L1053
Romanesque Architecture
The Romanesque period was from approximately 800 A.D. to 1100 A.D. The term Romanesque was first given to this type of architecture in the 19th Century due to it's similarities between the barrel vault and the Roman arch. Church buildings, art, and sculpture, were all used for the purpose to spread the Christian Gospel.
During this time in Europe
there was a very large interest in religion. Large numbers of people
traveled on pilgrimages to visit sites of saints and martyrs.
People believed that holy relics had the power to do miracles. The routes to the
more famous holy places, such as Santiago, became very well traveled and required larger
buildings to hold the large crowds. The basilica style
church could not hold the large crowds which were coming. They began to
build churches in the shape of the Latin cross. The pilgrim would
enter the church through the nave. They would then come to the area known as the
crossing, which was under a groin vault, where the vaults of the nave and the
transepts would intersect. The relics of the church would be held
and displayed in the area of the high alter. The pilgrims would be allowed
to view the relics from the ambulatory which allowed for a good
traffic pattern for these large crowds. The more famous the relics a church held, the larger the crowds it would attract.
The architects also wanted to
get away from using wood for the ceilings. They began to use stone ceilings
on the new type of churches. Barrel or groin vaults were used in the
ceiling. The stone was supported in the middle by the arch construction
but was very heavy. The weight of the ceilings would tend to buckle the
walls outward. This pressure outward is known as outward thrust. To support the walls, large piles of stone would be stacked
along the wall in intervals to buttress (or support) the walls from pushing
outward.
Due to the weight of the stone ceiling, the wall of the church had to be very thick. Windows had to be small to keep the strength of the wall strong. Because of this, the churches interior was dim. This was not solved till the gothic church design was used.
Click here for Gothic Architecture
