Decadence

Question: Some historians think cultures and styles follow cycles like organisms consisting of youth, maturity, decline or decadence, and finally extinction. Looking at the evolution of Romanesque Architecture to late Gothic Architecture, what can be gained from seeing these developments this way? How can you prove or disprove, support or refute with such an interpretation.

“Cultures and styles follow cycles like organisms consisting of youth, maturity, decline or decadence, and finally extinction.”

The birth of Romanesque Architecture is derived from Roman Architecture, with the primary characteristic of rounded arches, barrel vault, order and dome, and basilica plan. Romanesque architecture has characteristic of thick walls and sturdy piers, it designed with clear defined forms and symmetrical plan. Overall this style appeared to be very simple, sold and strength. Looking at Speyer Cathedral in Speyer, German, 1030 as an early example it was known as the finest Romanesque monument. The building featured with barrel vault and decorated it arcading with a row of small rounded arches, it also built with tower. The eastern apsidal ended showing an encircling gallery surrounded with columns.

Romanesque Architecture has developed and separated into first Romanesque architecture and Norman Architecture. Just like human as we grow up and become more mature, we retain our personality but gradually developed more distinction from the others. The First Romanesque architecture contained the characteristics of rubble walls, smaller windows and non-vaulted roof which in contrast Romanesque architecture had increased the use of vault and dressed stone. Building San Pietro in Agliate, 875 is one of the examples of first Romanesque architecture. As we can see the thick external wall is covered by rubbles, with small rounded arch windows. The other type of Romanesque architecture is in England which known as Norman architecture. The distinctive characteristics of Norman architecture are use of rounded arches with massive proportion and sparsely adorned masonry. The paticular example is the oxford castle, oxfordshire, built by Norman baron and Robert D’Oyly, it was a building with a large thick wall, non-vaulted roof and rounded arch windows. The building was very different to the other, it gave a wild expression contrasting with the fine Speyer Cathedral.

The transition begin during the 12 century, rounded arches had started to change to pointed arch which was a sign of the beginning of Gothic architecture. It could be seen on the Tournai Cathedral, in Belgium. It built with several tower and retained most of the clerestory with rounded arched next to pilasters and helped to support the barrel vault. On the ground floor it started to use a row of pointed arch and e could see the design of rose window started to appear. Ely Cathedral, located in Cambridgeshire, 1083- 1375 was also one of the examples of early gothic architecture. We could see that it contained many gothic features while a bit of Romanesque architecture has remained. As we could see most of the clerestory and triforium has replaced by pointed arch and a galilee porch designed with early English gothic style. Decoration of the arches and the use of Purbeck marble shafts reflected the influence of St Hugh's Choir at Lincoln Cathedral. However, some buildings took up Gothic architecture very slowly. Although some buildings are built in Gothic architecture style but features like sturdy columns with Corinthian capitals, rounded arched were still continued to be used. For example the Abbey of Saint Denis. Although the openings of Abbey of Saint Denis has designed with pointed arches and the rose windows which is the prototype of Gothic architecture but it still retained the heavy manner of Romanesque architecture.

Going into the Gothic architecture, it has a very distinctive feature contrasting with the Romanesque architecture which is pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttress. Overall Gothic buildings give a very powerful emotion rather than wild and strength feeling. Because the pointed arches are used in the Islamic architecture before it structurally employed in Gothic architecture, thus the Gothic architecture might have been inspired by the Islamic architecture. The Gothic style has play around with art in clerestory so it introduced features like rose windows and equilateral arch. Notre Dame de Paris is one of the first finest examples of Gothic Architecture. The building is constructed with pointed arches, rose windows, flying buttress around the nave, the sculptures and the stained glass has shown the heavy influence of naturalism which is contrasting with Romanesque Architecture.

Up to this point since the existence of Gothic architecture, Romanesque architecture has no longer existed as it has replaced by Gothic. It means the development of Romanesque architecture had stopped since it has turned into Gothic architecture other than establishing a different type of Romanesque style and Romanesque architecture had come\ to the end of extinction. Some people may argue that it is not the end of Romanesque because it is still a type of architecture as long as architectural designs continue it will never come to the end of Romanesque architecture. In a similar situation, Mammoth extinct 12000 years ago but elephant still exist, since mammoth is part of proboscides, so can we still believe that mammoth hasn’t extinct. People may argue that architecture is something you can create but we can’t create mammoth. Since advanced in technology, DNA copied technique allows us to create new features, so can we still argue that they are in a different case?

The Gothic Revival architecture started to become prevalent during the 19th Century, which leaded to revive in Romanesque architecture. Many churches designed in Romanesque Revival style with massive and wild quality. For example, looking at the Natural History Museum, London designed by Alfred Waterhouse, 1879, it is a Romanesque Revival building with decorative arcade and architectural sculptures which made full use of the potential of Romanesque architecture. The building was featured with rounded arches and rows of clerestory with semi-circular arches. It appeared with great strength and stability. The structures were made by bricks with steel-framed windows which generated an opening space and modern feeling.

In conclusion, as we can see the transition between Romanesque architecture and Gothic architecture, I do think that architecture style also follows the organisms’ cycle consisting of youth which is the beginning of Romanesque and youth is early Romanesque Building’s which contain characteristic of Roman architecture. As it grew, Romanesque retained its original distinction but at the same time developed new characters which separate into First Romanesque architecture and Norman Architecture. It continuously developed until a changing point where Gothic design has gradually introduced into the fields. As Gothic architecture became popular, Romanesque’s buildings started to decline until it came up to the end and finally extinction. But this is not the end as architecture is travelling a cycle, it will never end. The Romanesque Revival style revived during the 19th century filled with modern complexion which was like the second stage – maturity in the cycle. I believed it will again end up with extinction but it will once again appear back to the architecture field and become more mature in it designs.