The medieval world
Romanesque
c. 1000–1150
Massive stone churches with round arches and vivid carved portals, built along Europe’s pilgrimage roads.
Overview
As pilgrimage and monastic life expanded in the eleventh century, a wave of church building spread across Western Europe. Romanesque churches have thick walls, round arches, small windows and stone barrel vaults, which give them a heavy, fortress-like character.
Sculpture returned to architecture on a large scale for the first time since antiquity. Portals and column capitals were carved with expressive, stylized scenes of judgment and scripture, intended to teach a public that mostly could not read.
What defines it
- Round arches, thick walls and barrel vaults
- Carved reliefs over church doorways
- Bold, stylized figures with little interest in natural proportion
Works to know
- Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy
- Bayeux Tapestry
- Durham Cathedral
- Last Judgment, Autun Cathedral