Around the year 1000, Western Europe grew more settled and prosperous, and church building boomed. Huge numbers of pilgrims traveled to holy sites such as Santiago de Compostela in Spain, and churches along the way grew larger to hold them and their saints' relics. The style of about 1000 to 1150 is called Romanesque.
- Round arches over doors, windows and arcades.
- Thick walls and massive piers, because stone vaults push outward and the walls must hold them in.
- Barrel vaults or groin vaults of stone, which resisted fire better than wooden roofs.
- Small windows, because big openings would weaken the thick walls.
- Carved portals: the semicircle over the main door (the tympanum) often showed a great scene in relief for everyone entering.
Key idea
Why it works
Looking closely: Saint-Sernin. A pilgrimage church on the road to Santiago, built of red brick and pale stone. From the east end you see the building step up like a hill: small round chapels at the bottom ring the curved end of the church, then a higher curved wall, then the main roof, then a tall octagonal tower in tiers of round-arched openings. Every window and arcade is round-headed, and the walls are thick and solid. The ring of chapels let crowds walk around the east end to visit relics without disturbing services at the main altar.
Looking closely: Durham's nave. Massive round piers, cut with zigzags and spirals, alternate with clustered piers down the nave, all carrying round arches. Overhead, though, are something new: stone ribs that cross the vault in an X. Durham has some of the earliest ribbed vaults in Europe, and some of its arches are slightly pointed, hints of the Gothic to come.
Worked example: Name the style
- Round arches: not Gothic.
- Thick walls and small windows: the heavy solution to the thrust of vaults.
- A carved tympanum over the door.
Answer: Romanesque.
Common mistake