The difference between Romanesque and Gothic architecture

Romanesque architecture, roughly 1000–1200, is recognised by round arches, thick walls, small windows and a heavy, fortress-like character. Gothic, which took over from the middle of the 12th century, used pointed arches, rib vaults and flying buttresses to build taller and lighter, with thinner walls and large windows.

Facts

Romanesque: mass and walls

The name Romanesque comes from the fact that the buildings recall Roman architecture, with round arches and vaults. After the year 1000, churches and monasteries were built in stone all over Europe, often along the pilgrimage routes, such as to Santiago de Compostela. The walls were thick because they had to carry heavy vaults, and the windows were small.

Speyer Cathedral in Germany, begun in the 1030s, is one of the largest Romanesque churches, and in Italy Pisa Cathedral with its leaning bell tower is clad in pale marble. The interior is often dim and solemn, with massive piers and semicircular arches in long rows. Sculpture tended to gather around the portals, where the field above the door, the tympanum, could show Christ in Majesty or the Last Judgement.

Gothic: skeleton and light

The Gothic style began with the choir of Saint-Denis, consecrated in 1144. With pointed arches and rib vaults the weight could be carried to individual points, and flying buttresses on the outside took up the thrust. The walls became a skeleton of stone piers with large glass windows between them.

The result was taller and lighter spaces. The vaults of Amiens Cathedral rise over 40 metres, and at Chartres daylight filters through coloured glass. Where the Romanesque church feels like a fortress, the Gothic church feels like a lantern. Read more in the guide to recognising Gothic.

Arches and vaults

The simplest difference lies in the arches. The round arch, a semicircle, is Romanesque. The pointed arch, two arcs meeting at a point, is Gothic. The round arch pushes strongly outwards and requires thick walls; the pointed arch directs more of the thrust downwards.

Romanesque churches often have barrel vaults, a semicircular ceiling like a tunnel, or groin vaults where two barrel vaults cross. Gothic churches have rib vaults, where stone ribs carry lighter webbing. More about the structures can be found in the section Arches and vaults.

The transitional style

The boundary is not sharp. Durham Cathedral in England, begun in 1093, has very early rib vaults and even pointed arches in the vaults, but the walls and piers are heavy and Romanesque. It is often regarded as a forerunner of Gothic.

In Sweden Gothic arrived later than in France, and many churches have Romanesque naves with Gothic choirs or vaults added in the 13th and 14th centuries. Churches from this transitional period have features of both styles and are sometimes called just that, transitional style.

Romanesque and Gothic in Sweden

Sweden's largest Romanesque building is Lund Cathedral, begun after Lund became an archbishopric in 1103, with a mighty crypt beneath the choir. Dalby Church in Skåne is one of the oldest surviving stone churches in the Nordic countries, and Husaby Church in Västergötland has a massive west tower. Visby Cathedral on Gotland was consecrated in 1225.

The largest Gothic church is Uppsala Cathedral, built in brick from the 1270s. Compare two churches near you and look at the shape of the arches, the size of the windows and the thickness of the walls. The guide to the parts of a church explains the terms.

How to tell them apart

Exercise

Which shape of arch is typical of Romanesque architecture?