W11 L2 Romanesque Art and Architecture Learning Cards

Flashcards covering the regional styles, specific buildings, and monastic philosophies of Romanesque architecture in Germany, Italy, and France.

Romanesque

A style of art and architecture flourishing ca. $1000-1250$ CE, characterized by 'Roman-like' incombustible masonry construction to enclose space and protect relics from fire.

Speyer Cathedral

An Imperial Cathedral Basilica in Germany built ca. $1030-1082$ and remodeled $1082-1137$, featuring groin vaults separated by transverse arch bands.

Lombard bands

A decorative arrangement of blind arches used on the exterior of Romanesque buildings, frequently seen in German and Italian (Lombardy) architecture.

San Miniato al Monte

A Romanesque church in Florence, Italy (ca. $1062-1090$), featuring a façade designed like a small temple with Corinthian pilasters and polychrome marble revetment.

Diaphragm arches

Interior arches such as those found in San Miniato al Monte that divide the nave and support a wooden truss ceiling.

Sant’ Ambrogio

A church in Milan, Italy (ca. $1080-1140$), characterized by an atrium, two-story narthex, and the use of ribbed groin vaults above the nave.

St. Foy

A Romanesque pilgrimage church in Conques, France (ca. $1050-1130$), famous for its reliquary and a sculpted tympanum depicting the Last Judgment.

Benedictine Order

A monastic order centered at the Abbey of Cluny which believed churches should be beautiful to help contemplate spiritual values; they were independent from local bishops and responsible to the Pope.

Cluny III

The largest church in Christendom for over $200$ years, featuring a nave $100$ feet high and $496$ feet long, double side aisles, and double transepts.

Hézelon de Liège

The architect associated with the construction of the massive Cluny III abbey church in Burgundy, France.

Tympanum

The semicircular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and an arch, often containing significant reliefs like Christ in Judgment.

Trumeau

The central pillar or mullion supporting the lintel of a large doorway, often found in a Romanesque portal.

Gislebertus

The sculptor credited with the 'Last Judgment' and historiated capitals at the Cathedral of Saint-Lazare in Autun, France.

Historiated capital

A column capital decorated with figures or narrative scenes, such as 'The Flight into Egypt' or 'The Dream of the Magi' found at Autun Cathedral.

Mystic Mill

A sculpted capital at the Church of Ste. Madeleine in Vézelay, symbolizing the reconciliation of the Old and New Testaments through Christ.

Cistercian Order

A monastic reform movement led by Bernard of Clairvaux that rejected elaborate decoration in favor of orderly plans and manual labor in remote locations.

Abbey of Fontenay

A Cistercian abbey built ca. $1139-1147$ that exemplifies the order's rejection of 'extravagant' Cluniac decoration in favor of simplicity.

Bernard of Clairvaux

The 12th-century leader of the Cistercians who critiqued the 'ridiculous monsters' and 'comely deformity' of sculptural decoration in monastic cloisters.

Pilgrimage Destinations

The three major spiritual goals for medieval travelers: Jerusalem (Holy Sepulchre), Rome (Old St. Peter’s), and Santiago de Compostela (St. James).