Gothic vs. Romanesque Architecture
The Romanesque and Gothic styles of architecture are key to the artistic development of the Middle Ages. They are they result not only of an aesthetical development, a natural consequence of improving socioeconomic conditions and a growing interest of individuals and groups to showcase their wealth and power with churches and other constructions, but also a result of technological developments. Indeed, many of the components of these styles came about as architectural necessities: to support the new constructions, technical innovations needed to be implemented and this sometimes translated into stylistic expressions.
This paper will investigate each architectural style in part, focusing both on a separate, relevant description of the main elements and on a comparison between the Romanesque and Gothic styles. To the degree to which this is possible, the paper will aim to showcase the description and the comparison with concrete examples from the civic and religious architecture.
As Toman (1997) points out, the character of Romanesque architecture was universal, in the sense that it was not limited to a particular type of building. Although it is primarily specific to churches and other ecclesiastical constructions, examples of Romanesque townhouses, castles or civic works abound. However, he is also the one showcasing that the Romanesque architecture is particularly common in churches.
Gardner (2004) points out that the first elements of Proto-Romanesque are noticeable from the 11th century, with the Church of St. Michael, in Hildesheim, Germany. In Germany, during this period of time, the architectural style is also referred to as Ottonian, from the name of the German Emperors. Some of the main elements resembling a beginning of Romanesque architecture, elements that will be further discussed below, include a regular plan, with the tower in the center of a square plan; and an apse at both ends of the church.
As previously shown, some of the characteristics of Romanesque architecture are influenced both by the scope of the building (usually a defense scope or to showcase one's power) and by architectural necessities (the need to support the rest of the construction). As...
Among structural elements, one should also mention piers and columns, both with a support role and with little additional decorations.
The use of vaults is an important characteristic of Romanesque architecture, taking on both a supportive and decorative role. The simplest form of interior vault is the barrel vault, which represented a single arch extending sideways from one end of the church to the other. This type of vaults, however, created an important architectural challenge, namely the capacity of the walls to support such a structure. As a consequence, groin vaults appeared, which linked two barrel vaults in a right angle, as well as ribbed vaults, in the 12th century.
Interestingly enough, one of the quintessential characteristic of the Gothic architecture, the pointed arched vault, first appeared during the Romanesque period and was its use was subsequently consolidated during the Gothic period.
Internally, the preference was generally for a Latin Cross plan, although there were occasional variations starting from the Latin Cross and depending on regional particularities and preferences. The church usually has three main sections (nave and two aisles) with each of the aisle being separated by the nave by a row of arches or arcades. One of the very interesting particularities of the Romanesque style is that the Eastern-end of the church is often semi-circular.
In terms of decorations, externally, these are varied and include portals, usually a single one in the center of the facade, and arcades. A lot of Romanesque churches have towers as a distinctive feature, in various forms. Internally, decorations varied, with the roof usually made of wood and with the walls painted, including by the use of polychromic stone.
The first important observation that needs to be made about the Gothic style is that it builds on the…
