The
Carolingian
dynasty of
Charlemagne attempted
a revival of the
symbols of civilized
authority by recourse
to Roman or "
Romanesque
" models. Of this
era, practically
nothing remains
visible, though the
motifs of arch and
vault are carried on
in their simplest
forms, and the semi
circular apse and the
basilican plan of nave
and aisles persist as
the basis of the
succeeding phases of
Christian
architecture. An
interesting anomaly is
the plan of the
church
of St-Front at P้rigueux,
a copy of St Mark's in
Venice, brought by
trading influence west
along the Garonne in
the early twelfth
century.
Elsewhere
development may be
divided roughly
north-south of the
Loire. Southern
Romanesque is
naturally more Roman,
with stone barrel
vaults, aisleless
naves and domes. St-Trophime
at Arles (1150) has a
porch directly derived
from Roman models and,
with the church at
St-Gilles nearby,
exhibits a delight in
carved ornament
peculiar to the south
at this time. The
cathedral at Angoul๊me
typifies the use of
all these elements.
The south, too, was
the readiest route for
the introduction of
new cultural
developments, and it
is here that the
pointed arch and vault
first appear - from
Spanish Muslim sources
- in churches such as Notre-Dame
at Avignon, the
cathedral at Autun
and Ste-Madeleine
at V้zelay
(1089-1206), which
contains the earliest
pointed cross vault in
France.
In the north of the
country, the nave with
aisles is more usual,
together with the
development of twin
western towers to mask
the end of the aisles.
The Abbaye-aux-Hommes
at Caen (1066-77) is
typical. It contains
the elements later
developed as
"Gothic", in
piers, pillars,
buttresses, arcades,
ribbed vaults and
spires. The best
examples may be found
in Normandy, and it is
from here, with the
introduction of the
pointed arch from the
south, that the Gothic
style developed.
