The Romanesque period represents the first truly European wide international style, since the fall of the Roman Empire. Its spread alongside the expansion of the Roman Catholic Church is no coincidence, as both the Catholic faith and the nascent political ambitions of new nation states combined to create a heady mix of militant Christianity, politics, nationalism and a resurgence of culture. With its origins in the Byzantine, Merovingian, Carolingian, Ottonian and Moorish empires, we shall see how each of these empires brought their own artistic and cultural approaches, which would reflect and develop across a few hundred years. Add to this mix the particular style developed in the British Isles and indeed the survival of the Late Antique style in parts of the Iberian Peninsula, Southern France and Italy and you will see how these various elements fused to form the Romanesque. Includes a visit to a place of interest relevant to the course.