Romanesque Architecture

big idea

The Romanesque style refers to the styles of sculpture, painting, decoration, or architecture during the 9th to 12th centuries.

1. Period and Location: Romanesque Architecture

The architecture--specifically three cathedrals--covered in this lesson originates from the 11th century. The three cathedrals you will learn about are:

• The Cathedral of Saint-James in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
• Durham Cathedral in Durham, England
• The Church of Saint-Etienne in Caen, France

2. Pilgrims and Pilgrimage Routes

Historically, this was a very active period of time. The Catholic Church became a major force within the European world. Changes within the Church allowed the Pope to become more involved with the sociopolitical issues at the time. The threat of Islam was very real to Christendom, and the first of several religious Crusades was called for by Pope Urban II in 1095 to help fend off the Islamic advance near Constantinople.

These Crusades helped influence religious fervor within Christendom and contributed to the popularity of pilgrimages, which are expeditions a person of the faith makes to a holy location.

think about it

The well known Canterbury Tales are a collection of stories from the 14th century about pilgrims on the pilgrimage trail to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral in England.

Pilgrimage routes began to develop throughout Europe, but predominantly within Western Europe. Sanctioned and encouraged by the Church for those that could afford it, pilgrimages became an important source of revenue for the Church. Large churches and cathedrals were constructed to house relics, which were physical objects that had religious importance. Some of these relics included the bodily remains of a saint, or supposed pieces of the True Cross upon which Christ was crucified.

did you know

The veneration of relics was an important part of Christianity, just like the veneration of images. In a sense, the Church itself became a reliquary.

terms to know

Pilgrimage

A long journey, expedition, or crusade

Reliquary

A storage container for relics

3. Cathedral of Saint-James

One of the most important churches that served as the anchor for a number of pilgrimage routes was the Cathedral of Saint-James in Santiago de Compostela, pictured below. This cathedral was the endpoint of a few minor pilgrimage trails within Spain and Portugal. The major trail, however, was the pilgrimage trail of Saint-James that originated in France, and passed through such notable places as the abbey church of Sainte-Foy, which held the famous reliquary of Sainte-Foy.

The cathedral, above, was constructed in a typical Romanesque style featuring a façade that was reconstructed in a Baroque style several centuries later.

term to know

Romanesque

The styles of sculpture, painting, decoration, or architecture during the period from the 9th to the 12th century.

4. Romanesque Architecture

Romanesque means Roman-like, and the architects of these buildings used techniques that originated before and during the Roman Empire. Defining the Romanesque style were such architectural elements as:

• Use of a rounded arch and rounded arcade
• Barrel vault/groin vault (a variant of the barrel vault of the Roman Empire)
• Smaller exterior windows, especially compared to Gothic
• Overall visual heaviness (this was largely overcome in the later Gothic architectural innovations)

5. The Church of Saint-Etienne

Below is an image of the Church of Saint-Etienne in Caen, France.

This is an example of what is called the high Romanesque style in Normandy, which is an area in the north of France. It was constructed during the 11th century AD.

6. Durham Cathedral

Next is the Durham Cathedral in Durham, England.

This is a massive building that marks an important change of architectural design in churches. At close to 400 feet in length, it has typical Romanesque architectural design elements, such as its visual weight and the predominant use of the rounded arch. The architects of Durham, however, made use of rib-vaulting inside. This is a major design element of the Gothic style, which came later.