The primary
characteristics of Romanesque architecture (or Norman architecture, as
northern Romanesque is often known) were Roman in origin, however: large
internal spaces were spanned by barrel vaults on thick, squat columns and
piers, windows and doors had round-headed arches, and most of the major
churches were laid out on the basilican plan, modified by the addition of
the buttress, transept, and tower. The buildings are solid, heavy, and,
because of the comparatively small windows, dimly lighted, exemplified by
Durham Cathedral (begun 1023) in England.
The walls of Romanesque buildings are often of massive thickness with
few and comparatively small openings. They are often double shells,
filled with rubble.
Because of the massive nature of Romanesque walls, buttresses
are not a highly significant feature, as they are in Gothic
architecture. Romanesque buttresses are generally of flat square profile
and do not project a great deal beyond the wall. In the case of aisled
churches, barrel vaults, or half-barrel vaults over the aisles helped to
buttress the nave, if it was vaulted.
Arcades
An arcade is a row of arches, supported on piers or columns. They occur
in the interior of large churches, separating the nave from the aisles,
and in large secular interiors spaces, such as the great hall of a
castle, supporting the timbers of a roof or upper floor. Arcades also
occur in cloisters and atriums, enclosing an open space.
Columns
Columns are an important structural feature of Romanesque architecture.
Colonnettes and attached shafts are also used structurally and for
decoration. Monolithic columns cut from a single piece of stone were
frequently used in Italy, as they had been in Roman and Early Christian
architecture.
