This study deals with the form and development
of a single type of architectural ornament, ubiquitous from the late eleventh
to the early thirteenth centuries in northwestern Europe. Chevron ornament, or
three-dimensional zigzag, has been described as the single most characteristic
moulding, or indeed feature of any kind in Norman architecture in England. It
is the most enduring of the decorative motifs that formed part of the so-called
style geometrique, current in those areas in the earlier part of the twelfth
century, and is found most typically decorating arches, string courses and
columns in a wide variety of structures, from castles, to cathedrals to parish
churches to the extent that for a period during the twelfth century its absence
is more notable than its presence. Among the major preoccupations of
scholarship in medieval art and architecture are the issues of authorship and
chronology. Given the potential for a type of ornament such as chevron to
reveal etymological characteristics it is surprising that studies of the
apparent formal grammars of Romanesque ornament have not been more commonplace.
It is with these issues in mind then that the current study sets out to explore
the degree to which an architectural motif like chevron can be 'read' in a
meaningful way.
of a single type of architectural ornament, ubiquitous from the late eleventh
to the early thirteenth centuries in northwestern Europe. Chevron ornament, or
three-dimensional zigzag, has been described as the single most characteristic
moulding, or indeed feature of any kind in Norman architecture in England. It
is the most enduring of the decorative motifs that formed part of the so-called
style geometrique, current in those areas in the earlier part of the twelfth
century, and is found most typically decorating arches, string courses and
columns in a wide variety of structures, from castles, to cathedrals to parish
churches to the extent that for a period during the twelfth century its absence
is more notable than its presence. Among the major preoccupations of
scholarship in medieval art and architecture are the issues of authorship and
chronology. Given the potential for a type of ornament such as chevron to
reveal etymological characteristics it is surprising that studies of the
apparent formal grammars of Romanesque ornament have not been more commonplace.
It is with these issues in mind then that the current study sets out to explore
the degree to which an architectural motif like chevron can be 'read' in a
meaningful way.
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