Romanesque (Part Seven).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Basilica of Saint-Rémi, Rheims, France.

Français: Basilique Saint-Remi, Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, France.

Photo: 31 August 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Ribbed Vaults came into general use in the 12th-Century. In Ribbed Vaults, not only are there Ribs spanning the Vaulted area Transversely, but each Vaulted Bay has Diagonal Ribs, following the same course as the Groins in a Groin Vault. However, whereas in a Groin Vault, the Vault itself is the structural member, in a Ribbed Vault, it is the Ribs that are the structural members, and the spaces between them can be filled with lighter, non-structural, material.

English: Fontevraud Abbey, Chinon, Anjou, France.

[Fontevraud Abbey or Fontevrault Abbey (in French: abbaye de Fontevraud) is a religious building hosting a cultural centre since 1975, the Centre Culturel de l'Ouest, in the village of Fontevraud-l'Abbaye, near Chinon, in Anjou, France. It was founded by the itinerant reforming preacher, Robert of Arbrissel, who had just created a new Order, the Order of Fontevrault. The first permanent structures were built between 1110 and 1119. In the early years, the Plantagenets were great benefactors of the Abbey and, while Isabella d'Anjou was Abbess, Henry II's widow, Eleanor of Aquitaine, became a Nun here. Louise de Bourbon left her Crest on 

many of the alterations she made during her Term of Office.]

Français: Abbaye Fontevraud. Cloître du Grand-Moûtier.

Photo: 27 July 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Jean-Christophe BENOIST.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Because Romanesque Arches are nearly always semi-circular, the structural and design problem inherent in the Ribbed Vault is that the Diagonal Span is larger and, therefore, higher than the Transverse Span. The Romanesque builders used a number of solutions to this problem. One was to have the centre point, where the Diagonal Ribs met as the highest point, with the infill of all the surfaces sloping upwards towards it, in a Domical manner. This solution was employed in Italy at San Michele, Pavia and Sant'Ambrogio, Milan.

View of the Choir, Basilica of Saint-Rémi, 

Rheims, France, from the South-East.

Photo: 6 February 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Raggatt2000.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The solution employed in England was to stilt the Transverse Ribs, maintaining a horizontal central line to the roof like a that of a Barrel Vault. The Diagonal Ribs could also be depressed, a solution used on the Sexpartite Vaults at both Saint-Étienne (Abbaye-aux-Hommes) and Sainte-Trinité, (Abbaye-les-Dames), at Caen, France, in the Late-11th- and Early-12th-Centuries.

The problems encountered, in the structure and appearance of Vaults, was solved late in the Romanesque period with the introduction of Pointed Arched Ribs, which allowed the height of both Diagonal and Transverse Ribs to be varied in proportion to each other.

English: Bays in the Nave of the Abbey aux Dames, Caen, France.

[Note the Sexpartite Vaulting.]

Français: Caen, Normandie, France. Travées de la nef de l'abbaye aux Dames.

Photo: 17 October 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ikmo-ned.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English:  Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen, France.

Français: Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen, France.

Photo: 5 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Pointed Ribs made their first appearance in the Transverse Ribs of the Vaults at Durham Cathedral, in Northern England, dating from 1128. Durham is a Cathedral of massive Romanesque proportions and appearance, yet its builders introduced several structural features that were new to architectural design and were later to be hallmark features of the Gothic.

Another Gothic structural feature, employed at Durham, is the Flying Buttress. However, these are hidden beneath the roofs of the Aisles. The earliest Pointed Vault in France is that of the Narthex of La Madeleine, Vézelay, dating from 1130. They were subsequently employed with the development of the Gothic style at the East End of the Basilica of Saint Denis, in Paris, in 1140.

[Note the Pointed Vaulting.]

日本語: サント＝マドレーヌ大聖堂 (ヴェズレー)

Česky: Opatství Vézelay

Deutsch: Die Basilika Sainte-Marie-Madeleine ist eine romanische Kirche in Vézelay in Burgund.

Nederlands: De basiliek van Vézelay is een beschermde abdijkerk in Vézelay, 

een Franse gemeente in het departement Yonne, inBourgondië.

Italiano: La Basilica di Vézelay a Vézelay, nel dipartimento francese di Yonne, in Borgogna.

English: Vézelay Abbey in Vézelay in the Yonne département in Burgundy, France.

Français: La Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay à Vézelay 

dans le département de l'Yonne en Bourgogne, France.

Photo: 2005:08:12.

Source: Own work.

Author: Harmonia Amanda.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Many Parish Churches, Abbey Churches, and Cathedrals, are in the Romanesque style, or were originally built in the Romanesque style and have subsequently undergone changes. The simplest Romanesque Churches are Aisle-less Halls, with a projecting Apse at the Chancel end, or, sometimes, particularly in England, a projecting Rectangular Chancel, with a Chancel Arch that might be decorated with mouldings. More ambitious Churches have Aisles separated from the Nave by Arcades.

Abbey and Cathedral Churches generally follow the Latin Cross Plan. In England, the extension Eastward may be long, while, in Italy, it is often short, or non-existent, the Church being of a T-Plan, sometimes with Apses on the Transept Ends, as well as to the East.

Abbaye aux Hommes, Caen, France.

Photo: 5 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In France, the Church of Saint Front, Périgueux, appears to have been modelled on Saint Mark's Basilica, Venice, or the Byzantine Church of the Holy Apostles, and is of a Greek Cross Plan, with five Domes.

In the same region, Angoulême Cathedral is an Aisle-less Church, of the Latin Cross Plan, more usual in France, but is also roofed with Domes. 

In Germany, Romanesque Churches are often of distinctive form, having Apses at both East and West Ends, the main entrance being central to one side. It is probable that this form came about to accommodate a Baptistery at the West End.

In Section, the typical Aisled Church or Cathedral has a Nave with a single Aisle on either side. The Nave and Aisles are separated by an Arcade carried on Piers or on Columns. The roof of the Aisle and the outer walls help to buttress the upper walls and Vault of the Nave, if present. 

Above the Aisle roof, are a row of windows, known as the Clerestory, which give light to the Nave. During the Romanesque period, there was a development from this two-stage elevation to a three-stage elevation, in which there is a Gallery, known as a Triforium, between the Arcade and the Clerestory. This varies from a simple Blind Arcade, decorating the walls, to a narrow Arcaded Passage, to a fully-developed Second-Storey with a row of windows lighting the Gallery.

PART EIGHT FOLLOWS.