Architecture, Medieval; Church architecture; Vaults (Architecture)
The introduction of a clerestory in tunnel-vaulted churches was not yet
scientifically accomplished, and it remained for the school of Bourgogne
to find the best possible solution of the problem. But this solution
would seem to have been reached only after some intermediate steps had
been taken which may, perhaps, be traced in a number of eleventh century
churches. Two of these lie slightly to the north of Poitou and Auvergne
and strongly reflect the influence of these neighboring schools. These
churches, together with others in the same general region, may perhaps
be said to constitute a school of Romanesque architecture, which might
properly be termed the School of the Loire.
The first of these is the small church of Saint Genou (Indre).[90] It is
a combination of the types of Auvergne and Poitou except that the tunnel
vault of its choir is raised on a clerestory wall pierced with good
sized windows. Its aisles are in only one story, and, instead of being
groined, are covered by three-quarter tunnel vaults perhaps showing the
influence of such Provence churches as those of Silvacane and Vaison.
The whole system shows an advance in structural skill in several
particulars. In the first place the aisles are built low, and with
columnar piers close together, thus insuring the support of a heavy
triforium wall. This wall is lightened in appearance but not
structurally weakened, by a wall arcade opposite the vaults and roofs of
the aisles, and is sufficiently thick at the clerestory level to be
pierced with window openings and still afford an excellent impost for
the tunnel vault. This, in turn, is built of light material like the
vaults of Poitou. With exterior salient buttresses, the system is
complete. Its only important drawbacks are the closeness of the
supporting piers and the necessity of keeping the whole choir rather low
to avoid excessive thrusts.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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