Explores the common elements of Romanesque sculpture from the perspective of gaining a better understanding the culture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries--a time when society was marked by violence and feudal divisions. Rather than emphasizing regional diversity in Romanesque art, this book focuses on the common sources of inspiration that resulted in parallel solutions developed to address similar circumstances. Despite the crises of the time a sense of coherence emerges based on economic renewal and the omnipresence of the Church through the development of the parish network, the monastic orders and the dynamics of pilgrimages.