Deck 8: Early Medieval and Romanesque Architecture

Question 1

In the context of Romanesque architecture, a tympanum refers to:

A) a spherical triangle that transforms a square bay into a circle for the springing of a dome.
B) a surface representing one-fourth of a sphere and often covering an apse.
C) the semicircular panel created under the arch of a doorway.
D) a large hall composed of many columns placed close together to support the roof.
E) the vault formed by two intersecting barrel vaults.

Answer 1

the semicircular panel created under the arch of a doorway.

Question 2

Carolingian architecture is called so because of:

A) Charles Martel.
B) Gregory of Tours.
C) Pope Leo III.
D) Otto I.
E) Charlemagne.

Answer 2

Charlemagne.

Question 3

A distinctive feature of the Palatine Chapel is:

A) its westwerk.
B) its cloister vault.
C) its sixteen-sided perimeter aisle.
D) the use of polychrome masonry on the interior.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Answer 3

All of the answers are correct.

Question 4

The design of the Abbey gatehouse at Lorsch was modeled on:

A) the Roman triumphal-arch form.
B) a typical Roman city gateway.
C) the fortified gateways of Constantinople.
D) the provincial gatehouses of the Byzantine Empire.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 5

The plan of the Oratory of Germigny-des-Prés suggests a connection to:

A) Romanesque architecture.
B) Byzantine architecture.
C) Ostrogoth architecture.
D) Venetian architecture.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 6

The Plan of St. Gall was developed for:

A) Charlemagne.
B) the Cluniac Order.
C) the Benedictine Order.
D) Pope Gregory I.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 7

The oldest extant stave church is the church at:

A) Urnes, Norway.
B) Reykjavik, Iceland.
C) Borgund, Norway.
D) Greensted, England.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 8

The monastery of ________ (1001-1026) in southwestern France survives as an example of the process by which monasticism spread, and its buildings illustrate architectural accomplishments of the early Romanesque period.

A) St. Foy at Conques
B) Cluny III
C) St. Michael at Hildesheim
D) St. Martin at Canigou
E) St. Gall

Question 9

Charlemagne traveled to Rome in the year 800 to:

A) pray at Old St. Peters.
B) confront the Ostrogoths.
C) be crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
D) be baptized by the Pope.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 10

The combination of corbel tables and pilaster strips is called:

A) long-and-short work.
B) Ostrogoth paneling.
C) stereotomy.
D) Lombard bands.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 11

A distinctive feature of Speyer Cathedral is:

A) its large scale.
B) its high groin vaults.
C) its multiple towers.
D) its transverse arch bands.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 12

The façade of S. Miniato al Monte in Florence demonstrates:

A) Ostrogoth influence.
B) the lack of skill among masons after the fall of the Roman Empire.
C) a continuity with the Roman past.
D) Venetian influence.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 13

All of the following are Pilgrimage Road churches EXCEPT:

A) St. Sernin, Toulouse.
B) St. James, Compostela.
C) Ste. Madeleine, Vézelay.
D) St. Foy, Conques.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 14

The sculpted Mystic Mill capital at Vézelay represents:

A) flour grinding as a metaphor for the process of redemption.
B) the transformation of Old Testament vengefulness into New Testament redemption.
C) the transformation of Old Testament prophecies into New Testament teachings and blessings.
D) the miller's work as metaphor for Jesus's work on earth.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 15

Sculpture in the west-front tympanum at St. Lazare in Autun depicts the:

A) Tree of Jesse.
B) Supper at Emmaus.
C) Last Judgment.
D) transfiguration.
E) All of the answers are correct.

Question 16

An atypical feature in Western medieval architecture that the Romanesque churches in Aquitaine have is:

A) churches with timber roofs.
B) a series of some seventy churches with domes.
C) a series of some seventy churches with high groin vaults.
D) churches with multiple cloister vaults.
E) churches with stained-glass windows and paved floors.

Question 17

Stereotomy is the art of:

A) acoustic design as understood in the Middle Ages.
B) stonecutting.
C) brick masonry.
D) depicting Biblical stories through stone sculpture.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 18

The façade design of the church of St. Gilles-du-Gard was based on:

A) a Roman triumphal arch.
B) peculiar local building traditions.
C) a well-known Ostrogoth model.
D) the Church of Old St. Peter's.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 19

In sharp contrast to the Cluniacs, the Cistercians:

A) allowed luxurious features like towers, stained-glass windows, or paved floors.
B) produced an international set of buildings with strikingly diverse features.
C) had complex plans for monasteries based on a circular module.
D) shunned expensive materials and discouraged sculptural ornament.
E) built houses that were in close proximity to existing settlements.

Question 20

The nave vaults at St. Cuthbert in Durham are:

A) septpartite.
B) quadripartite.
C) barrels with transverse ribs.
D) warped groins.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 21

Norman architecture made its way to England with the:

A) armies of William the Conqueror.
B) Cistercians.
C) Vikings.
D) Cluniacs.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 22

The Galilee Chapel at St. Cuthbert in Durham is attached to the:

A) eastern end of the cathedral.
B) western end of the cathedral.
C) south transept of the cathedral.
D) north transept of the cathedral.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 23

The nave piers at St. Cuthbert in Durham are distinctive for having:

A) octagonal cross sections.
B) capitals displaying Viking ornamentation.
C) classically inspired capitals.
D) incised geometric designs.
E) None of the answers is correct.

Question 24

Discuss Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel at Aachen as a merging of local, Lombard, and Byzantine building traditions.

Question 25

Discuss the ideal monastic layout as represented in the Plan of St. Gall.

Question 26

Discuss the features of the stave churches built by the Vikings.

Question 27

Discuss the planning, vaulting, and detailing of Speyer Cathedral.

Question 28

Compare the regional Romanesque styles in Aquitaine and Provence.

Question 29

Discuss the planning of the Pilgrimage Road churches.

Question 30

Compare the planning of the monastery of Cluny III to that of the abbey of Fontenay in Burgundy.