Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture

Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture

Facts and interesting information about Medieval Art, specifically Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture, during the Middle Ages

What is Romanesque Architecture? Definition
What is Romanesque Architecture? Definition: Romanesque architecture is a style of architecture developed between the Roman and the Gothic styles after 1000 AD. Romanesque architecture is characterized by round arches and vaults and by the substitution of piers for columns. Romanesque Architecture is the term used to describe the building styles which were used between 800 AD to 1100 AD.

Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture - Design
The design and characteristics of Romanesque Architecture had to be a combination of practical use and the aesthetic design, especially in the building of castles! Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture had to take the following into consideration:

• The castle design and Romanesque architecture needed to convey Fear, Awe, Domination, Envy, Submission, Respect, Power and Wealth

• The Comfort of the stone castle interior significantly improved from the wooden Motte and Bailey Castles but were still cold, smelly and dim
• Ornamentation? The Medieval Stone masons were able to add some ornamentation to the Romanesque castles
• Economy - The Medieval castles designed in the Romanesque Architecture style was expensive - but durable!

Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture - Defining Features
The characteristics of Romanesque Architecture can be defined as having the following features:

• Stone was cut with precision

• Walls were initially solid but the walls and shell keeps designed in the Romanesque architecture style were hollow and distributed the weight of the stones
• The use of the Roman arch led to the stone being supported in the middle by the arch construction
• The stone used was extremely heavy. The weight of the ceilings would tend to buckle the walls outward and large piles of stone would be stacked along the wall in intervals to buttress (or support) the walls from pushing outward - these piles of stones became features of Romanesque Architecture and buttresses were introduced to the basic design and a major characteristic of Romanesque architecture
• The window openings of Romanesque Architecture castles had to be small to keep the strength of the walls strong
• The Vault - The most important structural developments and characteristics of Romanesque architecture was the vault. The vault was developed to enable the construction of stone roofs - wooden roofs were an obvious fire hazard
  • Barrel or Tunnel Vaults - consisted of a continuous surface of semicircular or pointed sections resembling a barrel or tunnel which has been cut in half lengthwise
  • Groin Vault - A vault produced by the intersection, at right angles of two barrel vaults. The arches of groin vaults were either pointed or round

Medieval Art - Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture
The Medieval Times website provides interesting facts, history and information about the great artists and important historical events which scatter the Medieval History books on the subject of Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture. The Medieval Times Sitemap provides full details of all of the information and facts about the fascinating subject of Characteristics of Romanesque Architecture during the historical period of the Middle Ages. The content of this article on Medieval art provides free educational details, facts and information for reference and research for schools, colleges and homework for history courses and history coursework.

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