Byzantine and Romanesque Architecture Styles

• Durham Cathedral was the first building in Europe with ribbed vaults and is considered one of the world's supreme masterpieces of Romanesque architecture
• Emperor Justinian codified Roman laws and rebuilt S. Sophia of the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Architecture

• Characterized by a domical roof construction from the 5th century to the present
• Byzantine architecture is the development of a dome to cover polygonal squares for churches, tombs, and baptisteries
• Employs a series of adjacent arches as corner vaulting to support polygonal structures/domes on square bases
• Makes use of public open spaces surrounded by buildings called Piazza
• St Sophia in Constantinople stands as the finest example of this style
• Hagia Sophia is the most famous example, notable for its large dome
• Churches followed a centralized plan

Spanish Romanesque Architecture

• Features a horseshoe arch
• Mature examples typically have church buildings as a key characteristic

Romanesque Architecture

• Characterized as sober and dignified
• In Italy, it employs marble on facing walls
• Cluniac architecture, founded by St. Bruno in 1806, is notably severe and adorned
• The general characteristics are sober and dignified

Early Christian Architecture

• The arch is determined by the novel development of arched vaults
• Utilizes a low screen to separate the clergy and choir from the congregation called Cancelli
• Includes underground passageways used as cemeteries with niches for sarcophagi, known as catacombs
• Fountain of water for ablutions is at the center of churches; now stoups in Catholic churches
• Narthex: A long arcaded entrance porch
• Bishop takes the central place at the end of the church; the apse

Church Features

• Stoup: A fountain of water for ablutions
• Baldachino: An ornamented canopy of stone or marble placed over the altar
• Basilica: An early Christian church with a long rectangular plan and a timbered gable roof
• Triforium: An arcaded story in a church between the nave arches and clerestory
• Ridge rib: A rib spring from a point of support on either side of the groin or trasnverse ribs
• Chapel: a dedicated area for private prayer, meditation, or small religious service
• Nave: The principal central part of a church that extends from the narthex to the choir
• Tabernacle: A decorative niche topped with a canopy housing a statue or icon
• Dias: A raised platform at the end of a hall or large room
• Cimbiorio: a special name for a lantern or raised structure above a roof letting in light
• Lantern: A construction at the crossing of a church that rises above the neighbouring roofs and glazed at the sides
• Tympanum: The space between an arch and the horizontal head of a door/window, often decorated

Castle Elements

• Keep: The innermost and strongest tower of a medieval castle
• Portcullis: A strong grating hung over the gateway, lowered quickly to prevent passage
• Bartizan - small overhanging turret
• Merlon: The solid parts between the crenels of a battlement
• Fortress: Site designed to secure coastal routes; projecting wall allowing molten lead to drop
• Battlement: A parapet with indentations or embrasures between raised portions (merlons)
• Bailey: A squared timber used in building construction or a low ridge of earth
• Fortification: A civil settlement under the protection of a castle

Vaulting and Arches

• Arched vaults determined the character of the Early Christian Arch
• Vaulting: Romanesque architecture framework of ribs supported the stone panels
• Ridge rib: A rib springing from a point of support on either side of the groin
• Stellar vault: A vault in which the ribs compose a "star-shaped" pattern
• Groin vault: vault created when two barrel vaults intersect at right angles

Other Terms

• Dioti Salvi: Architect of the baptistery of the Pisa cathedral
• Transept: The major transverse part of a cruciform church crossing the main axis
• Ambulatory: An aisle encircling the end of the choir or chancel of a church
• Worms Cathedral: A German Romanesque church with apses at both east and west ends
• Campanile: A circular tower with stories of encircling arcades
• Chateau: A French castle with a vineyard that gives its name to the wine
• Monastery: A building complex of a certain English order used by monks
• Refactory: The dining hall of a monastery, convent, or college
• Romanesque: A style emerging in Western Europe based on Roman and Byzantine elements