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Architectural style · c. 1050–1200 in Normandy, England and Sicily

Norman architecture

Normandisk arkitektur

The descendants of the Vikings become Europe's great builders. Heavy piers, round arches with zigzags and castles of stone – the Normans build to show who is in charge.

How to spot it Find it in the app

The style in timeDrag to travel in time

  1. Zigguratc. 2200–500 BC
  2. Ancient Greek architecturec. 700–30 BC
  3. Roman architecturec. 500 BC–AD 400
  4. Nabataean architecturec. 300 BC–AD 106
  5. Byzantine architecturec. 330–1453 in the Eastern Roman Empire
  6. Moorish architecture8th–15th century in al-Andalus and North Africa
  7. Carolingian architecturec. 780–900 in the Frankish Empire
  8. Novgorod and Pskovc. 1045–1600 in north-western Russia
  9. Norman architecturec. 1050–1200
  10. Romanesquec. 1050–1250
  11. Mudéjarc. 1100–1600
  12. Gothicc. 1235–1530
  13. Brick Gothicc. 1250–1530
  14. Late Gothicc. 1400–1530
  15. Manuelinec. 1490–1530
  16. Renaissancec. 1520–1650
  17. Palladian architecturec. 1550–1800
  18. Dutch Renaissancec. 1560–1650 in the Netherlands and Flanders
  19. Baroquec. 1640–1730
  20. Carolean Baroquec. 1680–1720
  21. Georgian architecture1714–1830
  22. Rocococ. 1730–1775
  23. Neoclassicismc. 1750–1850
  24. Gustavianc. 1772–1810
  25. Karl Johan stylec. 1810–1850
  26. Victorian architecture1837–1901
  27. Gothic Revivalc. 1840–1910
  28. Historicismc. 1840–1900
  29. Industrial architecturec. 1850–1950
  30. Neo-Renaissancec. 1850–1900
  31. Swiss chalet stylec. 1850–1900
  32. Landshövdingehus1875–1945
  33. Neo-Baroquec. 1880–1910
  34. Beaux-Artsc. 1830–1920
  35. National Romanticismc. 1890–1920
  36. Art Nouveauc. 1896–1914
  37. Art Decoc. 1910–1940
  38. 1910s Neoclassicismc. 1910–1920
  39. Bauhaus1919–1933
  40. Swedish Gracec. 1920–1930
  41. Functionalismc. 1930–1950
  42. Socialist classicismc. 1933–1955
  43. Post-war Swedish modernismc. 1940–1960
  44. Brutalismc. 1950–1975
  45. The Record Yearsc. 1955–1975
  46. The Million Programme1965–1974
  47. DeconstructivismFrom the 1980s
  48. Postmodernismc. 1980–1995
  49. LonghouseStone Age to Viking Age
  50. Log houseThe Middle Ages onwards
  51. Raised storehouseIron Age to 20th century
  52. Swedish vernacularc. 1600–1900
  53. Croft and cottagec. 1700–1900
  54. Decorated farmhouses of Hälsinglandc. 1700–1900
  55. Half-timberingThe Middle Ages to the 19th century
  56. Sámi goahtiFrom prehistory to the present day
  57. Seljuk architecturec. 1040–1300
  58. Persian architectureIran
  59. British Colonialc. 1700–1950 in the British Empire

01. From longships to cathedrals

In 911 the Vikings reach the Seine. They stay, receive land from the French king and become Normans – Northmen who speak French. A hundred years later Normandy is one of the richest duchies in Europe.

They build big. In Caen, William and his wife Matilda each raise an abbey in the 1060s, the Abbaye aux Hommes and the Abbaye aux Dames. Heavy walls, round arches, two towers in the west.

In 1066 William crosses the Channel. After the Battle of Hastings England is Norman – and the country is transformed. Every great church is torn down and rebuilt. In London the White Tower rises, a square stone keep in the middle of the city. The conquerors build castles on artificial mounds – mottes – across the land.

Durham, 1093. Work on the cathedral begins on a rock above the River Wear. The piers are massive, carved with zigzags and spirals. And in the roof something new happens: rib vaults with pointed arches, among the first in Europe. Gothic is already in sight.

Meanwhile other Normans conquer Sicily. There they meet Arab and Byzantine craftsmen, and the result is something entirely their own. In Palermo, Cefalù and Monreale Norman churches mix with gold mosaics from Byzantium and pointed arches from the Arab world.

02. How to spot it

  • 1.Round arches and thick, heavy walls
  • 2.Massive round piers, often carved with patterns
  • 3.Zigzag – chevron – around portals and arches
  • 4.Small, round-headed windows high up
  • 5.Cushion capitals, like blocks under the arches

03. The giveaway

The zigzag. A round arch around a portal where the stone is cut in a toothed zigzag, arch after arch, is Norman – especially in England.

04. Architects and builders

  • William the Conqueror (patron)
  • Lanfranc (Canterbury)

05. Where to see it

  • Abbaye aux Hommes, Caenc. 1063
  • White Tower, Tower of Londonlate 11th century
  • Durham Cathedralbegun 1093, World Heritage Site 1986
  • Arab-Norman Palermo with Cefalù and Monreale, SicilyWorld Heritage Site 2015

06. Often confused with

Romanesque. Norman architecture is Romanesque – the Norman variety. In England all Romanesque architecture is often simply called Norman.

Gothic. Durham's rib vaults point towards Gothic. But the round arches and thick walls are still Norman.

Sources

  • Wikipedia (en): "Norman architecture"
  • UNESCO: "Durham Castle and Cathedral" (World Heritage Site 1986)
  • UNESCO: "Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalù and Monreale" (World Heritage Site 2015)

Text: Pontus Bovin · Last updated 9 November 2026

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