Nothing remains of Cluny II, but small churches like the nearby Chapaize (ca. 1050) and
Romainmoutier in Switzerland (ca. 1080) probably reflect, on a modest scale, its
appearance.
Cluny reached its apogee under the direction of St. Hugues de Cluny (r. 1049–1109).
By the 1080s, there were 200 monks at Cluny, as opposed to seventy in 1042, and the
decision was made to build a third, larger church. The massive Cluny III was begun
under Hugues’s direction in 1088; its main altar was consecrated by Pope Urban II in
1095, and most of the church, except the nave vaults, was finished by the time of
Hugues’s death in 1109. The church was completed in 1130, when it was dedicated by
Innocent II. During this period of power and prestige, Cluny had some 1,500 daughter
houses throughout France, Germany, and Spain.
From porch to apse, Cluny III extended 455 feet (an addition to the porch was made in
the 12th century and augmented in the 13th, resulting in a total length of 617 feet). The
eleven-bay nave was flanked by double aisles. The eastern end of the nave was
intersected by two transepts of unequal length, thus creating a plan based on the shape of
the archiepiscopal cross. Two chapels extended from each transept arm and the apsed
ambulatory had five radiating chapels. Covered by a system of pointed arches and barrel
vaulting, the building reached an astounding
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