Lecture 3: Romanesque Sculpture and Architecture
Romanesque Sculpture and Architecture .........................................
Lecture 3In our last lecture, we looked at the Bayeux Tapestry, which
commemorated the invasion of England by William the Conqueror.
We’ll begin this lecture with another monument that William the
Conqueror was responsible for and, in part, a commemoration of the
same victory.O
f the two abbeys William built, one is the church of St. Etienne,
which is located in Caen, France, about 25 miles from Bayeux
in Normandy. Construction of this church began in 1067, and the
vaulting in the nave dates to 1115–1120. This structure was built by William
the Conqueror as an abbey church and was known as the “abbey of the
men”—a place for monks.The Normans who conquered England introduced a well-developed
architectural style that is referred to as Norman in England, but we call
this style Romanesque. The building techniques were derived from ancient
Roman architecture, especially the use of the arch, an invention that allowed
Roman architects to span wide spaces with fewer supports and that instilled
a À uid feeling in the space. When the arch was used to construct domes, the
spatial expansion was dramatic, allowing more light into the structure.Looking at St. Etienne, we see the nave from the front to the apse. We see
the nave arcade (a series of arches on both sides of the nave), the gallery,
clerestory windows, and the vaulting system with weight-bearing ribs. Most
of the weight of the structure is carried by the arches. As demonstrated by
St. Etienne’s façade, Romanesque architecture is typically massive, with
broad expanses of exterior wall and heavy supports to buttress them. These
buttressing elements are placed directly against the wall to be supported, jut
out prominently, and are called salient buttresses. St. Etienne’s enormous,
symmetrical towers are another remarkable aspect of this church. Historically,
towers express power, as do the ones that guard the door at St. Etienne.