Durham Cathedral
Cloister
The order and the Sanctuary
Romanesque
Romanesque
Fig 153a Aachen Cathedral, 792-805
Western Europe in
the 11th – 12th
centuries
developed a style
which critics of the
19th century would
call ROMANesque
Fig 153b Aachen Cathedral Interior, 792805
Romanesque takes
its roots from the
Ancient Roman
style of
construction
incorporating
heavily the Roman
Vault in its design
Fig 153b Aachen Cathedral Interior, 792805
Romanesque’s fortresslike appearance can be
attributed to the 700
years of turmoil that
occurred in Europe
Fig 153c Aachen Cathedral Interior, 792-805
“... the course of the several
centuries that preceeded
the millenium, those
barbarian hordes we saw
in the Dark Ages
devastating cities and
destroying culture had
undergone a
transformation… –
Medieval Christendom”
Nuttgens
Fig 153c Aachen Cathedral Interior, 792-805
Charles the Great
Charlemagne (or
Charles the Great)
He conquered vast
territories and
brought a
semblance of
administrative and
cultural order to
Europe.
He set about to
revive the
Roman Empire
and on
Christmas Day,
800 AD, he was
crowned
Emperor of the
West in Rome
THE CORONATION OF
CHARLEMAGNE (Carolinian
Monarch)
Carolingian
Restoration
Charlemagne saw his
return to the days of
the Roman Empire as
embracing the
triumph of the
Church. He saw
religion not only as a
means of personal
salvation but as an
instrument to
transform society.
Charles the Great
Charlemagne Palace and Chapel,
Aachen, Germany
Module #5b: Mediterranean in Early Middle
Ages
11
Charlemagnes’s Cathedral at Aachen:
best example of Carolingian
Architecture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSiD5Jinpuw&feature=related
Aachen Cathedral
cut-through
Section & Interior,
792-805
Charlemagne Palace
Chapel
16-sided outer polygon
Inner octagon supporting
a dome
St. Vitale in Ravenna
Aachen Cathedral
Aachen Cathedral resembles, in plan, St. Vitale in
Ravenna but the interior emphasis on sturdy piers
and complex spaces make it a new creation.
Romanesque
Architecture has a
unique feature
that cannot be
seen in the
original Ancient
Roman
Architecture nor in
its revival during
the renaissance…
San Miniato al Monte, Florence
Distinctive character of the
Romanseque Style as seen
in the Corinthian column
in San Miniato al Monte,
Florence and in the
Cathedral at Pisa
San Miniato al Monte, Florence
Cathedral at Pisa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUo5Ss46TKw&NR=1
Baptistry, Cathedral & Leaning Tower at Pisa
Baptistry, Cathedral & Leaning Tower at Pisa
Cathedral &
Leaning Tower
at Pisa
Cathedral’s
Interior at Pisa
Durham Cathedral
Romanesque architecture know as Norman Style
12th century
Durham Cathedral is the greatest Norman
building in England
Durham Cathedral
Durham Cathedral, Interior
Distinctive influential Romanesque form established by the Normans
Durham Cathedral Sketches / Sections
Durham Cathedral
• Whiteshire, England
Anglo-Saxon Church of
St. Lawrence,
Bradford-on-Avon,
Whiteshire 10th-11th
Distinguished building built with a high standard of
quality and skill
It exhibits a well-cut ashlar stonework (could have been
reused Roman masonry) which is not equaled until the
eleventh century churches
http://www.britannia.com/church/saxchurch/bradford2.html
Church of St. Lawrence, Plan
It has a small nave, eastern chancel, north porticus and
traces of a south porticus
Anglo-Saxon Church of
St. Lawrence,
Blind Arcading
Bradford-on-Avon,
Whiteshire 10th-11th
Church of St. Lawrence, Elevation
St. James, Santiago
de Compostela,
Spain, 1078-1122
Passion for Pilgrimage
Wider Naves and Broader Transepts
These accommodated large pilgrimages
gather for the daily rituals and
processions
St. James, Santiago
de Compostela,
Spain, 1078-1122
Plan
The Crusaders and the Holy Land
Krak des Chevaliers, Syria, c1142-1220
“The Bone in the Saracen’s Throat”
Krak des Chevaliers, Syria, c1142-1220
Krak des Chevaliers, Syria
c1142-1220
Crusader fortress in Syria
Krak from Syriac’s Karac meaning fortress
Krak des Chevaliers, Syria, c1142-1220
Krak des Chevaliers, Syria, c1142-1220
Krak des Chevaliers, Syria, c1142-1220
• The Abbey was a key
structure in the spread
of devotion
• Often located just
outside the city gates
• It provided work,
medical care,
education, a place to
stay for pilgrims and
even sanctuary for
criminals
• Demonstrated the
supremacy of the
church
Abbey of St. Gall, Switzerland
Plan
• Plan of Abbey church is
usually cruciform in
shape
• The Altar located at the
east to capture the rays
of the morning sun
• The main door is at the
west
Abbey of St. Gall, Switzerland
Plan
Workshops often happen in an Abbey where
craftsmen experimented on building techniques and
got their inspirations that blossomed into the
Romanesque Style
Earliest known drawing (Plan)of a great abbey: Abbey of St.
Gall, Switzerland in the year 820
Monasteries
• Plans developed to keep
resident monks and transient
worshippers apart.
abbey: Plan of abbey of St. Germain-desPrés, Paris, 13th cent. A, church; B, cloister; C,
city gate; E, chapter house; F, chapel; G,
refectory; H, cellars and presses; I, abbot’s
lodging; K, ditches; L, gardens
Module #5b: Mediterranean in Early Middle
Ages
42
Evolution of the Church form
• Churches were rectangular halls with or without
and apse, and with or without transepts.
basilica: Typical plan. A, apse; B, B’, secondary
apse; C, high altar; D, bishop’s throne; G, transept;
H, nave; J, J’, aisles
• The altar was at times built
over a crypt
• In a pilgrim church, this will
have a chevet (crypt)and
ambulatory with chapels
behind the altar
Worms Cathedral, Germany c1016
• The pile-up roof with its
semi-conical caps
emphasizes the location of
the altar as seen from the
exterior
• The Worms Cathedral in
Germany showing the twin
towers of the western apse
Worms Cathedral, Germany
c1016
Worms Cathedral, Germany c1016
Worms Cathedral, Germany
c1016
Gislebertus, Sculture of the Three Magi Sleeping, Autun Cathedral,
France c1120-40
• Christ in judgment
• West front façade
richly sculpted from
a Christ-figure on
the tympanum
typical of
Romanesque
Architecture
Autun Cathedral, France
c1120-40
Autun Cathedral, France c1120-40
Autun Cathedral, France c1120-40 Nave
Autun Cathedral, France c1120-40 Nave
Notre-Dame, la Grande
Massive sunken portals
Poitiers, France, 1130-4
Notre-Dame, la Grande,
Poitiers, France, 1130-48
Notre-Dame, la Grande, Poitiers, France, 1130-48
Notre-Dame, la Grande,
Poitiers, France, 1130-48
Plan
• Three tiered
sculpture works of
saints, prophets,
creatures and foliage.
With the bottom tier
showing the life of
Jesus
Barrel-vaulted nave with no clerestory
NotreDame, la
Grande,
Poitiers,
France,
Barrel
vault
1130-48
Notre-Dame, la Grande,
Poitiers, France, 1130-48
Detail
Notre-Dame, la Grande,
Poitiers, France, 1130-48
Detail
Notre-Dame, la Grande,
Poitiers, France, 1130-48
Detail
San Miniato al Monte 1018 - 62
Florence
Brick with Marble facing,
typical material used in Italian
churches in the Romanesque
style
Floor Plan: San Miniato al Monte, Florence
Massive and long stretches of stone-works
- characterizes Romanesque Architecture
Ashlar for churches and roughstone
on castles
• The semicircular
shape, round-headed
arch and its extension,
barrel vault borrowed
from Ancient Roman
Architecture are
classic features of the
Romanesque Church
St. Sernin Toulouse, France
Pilgrim church enroute to Santiago de
Compostela
1080-1120
Tunnel-vaulted Nave
• These rounded
shapes are not
only seen in three
dimensional
structures but can
also be seen in
the floor plans
and decorations
used during the
period
St. Sernin Toulouse, France
1080-1120
• The barrel vault is
the structural basis
of the Romanesque
Architecture
Worms Cathedral, Nave
Germany
c1016
• Barrel vaults are heavy thus requiring massive
walls and buttressing
Durham Cathedral, Interior
Ribbed Vaults emphasizing the groins
Naves or aisles are divided into square compartments by diaphragm arches
• The workmanship of the
masons on the
roughstones on castles
identifies the workshops
where they were trained
• Skills in stonework are of
great importance during
this period
Rochester Castle, Kent c.1130
• Plain or
carved
masonry, few
window
openings are
features that
makes the
Romanesque
style
fortress-like
Rochester Castle,
Kent c.1130
Towers built by
feuding families in
Italian city states.
Tower Houses, San Gimignano, Italy
Solid at the base with single apartments on
the upper floors
Tower Houses, San Gimignano, Italy
Tower Houses, San Gimignano, Italy
Warning bell at
the top
Tower Houses, San Gimignano, Italy
Coffee Break