Continental Influences on English Romanesque Sculpture

Abstract

In the early Middle Ages, England was often subject to continental influences, principally from Flanders in the eighth and ninth centuries, and during the eleventh century from Normandy, where King Edward had been educated. However, it was not until 1066 and the Norman Conquest that continental culture became more pervasive. The Normans wrought changes in every field and it is certain that their administrative, economic and judicial centralisation, their religious and liturgical uniformity, brought about an architectural unity known as the Norman style. In order to understand the nature of the Norman contribution to English sculpture, this essay will examine the philosophical aim and the plasticity of French sculpture and observe its main effects in England. But first we will consider the historical background in relation to the evolution of sculpture. Normandy remained largely heathen until the first monastic foundation of Jumieges in 940, thirty years after the first foundation at Cluny. This first approach led to no spiritual movement until 1001, when William of Volpiano, an Italian monk, was sent from Dijon, settled in Normandy and became involved in the development of Norman monasticism, just as he had been in the Cluniac reform. In Normandy the duke's approval was the prerequisite condition for the establishment of monastic foundations. He appointed the abbotts who became his vassals. They were bound by their homage to fidelity and to military service, and were often committed to the political life of their district. Because of its recent foundation, Norman monasticism developed both politically and intellectually at the same time.