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The termNorman architecture is used to categorise styles ofRomanesque architecture developed by theNormans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used for EnglishRomanesque architecture. The Normans introduced large numbers of castles andfortifications including Normankeeps, and at the same timemonasteries,abbeys, churches and cathedrals, in a style characterised by the usual Romanesque roundedarches (particularly over windows and doorways) and especially massive proportions compared to other regional variations of the style.
TheseRomanesque styles originated inNormandy and became widespread in northwestern Europe, particularly in England, which contributed considerable development and where the largest number of examples survived. At about the same time,a Norman dynasty that ruled inSicily produced a distinctive variation–incorporatingByzantine andSaracen influences–also known as Norman architecture (or alternatively Sicilian Romanesque).[1]
The term "Norman" may have originated with eighteenth-centuryantiquarians, but its usage in a sequence of styles has been attributed toThomas Rickman in his 1817 workAn Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture from the Conquest to the Reformation. In this work he used the labels "Norman, Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular". The more inclusive term "Romanesque" was used of theRomance languages in English by 1715,[2] and was applied to architecture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries from 1819.[3]
AlthoughEdward the Confessor built the originalWestminster Abbey in Romanesque style (now all replaced by later rebuildings), its construction pre-dates the Norman Conquest: it is still believed to have been the earliest major Romanesque building in England. No other significant remaining Romanesque architecture in Britain can clearly be shown to pre-date the Norman Conquest. However, historians believe that many surviving "Norman" elements in buildings–nearly all churches–may well be Anglo-Saxon elements.
The Norman arch is a defining point of Norman architecture. Grandarchways are designed to evoke feelings ofawe and are very commonly seen as the entrance to large religious buildings such as cathedrals. Norman arches are semicircular in form. Early examples have plain, square edges; later ones are often enriched with the zig-zag and roll mouldings. The arches are supported on massivecolumns, generally plain andcylindrical, sometimes with spiral decoration; occasionally, square-sectionpiers are found. Main doorways have a succession of receding semicircular arches, often decorated with mouldings, typically of chevron or zig-zag design; sometimes there is atympanum at the back of the head of the arch, which may feature sculpture representing a Biblical scene. Norman windows are mostly small and narrow, generally of a single round-headed light; but sometimes, especially in abell tower, divided by a shaft into two lights.[4]
Viking invaders arrived at the mouth of theriver Seine inNormandy in 911, at a time whenFranks were fighting onhorseback and Frankish lords were building castles. Over the next century the population of the territory ceded to the Vikings (now calledNormans) adopted these customs as well as Christianity and thelangue d'oïl. Norman barons built timber castles on earthen mounds, beginning the development ofmotte-and-bailey castles, and great stone churches in the Romanesque style of the Franks. By 950, they were building stonekeeps. The Normans were among the most travelled peoples of Europe, exposing them to a wide variety of cultural influences which became incorporated in their art and architecture. They elaborated on the early Christian basilica plan. Their churches were originally longitudinal with sideaisles and an apse. They then began to addtowers, as at theChurch of Saint-Étienne at Caen, in 1067. This would eventually form a model for the larger English cathedrals some 20 years later, after they hadinvaded and conquered England.
In England, Norman nobles and bishops had influence before theNorman Conquest of 1066, and Norman influences affected lateAnglo-Saxon architecture.Edward the Confessor was brought up in Normandy and in 1042 brought masons to work on the first Romanesque building in England,Westminster Abbey. In 1051 he brought in Normanknights who built "motte" castles as a defence against the Welsh. Following the invasion, Normans rapidly constructedmotte-and-bailey castles along with churches,abbeys, and more elaboratefortifications such as Norman stonekeeps.
The buildings show massive proportions in simple geometries using small bands of sculpture. Paying attention to the concentrated spaces ofcapitals and round doorways as well as thetympanum under an arch. The "Norman arch" is the rounded, often with mouldings carved or incised onto it for decoration.chevron patterns, frequently termed "zig-zagmouldings", were a frequent signature of the Normans.[5] Thecruciform churches often had deepchancels and a squarecrossing tower which has remained a feature of Englishecclesiastical architecture. Hundreds of parish churches were built and the great English cathedrals were founded from 1083.
After a fire damagedCanterbury Cathedral in 1174 Norman masons introduced the newGothic architecture. Around 1191Wells Cathedral andLincoln Cathedral brought in the English Gothic style, and Norman became increasingly a modest style of provincial building.
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Scotland also came under early Norman influence with Norman nobles at the court of KingMacbeth around 1050. His successorMáel Coluim III overthrew him with English and Norman assistance, and his queen,Margaret, encouraged the church. TheBenedictine order founded a monastery atDunfermline. Her sixth and youngest son, who becameKing David, builtSt. Margaret's Chapel at the start of the 12th century.
The Normans first landed in Ireland in 1169. Within five years earthworkcastles were springing up, and in a further five, work was beginning on some of the earliest of the great stonecastles. For example,Hugh de Lacy built aMotte-and-bailey castle on the site of the present dayTrim Castle, County Meath, which was attacked and burned in 1173 by the Irish kingRuaidrí Ua Conchobair. De Lacy, however, then constructed a stone castle in its place, which enclosed over three acres within its walls, and this could not be burned down by the Irish. The years between 1177 and 1310 saw the construction of some of the greatest of the Norman castles in Ireland. The Normans settled mostly in an area in the east of Ireland, later known asthe Pale, and among other buildings they constructed wereSwords Castle inFingal (North County Dublin),Dublin Castle andCarrickfergus Castle in County Antrim.[9]
The Normans began constructing castles, their trademark architectural piece, in Italy from an early date.William Iron Arm built one at an unidentified location (Stridula) inCalabria in 1045. After the death ofRobert Guiscard in 1085, theMezzogiorno (peninsular southern Italy) experienced a series of civil wars and fell under the control of increasingly weaker princes. Revolts characterised the region until well into the twelfth century and minor lords sought to resist ducal or royal power from within their own castles. In theMolise, the Normans embarked on their most extensive castle-building programme and introduced theopus gallicum technique to Italy. Their clever use of the local stone artisans, together with the vast riches amassed from their enslaved population, made such tremendous feats possible, some as majestic as those of the ancient Roman structures they tried to emulate.
Besides theencastellation of the countryside, the Normans erected several religious buildings which still survive. They edified the shrine atMonte Sant'Angelo and built amausoleum to theHauteville family atVenosa. They also built many new Latin monasteries, including the famous foundation ofSant'Eufemia Lamezia.[10] Other examples of great importance are the portal of theShrine of Mary Queen of Anglona and the ambulatory and radiating chapels of theAversa Cathedral.
Here is a list of Norman architecture in the Mezzogiorno :
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Sicily's Norman period lasted fromc. 1061 until about 1200. The architecture was decorated ingilded mosaics such as that at the cathedral atMonreale. The Palatine Chapel inPalermo built in 1130 is perhaps the strongest example of this. The interior of thedome, (itself a Byzantine feature), is decorated in amosaic depicting Christ Pantocrator accompanied by hisangels.
During Sicily's later Norman era early Gothic influences can be detected such as those in thecathedral at Messina consecrated in 1197. However, here the high Gothiccampanile is of a later date and should not be confused with the early Gothic built during the Norman period; which featured pointed arches and windows rather than theflying buttresses andpinnacles later to manifest themselves in the Gothic era.
After its Norman conquest in 1091, Malta saw the construction of several Norman pieces of architecture. Many have been demolished and rebuilt over the years (especially after the1693 Sicily earthquake which destroyed many old Norman buildings), however some fortresses and houses still exist inMdina andVittoriosa.
Asmaster masons developed the style and experimented with ways of overcoming the geometric difficulties ofgroin vaulted ceilings, they introduced features such as the pointed arch that were later characterised as beingGothic in style. Architectural historians and scholars consider that a style must be assessed as an integral whole rather than an aggregate of features, and while some include these developments within the Norman or Romanesque styles, others describe them as transitional or "Norman–Gothic Transitional". A few websites use the term "Norman Gothic", but it is unclear whether they refer to the transitional style or to the Norman style as a whole.[11][12]
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Neo-Norman architecture is a type ofRomanesque Revival architecture based on Norman Romanesque architecture. There is sometimes confusion, especially in North America, between this style and revivalist versions of vernacular or laterarchitecture of Normandy, such as the "Norman farmhouse style" popular for larger houses.
Romanesque Revival versions focus on the arch and capitals, and decorated doorways. There are two examples in Manchester: the former Stock Exchange building and a synagogue inFallowfield.
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