Romanesque chuches: architectural features.Latin cross Bacilica modified, sculptural program on portals.

 

The Sainte-Foy abbey-church in Conques

The pictures came from Wikipedia., These are the church doors.

The architectural features of the typical Romanesque church and their purposes.  The traditional Latin-cross Basilica modified.

Romanesque architects had the challenge of building churches that were large enough to accommodate the large number of pilgrims that visited  them. They needed to build churches that were structurally sound, and had adequate illumination as well as aesthetically pleasing. Building material could be a problem due to a large amount of construction during this time period. Romanesque means Roman like, because the buildings shared certain characteristics with Roman architecture. This included things like round arches, stone vaults, thick walls and exterior relief sculptures. An example of a Romanesque church is Sainte- Foy, Conques, Auvergne, France c. 1050-1120. One of the reasons for the pilgrimages was to be able to see or touch the saint’s relics which were kept in gold reliquaries. The churches had to be large, but they also needed to be able to have visitors without interfering with the duties of the clergy.  The Latin-cross basilica was modified for this purpose. They extended the side aisles around the transept and the apse to form an ambulatory. The visitors could circulate freely leaving the monks undisturbed access to the main altar in the choir. Radiating chapels protruded from the main apse two chapels of equal size were added at the east side of the transept arms. In Romanesque churches they replaced wooded roofs with stone barrel vaults. They lessened the chance of fire and improved acoustics. They did require extra support of buttressing which was to counteract the lateral thrust they exerted against the wall.  “Transverse ribs cross the underside of the quadrant”. These are supported by cluster piers. These are reinforced by four engaged half columns.  Architectural sculpture was also used to help the illiterate population understand the message the church was presenting.

 The sculptural programs on the portals of the Romanesque churches iconography and function.

One development of the Romanesque period was the use of architectural sculptures, animating surfaces and illustrating surfaces, and illustrating bible stories and saints lives. There were images carved in relief at the entrance of most pilgrimage churches. These images were the first thing a pilgrim saw as they came to a church. Since most people were illiterate they wouldn’t have been able to understand text, so art work allowed them to understand the churches message. The usual scenes were either Christ in Majesty or The Last Judgment. The church portals were fairly consistent, but the programs were varied. At Saint-Foy the picture was the last judgment. It conforms to iconographic convention in its arrangement. Christ is the center, and to his right are saints and churchmen. Above them are angels holding scrolls that form arches. Below this is Saint –Foy prostrate before Christ. On the left Christ’s hand is lowered toward hell. That is Christ’s left and our right. You look down to see the damned souls being tortured by devils. There is a crowned frontal figure of Satan. The damned punishment fits their earthly crime. The saved souls on the right are neatly presented while the damned are in complete disorder. The traditional right to left Christian symbolism is maintained. At the center of the lintel two individual scenes are divided by a vertical. On one side angels welcome saints into heaven, and on the left Satan brandishes a club at the damned as they are ushered into hell. The iconography conflates the Christian metaphor of the gates of hell or the jaws of death. This must have been a terrifying idea for the pilgrims, and made them want to repent and live good lives. Heaven or hell? I’m sure they knew what the best choice would be.  Saint-Pierre at Moissac’s imagery was from the book of Revelations 4:2-7, and it presents a picture of the scriptures in layers with the seals being the bottom layer. The next layer is the elders, then the sea which is represented by wavy lines. Christ is in the center of the next and top layer on his throne with the four beasts around him. This represents Christ’s second coming. These images fulfilled their purpose which would appear to use fear of the afterlife to keep the people in line. They tried to do the right thing to avoid the dire consequences. It also educated the people as to the message of the scriptures.