The Romanesque style emerged in the eleventh century in Europe. This was a period of intense religious faith dominated by two strong trends in Christianity —  pilgrimage and monasticism.   It was during this age, and in part influenced by these trends, that the new architecture of the Romanesque arose. The name “Romanesque” reminds us that one of the catalysts for this new, bold, blocky stone architecture was the example of Roman architecture and engineering. Romanesque means “Roman Like”.  The ingenious engineering techniques of Romanesque architecture led the way to the later style of the Gothic.

In the realm of sculpture, large scale stone sculpture had almost disappeared after the end of the Roman period. During the Romanesque period, there was a grand revival of large scale monumental stone sculpture. Again, these innovations greatly influenced Gothic Church decoration.