Romanesque Architecture: Key Terms and Concepts

Set of vocabulary-focused flashcards covering terms related to Romanesque architecture, its structural elements, regional styles, feudal society context, and notable monastic buildings.

Romanesque Architecture

Medieval European architectural style (roughly 10th–12th centuries) characterized by heavy stone construction, thick walls, small windows, round arches, and a sober, monumental aesthetic.

Barrel Vault

A continuous semi-cylindrical vault formed by a series of round arches; creates a tunnel-like ceiling.

Groin Vault

A vault formed by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults, producing a groin-shaped junction.

Rib Vault

A vault whose structure is reinforced by arched ribs that create a skeletal framework for the ceiling.

Buttress

External support projecting from a wall to resist the outward thrust of arches or vaults.

Jamb

Vertical side post of a doorway or window.

Archivolts

Decorative moldings following the curve of an arch, framing the tympanum."

Tympanum

The semicircular or arched panel above a doorway, often sculpted with relief imagery.

Voussoirs

Wedge-shaped stones that form the vousarchy of an arch.

Keystone

The central wedge-shaped stone at the apex of an arch.

Intrados

The inner curve or underside of an arch.

Extrados

The outer curve or exterior surface of an arch.

Crossing

The junction where the nave crosses the transept in a cruciform church.

Nave

The central longitudinal body of a church where the congregation sits.

Aisle

Lower side passage flanking the nave, separated by columns or piers.

Choir

Liturgical area beyond the nave, where the clergy perform services.

Ambulatory

Covered walkway around the apse or choir, often with radiating chapels.

Cloister

Covered walk surrounding a courtyard in a monastery, forming a tranquil precinct.

West Front

The western façade of a church; design may include one, two, or three towers.

Campanile

Bell tower; often a free-standing or detached tower associated with a church.

Pilaster

A shallow, rectangular vertical projection resembling a column, attached to a wall.

Engaged Column

A column attached to a wall, not free-standing, often used for decorative/structural effect.

Lombard Band

Exterior decorative succession of blind arcades or arches on a wall, typical of Lombard architecture.

Abbey

A monastery with an abbey church, headed by an abbot or abbess.

Monastery

A religious community and its buildings where monks or nuns live.

Cluny Abbey

The great medieval monastery (1088–1130) that epitomized reform; known for its innovative spatial arrangements like ambulatory and radiating chapels.

Baptistery

A separate building used for baptism, often prominent in Italian Romanesque complexes.

Pisa Campanile

The famous free-standing bell tower of the Pisa Cathedral complex; an emblem of Italian Romanesque civic monumental architecture.

Norman Architecture

Romanesque style introduced from Normandy into England before 1066; features include a two-tower west façade and geometric ornament.

Carolingian Architecture

Early medieval revival of classical forms, heavily borrowing from Early Christian and Byzantine models; ecclesiastical function with modest reinterpretation.

Ottonian Architecture

Early Germanic Romanesque style (962–1002) developing forms from Carolingian and Byzantine concepts.

Anglo-Saxon Architecture

Early English Romanesque before the Norman Conquest; transition from timber to stone with distinctive decorative treatments.

Lombard Architecture

Northern Italian early Romanesque, noted for ribbed vaults and the use of rib vaulting and shafted supports.

Motte

Artificial earthwork mound forming the raised base of a motte-and-bailey castle.

Bailey

The defended courtyard of a castle, enclosed by a palisade or wall.

Motte-and-Bailey

A type of medieval castle with a mound (motte) and an enclosed courtyard (bailey) as a two-part defense.

Fief

Heritable land or rights granted by a lord to a vassal in return for feudal allegiance and service.

Vassal

A holder of a fief who swears fealty and provides service to a lord.

Serfdom

Peasant bondage within feudalism; serfs work land for protection and basic needs but lack personal freedom.

Manor

A large estate with agricultural lands and peasant housing under a lord’s jurisdiction.

Feudal Pyramid

Social hierarchy in feudal society: Lords, Nobles, Knights, Vassals, Peasants.

Narthex

An entrance or lobby area at the western end of a basilica, preceding the nave.

Basilican Plan

A rectilinear church plan with a central nave flanked by aisles and often lit by a clerestory.

Latin Cross Church

A church laid out in a cross shape with a longer nave than transepts.

Cruciform Plan

Cross-shaped church plan, typically formed by a central nave and transepts.

Oculus

A small circular window, often used as a decorative light in walls or towers.

Rose Window

Large circular stained-glass window, typically found in the transept or at the end of the nave.

Clerestory

Upper level of a medieval church wall containing windows to let in light above the nave.

Triforium

A shallow arched gallery above the nave arcade and below the clerestory in some churches.