HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE II

ARCH 1204
YEAR I SEMESTER II

LESSON 3:

CAROLINGIAN ROMANESQUE
ARCHITECTURE
 History of Architecture II: CAROLINGIAN AND ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

CAROLINGIAN ARCHITECTURE (800 – 887) :

Introduction

 Carolingian architecture is characterized by its attempts to emulate late

Roman classicism, early Christian, and Byzantine styles. During the eighth and
ninth centuries, the Carolingian dynasty dominated western Europe
politically, culturally, and economically.

 Carolingian architecture is characterized by its conscious attempts to emulate

Roman classicism and Late Antique architecture. The Carolingians thus
borrowed heavily from early Christian and Byzantine architectural styles,
although they added their own innovations and aesthetic style. The result was
a fusion of divergent cultural aesthetic qualities.

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A MAP SHOWING THE EXTENT OF THE

CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE A.D 914

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 The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was the final stage in the history of the
early medieval realm of the Franks, ruled by the Carolingian dynasty.
 With its division in 843, it also represents the earliest stage in the history of
the kingdom of France and the kingdom of Germany, which in the High
Middle Ages would emerge as the powerful monarchies of continental
Europe, Capetian France and the Holy Roman Empire, and by extension the
predecessor of the modern nations of France and Germany.
 The beginning of the Carolingian era is marked by the coronation of
Charlemagne, or Charles the Great by Pope Leo III on Christmas of the year
800, and its end with the death of Charles the Fat.
 Because Charles and his ancestors had been rulers of the Frankish realm
earlier (his grandfather Charles Martel had essentially founded the empire
during his lifetime, and his father, Pepin the Short, was the first King of the
Franks), the coronation did not actually constitute a new empire.

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 Though Charles Martel chose not to take the title King, as his son Pepin
III the Short would, or Emperor, as his grandson Charlemagne would become
titled, he was an absolute ruler of the Frankish kingdoms.
 The Carolingian Empire during the reign of Charlemagne covered most of
Western Europe, as the Roman Empire once had. Charlemagne decisively
crushed all Germanic resistance and extended his realm to the Elbe river.
 Prior to the death of Charlemagne, the Empire was divided among various
members of the Carolingian dynasty.

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A MAP SHOWING THE DIVISION OF THE

CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE

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ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
 Carolingian churches show some distinct differences from early Christian
churches.
 The delicate columns that graced the naves of early Christian basilicas gave
way to heavier, bulkier piers, providing greater structural strength and
allowing for ever-grander churches.
 The transept(bema), went from an occasional addition to an established
form in Western church building.
 The addition and elongation of a chancel or choir, a square area between the
transept and the apse, was greatly explored in Carolingian renaissance.

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Benedictine Abbey of St. John, Mustair (c.800)

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St. Michael's Church, in Fulda, Hesse

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St. George, Reichenau Oberzell, Germany (888)

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St. Justin's Church, Frankfurt Hechst (830)

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ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE
Introduction
 Romanesque architecture was the architecture that emerged in Europe to
accommodate the rise of monasticism between the late 10th century and
the 12th century.
 Larger churches were needed for numerous monks and pilgrims who came to
view saints’ relics.
 Since Romanesque designs were a by-product of dark ages, it often doubled
up as defensive structures. Structures were also made fire-resistant to some
extent by replacing timber construction with masonry vaulting.
 Romanesque architecture is the European style of building mainly influenced
by Roman architecture, as well as elements of Byzantine architecture, and
Islamic art.

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INFLUENCING FACTORS
Historical.
 In the year a.d. 799 the Roman Empire in the West practically passed from
the hands of the Romans, to the first Frankish King, Charlemagne, whose
election is a convenient date to mark the end of the Roman Empire as such.
 Till the time of Charlemagne very little building was done, but he in a great
measure restored the arts and civilization to Western Europe before his death
in a.d. 814.
 Before the year a.d, iooo, when it was popularly supposed that the world
would come to an end, little building was carried out, but after the millennium
had passed, buildings sprang up in all parts, with many local peculiarities,
which will be noticed under each country ; but the change was slow,
traditional forms being firstly transformed in general design and detail, and
then new features created.

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 Nearly all the nations of Europe had at this time come into existence ; France,
Germany, Spain and England were becoming powerful and tending to set
aside the rule of the Holy Roman Empire, which now had become only a
title.
Geographical.
 The style which grew up on the decay of the Roman empire, known as
Romanesque, was carried on throughout practically the whole of the Western
empire—that is, in those countries which had been directly under the rule of
Rome.
Geological.
 In these early times a rough use of the material at hand characterizes the style
in each country.
Climate.
 Local styles were favoured by the variations of climate north and south of the
Alps.
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Religion.
 The Christian Church, which was the civilizing and educating agency of the
period, was striving to extend its boundaries in Northern Europe, and the
erection of a church was often the foundation of a city.
 The monastic communities, with the encouragement and aid of Charlemagne,
came into existence. The papacy had been rising to great power and influence,
and, directed with skill, it rivalled or controlled such civil government as
existed.
 The Pragmatic Sanction (a.d. 554) had already conferred authority on the
Bishops over the provincial and municipal governments, thus increasing the
power of the Church, with which now often rested the nomination of public
functionaries and judges.

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 Religious enthusiasm and zeal prevailed, and was manifested in magnificent

edifices, and in creed warfare, so that when the Turks overran Palestine, the
loss of the Holy Places resulted in the long warfare known as the Crusades
(1096-1270).
 Until the middle of the 12th century science, letters, art and enlightenment
generally were the monopoly of religious bodies, and pupils of monks
afterwards became the designers of many of the great Gothic Cathedrals and
hence the aid thus rendered by monastic institutions to architecture was
therefore important.

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Social and Political.

 The system of feudal tenure, or the holding of land on condition of military
service, was growing up, and caused important changes in the social and
political organization of states.
 While through its operation the class of actual slaves died out, still the poorer
freemen gradually came to be serfs (peasants), bound to the land and passing
with it, on a change of ownership.
 The growth of the towns as civilization advanced is noticeable, and the
privileges which they acquired, amounting almost to independence, rapidly
gave them importance.
 Constant warfare rendered the condition of the people unsettled during this
period, and skill in craftsmanship was at the lowest.
 The clergy—the scholars of the period—directed the building of the
churches, while the influence of the freemasons produced important results.

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ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
 The general architectural character is sober and dignified, while picturesqueness
is obtained by the grouping of the towers, and projection of the transepts and
choir.
 This is a new art founded on the old. This explains the birth of Romanesque,
for on the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the quarry of the ruins of
ancient buildings largely influenced the work done, both in construction and
decorative treatment, for the earlier buildings of the period were often built
from the remains of ancient Roman buildings in the vicinity.
 In the course of time, however, a new style was evolved. The period of the 10th
– 12th centuries is remarkable for the tentative employment of a new
constructive principle and a new use of material.
 The first was the principle of equilibrium which succeeded that of stability as
used by the Romans, and the second was the employment of dressed
stonework in comparatively small pieces, connected with mortar beds of
considerable thickness.
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 In Italy, Ravenna was the principal city in Italy during this period since it was the
seat of the representative of the Byzantine Emperor(Exarch) in the western part
of his dominions. These buildings partake, naturally, of the elements of the fully
developed Byzantine style.
 In France, especially in the Western and Northern Provinces, the old traditional
basilican plan was preferred and adhered to during the 11th and 12th centuries
with certain exceptions, but the dome raised on pendentives became the common
kind of vaulting, in the South, in conjunction with the aisleless nave.

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ROMANESQUE VAULTING
 The Roman system of groin vaulting, was
used in Europe up to the twelfth century,
when it began to be superseded by the
"ribbed" type of vaulting, in which a
framework of ribs supported thin stone
panels.
 This method introduced a new principle
in vaulting , namely, designing the profile
of the groin ribs and leaving the form of
the vaulting surfaces to adapt themselves
to them ; whereas in Roman architecture
the vaulting surface was first settled, and
the profile of the groins followed as a
matter of course.

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A map showing part of western Europe in A.D

979

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ITALIAN ROMANESQUE
CENTRAL ITALY : Influencing factors
Geographical.
 The boundaries of Central Italy extended to Florence and Pisa on the north
and west, and to Naples on the south.
 Pisa was by position a maritime power, while Florence lay on the great route
from south to north, commanding the passage of the Arno river.
Geological.
 Tuscany possessed greater mineral wealth than any other part of Italy, and
building stone was abundant. The ordinary building materials of Rome were
bricks, local volcanic stone (tufa), and Travertine stone from Tivoli, a few
miles off. Marble was obtained from Carrara, or Paros and the other Greek
isles.
Climate.
 Central Italy experienced bright and sunny climate.
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Religion.
 It was during this period that, although the Popes had only small temporal
dominions, they began to make their power felt in civil government, and the
disputes with the emperors began.
Social and Political.
 In Italy, especially in Tuscany, an artistic movement, in which architecture
was most prominent, took place in the 11th century.
 The growth of an industrial population, the increase of commerce and the
independent views caused by education, were important factors in the rise of
Naples, Pisa and other cities for self-defence, owing to insufficient protection
from Constantinople.

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ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS

 New ideas were rarely found and generally did not divert much from the
ancient Basilican type.

 The Byzantine influence was strong, especially in several districts, as Venice,

Ravenna, and Pisa, which latter city in particular possesses a distinct style of
its own.

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EXAMPLES
Pisa Cathedral (a.d. 1063-1092)

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Features
• Use of Semi circular arches
• Groin vaulting
• Basilica type plan
• Small grouped window
• Use of sculptures conveying religious
personalities
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S. Martino, Lucca (a.d. 1060-1070)

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Features
• Use of Semi circular arches
• Rib vaulting
• Basilica type plan
• Small grouped windows
• Use of sculptures
• Piers superseded columns

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S. Miniato, Florence

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NORTH ITALY : Influencing factors

Geographical.
 Milan, the capital of Lombardy, always had a high degree of prosperity, on
account of its favourable situation in the centre of that state, and its proximity
to several of the Alpine passes. The city is surrounded by rich plains, and the
cultivation of the mulberry (for the silkworm), and the vine, adds to the
general prosperity of the district.
 Ravenna and Venice, as trade connecting links with the Eastern Empire,
reflect the culture and architectural forms derived there from.
Geological.
 Brick is the great building material of the plains of Lombardy, and the local
architecture shows the influence of this material.
Climate.
 North Italy has a climate of extremes. Milan is near enough to the Alps to
experience cold in winter, while in summer the heat is often excessive.

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Religion.
 The church had acquired great power during this period.
Social and Political.
 The devastating wars in the North Italian plains led to the gradual rise of the
Venetian state, the first form of government being republican, but an
oligarchy in which a Duke or Doge, was invested with supreme authority
gradually grew up.
 Italy itself consisted of a number of separate cities which were independent
commonwealths.

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ARCHITECURAL CHARACTERISTICS
 The character is less refined owing to the use of stone and brick rather than
marble.
 Wide, flat and severe facades are typical, covering the whole church, without
marking in any way the difference of the nave and aisles.
 A rose window and a porch resting on lions are often the chief relief.
 Features show breaking away from classic precedent.
 Use of sculptures is also prominent.
 The churches were basilican type, and were nearly all vaulted and roofed.
 Side aisles are often two stories, the clerestory is omitted.

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EXAMPLES
S. Antonio, Piacenza (a.d. 1122)

Features
• Use of pointed arches
• Rib vaulting
• Basilica type plan
• Small grouped windows
• Use of sculptures
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S. Zenone, Verona (a.d. 1139)

Features
• Use of pointed arches and • No transept
rounded arches • Elevated chancel
• Rib vaulting • Rose window and porch
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Fondaco dei Turchi

was a great warehouse on the Grand Canal, used in the Eastern trade

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SOUTHERN ITALY AND SICILY : Influencing

factors
Geographical.
 Being situated centrally in the Mediterranean sea, and being of triangular
form, Sicily presents one side to Greece, another to Italy, and the third to
North Africa, and its history is a record of the successive influences of the
powers to whom these countries belonged.
Geological.
 The deposits of sulphur contributed to the wealth and prosperity of the
island, while the mountains afforded an abundant supply of limestone, which
influenced its architectural character.
Climate.
 The climate of South Italy and Sicily is almost sub-tropical, for palms grow in
the open air, and there are celebrated orange and lemon groves near Palermo.
 On the southeastern coast of Italy the towns have the general characteristics
of Oriental cities, the buildings having flat roofs and other Eastern features.
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Religion.
 In Sicily, owing to Islamic influence, the facades were ornamented with
intricate geometrical patterns, which were invented because the Islamic
religion forbade the representation of the human figure.
Social and Political.
 The East introduced into Sicily valuable commercial products, such as grain
and cotton.
 Their civilization was, however, considerably aided by the previous Byzantine
influences.
 Southern Italy has always maintained a close connection with Sicily.

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Historical.
 In a.d. 827 the Mahometans landed in Sicily, and gradually overran the whole
island
 With their downfall, the Island was conquered by the Normans from 1061-
1090 under Robert and Roger de Hauteville.
 During this period Sicily prospered, and her fleet defeated the Arabs and
Greeks, but civil wars as to the right of succession led to the island passing in
1268 to Louis of Anjou of France

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ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
 The change from the Byzantine to the Mahometan dominion, and from the
latter to the Norman in the eleventh century is traceable. Byzantine influence
is shown in the plans of certain churches.
 Mahometan influence is evident, particularly in the decorative parts of
churches.
 Architecture developed considerably under the Norman rule by the erection
of cathedrals, and a school of mosaic was maintained in the Royal Palace
during this period.
 The churches have either wooden roofs, or a Byzantine dome, but are hardly
ever vaulted.
 Dark and light stone was used in courses externally, and rich mosaics and
colored marbles were employed as a facing internally.
 The architectural features of the interiors were mainly mosaic decorations

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EXAMPLES
Monreale Cathedral (begun 1174)

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Capella Palatina, Palermo

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S. Giovanni degli Eremiti (1132)

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
Plans.
 The plans of most of the churches were substantially the same as the basilicas,
more especially in Central Italy and in the North the churches are mostly
vaulted.
 The choir was occasionally raised to admit of a crypt beneath, reached by
steps from the nave.
 A number of circular examples were built mainly as baptisteries
 In the North, projecting porches were preferred to recessed doorways.
 Towers, which are sometimes detached are common features

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Walls.
 The flat blind arcades of the northern style were developed by the Pisan
(Central) architects in their galleried facades.
 The Northern facades are flatter, and sometimes have a large circular
window to light the nave. In the South this feature is highly elaborated with
wheel tracery.
 Blank walls are occasionally decorated by flat pilaster strips, connected
horizontally by small arches.
Openings.
 In consequence of the bright climate the openings are small.
 Window tracery was not developed.
 The wheel windows just described are only rudimentary in pattern, attention
being chiefly bestowed upon their decoration.

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Roofs.
 Where round-arched cross vaulting, or simple barrel vaults, were not
employed, the timber roofs of the basilican style often effectively decorated
with color were used.
 In the southern examples, domes rather than vaults were attempted, but
timber roofs were also used, and, owing to Mahometan influence, great
richness in timber ceilings was attained.
 Plain groined vaults of small span were common.

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Columns.
 Piers with shafts were employed rather than columns, especially in the North,
where vaulting was more in use.
 Buttressing was obtained by means of the division walls between an outer
range of chapels, more often than not unmarked on the exterior.
 In Central Italy, Corinthian columns carry a round-arched arcade, above
which the plain walls are pierced, by the small arched openings of the
clerestory, while the roof is of the simple basilican type
Mouldings.
 Flat bands are characteristic of the Northern style.
 Strings were formed by small arches, connecting one pilaster strip to another.
 Crude imitations of old Classical detail are met with.

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Ornament
 Roughly carved grotesques of men and animals and incidents of daily life are
found in Northern sculpture.
 In Central Italy greater elegance is displayed, and Classic models were copied.
 The rows of apostles on the lintels of the doorways are similar in treatment to
Byzantine ivories.
 In Southern examples, bronze doors are a feature.
 Elaborate decoration in mosaic and use of colour was the main object of
interior designs.

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FRENCH ROMANESQUE
Geographical.
 France is practically on the high road between the south and north of Europe,
and the relative position of each district influenced the various prevailing
types of architecture.
 When Rome was a great power it was by way of Provence and the Rhone
Valley that civilization spread ; hence the strong classical element which is
there frequently.
 The trade with Venice and the East introduced to the district of Perigueux a
version of the Byzantine style in stone.
Geological.
France is exceedingly rich in building materials, especially stone, of which most
of the towns are built.

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Climate.
In France there are three climates
a) the north resembles that of the south of England; dry, warm and sunny
b) the west on the Atlantic coasts is warmer, owing to the Gulf Stream and
warm S.W. winds.
c) the south, on the Mediterranean, is sub-tropical characterized by hot and
humid summers and mild winters.
Religion.
 Christianity, when introduced, took a strong hold in the Rhone Valley and
Lyons. In this district the most interesting event was the rise of the
Cistercians the severity of whose rules as to church building, caused a reaction
from the decorative character of the later Romanesque.
 Attention was then concentrated upon the means of producing grand and
severe effects, and the change to the pointed style was promoted, by the
effort to solve the problems of vaulting.
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Social and Political.

 At this period the greater part of the country was held by independent lords,
and the authority of the king extended little beyond Paris and Orleans.
Lawlessness and bloodshed were rife throughout the century, hence
architectural progress was impossible until a more settled state of society was
established.

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ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
 The southern style is remarkable for its rich decorative facades and graceful
cloisters.
 The interiors were close set with pier and pillar, and heavily roofed with
 ponderous arching.
 The plain thick walls, usually with flat external buttresses.
 The development of vaulting, groin vaulting in the north and barrel vaulting
in the south.

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EXAMPLES
S. Sernin, Toulouse,France

Features
• Tower
• Groin vaulting
• Basilica type plan
• Small grouped windows
• Semi circular arches

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Notre Dame la Grande, Poitiers.

Features
• Tower and turrets
• Groin vaulting
• Small grouped windows
• Semi circular arches
• Blind arcades
• Use of Sculptures
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Autun Cathedral

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Abbaye-anx-Homines (S. Etienne), Caen

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Comparative Analysis
Plans.
 Internal and external buttresses were
used.
 Round churches are rare in this district.
 Towers and turrets were introduced.
 Cloisters were treated with the utmost
elaboration and richness, usually having
double columns with magnificent
capitals which receive the round arches
of the narrow bays, and were left
entirely open, as glazing or tracery were
not required by the climate.
 There was an increasing demand for vaulted interiors which modified the
planning, and the vaulting ribs were provided, which developed the pier plans.

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Walls.
 Massiveness is the characteristic of all
the early work. Walls were of rubble
with facing stones.
 Buttresses are often mere strips of slight
projection, and the facades were
arranged in stories, with windows in
pairs or groups.
 The towers are mostly square with
pyramidal roofs.
 Flying buttresses, admitting of high
clerestories with windows lighting the
nave, were introduced between a.d.
1150-1200.

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Openings.
 The earlier vaulted churches have no
clerestory.
 In the south, narrow openings with wide
splays to admit light sufficed, while in the
north a commencement in grouping was
made, with arrangements of three and
five light openings on the clerestory.
 Imposing western entrances are characteristic of this period.
 The vault in the southern examples frequently supports the roofing slabs direct,
while in the northern examples above the stone vault were constructed wooden
roofs, which supported the covering independent of the vault.

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Roofs.
In the south, the early treatment was a barrel vault to the nave, buttressed by half
tunnels over the aisles, often in two stories, thus not admitting of a clerestory.
 In the north, clerestories of increased height were obtained by means of the
intersecting nave vaults, with groin ribs (introduced in the twelfth century),
whose thrust was taken by buttress arches concealed in the aisle roofs—a step
towards the later flying buttresses.
 The vault in the southern examples frequently supports
 the roofing slabs direct, while in the northern examples above the
 stone vault were constructed wooden roofs, which supported the
 covering independent of the vault.

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Columns.
 In nave arcades, either square piers, recessed in planes, and having upon their
faces half round shafts carried up to the vaulting ribs, were employed, or
columns, circular or octagonal, were used, and then the vaulting shafts start
from the abacus of their huge capitals.
 The carrying up of the vaulting shafts emphasizes the division of the nave
into bays.
Ornament.
 Painted glass was not favoured in southern examples, small, clear-glazed
openings being employed.
 Stained glass favouring large openings was gradually developed in the north.
 Figure sculpture was more frequently employed in the southern buildings

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END

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