioni, 13th C Sienna
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.