westwork (from German Westwerk): An entrance area at the west end of a church with upper chamber and usually with a tower or towers . It is normally broader than the width of the nave and aisles. Westwork is sometimes used synonymously with narthex. Compare with narthex, screen facade.
What is a Westwork in art?
A westwork (German: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church . The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. ... A westwork is usually broader than the width of the nave and aisles.
Where is Trumeau sculpture found?
A trumeau is the central pillar or mullion supporting the tympanum of a large doorway, commonly found in medieval buildings . An architectural feature, it is often sculpted.
Which partially inspired Charlemagne’s palace chapel quizlet?
The Palace chapel at Aachen was directly inspired by the architecture and ornamentation of Old St. Peter’s basilica in Rome . Irish monasteries were important centers of learning and the arts.
Where is the primary area for Romanesque architectural sculpture?
Background: Romanesque Art
Southern France, Spain, and Italy showed architectural continuity with the Late Antique, but the Romanesque style was the first to spread across the whole of Catholic Europe from Sicily to Scandinavia .
What is the purpose of Westwork?
A westwork (German: Westwerk) is the monumental, west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The main function of the westwork was to draw attention to the emperor, even if he was not there in person .
Who invented Westwork?
The westwork first originated in the ancient churches of Syria . The westwork of Corvey Abbey (873-885), Germany, is the oldest extant example that still remains. Like the gate house from Lorsch Abbey, the westwork of Corvey consists of a symmetrical arcade of three round arches at the base.
What was the largest Romanesque church ever built?
Today – after the destruction of the Abbey of Cluny – Speyer Cathedral is the biggest Romanesque church in the world. Likewise its crypt, consecrated in 1041, is the biggest hall of the Romanesque era.
What was the purpose of Romanesque tympanum sculpture?
In Romanesque architecture, the tympanum constitutes the area between the lintel over a doorway and the arch above. During the 11th and 12th centuries in Europe, tympana over church portals were decorated with intricate and stylized relief sculpture.
What is a French Trumeau?
In French, trumeau is the word for the thin section of wall between two doors or windows . ... The word was first used to describe a mirror on that section of wall in the early 1700s.
What was produced in a Carolingian scriptorium?
Charlemagne had his own scriptorium, or center for copying and illuminating manuscripts, at Aachen. Under the direction of Alcuin of York, this scriptorium produced a new script known as Carolingian miniscule . Prior to this development, writing styles or scripts in Europe were localized and difficult to read.
Is the Gero crucifix a reliquary?
The Gero Crucifix is a sculpture depiction of a tortured Christ on the cross that is held in Cologne Cathedral in Germany and was made in 970. ... It is a polychrome wood sculpture that also functions as a reliquary through the head of Christ .
What covers a Romanesque nave?
A flat timber roof characteristically covered the nave until the Romanesque and Gothic eras, when stone vaulting became almost universal in the major churches of northern Europe.
What were the three types of vaults that were used?
The 3 types of vaults that were used are barrel-vault, groined or the four-part vault and the dome .
What is an example of Romanesque architecture?
Other important examples of Romanesque styles include the cathedrals of Worms and Mainz , Limburg Cathedral (in the Rhenish Romanesque style), Maulbronn Abbey (an example of Cistercian architecture), and the famous castle of Wartburg, which was later expanded in the Gothic style.
