Question One
The history of the stylistic development of the Romanesque church can be traced back from 800 AD to 1100 AD (Addiss, 2017) . Studies show that the Romanesque architecture used in building churches originated from Edward the Confessor, who commissioned the constructions of original abbeys, like the Abbey at Westminster, in the same style. The style of architecture adopted to build these churches also borrows some designs from a combination of Roman and Byzantine style of arches and the barrel style of building ( Charles & Carl, 2016). The development of the Romanesque church also used entirely stone materials to support the heavy roofs instead of wood. However, the style became altered slightly with the materials on hand as it spread across Europe to Italy. For instance, the Romanesque churches in Italy had more marble and were more brightly colored while those in Germany had a more streamlined appearance with tall spires.
However, most of the windows of the churches were narrow, and high arches characterized the insides of the church. Even though the churches built using this style were serviceable, defensive, and durable, they were not creative. The churches were built with heavy materials and had several square towers, with the central one being the highest. The windows in the churches had to be small to maintain the stability of the buildings (Addiss, 2017) . The churches were also characterized by elaborate looking arches and pillars, which helped support the hefty weight of the stone roof. The architecture swept across Europe and held sway in the development of most churches for more than three hundred years before the Gothic style of architecture added became predominant by adding new flairs to the Romanesque style ( Charles & Carl, 2016). The Romanesque architecture survived even after the decline of Rome because Merovingian, Carolingian, and Ottonian architects continued to adopt the style to develop and build large stone churches in the more northern countries.
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Question Two
The use of religious imagery in architectural settings like churches was significant in conveying concepts that relate to the relationship of humanity not only to the sacred or holy but also to his social and material world. As a result, most of the most significant architectural works and spaces throughout history have incorporated the use of religious imagery to bring humanity close to a higher power (Potts, 2015). The religious imagery in buildings also played a crucial role in conveying timelessness, devotion, silence, and devotion to reflect the idea of spirituality as a whole. Religious imagery in architectural settings is thus mainly a derivation of faith, which directly relates to the culture of people. Such imagery is symbolically used as an expression of people’s beliefs, ideas, fears, celebrations, and religious consciousness ( Potts, 2015). However, with more people choosing a secular lifestyle, the impact of religious imagery in architectural settings has significantly declined in reflecting the idea of spirituality.
On the other hand, religious imagery on portable objects like illuminated manuscripts do not communicate deep meaning or expression of the beliefs, fears, or spirituality of individuals. The significance of pages of manuscripts supplemented with decorations like borders, miniature illustrations, or gold only lies in their inherent artistic values and the maintenance of a link of literacy offered by non-illuminated texts ( Brown, 2018). Such imagery in the illuminated manuscripts served the purpose of preventing most ancient religious literature and documents from Rome and Greece from perishing (Brown, 2018). Besides ensuring the preservation of patterns of textual survival, the use of religious imagery in illuminated manuscripts also aided non-illiterate new ruling classes to get informative value from the documents, at least in the language used in the manuscripts.
References
Addiss, J. (2017). Measure and Proportion in Romanesque Architecture. In Ad quadratum (pp. 75-100). Routledge.
Brown, M. P. (2018). Understanding Illuminated Manscripts, revised: A Guide to Technical Terms . Getty Publications.
Charles, V., & Carl, K. (2016). Romanesque art . Parkstone International.
Potts, C. R. (2015). Religious architecture in Latium and Etruria, c. 900-500 BC . Oxford University Press.
