become the norm all over Europe (De Maeyer & Verpoest 2000; Leniaud 1993;
Miele 1998; Ordieres Dı ́ez 1995). Yet, not everybody agreed with these
methods of restorations, and promoted a less interventionary approach, a
position romanticized in England by William Morris (1834–96) and John
Ruskin (1819–1900) (Banham 1984).
The study of the medieval was fostered by the spread of societies. In France
the Society of Antiquaries of Normandy (Socie ́te ́des antiquaires de Norman-
die) was founded in 1824 by Arcisse de Caumont (1801–73). The society had
as one of its main aims to study medieval antiquities and publish about them
in the journalNormandie. A few years later, in 1833–4, the threat of destruc-
tion of the baptistery of Poitier led Caumont to organize the Society for
the Conservation and Description of Historical Monuments (Socie ́te ́pour la
conservation et la description des monuments historiques, later called the
Socie ́te ́Franc ̧aise d’Arche ́ologie). Among its activities was the publication of
a bulletin—theBulletin Monumental—and the organization of an annual
conference (Congre`s arche ́ologiques de la France) (Gran-Aymerich 1998:
114, 135). Caumont has been considered one of the founders of modern
archaeology in France. He had not studied architecture, but law, but his
publications were vital for the scholarly study of the medieval period. Among
those to be highlighted are hisEssai sur l’architecture du Moyen Aˆge(1823),
Cours d’antiquite ́s monumentales(six volumes published between 1830 and
1841), which covered from pre-Roman to medieval architecture, hisHistoire de
l’architecture religieuse au Moyen Aˆge(1841), and hisAbe ́ce ́daire ou rudiment
d’arche ́ologie(1842), on church ornaments.
In England, the Cambridge Camden Society was created in 1839 ‘to
promote the study of Ecclesiastical Architecture and Antiquities, and the
restoration of mutilated architectural remains’. Its aim was to ‘impose near
laboratory conditions on the study and description of medieval architecture’
(Miele 1998: 120). For members of the society, Gothic architecture was the
national visible manifestation of the Christian faith. Soon after, the Oxford
Society for Promoting the Study of Gothic Architecture was set up. In
Scandinavia two names spring out from others: the Swede P. Ha ̈rnquist and
the Danish Niels Lauritz Andreas Høyen (1798–1870). The latter established
the Nordic Art Society (Selskabet for Nordisk Kunst) in 1847. His teaching
was key in the development of medieval art history,Wrst as an occasional
lecturer in many venues and from 1856 as theWrst Professor in Art History
at the University of Copenhagen. The inXuence of these societies would
Wlter through to other European countries. Thus, in Portugal the Real
Associac ̧a ̃o dos Architectos Civis e Archeologos Portuguezes (Royal Associ-
ation of Civil Architects and Archaeologists of Portugal) was created
in 1863. Its founder was the Portuguese architect Possido ́nio da Silva
344 National Archaeology in Europe