Historical context of ROMANESQUE Art

Romanesque art stands out for being the first Unified Art Of The Western Christian World, developing between the 11th and 12th centuries, although in some areas it extended until the middle of the 13th century. A historical moment that falls within the Middle Ages, a term created in the 17th century to refer to a time of darkness that occurred after the fall of the Empire Western Roman times and the 12th century, the High Middle Ages, and a moment of more splendor that would correspond to the Late Middle Ages and which had its binder in the Romanesque cultural.

In unProfesor we are going to discover the historical context of Romanesque Art so that you understand when this new artistic expression took place.

Behind the fall of the western roman empire in 476 begins a decadent age and lack of religious and political unity as a result of the migration of barbarian peoples and their settlement in Europe West, while in the East the Byzantine Empire acted as a barrier, strengthened during the government of Emperor Justinian (482-565). Instability was a constant of those centuries, being the occupation of the Iberian Peninsula by the

muslims in 711 the emergence of a new culture. A clashing civilizations, but also in contact and with a remarkable cultural exchange

Likewise, the occupation of the Iberian Peninsula by Muslims, from the year 711, meant the entry in contact of very disparate civilizations that, over time, would end up producing a fruitful cultural synthesis.

In that world, the knowledge of the classical world was maintained thanks to the monastic orders, being the Church the promoter of art and culture. A religious art that, in the case of the Romanesque, also in the aristocracy to another of its supporters. Thus, art served to indoctrinate the lower and illiterate classes and show the power of the ruling classes, the clergy and the aristocracy.

To better understand the historical context of Romanesque art, we have to know that, during the 10th to the 12th century, we witnessed the following phenomena:

• The overcoming the terror of the year 1000 Without experiencing the terrible divine punishments that had been prophesied, they unleashed a wave of gratitude that materialized in a desire for spiritual renewal. After the splendor experienced in Charlemagne's France, Europe was devastated by a series of epidemics, famines and invasions by Normans, Hungarians and Muslims A situation of conflict, disasters and insecurity in which a prophecy about the arrival of the Apocalypse in the year 1000. Fear spread throughout Europe but, as this announced end of the world did not take place, nor did anything happen after the year 1033, a feeling of gratitude and pity gave way. A desire to thank and celebrate God expressed in multiple collective acts of faith and in the construction of religious buildings: temples and monasteries. Some buildings in which the vision of the Last Judgment will become one of the most repeated scenes and, on many occasions, protagonists in the access porticos.
• The Church is on the cusp of a theocentric society owning part of the resources productive and championing phenomena such as pilgrimages, the Crusades or the foundation of orders monastic.
• The monastic orders they become centers of spirituality and cultural, artistic and economic centers. They are responsible for the dissemination of this artistic style. One of the most prominent orders was the Benedictine order, the protagonist of this desire for renewal and unification. This order was inspired by Benedict of Nursia and will have as its center the Cluny monastery, founded at the beginning of the 10th century. The basic elements of Romanesque art will be reflected in Cluny and from there this new architectural style will be made known.
• Cluny also encourages pilgrimages and will make the new architectural style a manifestation of his influence. Thus, interest in pilgrimage to holy places is aroused, from the Holy Land to Rome or Santiago de Compostela, in order to visit the holy relics. The pilgrimage routes helped to internationalize the Romanesque, in addition to promoting trade and cultural enrichment. Thanks to the pilgrimage routes and military expeditions to liberate the Holy Land, the influence of art from the East also reached the West, especially Byzantine art.
• A improvement of the economic situation thanks to the optimization of the means of production and a time of political stability.
• The power of the aristocracy is strengthened by controlling the means of production thanks to its military power and control of the lower classes. Feudalism establishes a very hierarchical estate society in which a relationship of dependency and servitude of the people with the upper classes is maintained.
• Also the urbanization process begins thanks to the increase in commercial exchanges and the flight of the peasant population towards the old cities as a way of fleeing from the fierce pressure of the feudal lords.
• He Feudalism is another of the factors that define the historical context of the Romanesque since it was the system political, social and economic that predominated during a large part of the Middle Ages, that is, from the century IX to XV. This system was characterized by organizing society according to vassalage relations between a feudal lord and his vassals.
• The Crusades, which began at the end of the 11th century, also constituted another of the characteristics of the Romanesque period. These expeditions, up to four, were organized by the Christian kingdoms of Western Europe. The first tuco crusade took place in 1095 and was called by Pope Urban II. The building of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, of Roman origin, was reformed by the Crusaders in the mid-12th century, and was a model for many of the churches erected in the West, especially those linked to military orders .

Among the historical events that marked the appearance and constitute the historical context of the Romanesque, the following stand out:

The Crusades

The Crusades began in 1095 and were military campaigns by Western European soldiers with the aim of recapture Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the hands of the Muslims. The II Crusade (1145-1148), organized by the Pope and the European nobles, had the objective of reconquering the city of Edessa, while the third (1189-1192) constituted a Crusade of the Kings to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin, rulers of the Islamic world, sultan of Egypt and Syria.

the pilgrimages

The crusades were a great artistic and cultural enrichment by intensifying the contacts of Christians with other cultures and getting to know styles such as the Byzantine. Interest in holy places like Jerusalem or Bethlehem or places where relics of saints were venerated like Santiago de Compostela were the origin of pilgrimages and the construction of churches and buildings religious.

The founding of monastic orders

The first Romanesque constructions were carried out in northern Italy and France, spreading from there to the rest of Europe. A hatching and extension that came hand in hand with the expansion of religious orders such as Cluny (910) or Cistercian (1098) and the construction of their monasteries and churches. Thus, the Church, the nobles, the kings and the monasteries promoted the construction of great works, being faced by anonymous artisans and artists.

An eminently religious art made for the glory of God and to promote the values ​​of the new feudal society. A Christian and warrior society that promoted a reform, the Gregorian Reform (1073), who tried to eradicate the moral laxity of the clergy and build new buildings following a new construction style.

To know the Romanesque art history it is important that we know their appearance and division. And it is that Romanesque art had its origin in France and England, developing exponentially in the first of the countries. Thus, France became the focus of a eminently religious art.

According to experts, the Romanesque can be divided into three periods:

• First Romanesque either protroromanesque (end of the 10th century – last third of the 11th century)
• Full Romanesque (last third of the 11th century – half of the 12th century).
• Late Romanesque either late romanesque (half of the 12th century – half of the 13th century).