the new importance of the kings of France on the nobility and the people. Despite the underlying political importance of these churches, however, both styles also emerged as means of worshipping God. Thus, their evolutions reflect religious expression as much they do changes in political organization or advances in technology.
A medieval church was regarded as an approximation of the heavenly city in which the saved would eventually dwell with God. The vision of this city is presented in the Book of Tobias and the Apocalypse of St. John the Divine. In both accounts the beauties of the city are preceded by the "terrible, cataclysmic events," including the Last Judgment, that will take place before it is possible to enter the city of God. Romanesque churches sought to remind the faithful of the horrors of damnation as they earnestly tried to persuade them to lead lives that would earn them salvation. The Last Judgment was, for example, the most popular subject on the sculptured tympanums over the doorways of Romanesque churches. The terrors of hell were depicted there and the people were warned in terms like those of the inscription at Ste. Foi: "O sinners if you do not change your lives, know that a harsh judgement awaits you." The impression of God's might was intensified as the people entered the churches where they saw the dark majesty of the soaring church filled with the sound of the praises of God emanating from the choirs.
The development of stone vaulting had both symbolic and practical advantages. One advantage was the immense improvement in the acoustics of the buildings--where the choral music played such an important role. And the timber roofs of previous churches, which were a terrible fire hazard, made no contribution to the structural integrity of the high-walled churches. Though the Romanesque coalesced around the pilgrimage churches of France and Spain, the style's origins were quite diverse. Earlie...