Les Cathedrales are an important part of almost any society. They provide thecommunities in which they stand with an amazing sense of prosperity and pride. Theterm cathedral derives from the Latin word Cathedra, which means throne for thebishop. A cathedral is the bishops church, the administrative center of the dioceses andthe spiritual center for the entire region. In le moyen age cathedrals also served as thefocus of city life. The construction of these important cultural edifices was a long,tedious and extremely painstaking process. The building of these immense structurestook anywhere from thirty to almost 90 years. The main architectural types used duringthe time period were Romanesque and gothic. These two architectural types weresomewhat similar but had some very noticeable differences. Romanesque architecture bloomed between 800ad and 1100ad. It was the start ofa new era for the building of cathedrals. Some of the defining characteristics of theRomanesque age were the rounded arches in the ceiling patterns and the limited height ofthe buildings. The Romanesque type cathedral was built more for function than style. The heavy roof was supported by interior-columns and immensely thick strong walls. The windows of Romanesque cathedrals were very small and un-patterned. Thewindows were kept small because the walls needed to be kept large and thick to supportthe roof of the cathedral. La facade and le portail of a cathedral contained some form ofstatuary. In a Romanesque cathedral floral designs, spiral designs (especially of leaves),animal designs and horrible creatures were often displayed in the statuary. They wereused to display the pagan fetish, however it was not to glorify it but to reject it. Thestatuary of people was very unrealistic. The people were elongated, with no expressionor movement shown in their bodies or on their faces. The folds in their clothes werestiff, rigid, and flat. It may also be no...
