Visigothic art
Encyclopedia
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
(modern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
) in 415, and they rose to be the dominant people there until the Moorish
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
invasion of 711 brought their kingdom to an end.
This period in Iberian
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
art is dominated by their style. Visigothic art is generally considered in the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking world to be a strain of Migration art, while the Portuguese
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-speaking worlds generally classify it as Pre-Romanesque.
Branches of Visigothic art include their architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, their crafts (especially jewellery), and even their script
Visigothic script
Visigothic script was a type of medieval script that originated in the Visigothic kingdom in Hispania...
.
Visigothic architecture
The only remaining examples of their architecture from the 6th century are the church of San Cugat del Vallés in BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, the hermitage and church of Santa Maria de Lara in Burgos, Saint Frutuoso Chapel
Saint Frutuoso Chapel
The Chapel of São Frutuoso , also known as the Chapel of São Frutuoso of Montélios or the Chapel of São Salvador of Montélios , is a pre-Romanesque chapel in the civil parish of Real, municipality of Braga. It is part of group of religious buildings that include the Royal Church, and originally...
in (Braga
Braga
Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...
), the church of S.Gião (Nazaré
Nazaré
-In Brazil:*Nazaré, Bahia*Nazaré, Tocantins*Nazaré Paulista, São Paulo...
) and the few remnants of the church at Cabeza de Griego, Cuenca
Cuenca (province)
Cuenca is a province of central Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha.-Guide to the area:Located in a natural setting of beauty, the Old Town of Cuenca occupies a superb site between two river gorges. Famous are its 15th Century "hanging houses" , that appear...
. However, their style developed over the next centuries, though the prime remaining examples of it are mostly rural and often run-down. Some of the characteristics of their architecture are:
- Generally basilicaBasilicaThe Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
n in layout, sometimes a Greek cross plan or, more rarely, a combination of the two. The spaces are highly compartmentalised. - Horseshoe archArchAn arch is a structure that spans a space and supports a load. Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-Technical aspects:The...
es without keystonesKeystone (architecture)A keystone is the wedge-shaped stone piece at the apex of a masonry vault or arch, which is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allowing the arch to bear weight. This makes a keystone very important structurally...
. - A rectangular, exterior apseApseIn architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
. - Use of columnColumnA column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s and pillars with Corinthian capitalsCapital (architecture)In architecture the capital forms the topmost member of a column . It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the column's supporting surface...
of unique design. - Barrel vaultBarrel vaultA barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance. The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design...
s with cupolaCupolaIn architecture, a cupola is a small, most-often dome-like, structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome....
s at the crosses. - Walls of ashlarAshlarAshlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
blocks, occasionally alternating with Roman brickwork. - Decoration commonly of animal or plant motifs.
Exemplars include:
- Church of San Juan Baustista in Baños de Cerrato (province of Palencia)
- Crypt of San Antolín in the cathedral of Palencia (province of Palencia)
- Church of San Pedro de la NaveSan Pedro de la NaveSan Pedro de la Nave is a Visigothic church in the town of Campillo, in the municipal unit of San Pedro de la Nave-Almendra, in the province of Zamora, Spain...
in San Pedro de la Nave-AlmendraSan Pedro de la Nave-AlmendraSan Pedro de la Nave-Almendra is a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 477 inhabitants....
(province of Zamora) - Church of Santa Comba in BandeBandeBande is a municipality in Ourense in the Galicia region of north-west Spain....
(province of Ourense) - Chapel of San Xes de Francelos in RibadaviaRibadaviaThe town of Ribadavia is located in the southwest of the province of Ourense, Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain. The urban area lies on the right bank of the Miño and the last course of the Avia. It is considered to be the capital of the comarca of the Ribeiro...
(province of Ourense) - Church of San Pedro de la MataSan Pedro de la MataThe ruins of S. Pedro de la Mata are located in the middle of the countryside, at about 3 km southwest of the village of Casalgordo, in the municipality of Sonseca . The place can be reached by a dirty road starting west of the church of Casalgordo. Nowadays S...
(in ruins) in SonsecaSonsecaSonseca is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 10685 inhabitants. In Sonseca there are some very famous marzipan's factories: Delaviuda, Donaire....
(province of Toledo) - Church of Santa María de MelqueSanta María de MelqueSanta María de Melque is a church in the border municipality of San Martín de Montalbán in the province of Toledo , 30 km south of the capital, and equidistant from the towns of La Puebla de Montalbán and Gálvez, between the brook Ripas and the river Torcón, a tributary of the river Tagus.Of...
in San Martín de MontalbánSan Martín de MontalbánSan Martín de Montalbán is a municipality located in the province of Toledo, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2006 census , the municipality has a population of 748 inhabitants....
(province of Toledo) - Basilica of Santa María de Batres in CarranqueCarranqueCarranque is a town in the Toledo province, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is located in the area of the province bordering the province of Madrid called the Alta Sagra.-Archeological park:...
(province of Toledo) - Hermitage of Santa María in Quintanilla de las Viñas (province of Burgos)
- Church of Santa Lucía del Trampal in AlcuéscarAlcuéscarAlcuéscar is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. The town is on the Silver Route branch of the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage trail to the burial place of St. James the Apostle....
(province of Cáceres) - Head of the Church of San Miguel de los Fresnos (in ruins) in Fregenal de la SierraFregenal de la SierraFregenal de la Sierra is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain.- Geography :Fregenal de la Sierra is located in the Sierra Suroeste comarca , among the small hills and ravines of the Sierra Morena...
(province of Badajoz) - São Gião (Nazaré)