Catholic Dictionary

Find accurate definitions of over 5,000 Catholic terms and phrases (including abbreviations). Based on Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

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NORMAN ARCHITECTURE

A variant of Romanesque building introduced into England by William the conqueror (1066). The Normans retained the French style, borrowing from early Gothic. The semicircular arches are heavy and plain, the pillars are law and broad, the whole appearance massive. Canterbury Cathedral, with the churches at Lincoln, Durham, Winchester, Gloucester, and St. Paul's in London, Abbaye aux Dames at Caen, and Dunfermline Abbey are famous examples of the Norman style.