ROMANESQUE IN FRANCE : France is practically on the high road between the south and north of Europe, and the

relative
position of each district influenced the various prevailing types of architecture.
France is exceedingly rich in building materials, especially stone, of which most of the towns
are built. The soft, fine-grained stone of Caen, used throughout Normandy, was also exported to
England.
France exhibits several varieties of the Romanesque style, in which different peculiarities are
traceable, and for this reason it may be divided into southern and northern provinces.
On the death of Charlemagne, Northern France was invaded by the Northmen, from whom
Normandy was named.
The South of France may be roughly divided into the provinces of Aquitania, Auvergne,
Provence, Anjou and Burgundy.

S. Sernin, Toulouse (A.D. 1080), in

Aquitaine, has a cruciform plan with nave,
double aisles, and transepts. The nave is
crowned by a round-arched barrel vault, with
plain square ribs, supporting the roofing slabs
direct, and the high triforium chamber has
external windows which light the nave, for
there is no clear-story. The central octagonal
tower belongs to the Gothic period.
West Entrance of the basilica

Nave of Basilica Saint-Sernin

East end elevation of the basilica

Plan of Basilica Saint-Sernin

The interior of the basilica measures 115 x 64 x 21 meters,

making it vast for a Romanesque church. The central nave
is barrel vaulted; the four aisles have rib vaults and are
supported by buttresses. Directly under the tower and the
transept is a marble altar, consecrated by Pope Urban II in
1096 and designed by Bernard Gelduin.
Bell Tower of Basilica Saint-Sernin

S. Front, Perigueux (A.D 1120), in

Aquitaine, is a Greek cross on plan,
and, as already mentioned (p. 237),
closely resembles S. Mark, Venice.
The nave is covered with five
spheroidal domes, elongated towards
the top, indicating an Eastern
influence, due to the trade with
Byzantium. The internal arches have
recently been changed from pointed
(p. 233 F) to semicircular. Attached
to the church is a magnificent
campanile, 200 ft. high, consisting
of a square shaft, surmounted by a
circular ring of columns carrying a
conical dome. S. Front was a
prototype of other churches with
cupolas in France.

St. Front's Cathedral, Prigueux

Plan, St. Front's Cathedral, Prigueux

 Auvergne being a volcanic district, the geological influence isfrequently apparent, the
buildings having a local characterimparted to them by the inlaid decoration formed of
different colored lavas, as at Notre Dame du Port, Clermont-Ferrand, and the
Church at Issoire.
Notre Dame, Avignon, in Provence, is one of the
numerous churches of the eleventh and twelfth centuries,
in which pointed barrel vaults were used, and which show
Classical influence.

Notre Dame du Port

Notre Dame, Avignon

The Abbey Church, Cluny (A.D. 1089-1131), the most famous in Burgundy,
formed part of one of the many monastic establishments in that province, which
influenced the architecture of the churches, many of which have been destroyed. It was
the longest in France, with double side aisles to the main body of the church, and a
chevet of five apsidal chapels. The pointed arch was employed in the nave arcades, the
nave was covered with a great barrel vault and the aisles probably had groined vaulting,
but little now remains.

 Northern France comprised the provinces of Normandy, the Ile

de France and Brittany.
Normandy possesses many fine examples of this period owing to its prosperity and the
power of the Norman dukes. These examples are of the vaulted basilican type, which was
being developed towards the complete Gothic of the thirteenth century.
The Abbaye-aux-Hommes, Caen (A.D. 1066), also known as S. Etienne, is one of the
many fine churches in Normandy of this period.
Its original eastern apse was superseded in A.D. 1166 by the characteristic chevet.
The west facade, flanked by two square towers, crowned by octagonal spires which with
angle pinnacles were added in the thirteenth century,was the prototype of later Gothic
facades.
Inside is a long Romanesque nave of the 11th
century with a sexpartite vault
(a transitional vault on the way to Gothic),
an 11th-century transept, and a 13th-century
Gothic choir with ambulatory.

The Abbaye-aux-Hommes, Plan

The Abbaye-aux-Dames (La Trinite), Caen (A.D. 1083) , in which the progress of
intersecting vaulting is seen, the Church of S. Nicholas, Caen (A.D. 1084), and the
Abbey Church of Mont S. Michel (since restored), are notable examples.
The Abbey of S. Denis, near Paris, was erected by the greatbuilding abbot, Abbe
Suger, in 1144, and the choir and west front still remain as left by him, although a
fourteenth century nave Has been wedged between them.

The Abbaye-aux-Dames

S. Nicholas, Caen

S. Denis, Paris

ROMANESQUE IN GERMANY : Churches were Planned on a large scale.

They used to be very high.
They have an apse & sanctuary at each end.
The plans of the churches are peculiar in having
western and eastern apses, and no great western
entrance as in
France.
The general architectural character is rich in the
multiplication of circular and octagonal turrets, in
conjunction with polygonal domes, and the use of
arcaded galleries under the eaves.
The most richly ornamented parts are the doorways
and capitals, which are bold and effective in
execution.
Laach Abbey Church (A.D. 1093-1156)

The Church of the Apostles, Cologne (A.D. 1220-1250)

In plan it consists of a broad nave, and of aisles half the width of the nave. The eastern portion
has three apses, opening from three sides of the central space, crowned by a low octagonal
tower, giving richness and importance to this portion of the church. The grouping externally is
effective, the face of the wall being divided up by arcading, and crowned with
the characteristic row of small arches under the
eaves of the roof.

Plan, Church of the Apostles

East side, Church of the Apostles

Worms Cathedral (1110-1200)

The plan is apsidal at both ends,
with eastern and western octagons,
while one vaulting bay of the nave
corresponds with two of the aisles,
and cross-vaults are employed in both
cases.
Twin circular towers containing stairs
flank the eastern and western apses, and
the crossing of the nave and transept is
covered with a low octagonal tower,
crowned with a pointed roof.