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94-551: The valley is best known for its nine Early Romanesque churches, making it the site of the densest concentration of Romanesque architecture in Europe. It was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on 30 November 2000. The valley also includes the highest ski resort in the Pyrenees, at Boí-Taüll , and borders the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park which lies to

188-404: A carillon or chimes , in which the bells are sounded by hammers connected via cables to a keyboard. These can be found in many churches and secular buildings in Europe and America including college and university campuses. A variety of electronic devices exist to simulate the sound of bells, but any substantial tower in which a considerable sum of money has been invested will generally have

282-552: A carillon . Church bell towers often incorporate clocks, and secular towers usually do, as a public service. The term campanile ( / ˌ k æ m p ə ˈ n iː l i , - l eɪ / , also US : / ˌ k ɑː m -/ , Italian: [kampaˈniːle] ), from the Italian campanile , which in turn derives from campana , meaning "bell", is synonymous with bell tower ; though in English usage campanile tends to be used to refer to

376-455: A carved central jamb. Narrow doors and small windows might be surmounted by a solid stone lintel. Larger openings are nearly always arched. A characteristic feature of Romanesque architecture, both ecclesiastic and domestic, is the pairing of two arched windows or arcade openings, separated by a pillar or colonette and often set within a larger arch. Ocular windows are common in Italy, particularly in

470-573: A common rule, living in a mutually dependent community, rather than as a group of hermits living in proximity but essentially separate, was established by the monk Benedict in the 6th century. The Benedictine monasteries spread from Italy throughout Europe, being always by far the most numerous in England. They were followed by the Cluniac order, the Cistercians , Carthusians and Augustinian Canons . During

564-543: A free standing bell tower. A bell tower may also in some traditions be called a belfry , though this term may also refer specifically to the substructure that houses the bells and the ringers rather than the complete tower. The tallest free-standing bell tower in the world, 113.2 metres (371 ft) high, is the Mortegliano Bell Tower, in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, Italy . Bells are rung from

658-571: A great number of antique Roman columns were salvaged and reused in the interiors and on the porticos of churches. The most durable of these columns are of marble and have the stone horizontally bedded. The majority are vertically bedded and are sometimes of a variety of colours. They may have retained their original Roman capitals, generally of the Corinthian or Roman Composite style. Some buildings, like Santa Maria in Cosmedin (illustrated above) and

752-509: A half-column supporting the arch. There are many variations on this theme, most notably at Durham Cathedral where the mouldings and shafts of the piers are of exceptional richness and the huge masonry columns are deeply incised with geometric patterns. Often the arrangement was made more complex by the complexity of the piers themselves, so that it was not piers and columns that alternated, but rather, piers of entirely different form from each other, such as those of Sant' Ambrogio, Milan , where

846-413: A horizontal moulding representing a capital at the springing of the arch. Sometimes piers have vertical shafts attached to them, and may also have horizontal mouldings at the level of the base. Although basically rectangular, piers can often be of highly complex form, with half-segments of large hollow-core columns on the inner surface supporting the arch, or a clustered group of smaller shafts leading into

940-602: A lack of living space within the walls, and resulted in a style of town house that was tall and narrow, often surrounding communal courtyards, as at San Gimignano in Tuscany and Bologna and Pavia in Lombardy . In Germany, the Holy Roman Emperors built a number of residences, fortified, but essentially palaces rather than castles, at strategic points and on trade routes. The Imperial Palace of Goslar (heavily restored in

1034-630: A large number remain either substantially intact or sympathetically restored, demonstrating the form, character and decoration of Romanesque church architecture. Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire . With the decline of Rome, Roman building methods survived to an extent in Western Europe, where successive Merovingian , Carolingian and Ottonian architects continued to build large stone buildings such as monastery churches and palaces. In

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1128-418: A monastic complex, with all its various monastic buildings and their functions labelled. The largest building is the church, the plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an apse at both ends, an arrangement not generally seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is its regular proportion, the square plan of the crossing tower providing a module for the rest of the plan. These features can both be seen at

1222-514: A real set of bells. Some churches have an exconjuratory in the bell tower, a space where ceremonies were conducted to ward off weather-related calamities, like storms and excessive rain. The main bell tower of the Cathedral of Murcia has four. In Christianity , many churches ring their church bells from belltowers three times a day, at 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm to summon the Christian faithful to recite

1316-511: A single piece of stone were frequently used in Italy, as they had been in Roman and Early Christian architecture. They were also used, particularly in Germany, when they alternated between more massive piers. Arcades of columns cut from single pieces are also common in structures that do not bear massive weights of masonry, such as cloisters, where they are sometimes paired. In Italy, during this period,

1410-493: A strong cultural significance ( Russian Orthodox bell ringing ), and churches were constructed with bell towers (see also List of tall Orthodox Bell towers ). Bell towers (Chinese: Zhonglou , Japanese: Shōrō ) are common in China and the countries of related cultures . They may appear both as part of a temple complex and as an independent civic building, often paired with a drum tower , as well as in local church buildings. Among

1504-499: A third stage of window openings known as the clerestory rising above them. Arcading on a large scale generally fulfils a structural purpose, but it is also used, generally on a smaller scale, as a decorative feature, both internally and externally where it is frequently " blind arcading " with only a wall or a narrow passage behind it. In Romanesque architecture, piers were often employed to support arches. They were built of masonry and square or rectangular in section, generally having

1598-435: A tower to enable them to be heard at a distance. Church bells can signify the time for worshippers to go to church for a communal service , and can be an indication of the fixed times of daily Christian prayer , called the canonical hours , which number seven and are contained in breviaries . They are also rung on special occasions such as a wedding , or a funeral service. In some religious traditions they are used within

1692-417: Is a direct imitation of Islamic architecture . At other late Romanesque churches such as Durham Cathedral , and Cefalù Cathedral , the pointed arch was introduced as a structural device in ribbed vaulting. Its increasing application was fundamental to the development of Gothic architecture . An arcade is a row of arches, supported on piers or columns. They occur in the interior of large churches, separating

1786-403: Is acknowledged as one of the masterpieces of Romanesque art . The church of Santa Maria is located in the village of Taüll, and was consecrated on 11 December 1123, the day after the church of Sant Climent. It was also built with three naves, each ending with an apse. The bell tower rises from the within the southern nave. The quality of the stonework of the bell tower is lower than the rest of

1880-674: Is often divided into two periods known as the " First Romanesque " style and the "Romanesque" style. The difference is chiefly a matter of the expertise with which the buildings were constructed. The First Romanesque employed rubble walls, smaller windows and unvaulted roofs. A greater refinement marks the Second Romanesque, along with increased use of the vault and dressed stone. The walls of Romanesque buildings are often of massive thickness with few and comparatively small openings. They are often double shells, filled with rubble. The building material differs greatly across Europe, depending upon

1974-508: Is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics and different materials. Many castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by churches. The most significant are the great abbey churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete and frequently in use. The enormous quantity of churches built in

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2068-580: Is the so-called " Leaning Tower of Pisa ", which is the campanile of the Duomo di Pisa in Pisa , Italy . In 1999 thirty-two Belgian belfries were added to the UNESCO 's list of World Heritage Sites . In 2005 this list was extended with one Belgian and twenty-three Northern French belfries and is since known as Belfries of Belgium and France . Most of these were attached to civil buildings, mainly city halls, as symbols of

2162-540: Is typical of the churches that were founded on the pilgrim route. The general impression given by Romanesque architecture, in both ecclesiastical and secular buildings, is one of massive solidity and strength. In contrast with both the preceding Roman and later Gothic architecture , in which the load-bearing structural members are, or appear to be, columns, pilasters and arches, Romanesque architecture, in common with Byzantine architecture , relies upon its walls, or sections of walls called piers. Romanesque architecture

2256-576: The Angelus , a prayer recited in honour of the Incarnation of God . Oriental Orthodox Christians , such as Copts and Indians , use a breviary such as the Agpeya and Shehimo to pray the canonical hours seven times a day while facing in the eastward direction ; church bells are tolled, especially in monasteries, to mark these seven fixed prayer times (cf. Psalm 119:164 ). The Christian tradition of

2350-476: The Christian Church . By the 11th century, bells housed in belltowers became commonplace. Historic bell towers exist throughout Europe. The Irish round towers are thought to have functioned in part as bell towers. Famous medieval European examples include Bruges ( Belfry of Bruges ), Ypres ( Cloth Hall, Ypres ), Ghent ( Belfry of Ghent ). Perhaps the most famous European free-standing bell tower, however,

2444-634: The Crusades , the military orders of the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar were founded. The monasteries, which sometimes also functioned as cathedrals, and the cathedrals that had bodies of secular clergy often living in community, were a major source of power in Europe. Bishops and the abbots of important monasteries lived and functioned like princes. The monasteries were the major seats of learning of all sorts. Benedict had ordered that all

2538-690: The Kingdom of Germany giving rise to the Holy Roman Empire . The invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy , in 1066, saw the building of both castles and churches that reinforced the Norman presence. Several significant churches that were built at this time were founded by rulers as seats of temporal and religious power, or places of coronation and burial. These include the Abbaye-Saint-Denis , Speyer Cathedral and Westminster Abbey (where little of

2632-707: The Lord's Prayer ; the injunction to pray the Lord's prayer thrice daily was given in Didache 8, 2 f., which, in turn, was influenced by the Jewish practice of praying thrice daily found in the Old Testament , specifically in Psalm 55:17 , which suggests "evening and morning and at noon", and Daniel 6:10 , in which the prophet Daniel prays thrice a day. The early Christians thus came to pray

2726-500: The Pyrenees and converged into a single stream to traverse north-western Spain. Along the route they were urged on by those pilgrims returning from the journey. On each of the routes abbeys such as those at Moissac , Toulouse , Roncesvalles , Conques , Limoges and Burgos catered for the flow of people and grew wealthy from the passing trade. Saint-Benoît-du-Sault , in the Berry province,

2820-658: The Twelve Apostles . Santiago de Compostela , located in the Kingdom of Galicia (present day Galicia , Spain) became one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe. Most of the pilgrims travelled the Way of St. James on foot, many of them barefooted as a sign of penance. They moved along one of the four main routes that passed through France, congregating for the journey at Jumièges , Paris, Vézelay , Cluny , Arles and St. Gall in Switzerland. They crossed two passes in

2914-452: The bishop of Roda . It is situated on a slight rise beside the road from Taüll and to Boí. It is the largest and best-preserved church in the Vall de Boí, and also the most architecturally outstanding The church is laid out as a basilica , with three naves , each separated by an arcade of columns and ending in a semicircular apse . It retains its original double-pitched timber roof. To

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3008-463: The "Cluny II" rebuilding of 963 onwards has completely vanished, but we have a good idea of the design of "Cluny III" from 1088 to 1130, which until the Renaissance remained the largest building in Europe. However, the church of St. Sernin at Toulouse , 1080–1120, has remained intact and demonstrates the regularity of Romanesque design with its modular form, its massive appearance and the repetition of

3102-441: The 11th century, and of renovations in the 12th, 13th, 17th and 18th centuries. The interior retains a Baroque appearance from later renovations. The small town of Durro is situated at an elevation of 1,386 metres, on a south-facing mountainside. The church has a single long and narrow nave with a barrel vault and slate roof. It was built with a single apse, now replaced by a sacristy . Two square chapels have been built into

3196-517: The 11th century, the valley came into the hands of the County of Pallars , before being annexed by the Kingdom of Aragón in the 12th century. As a result of its strategic position, the valley contains many castles, but they are mostly poorly preserved. Although the valley had a relatively low population in the Middle Ages, large quantities of silver enriched the local dignitaries to encourage them to join

3290-505: The 19th century) was built in the early 11th century by Otto III and Henry III, while the ruined Palace at Gelnhausen was received by Frederick Barbarossa prior to 1170. The movement of people and armies also brought about the building of bridges, some of which have survived, including the 12th-century bridge at Besalú , Catalonia , the 11th-century Puente de la Reina, Navarre and the Pont-Saint-Bénézet, Avignon . Across Europe,

3384-685: The 6th-century octagonal Byzantine Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna being the inspiration for the greatest building of the Early Middle Ages in Europe, the Emperor Charlemagne 's Palatine Chapel, Aachen , Germany, built around the year AD 800. Dating shortly after the Palatine Chapel is a remarkable 9th-century Swiss manuscript known as the Plan of Saint Gall and showing a very detailed plan of

3478-561: The 8th and the 10th centuries in the Iberian Peninsula while " First Romanesque " is applied to buildings in north of Italy and Spain and parts of France that have Romanesque features but pre-date the influence of the Abbey of Cluny . The Romanesque style in England and Sicily is still referred to as Norman architecture . A "dazzling" style developed in Pisa in the mid-11th century is called " Pisan Romanesque ". Eric Fernie writes that by

3572-547: The Alps, a very important group of large city churches survived largely intact. As monasticism spread across Europe, Romanesque churches sprang up in Scotland, Scandinavia, Poland, Hungary, Sicily, Serbia and Tunisia. Several important Romanesque churches were built in the Crusader kingdoms . The system of monasticism in which the religious become members of an order, with common ties and

3666-579: The Catalan campaign to recover Barbastro and Zaragoza . Much of the wealth was spent on the construction of many churches from the 11th to the 14th centuries, in the new architectural style imported from Lombardy . The churches are characterized by elaborate stonework and elegant bell towers. Wall paintings from the churches are conserved at the National Museum of Art of Catalonia in Barcelona . Many of

3760-475: The Classical than those in England. Bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells , or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church , and will contain church bells , but there are also many secular bell towers, often part of a municipal building, an educational establishment, or a tower built specifically to house

3854-619: The Cross , the Erill la Vall Descent from the Cross The church of the Assumption lies outside the village of Cóll. It was built with a single nave with apse and barrel vault, and consecrated in 1110, and has later Gothic additions. A side-chapel to the north and a later Gothic bell-tower with two storeys to the south create a cruciform floor plan. The interior is lit by oculuses at east and west ends, with

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3948-474: The Crusades could be suitably commemorated by their family in a work of stone and mortar. The Crusades resulted in the transfer of, among other things, a great number of Holy Relics of saints and apostles . Many churches, like Saint-Front, Périgueux , had their own home grown saint while others, most notably Santiago de Compostela , claimed the remains and the patronage of a powerful saint, in this case one of

4042-457: The Lord's Prayer at 9 am, 12 pm and 3 pm; as such, in Christianity, many Lutheran and Anglican churches ring their church bells from belltowers three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening calling Christians to recite the Lord's Prayer. Many Catholic Christian churches ring their bells thrice a day, at 6   a.m., noon, and 6   p.m., to call the faithful to recite

4136-515: The Pre-Conquest church now remains). At a time when the remaining architectural structures of the Roman Empire were falling into decay and much of its learning and technology lost, the building of masonry domes and the carving of decorative architectural details continued unabated, though greatly evolved in style since the fall of Rome, in the enduring Byzantine Empire . The domed churches of Constantinople and Eastern Europe were to greatly affect

4230-531: The Proto-Romanesque St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim , 1001–1030. Architecture of a Romanesque style also developed simultaneously in the north of Italy, parts of France and in the Iberian Peninsula in the 10th century and prior to the later influence of the Abbey of Cluny . The style, sometimes called First Romanesque or Lombard Romanesque , is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and

4324-486: The Romanesque period was succeeded by the still busier period of Gothic architecture, which partly or entirely rebuilt most Romanesque churches in prosperous areas like England and Portugal. The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of southern France , rural Spain and rural Italy. Survivals of unfortified Romanesque secular houses and palaces, and

4418-448: The aisles helped to buttress the nave, if it was vaulted. In the cases where half-barrel vaults were used, they effectively became like flying buttresses . Often aisles extended through two storeys, rather than the one usual in Gothic architecture, so as to better support the weight of a vaulted nave. In the case of Durham Cathedral, flying buttresses have been employed, but are hidden inside

4512-451: The arcades that separate large interior spaces of castles, is the alternation of piers and columns. The most simple form that this takes is to have a column between each adjoining pier. Sometimes the columns are in multiples of two or three. At St. Michael's, Hildesheim , an A B B A alternation occurs in the nave while an A B A alternation can be seen in the transepts. At Jumièges there are tall drum columns between piers each of which has

4606-400: The architectural style which flourished across Europe from the 11th to the 13th century, and is distinguished from the Gothic style that followed by semi-circular arches and more massive forms. The development of vaults from barrel and groin vaults to ribbed vaults was the main structural innovation of this period. The distinction between the style of architecture now known as Romanesque, and

4700-470: The architecture of certain towns, particularly through trade and through the Crusades . The most notable single building that demonstrates this is St Mark's Basilica , Venice , but there are many lesser-known examples, particularly in France, such as the church of Saint-Front , Périgueux and Angoulême Cathedral . Much of Europe was affected by feudalism in which peasants held tenure from local rulers over

4794-422: The arts were to be taught and practiced in the monasteries. Within the monasteries books were transcribed by hand, and few people outside the monasteries could read or write. In France, Burgundy was the centre of monasticism. The enormous and powerful monastery at Cluny was to have lasting effect on the layout of other monasteries and the design of their churches. Very little of the abbey church at Cluny remains;

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4888-598: The atrium at San Clemente in Rome, may have an odd assortment of columns in which large capitals are placed on short columns and small capitals are placed on taller columns to even the height. Architectural compromises of this type are seen where materials have been salvaged from a number of buildings. Salvaged columns were also used to a lesser extent in France. In most parts of Europe, Romanesque columns were massive, as they supported thick upper walls with small windows, and sometimes heavy vaults. The most common method of construction

4982-407: The beginning of the 21st century there is "something like agreement" on the characteristics of the Romanesque style. Some researchers argue that due to an "astonishing diversity" of the Romanesque buildings, a unanimous definition is impossible: "[n]o single model, no single rule, ever seems adequate to prevail", and the Romanesque should be treated as a "collection of trends". Despite disagreement,

5076-408: The bell tower in 1994. The small hermitage of Sant Quirc is situated on a rocky outcrop close to Durro. It has a small nave and apse, with an entrance to the south. A short belfry rises at the west end. The roof-space (accessed from the outside) may have been used as a granary . Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that

5170-559: The building of castles at strategic points, many of them being constructed as strongholds of the Normans, descendants of the Vikings who invaded northern France under Rollo in 911. Political struggles also resulted in the fortification of many towns, or the rebuilding and strengthening of walls that remained from the Roman period. One of the most notable surviving fortifications is that of the city of Carcassonne . The enclosure of towns brought about

5264-401: The church, and it may have been built earlier, with the church added around it. The church was heavily renovated in the 18th century, with a dome added. Its frescoes were moved to MNAC in around 1918. Many 18th-century renovations were removed in the 1970s, including the dome. The church of Sant Feliu is situated slightly to the north of Barruera. The village lies at a strategic point where

5358-695: The churches have remained in use for religious worship since they were constructed and consecrated in the 11th and 12th centuries. Nine churches were included in the World Heritage Site: Sant Climent and Santa Maria in Taüll , Sant Feliu in Barruera , Sant Joan in Boí , Santa Eulàlia in Erill la Vall , Santa Maria de l'Assumpció de Cóll , Santa Maria de Cardet , la Nativitat de la Mare de Déu in Durro , and

5452-569: The continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman architecture . Similarly to Gothic, the name of the style was transferred onto the contemporary Romanesque art . Combining features of ancient Roman and Byzantine buildings and other local traditions, Romanesque architecture is known by its massive quality, thick walls, round arches, sturdy pillars , barrel vaults , large towers and decorative arcading . Each building has clearly defined forms, frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan. The overall appearance

5546-419: The development of the modern English meaning of the word involved primarily two steps: The French term " romane " was first used in the architectural sense by archaeologist Charles de Gerville in a letter of 18 December 1818 to Auguste Le Prévost to describe what Gerville sees as a debased Roman architecture . In an 1823 public lecture (published in 1824) Gerville's friend Arcisse de Caumont adopted

5640-529: The domestic quarters of monasteries are far rarer, but these used and adapted the features found in church buildings, on a domestic scale. The French term " romane " or the English Romanesque , meaning "in the manner of Romans", has been used to describe the architectural style of the Mediaeval era, preceding the more easily recognizable Gothic architecture, since early in the 19th century. It describes

5734-442: The door to the west. The bell tower is in poor repair. Cardet occupied a rocky outcrop at the entrance to the valley. The church is at the eastern edge of the village, above a steep slope. The church has a single nave with apse, with a crypt below the apse (required due to the falling ground level). A sacristy was added to the southeast end of the nave, and a chapel was added to the north facade. The exterior retains features from

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5828-420: The famous abbeys of Aux Dames and Les Hommes at Caen and Mont Saint-Michel date from this period, as well as the abbeys of the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela . Many cathedrals owe their foundation to this date, with others beginning as abbey churches, and later becoming cathedrals. In England, of the cathedrals of ancient foundation, all were begun in this period with the exception of Salisbury, where

5922-454: The façade gable and are also seen in Germany. Later Romanesque churches may have wheel windows or rose windows with plate tracery . There are a very small number of buildings in the Romanesque style, such as Autun Cathedral in France and Monreale Cathedral in Sicily in which pointed arches have been used extensively, apparently for stylistic reasons. It is believed that in these cases there

6016-771: The greater power the cities in the region got in the Middle Ages; a small number of buildings not connected with a belfry, such as bell towers of—or with their—churches, also occur on this same list ( details ). In the Middle Ages , cities sometimes kept their important documents in belfries. Not all are on a large scale; the "bell" tower of Katúň , in Slovakia , is typical of the many more modest structures that were once common in country areas. Archaic wooden bell towers survive adjoining churches in Lithuania and as well as in some parts of Poland . In Orthodox Eastern Europe bell ringing also has

6110-666: The hermitage of Sant Quirc near Durro. The valley also contains the ruins of a number of other Romanesque religious buildings, including the churches of Sant Llorenç in Saraís and Santa Martí in Taüll, and the hermitages of Sant Cristòfol in Erill, of Sant Quirc in Taüll, of Sant Salvador in Barruera and of Sant Pere in Boí. The church of Sant Climent de Taüll was consecrated on 10 December 1123 by

6204-448: The label " roman " to describe the "degraded" European architecture from the 5th to the 13th centuries, in his Essai sur l'architecture religieuse du moyen-âge, particulièrement en Normandie , at a time when the actual dates of many of the buildings so described had not been ascertained: "The name Roman (esque) we give to this architecture, which should be universal as it is the same everywhere with slight local differences, also has

6298-432: The land that they farmed in exchange for military service . The result of this was that they could be called upon, not only for local and regional spats, but to follow their lord to travel across Europe to the Crusades, if they were required to do so. The Crusades , 1095–1270, brought about a very large movement of people and, with them, ideas and trade skills, particularly those involved in the building of fortifications and

6392-404: The late 11th and 12th centuries saw an unprecedented growth in the number of churches. A great number of these buildings, both large and small, remain, some almost intact and in others altered almost beyond recognition in later centuries. They include many very well known churches such as Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, the Baptistery in Florence and San Zeno Maggiore in Verona. In France,

6486-404: The liturgy of the church service to signify to people that a particular part of the service has been reached. A bell tower may have a single bell, or a collection of bells which are tuned to a common scale. They may be stationary and chimed, rung randomly by swinging through a small arc, or swung through a full circle to enable the high degree of control of English change ringing . They may house

6580-404: The local stone and building traditions. In Italy, Poland, much of Germany and parts of the Netherlands, brick is generally used. Other areas saw extensive use of limestone, granite and flint. The building stone was often used in comparatively small and irregular pieces, bedded in thick mortar. Smooth ashlar masonry was not a distinguishing feature of the style (especially not in the earlier part of

6674-417: The main nave, and a Gothic western facade. The church of Sant Joan is situated at the entrance to the village of Boí which gives its name to the valley. The church has three naves, with apses at the eastern ends of the two side names. The original timber roof has been replaced with stone. The bell tower rises to the south of the southern nave. The church was heavily renovated in the 18th century, but many of

6768-463: The merit of indicating its origin and is not new since it is used already to describe the language of the same period. Romance language is degenerated Latin language. Romanesque architecture is debased Roman architecture." The term " Pre-romanesque " is sometimes applied to architecture in Germany of the Carolingian and Ottonian periods and Visigothic , Mozarab and Asturian constructions between

6862-485: The metal working needed for the provision of arms, which was also applied to the fitting and decoration of buildings. The continual movement of people, rulers, nobles, bishops, abbots, craftsmen and peasants, was an important factor in creating a homogeneity in building methods and a recognizable Romanesque style , despite regional differences. Life became generally less secure after the Carolingian period. This resulted in

6956-451: The monks relocated from the Norman church at Old Sarum , and several, such as Canterbury , which were rebuilt on the site of Saxon churches. In Spain, the most famous church of the period is Santiago de Compostela . In Germany, the Rhine and its tributaries were the location of many Romanesque abbeys, notably Mainz , Worms , Speyer and Bamberg . In Cologne , then the largest city north of

7050-771: The more northern countries, Roman building styles and techniques had never been adopted except for official buildings, while in Scandinavia they were unknown. Although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost. There was a loss of stylistic continuity, particularly apparent in the decline of the formal vocabulary of the Classical Orders . In Rome several great Constantinian basilicas continued in use as an inspiration to later builders. Some traditions of Roman architecture also survived in Byzantine architecture with

7144-617: The most rare, with only a handful of survivors in the United Kingdom, several clusters in France, isolated buildings across Europe and by far the largest number, often unidentified and altered over the centuries, in Italy. Many castles exist, the foundations of which date from the Romanesque period. Most have been substantially altered, and many are in ruins. By far the greatest number of surviving Romanesque buildings are churches. These range from tiny chapels to large cathedrals . Although many have been extended and altered in different styles,

7238-444: The mouldings of the arch. Piers that occur at the intersection of two large arches, such as those under the crossing of the nave and transept, are commonly cruciform in shape, each arch having its own supporting rectangular pier at right angles to the other. Columns are an important structural feature of Romanesque architecture. Colonnettes and attached shafts are also used structurally and for decoration. Monolithic columns cut from

7332-518: The nature of the vault dictated that the alternate piers bore a great deal more weight than the intermediate ones and are thus very much larger. The foliate Corinthian style provided the inspiration for many Romanesque capitals, and the accuracy with which they were carved depended very much on the availability of original models, those in Italian churches such as Pisa Cathedral or church of Sant'Alessandro in Lucca and southern France being much closer to

7426-413: The nave from the aisles, and in large secular interiors spaces, such as the great hall of a castle, supporting the timbers of a roof or upper floor. Arcades also occur in cloisters and atriums, enclosing an open space. Arcades can occur in storeys or stages. While the arcade of a cloister is typically of a single stage, the arcade that divides the nave and aisles in a church is typically of two stages, with

7520-405: The northeast. The Moorish conquest of Spain did not penetrate the high valleys of the Pyrenees. The first Christian counties in the region were set out in the 9th century, in which the local counts paid little heed to their nominal Frankish overlords. The population was largely Basque . The valley first belonged to the county of Toulouse , to which was joined the County of Ribagorza . In

7614-399: The northern wall, and the bell tower rises from the northeast corner to five storeys. The entrance is cut into the southern wall, to a covered walkway. The building has been renovated and extended many times since it was built in the 12th century and little of its original appearance remains. The interior retains Baroque features from later renovations. The church was restored in 1983, and

7708-406: The period), but it did occur, chiefly where easily worked limestone was available. Because of the massive nature of Romanesque walls, buttresses are not a highly significant feature, as they are in Gothic architecture. Romanesque buttresses are generally of flat square profile and do not project a great deal beyond the wall. In the case of aisled churches, barrel vaults, or half-barrel vaults over

7802-489: The presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a Lombard band . Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III in Old St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Day of 800, with an aim to re-establishing the old Roman Empire . Charlemagne's political successors continued to rule much of Europe, with a gradual emergence of the separate political states that were eventually to become welded into nations, either by allegiance or defeat, into

7896-479: The renovations were removed in the 1960s. Its paintings were removed in 1919 and taken to MNAC. The church of Santa Eulàlia in Erill-la-Vall has a single long nave with a triple apse at the eastern end and an entrance to the north opening onto a covered walkway. A timber roof has replaced the former barrel vault . The six-storey bell tower rises to the north to 23 metres. It has an important Descent from

7990-425: The ringing of church bells from a belltower is analogous to Islamic tradition of the adhan (call to prayer) from a minaret . Old bell towers which are no longer used for their original purpose may be kept for their historic or architectural value, though in countries with a strong campanological tradition they often continue to have the bells rung. In 400 AD, Paulinus of Nola introduced church bells into

8084-517: The simple arched window motif. One of the effects of the Crusades , which were intended to wrest the Holy Places of the Levant from Islamic control, was to excite a great deal of religious fervour, which in turn inspired great building programs. The Nobility of Europe, upon safe return, thanked God by the building of a new church or the enhancement of an old one. Likewise, those who did not return from

8178-477: The southeast of the body of the church stands a six-storey bell tower , with arched windows on each floor. The building is constructed from granite blocks, with decorative elements and windows in pumice . The facades are decorated with friezes and pilasters. The image of Christ Pantocrator from the church, originally in the main apse and now conserved in the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC),

8272-454: The style preceding Gothic was not recognized as a whole, and was instead, just like Gothic at the time, treated as a multitude of styles: Giorgio Vasari and Christopher Wren were writing about "Tuscan", "Saxon", or "Norman" architectures. The word Romanesque ("in the manner of Romans" ) appeared in English by 1666, and was used to designate what are now called Romance languages . Definition of Romanesque architecture changed over time;

8366-521: The succeeding style of Gothic architecture was recognised as early as the 15th century, as demonstrated by some artworks of that period. Robert Campin clearly presented the division in his Marriage of the Virgin ; on the left side, representing the Old Testament , the building is in the Romanesque style, while that on the right, representing the New Testament , is Gothic. Until the 19th century, however,

8460-457: The term became a "common currency", and is universally accepted at least for convenience. Buildings of every type were constructed in the Romanesque style, with evidence remaining of simple domestic buildings, elegant town houses, grand palaces, commercial premises, civic buildings, castles, city walls, bridges, village churches, abbey churches, abbey complexes and large cathedrals. Of these types of buildings, domestic and commercial buildings are

8554-399: The triforium gallery. The arches used in Romanesque architecture are nearly always semicircular, for openings such as doors and windows, for vaults and for arcades. Wide doorways are usually surmounted by a semi-circular arch, except where a door with a lintel is set into a large arched recess and surmounted by a semi-circular "lunette" with decorative carving. These doors sometimes have

8648-446: The valley widens out and was connected with a nearby abbey in the Middle Ages which has now disappeared. The church has a single surviving nave of the three originally built, with a barrel vault and a semicircular apse. It has a square transept and apse to the south and square chapel to the north. A simple, undecorated bell tower lies at the southeast corner. Renovations were undertaken in the 16th century, adding two Gothic chapels to

8742-408: Was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Romanesque is characterized by semicircular arches , while the Gothic is marked by the pointed arches . The Romanesque emerged nearly simultaneously in multiple countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain); its examples can be found across

8836-430: Was to build them out of stone cylinders called drums, as in the crypt at Speyer Cathedral . Where really massive columns were called for, such as those at Durham Cathedral , they were constructed of ashlar masonry and the hollow core was filled with rubble. These huge untapered columns are sometimes ornamented with incised decorations. A common characteristic of Romanesque buildings, occurring both in churches and in

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