The Collegia and the Barbarian Invasions 33with a vault instead of a framework. Is this not a Byzantine influence?
Those who spread this influence were the members of the collegia of
builders, keepers of the secrets of the original collegia in Rome that
were subsequently enriched with Eastern traditions. It was the lessons
provided by these Byzantine collegia that formed the basis of the indige-
nous schools in various parts of the empire. Outside the Byzantine
empire, this influence is particularly noticeable in the regions where
similar builder's associations existed: the Middle East; the parts of Italy
not under Lombard control;* and those former kingdoms of the
Burgundians and Visigoths in which Roman institutions had not disap-
peared. We will soon see how it was in these same regions that
Romanesque art first bloomed.
Finally, there is one important fact that produced its own ramifica-
tions: The still-thriving Byzantine collegia, with their traditions, rites,
and symbols, were later discovered by the Arabs and the Crusaders, a
discovery that both turned to their own advantage.
- We have seen how the art of the magistri comacini betrayed a Byzantine influence, but
this is secondary. It is not visible in the art of building itself, which remained Roman and
did not evolve, but is apparent in ornamentation (e.g., in the comacine knot).