The historic framework of Romanesque art

Romanesque art responds to a specific historic context, marked by the favourable conditions that were produced from the middle of the 10th century onwards, when Western Europe gradually recuperated itself after a period of instability. This resulted in improvements in agricultural techniques, in a demographic increase, in the revitalisation of commerce, and in improved communications. It was the period of feudalism, based on a very hierarchical social structure.

The Church participated in this structure, from the outset as a defender of spiritual values. From the papacy in Rome a profound reform was undertaken, known as the Gregorian Reform, with the aim of fighting against the moral relaxation of the clergy and also aimed at strengthening the independence of the Church with respect to the secular power. This environment of renovation resulted in an impressive construction policy, which promoted the construction of new buildings and the renovation of other already existing ones.

The interest for the Holy Land (Jerusalem, Bethlehem, etc.), where Jesus Christ had lived, and for centres that possessed the relics of the most prized saints (especially Rome and Santiago de Compostela), led to the development of a series of ways of communication for pilgrimages, which contributed to the internationalisation of the art. The circulation of knowledge led to the arrival in the West of the influence of Byzantine art, both in the form of paintings and sculptures. The crusades, Christian expeditions to free the Holy Land from the Muslims, which began at the end of the 11th century, also favoured the intensification of contacts. The relation with the Islamic world also brought with it a great enrichment in the cultural and artistic fields.