Romanesque Medieval (pt. 6)

Notice a trend here?  Art during this time is almost solely purposed towards religious, evangelistic, and ecclesiastical ends.  Romanesque painters had the ability to be realistic in their art (that is, they had the skill to create graceful and beautiful figures like those of the Greeks), but they chose not to be.  They wanted to make their stories simple and straightforward without too much artistry so that people could easily understand the biblical lessons presented and get saved.

Romanesque Medieval (pt. 5)

Columns also provided a place to add artwork to.  The column capitals became a prime spot for reliefs of more stories, but the storytelling on these was often strange.  For instance, a story is shown of a cat feigning death and being carried off by mice only before springing back to action and defeating the mice (kinda random).  This could be a proverb to represent the return of Christ, or it could just be Medieval humor.

Paintings were made on church walls, too.  At San Clemente in Tahull, Spain, a painting of Christ is drawn in a sphere, representing the universe that He controls.  It uses patterns and bold colors to emphasize its effect.

Romanesque Medieval (pt. 4)

Once again, inside these churches, reliefs, as well as illuminated manuscripts, were used to teach the faith to illiterate people.  The images told Bible stories.  The reliefs tended to be carved on the tympanum as people entered the church.  The tympanum is the half-round panel that fills the space between the lintel and the arch over the doorway of a church.  Here is the Last Judgment tympanum relief.

God the Father is the large figure appropriately located in the center (hierarchic scaling).  On His right side are the believers to whom the Kingdom is promised, while on His left are the condemned.  The twelve disciples stand below God.  …Why put a huge carving of the Last Judgment right above your church doors?  This image, and the idea of judgment of sinners, was meant to scare people into church.  Theoretically, this warning would terrify people so much that they would run into the church for salvation.  …And then the priests would make more money.

Romanesque Medieval (pt. 3)

In the center of each town was a church.  Religion became an essential part of everyday living.  Churches' lavish decorations and designs were a testimony to the institution's power.  Pilgrimages became a common phenomenon—these were journeys to a holy place, usually done to pay homage to saints and relics in far-off churches.

The church design remained the same as it had been.  A transept, which was another aisle that cut directly across the nave and side aisles, was in common use by now, and ambulatories were added (an aisle curving around behind the main altar).  You'll note that the plan of a Romanesque church looks like a cross from a bird's eye view (or, perhaps, from a "heavenly" perspective).

The church of Saint Sernin, in Toulouse, France, is typical of the Romanesque style.  Its exterior is large and solid, a real "fortress of the Lord," and its interior is spacious, with dark lighting and a gloomy atmosphere meant to produce penitence in the hearts of visiting sinners.

Romanesque Medieval (pt. 2)

Castles were primarily built for defense—not pleasant places to live in.  Fireplaces were the only source of heat.  Stairways were extremely narrow, a claustrophobic's worst nightmare.  Contrary to what the highly romanticized Disney films would tell us, castles were uncomfortable and uninviting places to stay in.  Virtually the only color in these stone dwellings were tapestries, which were textile wall hangings that were woven, painted, or embroidered with colorful scenes.  One such famous tapestry is that of the Battle of Hastings, from England.

As trade and industry grew in the 13^th century, the economy changed to money instead of land, and as cities were constructed, castles became obsolete.  To protect the cities from intruders, barricades built with wood (later with stone) were set up around the cities.  The walls surrounding the city of Avila, Spain, are an excellent example of this.

Even though these town walls proved successful in guarding from intruders, it also led to overcrowding as more people inhabited the towns.  The walls literally set a limit on expansion.  To solve this problem, architects built upward and added on to the buildings' height, making the streets below darker.  (Interesting…)

Romanesque Medieval (pt. 1)

Now we come to the Romanesque Period, which is the time of Robin Hood, Maid Marion, Friar Tuck, Little John, Allen a Dale…and—who could forget?—Will Scarlett.  Anyway, the Romanesque Period becomes fully developed in Europe by the 11^th century.  There is more art during this time than in the Early Medieval Period.

Feudalism reached its peak in the Romanesque Period; it was the cause of a lot of the unrest during Medieval times.  Land was the source of power and wealth, so naturally the fighting and wars were over land.  To defend the valuable land which you had already, it was necessary to construct stone fortifications, or castles, which featured towers, walls, moats, and drawbridges (among other architectural elements).  No other creation defines the period so well—castles are the quintessential Romanesque symbol.