La arquitectura eclesiástica en Álava y Treviño durante los siglos XII-XIII: promotores, constructores y significados en un momento de transición

Abstract

This paper presents a reflection on church building in Álava and Treviño regions (north-central Spain) during the 12th and 13th centuries. The study aims at tracking the transformations occurred in the promoters' idiosyncrasy, the builders' organizational model and both the function and meaning of these temples. More than a hundred cases have been analyzed to this end, so as to determine the variables involving their construction. Three main phases have been established according to changes documented in stonemasonry: period 1 (1100-1250), period 2 (1220-1250) and period 3 (1220-1300). The combined assessment of both the aforementioned variables and phases shows the existence of two major shifts in the ecclesiastical architecture of these centuries with regard to the previous period, constituting the 12th century itself kind of a transitional stage. These changes are seen in both the demand economically, temporally and structurally more feasible buildings and the supply increasingly homogeneous temples.