4.22.09 – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE When the Roman Empire fell apart we have these communities coming up – the self sufficient communities from

last class That economic situation begins to change – there is an economic revival across Europe – improved farming,

more population, roads being built, people traveling more Pias Christian’s – if you could visit the remains of a grave of a saint then somehow you have a better spiritual

connection and your prayers are more likely to be answered There is a huge belief in these relics b/c now it is safer to travel and so people go out on pilgrimages to visit relics – the most sacred site is Jerusalem

where the life of Christ was lived Rome – saint peter and saint Paul were buried here but the Alps are in the way The easiest relics to get to is the site of Saint James – in Santiago Four major pilgrimage roads – they connect and then go forth to the village of Santiago Often these relics just have a piece of the Saint’s body – so they begin to make these reliquaries to display the

piece in a more appealing way

RELICS: physical remains, but can also be an item of clothing that came in contact with this dead person when they were alive – miraculous properties – if you visit the relics of a saint then miracles can happen (the blind can see, sick are healed, etc.)CHOIR: is a part that is by the apseAMBULATORY: the circular area behind the apseRADIATING CHAPELS: little half domes that are sticking off the back of the church and have a cash box and maybe a lil reliquary – very efficient – designed to generate revenue for the churchNAVE ELEVATION: NAVE ARCADE GALLERY – the vault sides where there is an aisle along the top and then another aisle below and along the side are arches with open space and looking downCOMPOUND PIERS: looks like it is compounded out of different elementsTYMPANUM:

HEAD RELIQUARY OF SAINT ALEXANDER – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE From a monastery in Belgium They just had his head so they sort of reconstructed this reliquary around his head 17” high Pretty life like Skin is silver but gilded with gold (eyebrows, eyes, etc.) You get the feeling that when you pray to this that Saint Alexander can actually hear you During this time there were not a lot of sculptures so the impact of this imagery was greater during the time this

was displayed as a reliquary Why does this visiting reliquaries thing happen? there is now cash in the forms of coins so pilgrims carry coins –

if now you can attract pilgrims and get cash donations then this becomes a whole new form of revenue They use this money to put back into the church and also to give to the community So during this time church buildings get a lot more interesting and extravagant

SAINT-SERIN, TOULOUSE – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE Built largely out of stone and brick Romanesque – word invented because it kind of looks Roman – could be used as an insult Saint-Serin – was a bishop and he was buried here This church is huge During the time this was built the city it was in was very small – all built to attract pilgrims On the outside it is shaped like a basilica church Where the lines of the church cross there is a huge impressive tower Originally there was supposed to be a set of towers toward the front but they ran out of money Comparing to old St. peters – there is an aisle that goes all the around the transept and one behind the apse So people can visit the church and not even pay attention to or disrupting the service – church is designed for

traffic flow There is a barrel vault above the nave made of stone – had to use scaffolding – advantage is that it is fire

resistant The stone also carries sound beautifully – adds to the spiritual experience The bad thing about the barrel vault id that it is very heavy and requires huge supports The columns holding this up are huge and made of compounded material (compounded pier)

CHRIST IN MAJESTY, RELIEF FROM AMBULATORY OF SAINT-SERNIN – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE Relief carvings begin again Inside the church Saint Siren Just over 4 feet high Has been built into a wall Not a realistic human figure This is a depiction of Christ What matters here is his display of power The almond shape around him is his halo The animals represent the apocalypse when he will return to earth He has his hand up in blessing There is an inscription that says “peace be with you” The clothing is stylized but doesn’t really look like cloth

LAST JUDGEMENT, BY GISLEBERTUS, TYMPANUM SAINT-LAZARE, AUTUN – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE Main place where we find reliefs are the lintels of buildings Has a relief in the Tympanum Very steep steps to get up into the church 21 feet across – spans over two doors This is the last judgment Every time you come to church you will be reminded There is an angel with a horn – these angels sound these horns that will awaken the dead Christ is in the center with hierarchic scale and this halo around him and rays of light coming from his finger tips Very stylized drapery for Christ he is like this center of energy To the side of him holding him up are angels The virgin Mary is to his right and then the disciples are below her To the right of that there is a picture of Jerusalem – with angels pushing people into heaven To Christ’s left side – the weighing of souls there is an angel and then all sorts of devils and creatures These devils look frightening – claws for feet – one is trying to cheat and tip the weight in his favor to get as

many people as he can There is a huge furnace with a devil cramming people into it -so all of this horror in this scene There are some people trying to hide under ht angels coat Along the bottom this is the people rising from the dead – to the Christ’s left are the sinners and to his right are

the good This is made of stone and attached to the church There is a big hint here of how to end up in heaven- on Christ’s right side are the bishops and basically saying it is

only through the church that you can get into heaven The devils are done by an artist and we know his name - he also carved some of the capitals of the church

AND CAPITAL WITH SUICIDE OF JUDAS – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE This is done by the same artist Judas sells out Christ for piece of silver and then he goes to repent and kills himself This is really designed to frighten people

CLOISTER OF SAINT-PIERRE, MOISSAC – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE The abbet – the head of the monastery He has a halo He doesn’t look realistic He is making a gesture of blessing – right out front of the monks meeting room This is a figure depicting how powerful the abbet is over the monks

INITIAL R WITH KNIGHT FIGHTING DRAGINS – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE This is from the beginning of a book The text here is a salutation at the beginning of a letter This is a night fighting a pair of dragons Beautifully depicting There is a little dragon upside down, another dragon and then there is a knight The knight is composed – not breaking a sweat at all He is standing on his squire An entertaining picture – has nothing to do with the bible or any of the stories in it

ABBEY CHURCH OF NOTRE-DAME, FONTENAY – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE THE CISTERCIANS- The Order of Cistercians (OCist; Latin: Ordo Cisterciensis) is a Roman Catholic religious order

of enclosed monks. They are sometimes also called the White Monks, in reference to the colour of the habit, over which a black scapular or apron is sometimes worn. The emphasis of Cistercian life is on manual labor and self-sufficiency, and many abbeys have traditionally supported themselves through activities such as agriculture and brewing ales

These churches are Cistercian style meaning that they are not based around iconic art in order to receive donations

This church is not on one of the pilgrimage roads – this is in a very secluded area This is a monastery where they are really going to be self sufficient They do not accept donations here The church is completely plain and pretty small – only designed to accommodate the monks The piers are compound – there is no second story – barrel vaulted ceiling The only decoration is the series of windows at the end towards the altar The apse is not round anymore – the aisle does not go all the way around the chapel This is not a tourist attraction You can only have one candle stick at the alter made of iron and one cross made of wood There is a cloister surrounded with columns but they have no decoration St. Bernard thinks that all of the money spent on art should be spent on the poor

HILDEGARD RECIEVES HER VISIONS – ROMANESQUE EUROPE: FRANCE Men would go into monasteries and so would women – completely separated from one another The women would elect an abbess – a very powerful woman Hildegard – Abbess – interesting figure – her father was a knight – she has 9 other siblings – Hildegard is the

youngest – her parents left her at a church when she was 8 years old She had access to lots of learning that other women didn’t have Abbess is elected as an abbess – she says all of her life she had been receiving visions from god She describes these visions in great detail – she says she was always awake She describes them as Arial figures She started to write all of these visions down – she sends them to St. Bernard and he passes

them on They all think she is some sort of prophet and they encourage her to go on writing about them She writes a lot of books and musical pieces She has a very extraordinary life She convinces everyone that god is speaking through her She eventually starts her own church of women only and usually gets her way

This is in the beginning of a book that she writes This is her in the process of receiving one of her visions This was done by a woman artist She is in her monastery – out of the ceiling is coming this flame – on her lap is a stack of wax tablets where she

could take notes