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139-524: Hovgården is located on the flat country north-west of the Romanesque Adelsö Church , characterised by a narrow rift valley stretching north to forest-laden moraines . These historical meadows lands were cultivated in the 19th century and have hardly been altered since, as several well-preserved 18th century farmyards bear witness to. The oldest archaeological remains on Adelsö, found north of Hovgården, are grave fields and burial mounds from

278-595: A drawbridge , although these were often replaced by stone bridges. The site of the 13th-century Caerphilly Castle in Wales covers over 30 acres (12 ha) and the water defences, created by flooding the valley to the south of the castle, are some of the largest in Western Europe. Battlements were most often found surmounting curtain walls and the tops of gatehouses, and comprised several elements: crenellations , hoardings , machicolations , and loopholes . Crenellation

417-466: A Roman fort or Byzantine tetrapyrgia which were square in plan and had square towers at each corner that did not project much beyond the curtain wall. The keep of these Crusader castles would have had a square plan and generally be undecorated. While castles were used to hold a site and control movement of armies, in the Holy Land some key strategic positions were left unfortified. Castle architecture in

556-462: A barbican was not just to provide another line of defence but also to dictate the only approach to the gate. A moat was a ditch surrounding a castle – or dividing one part of a castle from another – and could be either dry or filled with water. Its purpose often had a defensive purpose, preventing siege towers from reaching walls making mining harder, but could also be ornamental. Water moats were found in low-lying areas and were usually crossed by

695-455: 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

834-438: A central keep . In the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire . Many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castle's firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to

973-570: A common origin, dealt with a particular mode of warfare, and exchanged influences. In different areas of the world, analogous structures shared features of fortification and other defining characteristics associated with the concept of a castle, though they originated in different periods and circumstances and experienced differing evolutions and influences. For example, shiro in Japan, described as castles by historian Stephen Turnbull , underwent "a completely different developmental history, were built in

1112-573: 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

1251-476: A completely different way and were designed to withstand attacks of a completely different nature". While European castles built from the late 12th and early 13th century onwards were generally stone, shiro were predominantly timber buildings into the 16th century. By the 16th century, when Japanese and European cultures met, fortification in Europe had moved beyond castles and relied on innovations such as

1390-641: A confined space and unable to retaliate. It is a popular myth that murder holes  – openings in the ceiling of the gateway passage – were used to pour boiling oil or molten lead on attackers; the price of oil and lead and the distance of the gatehouse from fires meant that this was impractical. This method was, however, a common practice in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean castles and fortifications, where such resources were abundant. They were most likely used to drop objects on attackers, or to allow water to be poured on fires to extinguish them. Provision

1529-413: A fortification such as a city wall . The great hall was a large, decorated room where a lord received his guests. The hall represented the prestige, authority, and richness of the lord. Events such as feasts, banquets, social or ceremonial gatherings, meetings of the military council, and judicial trials were held in the great hall. Sometimes the great hall existed as a separate building, in that case, it

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1668-571: 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

1807-509: 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

1946-413: 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

2085-602: 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

2224-573: 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

2363-605: A long time in a constant state of alert"; elsewhere the lord's wife presided over a separate residence ( domus , aula or mansio in Latin) close to the keep, and the donjon was a barracks and headquarters. Gradually, the two functions merged into the same building, and the highest residential storeys had large windows; as a result for many structures, it is difficult to find an appropriate term. The massive internal spaces seen in many surviving donjons can be misleading; they would have been divided into several rooms by light partitions, as in

2502-435: A lord's home or hall was fire as it was usually a wooden structure. To protect against this, and keep other threats at bay, there were several courses of action available: create encircling earthworks to keep an enemy at a distance; build the hall in stone; or raise it up on an artificial mound, known as a motte, to present an obstacle to attackers. While the concept of ditches , ramparts , and stone walls as defensive measures

2641-538: A massive scale, utilising stone, wood, iron and earth in their construction. The Romans encountered fortified settlements such as hill forts and oppida when expanding their territory into northern Europe. Their defences were often effective, and were only overcome by the extensive use of siege engines and other siege warfare techniques, such as at the Battle of Alesia . The Romans' own fortifications ( castra ) varied from simple temporary earthworks thrown up by armies on

2780-489: A mixture of castle technology from the Crusades , such as concentric fortification , and inspiration from earlier defences, such as Roman forts . Not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, so that devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape. Although gunpowder

2919-642: A modern office building. Even in some large castles the great hall was separated only by a partition from the lord's chamber, his bedroom and to some extent his office. Curtain walls were defensive walls enclosing a bailey. They had to be high enough to make scaling the walls with ladders difficult and thick enough to withstand bombardment from siege engines which, from the 15th century onwards, included gunpowder artillery . A typical wall could be 3 m (10 ft) thick and 12 m (39 ft) tall, although sizes varied greatly between castles. To protect them from undermining , curtain walls were sometimes given

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3058-418: 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

3197-532: A number of words in other languages also derive from castellum . The word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest of 1066 to denote this type of building, which was then new to England. In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is "a private fortified residence". This contrasts with earlier fortifications, such as Anglo-Saxon burhs and walled cities such as Constantinople and Antioch in

3336-493: A range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, and domestic. As well as defensive structures, castles were also offensive tools which could be used as a base of operations in enemy territory. Castles were established by Norman invaders of England for both defensive purposes and to pacify the country's inhabitants. As William the Conqueror advanced through England, he fortified key positions to secure

3475-619: A result there were 4,000 in the country. There are very few castles dated with certainty from the mid-9th century. Converted into a donjon around 950, Château de Doué-la-Fontaine in France is the oldest standing castle in Europe . From 1000 onwards, references to castles in texts such as charters increased greatly. Historians have interpreted this as evidence of a sudden increase in the number of castles in Europe around this time; this has been supported by archaeological investigation which has dated

3614-470: A scientific design. An example of this approach is Kerak . Although there were no scientific elements to its design, it was almost impregnable, and in 1187 Saladin chose to lay siege to the castle and starve out its garrison rather than risk an assault. During the late 11th and 12th centuries in what is now south-central Turkey the Hospitallers , Teutonic Knights and Templars established themselves in

3753-511: 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,

3892-420: A stone skirt around their bases. Walkways along the tops of the curtain walls allowed defenders to rain missiles on enemies below, and battlements gave them further protection. Curtain walls were studded with towers to allow enfilading fire along the wall. Arrowslits in the walls did not become common in Europe until the 13th century, for fear that they might compromise the wall's strength. The entrance

4031-497: A stronghold and prison but was also a place where a knight or lord could entertain his peers. Over time the aesthetics of the design became more important, as the castle's appearance and size began to reflect the prestige and power of its occupant. Comfortable homes were often fashioned within their fortified walls. Although castles still provided protection from low levels of violence in later periods, eventually they were succeeded by country houses as high-status residences. Castle

4170-499: 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

4309-424: A wall with openings that allowed objects to be dropped on an enemy at the base of the wall in a similar fashion to hoardings. Arrowslits , also commonly called loopholes, were narrow vertical openings in defensive walls which allowed arrows or crossbow bolts to be fired on attackers. The narrow slits were intended to protect the defender by providing a very small target, but the size of the opening could also impede

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4448-400: A wooden door. This led to the elevation of windows to the second storey – to make it harder to throw objects in – and to move the entrance from ground level to the second storey. These features are seen in many surviving castle keeps, which were the more sophisticated version of halls. Castles were not just defensive sites but also enhanced a lord's control over his lands. They allowed

4587-481: Is a corrupted form of "donjon" and means a dark, unwelcoming prison. Although often the strongest part of a castle and a last place of refuge if the outer defences fell, the keep was not left empty in case of attack but was used as a residence by the lord who owned the castle, or his guests or representatives. At first, this was usual only in England, when after the Norman Conquest of 1066 the "conquerors lived for

4726-417: 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

4865-433: Is ancient, raising a motte is a medieval innovation. A bank and ditch enclosure was a simple form of defence, and when found without an associated motte is called a ringwork; when the site was in use for a prolonged period, it was sometimes replaced by a more complex structure or enhanced by the addition of a stone curtain wall. Building the hall in stone did not necessarily make it immune to fire as it still had windows and

5004-604: 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 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

5143-674: 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

5282-572: Is sometimes used as a catch-all term for all kinds of fortifications , and as a result has been misapplied in the technical sense. An example of this is Maiden Castle which, despite the name, is an Iron Age hill fort which had a very different origin and purpose. Although castle has not become a generic term for a manor house (like château in French and Schloss in German), many manor houses contain castle in their name while having few if any of

5421-407: Is the collective name for alternating crenels and merlons : gaps and solid blocks on top of a wall. Hoardings were wooden constructs that projected beyond the wall, allowing defenders to shoot at, or drop objects on, attackers at the base of the wall without having to lean perilously over the crenellations, thereby exposing themselves to retaliatory fire. Machicolations were stone projections on top of

5560-540: 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

5699-891: The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , where they discovered an extensive network of sophisticated fortifications which had a profound impact on the architecture of Crusader castles . Most of the Armenian military sites in Cilicia are characterized by: multiple bailey walls laid with irregular plans to follow the sinuosities of the outcrops; rounded and especially horseshoe-shaped towers; finely-cut often rusticated ashlar facing stones with intricate poured cores; concealed postern gates and complex bent entrances with slot machicolations; embrasured loopholes for archers; barrel, pointed or groined vaults over undercrofts, gates and chapels; and cisterns with elaborate scarped drains. Civilian settlement are often found in

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5838-485: The Bayeux Tapestry 's depiction of Château de Dinan . Sometimes a motte covered an older castle or hall, whose rooms became underground storage areas and prisons beneath a new keep. A bailey, also called a ward, was a fortified enclosure. It was a common feature of castles, and most had at least one. The keep on top of the motte was the domicile of the lord in charge of the castle and a bastion of last defence, while

5977-613: The Bronze Age (c. 1800-500 BC). Apparently this culture survived into the Iron Age (AD 500-800) as graves from the early part of this period have been found at several locations in the area. At Hovgården some 124 graves have been found; the oldest from late Roman Iron Age (AD 1-400) and the youngest from the beginning of the Middle Ages (c. 1050-1520), indicating the area has been settled uninterruptedly throughout this period. Just north of

6116-584: 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

6255-452: The Iron Age . Hillforts in Britain typically used earthworks rather than stone as a building material. Many earthworks survive today, along with evidence of palisades to accompany the ditches. In central and western Europe, oppida emerged in the 2nd century BC; these were densely inhabited fortified settlements, such as the oppidum of Manching . Some oppida walls were built on

6394-690: 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

6533-500: 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,

6672-476: The Romans . The gatehouse contained a series of defences to make a direct assault more difficult than battering down a simple gate. Typically, there were one or more portcullises  – a wooden grille reinforced with metal to block a passage – and arrowslits to allow defenders to harry the enemy. The passage through the gatehouse was lengthened to increase the amount of time an assailant had to spend under fire in

6811-658: 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

6950-463: 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

7089-534: The 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of mock castles, part of a Romantic revival of Gothic architecture , but they had no military purpose. The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum , which is a diminutive of the word castrum , meaning "fortified place". The Old English castel , Occitan castel or chastel , French château , Spanish castillo , Portuguese castelo , Italian castello , and

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7228-505: 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,

7367-685: 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

7506-607: 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

7645-525: The 9th and 10th centuries after the fall of the Carolingian Empire , which resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. These nobles built castles to control the area immediately surrounding them and they were both offensive and defensive structures: they provided a base from which raids could be launched as well as offered protection from enemies. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies,

7784-547: 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

7923-646: The Christians were victorious in the First Crusade (1096–1099), rather than nearly 100 years later. Remains of Roman structures in Western Europe were still standing in many places, some of which had flanking round-towers and entrances between two flanking towers. The castle builders of Western Europe were aware of and influenced by Roman design; late Roman coastal forts on the English " Saxon Shore " were reused and in Spain

8062-526: The Classical than those in England. Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders . Scholars usually consider a castle to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. This is distinct from a mansion , palace , and villa , whose main purpose was exclusively for pleasance and are not primarily fortresses but may be fortified. Use of

8201-474: 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

8340-612: The East became more complex around the late 12th and early 13th centuries after the stalemate of the Third Crusade (1189–1192). Both Christians and Muslims created fortifications, and the character of each was different. Saphadin , the 13th-century ruler of the Saracens, created structures with large rectangular towers that influenced Muslim architecture and were copied again and again, however they had little influence on Crusader castles. In

8479-551: 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 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

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8618-455: The Iberian Peninsula was the use of detached towers, called Albarrana towers , around the perimeter as can be seen at the Alcazaba of Badajoz . Probably developed in the 12th century, the towers provided flanking fire. They were connected to the castle by removable wooden bridges, so if the towers were captured the rest of the castle was not accessible. When seeking to explain this change in

8757-470: The Italian trace italienne and star forts . A motte was an earthen mound with a flat top. It was often artificial, although sometimes it incorporated a pre-existing feature of the landscape. The excavation of earth to make the mound left a ditch around the motte, called a moat (which could be either wet or dry). Although the motte is commonly associated with the bailey to form a motte-and-bailey castle, this

8896-467: The Middle East; castles were not communal defences but were built and owned by the local feudal lords, either for themselves or for their monarch. Feudalism was the link between a lord and his vassal where, in return for military service and the expectation of loyalty, the lord would grant the vassal land. In the late 20th century, there was a trend to refine the definition of a castle by including

9035-515: 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

9174-531: 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

9313-399: 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

9452-451: 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

9591-404: The architectural characteristics, usually as their owners liked to maintain a link to the past and felt the term castle was a masculine expression of their power. In scholarship the castle, as defined above, is generally accepted as a coherent concept, originating in Europe and later spreading to parts of the Middle East, where they were introduced by European Crusaders. This coherent group shared

9730-400: 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

9869-421: 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

10008-422: 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;

10147-598: 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

10286-426: The bailey was the home of the rest of the lord's household and gave them protection. The barracks for the garrison, stables, workshops, and storage facilities were often found in the bailey. Water was supplied by a well or cistern . Over time the focus of high status accommodation shifted from the keep to the bailey; this resulted in the creation of another bailey that separated the high status buildings – such as

10425-460: 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,

10564-559: 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

10703-512: The complexity and style of castles, antiquarians found their answer in the Crusades. It seemed that the Crusaders had learned much about fortification from their conflicts with the Saracens and exposure to Byzantine architecture . There were legends such as that of Lalys – an architect from Palestine who reputedly went to Wales after the Crusades and greatly enhanced the castles in the south of

10842-402: The construction of castle sites through the examination of ceramics. The increase in Italy began in the 950s, with numbers of castles increasing by a factor of three to five every 50 years, whereas in other parts of Europe such as France and Spain the growth was slower. In 950, Provence was home to 12 castles; by 1000, this figure had risen to 30, and by 1030 it was over 100. Although

10981-474: The country – and it was assumed that great architects such as James of Saint George originated in the East. In the mid-20th century this view was cast into doubt. Legends were discredited, and in the case of James of Saint George it was proven that he came from Saint-Georges-d'Espéranche , in France. If the innovations in fortification had derived from the East, it would have been expected for their influence to be seen from 1100 onwards, immediately after

11120-458: The criterion of feudal ownership, thus tying castles to the medieval period; however, this does not necessarily reflect the terminology used in the medieval period. During the First Crusade (1096–1099), the Frankish armies encountered walled settlements and forts that they indiscriminately referred to as castles, but which would not be considered as such under the modern definition. Castles served

11259-427: The defender if it was too small. A smaller horizontal opening could be added to give an archer a better view for aiming. Sometimes a sally port was included; this could allow the garrison to leave the castle and engage besieging forces. It was usual for the latrines to empty down the external walls of a castle and into the surrounding ditch. A postern is a secondary door or gate in a concealed location, usually in

11398-419: 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

11537-529: 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

11676-552: The dominant form of castle in England, Wales, and Ireland well into the 12th century. At the same time, castle architecture in mainland Europe became more sophisticated. The donjon was at the centre of this change in castle architecture in the 12th century. Central towers proliferated, and typically had a square plan, with walls 3 to 4 m (9.8 to 13.1 ft) thick. Their decoration emulated Romanesque architecture , and sometimes incorporated double windows similar to those found in church bell towers. Donjons, which were

11815-413: The economy and justice. However, while castles proliferated in the 9th and 10th centuries the link between periods of insecurity and building fortifications is not always straightforward. Some high concentrations of castles occur in secure places, while some border regions had relatively few castles. It is likely that the castle evolved from the practice of fortifying a lordly home. The greatest threat to

11954-430: The end of that century, and as it was left to decay Hovgården lost in importance. Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that 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

12093-420: 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

12232-454: 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

12371-584: The garrison to control the surrounding area, and formed a centre of administration, providing the lord with a place to hold court . Building a castle sometimes required the permission of the king or other high authority. In 864 the King of West Francia, Charles the Bald , prohibited the construction of castella without his permission and ordered them all to be destroyed. This is perhaps the earliest reference to castles, though military historian R. Allen Brown points out that

12510-584: 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 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

12649-577: The immediate proximity of these fortifications. After the First Crusade, Crusaders who did not return to their homes in Europe helped found the Crusader states of the Principality of Antioch , the County of Edessa , the Kingdom of Jerusalem , and the County of Tripoli . The castles they founded to secure their acquisitions were designed mostly by Syrian master-masons. Their design was very similar to that of

12788-428: The increase was slower in Spain, the 1020s saw a particular growth in the number of castles in the region, particularly in contested border areas between Christian and Muslim lands. Despite the common period in which castles rose to prominence in Europe, their form and design varied from region to region. In the early 11th century, the motte and keep – an artificial mound with a palisade and tower on top –

12927-566: The king was erected next to the royal mounds. It was part of Uppsala öd , a network of royal estates supporting the Kings of Sweden . Furthermore, King Magnus Barnlock had the old castle replaced by a palace built in brick, Alsnö hus , in the 1270s. In the palace, the king established the Swedish nobility through the Ordinance of Alsnö ( Alsnö stadga ) in 1279. However, the palace was destroyed before

13066-448: 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

13205-557: The land he had taken. Between 1066 and 1087, he established 36 castles such as Warwick Castle , which he used to guard against rebellion in the English Midlands . Towards the end of the Middle Ages, castles tended to lose their military significance due to the advent of powerful cannons and permanent artillery fortifications; as a result, castles became more important as residences and statements of power. A castle could act as

13344-432: 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

13483-556: 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,

13622-414: The lay of the land (the result was often irregular or curvilinear structures). The design of castles was not uniform, but these were features that could be found in a typical castle in the mid-12th century. By the end of the 12th century or the early 13th century, a newly constructed castle could be expected to be polygonal in shape, with towers at the corners to provide enfilading fire for

13761-458: 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

13900-499: The lord's chambers and the chapel – from the everyday structures such as the workshops and barracks. From the late 12th century there was a trend for knights to move out of the small houses they had previously occupied within the bailey to live in fortified houses in the countryside. Although often associated with the motte-and-bailey type of castle, baileys could also be found as independent defensive structures. These simple fortifications were called ringworks . The enceinte

14039-420: The loss of the donjon. Where keeps did exist, they were no longer square but polygonal or cylindrical. Gateways were more strongly defended, with the entrance to the castle usually between two half-round towers which were connected by a passage above the gateway – although there was great variety in the styles of gateway and entrances – and one or more portcullis. A peculiar feature of Muslim castles in

14178-463: The main living quarters of the castle and usually the most strongly defended point of a castle before the introduction of concentric defence . "Keep" was not a term used in the medieval period – the term was applied from the 16th century onwards – instead " donjon " was used to refer to great towers, or turris in Latin. In motte-and-bailey castles, the keep was on top of the motte. "Dungeon"

14317-463: 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

14456-485: 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

14595-451: 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

14734-771: 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

14873-617: 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,

15012-444: 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

15151-444: The move, to elaborate permanent stone constructions, notably the milecastles of Hadrian's Wall . Roman forts were generally rectangular with rounded corners – a "playing-card shape". In the medieval period, castles were influenced by earlier forms of elite architecture, contributing to regional variations. Importantly, while castles had military aspects, they contained a recognisable household structure within their walls, reflecting

15290-438: The multi-functional use of these buildings. The subject of the emergence of castles in Europe is a complex matter which has led to considerable debate. Discussions have typically attributed the rise of the castle to a reaction to attacks by Magyars , Muslims , and Vikings and a need for private defence. The breakdown of the Carolingian Empire led to the privatisation of government, and local lords assumed responsibility for

15429-518: 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

15568-413: 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

15707-573: The number of castles being built went into decline. This has been partly attributed to the higher cost of stone-built fortifications, and the obsolescence of timber and earthwork sites, which meant it was preferable to build in more durable stone. Although superseded by their stone successors, timber and earthwork castles were by no means useless. This is evidenced by the continual maintenance of timber castles over long periods, sometimes several centuries; Owain Glyndŵr 's 11th-century timber castle at Sycharth

15846-527: The parish church are five large burial mounds of which three are called Kungshögar . In Swedish, Kung meaning King and högar , from the Old Norse word haugr , meaning mound or barrow. Hovgården apparently was the location for a royal estate Kungsgård as early as the Viking Age (c. 800-1050). An excavation of one of these royal mounds in 1917 revealed the remains of a wealthy man who lived around 900. He

15985-406: 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

16124-489: 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

16263-424: The residence of the lord of the castle, evolved to become more spacious. The design emphasis of donjons changed to reflect a shift from functional to decorative requirements, imposing a symbol of lordly power upon the landscape. This sometimes led to compromising defence for the sake of display. Until the 12th century, stone-built and earth and timber castles were contemporary, but by the late 12th century

16402-517: 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

16541-542: The structures also served as centres of administration and symbols of power. Urban castles were used to control the local populace and important travel routes, and rural castles were often situated near features that were integral to life in the community, such as mills, fertile land, or a water source. Many northern European castles were originally built from earth and timber but had their defences replaced later by stone . Early castles often exploited natural defences, lacking features such as towers and arrowslits and relying on

16680-454: 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;

16819-576: 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,

16958-457: 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

17097-410: The term has varied over time and, sometimes, has also been applied to structures such as hill forts and 19th- and 20th-century homes built to resemble castles. Over the Middle Ages, when genuine castles were built, they took on a great many forms with many different features, although some, such as curtain walls , arrowslits , and portcullises , were commonplace. European-style castles originated in

17236-399: 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

17375-562: The wall around the city of Ávila imitated Roman architecture when it was built in 1091. Historian Smail in Crusading warfare argued that the case for the influence of Eastern fortification on the West has been overstated, and that Crusaders of the 12th century in fact learned very little about scientific design from Byzantine and Saracen defences. A well-sited castle that made use of natural defences and had strong ditches and walls had no need for

17514-413: The walls. The towers would have protruded from the walls and featured arrowslits on each level to allow archers to target anyone nearing or at the curtain wall. These later castles did not always have a keep, but this may have been because the more complex design of the castle as a whole drove up costs and the keep was sacrificed to save money. The larger towers provided space for habitation to make up for

17653-460: The word castella may have applied to any fortification at the time. In some countries the monarch had little control over lords, or required the construction of new castles to aid in securing the land so was unconcerned about granting permission – as was the case in England in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest and the Holy Land during the Crusades . Switzerland is an extreme case of there being no state control over who built castles, and as

17792-524: Was burned lying in a boat, dressed in expensive clothing but without weapons, accompanied by horses, cows, and dogs. Birka , the oldest town in Sweden, was an international trade post. It has been assumed the royal settlement at Hovgården was established as the king's mean of controlling Birka. However, while Birka was abandoned in the mid-10th century, the royal estate was apparently not as the runestone U 11 from around 1070 which claims to have been carved for

17931-553: Was called a hall-house. Historian Charles Coulson states that the accumulation of wealth and resources, such as food, led to the need for defensive structures. The earliest fortifications originated in the Fertile Crescent , the Indus Valley , Europe, Egypt, and China where settlements were protected by large walls. In Northern Europe , hill forts were first developed in the Bronze Age , which then proliferated across Europe in

18070-472: Was common, and usually between local lords. Castles were introduced into England shortly before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Before the 12th century castles were as uncommon in Denmark as they had been in England before the Norman Conquest. The introduction of castles to Denmark was a reaction to attacks from Wendish pirates, and they were usually intended as coastal defences. The motte and bailey remained

18209-430: Was in short supply. Although stone construction would later become common elsewhere, from the 11th century onwards it was the primary building material for Christian castles in Spain, while at the same time timber was still the dominant building material in north-west Europe. Historians have interpreted the widespread presence of castles across Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries as evidence that warfare

18348-556: Was introduced to Europe in the 14th century, it did not significantly affect castle building until the 15th century, when artillery became powerful enough to break through stone walls. While castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery star forts with no role in civil administration, and château or country houses that were indefensible. From

18487-420: Was made in the upper storey of the gatehouse for accommodation so the gate was never left undefended, although this arrangement later evolved to become more comfortable at the expense of defence. During the 13th and 14th centuries the barbican was developed. This consisted of a rampart , ditch, and possibly a tower, in front of the gatehouse which could be used to further protect the entrance. The purpose of

18626-419: Was not always the case and there are instances where a motte existed on its own. "Motte" refers to the mound alone, but it was often surmounted by a fortified structure, such as a keep, and the flat top would be surrounded by a palisade . It was common for the motte to be reached over a flying bridge (a bridge over the ditch from the counterscarp of the ditch to the edge of the top of the mound), as shown in

18765-417: Was often the weakest part in a circuit of defences. To overcome this, the gatehouse was developed, allowing those inside the castle to control the flow of traffic. In earth and timber castles, the gateway was usually the first feature to be rebuilt in stone. The front of the gateway was a blind spot and to overcome this, projecting towers were added on each side of the gate in a style similar to that developed by

18904-422: Was still in use by the start of the 15th century, its structure having been maintained for four centuries. At the same time there was a change in castle architecture. Until the late 12th century castles generally had few towers; a gateway with few defensive features such as arrowslits or a portcullis; a great keep or donjon, usually square and without arrowslits; and the shape would have been dictated by

19043-425: Was the castle's main defensive enclosure, and the terms "bailey" and "enceinte" are linked. A castle could have several baileys but only one enceinte. Castles with no keep, which relied on their outer defences for protection, are sometimes called enceinte castles; these were the earliest form of castles, before the keep was introduced in the 10th century. A keep was a great tower or other building that served as

19182-510: Was the most common form of castle in Europe, everywhere except Scandinavia. While Britain, France, and Italy shared a tradition of timber construction that was continued in castle architecture, Spain more commonly used stone or mud-brick as the main building material. The Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century introduced a style of building developed in North Africa reliant on tapial , pebbles in cement, where timber

19321-430: 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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