Archaeology and the Pan-European Romanesque

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Romanesque is the style name given to the art and architecture of Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries. Coined to express the indebtedness of the artistic culture of this period to the Classical past, it has been in continuous use for two centuries and has outlived other paradigms in the study of medieval culture. The study of Romanesque as a stylistic phenomenon is today almost exclusively the preserve of art historians, particularly in the English-speaking world. Here 'the Romanesque' is subjected to a long overdue, theoretically informed, archaeological inquiry. A deconstruction of the category is presented, and a pluralist methodology for the critical interrogation of 'Romanesque' material is mapped out in its place. It is argued that we need to re-conceptualize the constituent items of art and architecture as objects of visual and material culture, focusing on their complex, multi-leveled, discursive roles within contemporary society rather than on their intrinsic stylistic qualities.