ROMANESQUEThe Age of Pilgrims and Crusaders

Part One -Architecture

Gardner’s Art Through the Ages – C17Adam’s History of Western Art – C12

Medieval Europe

The term Romanesque (meaning "Romanlike") is used to designate a period lasting approximately 150 years, from 1050 to 1200, when buildings incorporated certain architectural elements that resemble ancient Roman architecture.

While mural painting and manuscript illumination continued much as before, there is a resurgence of monumental stone sculpture.

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3Map of Europe c.1150

Rise of towns: The increase in trade and the growth of towns and cities in the Romanesque period began to replace feudalism.

Monasteries and churches: Separated by design form the busy secular life of Romanesque towns were the monasteries and their churches.

Pilgrimage: The enormous investment in ecclesiastical buildings and furnishings also reflected a significant increase in pilgrimage traffic in Romanesque Europe.

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Link to The Feudal System, Pats 8 and 9,(appx.6:00) The Role and Power of the Church at

http://digital.films.com/play/YRGUQZ

Romanesque architecture is noteworthy principally for the use of the round arch and for the use of stone barrel and groin vaults.

Walls are also thick and solid.

Most of the new buildings were cathedrals, churches, and monasteries that varied in style from one region to another.

A number of churches were designed to accommodate visiting pilgrims.

Architecture

View of the church of St. Pierre from the inside the cloister, c.1100, Moissac (Tarn-et-Garonne, France 5

Characteristics of Romanesque West Front with three portals (doors), two towers, and

a large window over the door.

Walls of Romanesque buildings are often of massive thickness with few and comparatively small openings.

Piers were often employed to support arches. They were built of masonry and square or rectangular in section, generally having a horizontal molding representing a capital at the springing of the arch. Columns may also serve as piers.

Barrel and Groin Vaults replace the wooden ceilings of earlier churches.

Sculptural ornamentation most frequently took a geometric form and was particularly applied to moldings around arches. arches. Sculpture also filled the tympanums – the semi circular areas above each doorway.

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Interior of Saint-Étienne, Vignory, France, 1050-1057.

Regional diversity is evident in Romanesque buildings. Specific to northern style of French Romanesque

architecture is the use of large sawn blocks of stone to construct the walls of the buildings, but roofed with timber.

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Saint Philibert, Tournus, France, ca. 1060.

Above: exterior viewRight: nave vaults, 8

Further south, in southern France, Spain, and Lombardy, early Romanesque builders generally preferred to construct their edifices with brick or small bricklike blocks of stone and to cover the nave and aisles with vaults.

Sainte Foy

West front of the 12th-century Abbey Church of St. Foy.

High in the hills of southern France, the picturesque little village of Conques (pronounced "conk" and named for the shell-shaped lay of the land) is home to a magnificent Romanesque church and the only medieval shrine on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela that still survives intact.

Thanks to its possession of the relics of a virgin martyr, the Romanesque Abbey of St. Foy in Conques was an important stop on the medieval pilgrimage route and received rich gifts from pilgrims and kings.

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Pilgrimage The medieval pilgrimage route to Santiago de

Compostela that passed through Conques (called the Via Podensis) began in Le Puy in eastern France and proceeded west through difficult, mountainous terrain before arriving in the hillside village.

(The floor of the church slopes towards the door to make it easier to wash away the mud tracked in by tired pilgrim feet.)

Pilgrims coming from Le Puy and Estaing entered Conques on rue Haute.

In the abbey church, pilgrims circled the shrine of St. Foy three times then stopped in front of the golden reliquary-statue to ask the saint for a safe journey to Santiago, which might take them up to a year of dangerous travel.

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Conques is in the hills of southern France, overlooking a wooded gorge.

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How to attract Pilgrims? For the monks at Conques, the lure of fame and

riches soon proved too much to bear, and they conspired to steal some relics to attract pilgrims.

In 866, a Conques monk was dispatched to join a monastery in Agen, which had the relics of St. Foy, a virgin martyred in 303 AD under Diocletian. The saint was known for her ability to cure blindness and free captives, and her statue-reliquary attracted many pilgrims.

The Conques brother acted as a faithful monk for 10 years at Agen until he was able to steal the relics, which he brought back to Conques.

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Relics and Reliquaries

Learn more about reliquaries – Arm Reliquary of the Apostles

(from the Cleveland Museum od Art) athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TGRH757cuU

The saint's mortal remains were placed inside a golden reliquary-statue and just as they had hoped, the pilgrim road shifted from Agen to Conques.

The Shrine of St. Foy, on display in a small museum in the cloisters, dates from the late 9th century and is the only medieval shrine of its kind that survives today.

Made of wood and covered entirely in gold and precious stones, the statue contains relics of the saint's skull in its back.

The shrine originally stood at the east end of the abbey church

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Interior view, Abbey Church of St. Foy

Inside, the church is attractive but rather bare except for the 212 columns in the cloisters, which are topped with charming Romanesque capitals.

These depict palm leaves, flowers, scenes from the life of St. Foy, birds, monsters and various symbols.

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Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. (c. 1080-1120) is an example of the new pilgrimage church .

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Saint Foy was adapted to pilgrimage but Saint Sernin was designed and built to bring pilgrims to the town.

Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1070–1120. 16

The Saint-Sernin plan is extremely regular and geometrically precise. The crossing square, flanked by massive piers and marked off by

heavy arches, served as the module for the entire church.

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Interior of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, France, ca. 1070–1120.

Stone vaults

reduced the risk of

fire.

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Architectural Techniques,Pt 1-Arches & Vaults(3:55) at http://digital.films.com/play/FANBHA

Founded in 910, the Abbey at Cluny was the center of a monastic reform movement that would spread throughout Europe.

At the time of its erection, the stone-vaulted monastery church at Cluny (Cluny III) was the largest in Europe.

The church had an innovative and influential design, with a barrel-vaulted nave and radiating chapels, as at Saint-Sernin, but with a three story nave elevation (arcade-tribune-clerestory) and slightly pointed nave vaults.

19West face of the great south transept and its two towers.

Vault of the great south transept, looking into the cupola of the octagonal Holy Water Belfry.

Even from this small part, one can see that the sense of space and light at Cluny Abbey was much greater than other Romanesque churches. On the

right is the closed-in north side of the transept, which originally opened into the nave. The lower part of the photo is the west wall of the transept.

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21Cluny Monastery Plan, 1157.

Nave of the abbey church, looking east to the altar.

Cistercian austerity: The church of Notre-Dame, at Fontenay is representative of the Cistercian approach to design.

The Cistercians' rejection of worldly extravagance and their emphasis on poverty, labor, and prayer are reflected in the austerity of their churches.

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West facade of the church of Fontenay Abbey in northern Burgundy, France.

The abbey church, built from 1139 to 1147, is the oldest Cistercian church remaining in France and one of the best examples of the Cistercian Romanesque architectural style.

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The beautiful nave with its Romanesque capitals, looking west to the entrance.

The Cathédrale St-Lazare (Cathedral of St. Lazarus) is the the most important historical building in Autun, Burgundy, and one of the most important Romanesque churches in France.

Dating from the mid-12th century with some later Gothic additions, it is especially famed for its splendid sculptures by the Romanesque master sculptor Gislebertus.

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The king being poked by the angel has his eyes open in surprise, but the others slumber on. This seems to combine two biblical episodes into one scene. The star recalls the one that led them to Bethlehem, while the angel awakening them refers to the warning they received in a dream not to return to Herod after visiting the Christ Child.

The church was decorated with sculptures and carvings by Gislebertus, who is widely regarded as one of the great Romanesque sculptors.

We know his name because, unusually, he signed his work - an inscription in the tympanum says Gislebertus hoc fecit, "Gislebertus made this."

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Gislebertus, Romanesque capital from the choir, now displayed in the chapter house.

It depicts a charming scene in which the Three Kings, wearing their crowns and sharing one cozy bed, are awakened by an angel pointing to a star.

West portal in the narthex, decorated with magnificent Romanesque sculptures by Gislebertus , c 1150.

The tympanum depicts the Last Judgment and the outer archivolt has medallions of the Four Seasons, the Zodiacs and the Labors of the Month.

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Detail of the Last Judgment tympanum over the west door, sculpted by Gislebertus around 1130. In the center, apostles incline their heads in veneration towards Christ. Above them, the enthroned Virgin Mary extends her hands in blessing and an angel trumpets to waken the dead. On the left, redeemed souls ascend to heaven. Most catch a ride on the wings of angels and one is pulled up by St. Peter himself. At the top, the heads of those already in the Kingdom of Heaven can be seen. Along the bottom, a Latin inscription proclaims the joys of Paradise.

The right side of the tympanun depicts the weighing of souls.

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Gislebertus’s unique sculptural style is continued in decorative details within the cathedral.

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During the 11th century, masons, using ashlar blocks joined by mortar, developed a groin vault of monumental dimensions that allowed for clerestory windows.

The design of Speyer Cathedral follows a modular scheme and employs an alternate-support system in the nave.

Interior of Speyer Cathedral, Germany, begun 1030; nave vaults, ca. 1082–1106. 30

Germany and Lombardy

Plan of Speyer Cathedral, Germany, begun 1030. 31

Speyer Cathedral has maintained the overall form and dimensions of the 11th century structure and, despite successive

restorations, presents as a complete and unified Romanesque building. The design broadly follows the plan that was established at St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim and set the standard that

was to be generally adopted in the Rhineland.

32Speyer Cathedral, Eastern facade

A unique feature at Speyer is the dwarf gallery encircles the exterior of the building.

Sant'Ambrogio, is one of the most ancient churches in Milan, it was built in 379-386, in an area where numerous martyrs of the Roman persecutions had been buried.

In the following centuries the church underwent several restorations and partial reconstructions, assuming the current appearance in 1099, when it was rebuilt in Romanesque architecture.

Exterior of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, Italy, late 11th to early 12th century.

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34InteriorView of Sant'Ambrogio, Milan, Italy, late 11th to early 12th century.

The modular scheme and alternate-support system employed at Sant'Ambrogio in Milan created a series of domical ribbed groin vaults.

Normandy and England

The Normans developed a distinctive Romanesque architectural style.

The twin-towered façade of the church of Saint-Étienne at Caen is divided into three bays.

West façade of Saint-Étienne, Caen, France, begun 1067.

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Plan of Saint-Étienne, Caen, France.

Identify the parts of a cathedral and their uses.

36Plan of Saint-Étienne, Caen, France.

The nave employs an alternating system of compound piers with engaged half-columns and piers with half-columns attached to pilasters that rise through three stories to support rib vaults.

Interior of Saint-Étienne, Caen, France, vaulted ca. 1115-1120.

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Interior of St Etienne, Caen. vaulted c. 1115-1120 38

Romanesque on the Scottish Border

Durham Cathedral was designed and built under William of Calais, who was appointed as the first prince-bishop by William the Conqueror in 1080.

Exterior, Durham Cathedral, begun

ca. 1093.

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Since that time, there have been major additions and reconstructions of some parts of the building, but the greater part of the structure remains true to the Norman design.

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Plan (above) and lateral section (right) of Durham Cathedral, England

(after Kenneth John Conant).

Durham Cathedral alternates large ornamented pillars with compound piers that support a series of groin vaults each covering two bays.

It is the earliest example of ribbed groin vaults placed over a three-story nave.

Interior of Durham Cathedral, England, begun ca. 1093.

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Tuscany (Central Italy) The cathedral complex at Pisa comprises

a cathedral, a free-standing bell tower, and a baptistery. The cathedral has a timber ceiling and a nave arcade of

reused classical columns.

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Arcaded galleries decorate the exterior of the leaning bell tower.

Cathedral complex, Pisa, Italy; cathedral begun 1063; baptistery begun 1153; campanile begun 1174.

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The Duomo Pisa (Cathedral Pisa) is the largest Romanesque church in Tuscany.

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Interior of Pisa Cathedral, Pisa, Italy, begun 1063.

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Other Italian Romanesque Churches

Detailed view of the frescoes in the Pisa Cathedral

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The exterior of the octagonal Baptistery in Florence is decorated with polychrome marble.

Baptistery of San Giovanni, Florence, Italy, begun 1053. 47

Geometric polychrome marble decorates the exterior of San Miniato al Monte, while the inside of the nave is divided by diaphragm arches and roofed with timber.

West façade of San Miniato al Monte, Florence, Italy, 1062 and 12th century

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Detail, San Miniato al Monte, Florence, Italy, 1062 and 12th c. 49

Interior of San Miniato al Monte, Florence, Italy, 1062 and 12th century.

Identify features that distinguish Italian Romanesque from French.

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Continue on to Part Two to look at Romanesque sculpture and painting…

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