Medieval Urban Growth and Romanesque Art Forms

Posted on Mar 30, 2025 in Geography

The Growth of Medieval Cities

Major cities were often located on trade routes or ports. From the 11th century onwards, many cities grew, particularly around the Mediterranean.

As construction increased, new neighborhoods, known as burgs, developed outside the existing walls. During the Middle Ages, it was often necessary to build new, larger walls to encompass this growth.

Medieval city streets were typically narrow and irregular. Most houses were built of wood, which facilitated the spread of fires.

Markets and Fairs

Villagers from nearby areas sold their products at markets within the larger cities; these could be daily or weekly (setmanals). Smaller towns and cities also hosted fairs, which were larger gatherings, often held annually, where merchants from various regions met to conduct large-scale trade (make exchanges lengròs).

Cities and Feudalism

Some prosperous cities evolved into republics, independent of the control of kings and powerful nobles, effectively becoming city-states.

Romanesque Art Development

In the early centuries of the High Middle Ages, artistic forms developed in Europe known collectively as Pre-Romanesque art. Around the year 1000, Romanesque art emerged, flourishing between the 11th and 13th centuries.

Pre-Romanesque Art Features

Barrel vaults were utilized.
Stone walls were robust (fers).
The horseshoe arch, characteristic of Visigothic architecture, was sometimes used.
The round arch (arc de mig punt), characteristic of Asturian Pre-Romanesque architecture, was also employed.
Externally, walls were reinforced with buttresses.

Romanesque Architecture

The primary Romanesque buildings were churches, monasteries, and cathedrals. Key characteristics included:

Church floor plans were often based on the Latin cross, consisting of one or more naves.
A transverse arm called the transept crossed the main nave.
The intersection of the nave and transept formed the crossing, often located before the apse (a semicircular recess).
One or more bell towers were common.
A tower, sometimes called a dome or lantern tower, was often situated over the crossing.
Doorways were topped by receding, concentric arches known as archivolts.
Walls were thick with few, small windows.
Exterior walls were reinforced with buttresses.
Inside, pillars and round arches helped support the roof.

Romanesque Sculpture

Features of Romanesque sculpture:

It primarily adorned walls, capitals (tops of columns), and archivolts of churches, cathedrals, and monasteries.
The subject matter was predominantly religious, serving a didactic purpose: illustrating Bible stories for the largely illiterate faithful.
Representations often included Christ (sometimes as the Pantocrator) and the Virgin Mary.
Sculptures were typically governed by frontality, appearing rigid, inexpressive, and symmetrical.
There was often a lack of natural proportion between different parts of the body.
Artists were generally not concerned with faithfully reproducing anatomical details.

Romanesque Painting

Features of Romanesque painting:

It was closely related to architecture; many walls and apses of churches were painted, often using the fresco technique.
Most paintings depicted religious themes and served a teaching function.
Figures were typically represented frontally, appearing inexpressive, symmetrical, and generally non-naturalistic.
There was a lack of perspective, and landscapes were usually not depicted.
The contours of figures were marked with thick lines, and colors were applied flatly, without tonal gradation.

Conflict and Power in the High Middle Ages

In the High Middle Ages, conflicts between peasants and their lords were common. The fundamental cause often originated from farmers’ resistance to paying manorial taxes. Many peasants preferred to move to the growing cities. Lords established rules to prevent peasants from leaving their lands.

Kings also imposed their authority through conflict, waging wars to extend their rule over enemy territories. Between 1096 and 1271 (approximate dates of major Crusades), several European states launched the Crusades – military expeditions aimed at conquering the Holy Land (Palestine) from Muslim control. The Crusades were sanctioned by the Popes, and Christians viewed them as a holy war against Islam.

Europe in the 13th Century

In the 13th century, Europe remained politically fragmented. Following the dissolution of Charlemagne’s Empire, the Holy Roman Empire formed in Central Europe, though its territories often acted independently. France and England began consolidating into powerful kingdoms.

The Urban Phenomenon Revisited

From the 11th century, Europe experienced significant population growth. This increase contributed to the migration of many peasants away from feudal manors to cities, and was also linked to a substantial rise in trade.

Vocabulary

Crusader: A participant in the Crusades, Christian military expeditions against Muslims, primarily to reconquer the Holy Land.
Burg: In the Middle Ages, a settlement or neighborhood, often fortified or located just outside the main walls of a town.
Fair: Large, often annual, gatherings of merchants from various regions for the purpose of large-scale trade, typically held in major towns or cities.
Transept: The part of a church built crosswise across the nave.
Pillar: A vertical support structure, often square or rectangular, used to hold up arches or roofs in buildings like churches.
Pantocrator: An artistic representation of Christ as the Almighty Ruler of the universe, common in Byzantine and Romanesque art.
Crossing: The area in a church where the nave and transept intersect.
Fresco: A technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid (‘wet’) lime plaster.