Romanesque Art & Architecture Monastic Movement

The Dark Ages The period after the collapse of the Roman Empire – Approx 500 to 1000 AD (500 years) Centuries of migration due to wars and upheavals, people were plunged into darkness and had little knowledge to guide them. We also know little about the decline of the ancient world and how different European countries emerged into the shape which they now stand. Throughout this period there was little change of style in art and the styles that did exist were not distinguishable, they conflicted and had many differences. This was mainly due to differences in class, religion and invading tribes such as the Goths, the Vandals, the Saxons, the Danes and the Vikings who swept through Europe raiding and pillaging. Such tribes were considered barbarians by those who valued Greek and Roman achievements in literature and art.

Illuminated Manuscript The majority of surviving manuscripts are from the Middle Ages, although many illuminated manuscripts survive from the 15th century Renaissance, along with a very limited number from Late Antiquity. The majority of these manuscripts are of a religious nature.

San Vitale In AD 311 the Emperor Constantine established the Christian Church as a power in state Before this Christians had been persecuted so there was no building and hence no decoration of public places of worship So now we have the building of Christian places of worship. The question was; what should they look like? Not like ancient temples as their function was different. The interior of temples was usually only a shrine for the God’s statue. Processions and sacrifices took place outside. The Christian church had to find room for the whole congregation while the priest read mass at the higher altar or gave his sermons. Thus, churches were at first modelled, not on temples, but on ‘Basilicas’, (the large assembly halls from classical times). In the 11th and 12th centuries there was a revival of architecture. There were 2 powerful forces: PILGRIMAGE - Reasons for Pilgrimage, A plea for divine help, A plea for a cure for illness, Thanks for favours given, Penance for sins, Salvation for the soul THE MONASTIC MOVEMENT

San Vitale interior

Romanesque church at Vezelay in France – Benedectine Monastery This was the church of St. Mary Magdalene in BURGUNDY in the centre of FRANCE. It housed a prosperous community of Benedictine monks and contained the relics of St. Mary Magdalene in the choir. People believed the relics of a saint’s body contained the power and the presence of the saint and had the power to perform miracles. The importance of a church depended on the number of relics it held (they stole relics from each other with feeble excuses). IMAGES, carved and painted were for instructing the illiterate. Vezelay has a Romanesque nave but the rest is pure Gothic (70 years separates the building of the nave from the rest).

AUTUN A Cathedral on the route to Santiago. Other sculptures at AUTUN include :- Eve (one of the first monumental nudes of the Middle Ages and the first sinner.) She was originally to be found on the North Portal of Autun Cathedral – The Penitence Portal.

The capitals which have narrative scenes on them e. g The capitals which have narrative scenes on them e.g. ‘Adoration of the Magi’. In these we see him using the drill to create effects of texture and surface.

The sculptor’s name (it is rare to know the sculptors name from those days) was GHISLEBERTUS and his sculptures are vivid and full of expressive detail. On the Tympanum is the Last Judgement. In the centre of the Tympanum is Christ, the Judge (serene). On the right of Christ are the saved, on the left of Christ, the damned. St Michael weighs the souls of the damned, a devil pulls on the scales to tip them. We see giant claws and a woman with serpents at her breast. ‘LET THIS TERROR APPALL ALL THOSE BOUND BY EARTHLY SIN’

Autun

Norman Architecture England

The Bayeux Tapestry, c. 1080 The Bayeux Tapestry is a 50 cm by 70 m (20 in by 230 ft) long embroidered cloth which explains the events leading up to the 1066 Norman invasion of England as well as the events of the invasion itself. The Tapestry is annotated in Latin. It is presently exhibited in a special museum in Bayeux, Normandy, France. Harold was killed during the battle; traditionally, it is believed he was shot through the eye with an arrow. Although there was further English resistance for some time to come, this battle is seen as the point at which William gained control of England.

Durham Cathedral English Norman Style – As the Normans tried to impress upon England their military might and religious fervour, two main building types predominated The Castle The Church Cathedrals (Canterbury, Lincoln, Rochester and Winchester and the abbeys of Bury St Edmunds were all subject to building campaigns in the 1070s) They were characterised by their vast scale that had not been seen before in England.

Durham Cathedral

Repetitive decoration, arched bays ZigZag decoration is influenced by their Anglo-Saxon and Viking Roots Untill now Cathedral Roofs were often built out of wood they were unable to use heavy stone in such large expanses of roof. Durham Cathedral is believed to be the first church in Europe to have over come this technical feat. The groin vault is covered by a stone rib which supports the wait ans helps to channel it down the sides of the building.

Arched window in a Norman Style – The Rose window comes into architecture late Romanesque start of Gothic.

Southwell Minster, Nottingham

Southwell Minster – Nave Norman Arches

Gothic Next Week