For this work, editor Rolf Toman gathered contributions from nine renowned authors with profound expertise in the fields of architecture and art history whose competent knowledge clearly elucidates the art of the Romanesque period.<br><br><br><br>The Romanesque was the first epoch of medieval art that encompassed all of Europe. Its origins hearken back to characteristic elements of Roman construction - reflected in the name of the period - and in the course of the High Middle Ages developed into the embodiment of Christian sacred art. Architecture, painting, and sculpture were permeated with the Christian worldview and the spirit of the religion. The Essence of Culture: Romanesque at hand helps us understand and even experience this tight integration and masterfully explains the manifold aspects of Romanesque artistic composition, in which the hopes and fears of the people of the timefound their expression.<br><br><br><br>