Explain the function and style of the abbey church and the pilgrimage church

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The era of grand church design began with the Benedictine abbey of Cluny in southeastern France, which launched a movement for monastic revitalization that witnessed—within a period of 150 years—the construction of more than 1,000 monasteries and abbey churches throughout Western Europe. These churches employed round arches and a uniform system of stone vaults in the upper zones of the nave and side aisles and often preserved the Latin cross floor plans. The outstanding stonemasonry of the Normans created massive buildings with towers that could be seen for miles.
During medieval times, when economic revitalization allowed for freer travel, religious pilgrims traveled across Europe to visit the newly designed churches and the holy relics they housed. Since pilgrims, like modern tourists, constituted a major source of revenue for European towns and churches, parishes competed for them by enlarging church interiors and by increasing the number of reliquary chapels. These pilgrimage churches featured architectural innovations and space for medieval sculpture to flourish as well.