Romanesque (jan 1, 800 – jan 1, 1200)

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As Rome spread across Europe, heavier, stocky Romanesque architecture with rounded arches emerged. Churches and castles of the early Medieval period were constructed with thick walls and heavy piers.

Even as the Roman Empire faded, Roman ideas reached far across Europe. Built between 1070 and 1120, the Basilica of St. Sernin in Toulouse, France is a good example of this transitional architecture, with a Byzantine-domed apse and an added Gothic-like steeple. The floor plan is that of the Latin cross, Gothic-like again, with a high alter and tower at the cross intersection. Constructed of stone and brick, St. Sernin is on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.

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