Santa María de Roncesvalles y la recepción en Navarra de la arquitectura gótica parisina [Santa María de Roncesvalles and the reception in Navarre of the Gothic Parisian architecture]

Abstract

The renovation of French gothic architecture, which began in the abbey church of Saint-Denis and in the Cathedral of Sens during the 1140s, and the historical development of Roncesvalles Hospital (founded around 1127-1132), converge on the construction of a new church for the institution during the first decades of the thirteenth century, under the King Sancho el Fuerte’s (1190-1234) protection. As Torres Balbás has studied, Santa María de Roncesvalles is a singular building, whose roots can be traced to the architectural forms that expanded over the North of France starting at Notre-Dame of Paris. This paper analyses the variations that were introduced in the Pyrenean church. Firstly, because of the need for adaptation to the orography (crypt); secondly, because of the wise circulation between the different levels (thick walls containing stairs); and finally, because of the introduction of modifications starting from a model.