Editing Romanesque architecture (section)

====Alternating supports====
{{main|Alternation of supports}}
A common characteristic of Romanesque buildings, occurring both in churches and in the arcades that separate large interior spaces of castles, is the alternation of piers and columns.

The most simple form that this takes is to have a column between each adjoining pier. Sometimes the columns are in multiples of two or three. At [[St. Michael's, Hildesheim]], an A B B A alternation occurs in the nave while an A B A alternation can be seen in the transepts.

At [[Jumièges]] there are tall drum columns between piers each of which has a half-column supporting the arch. There are many variations on this theme, most notably at [[Durham Cathedral]] where the mouldings and shafts of the piers are of exceptional richness and the huge masonry columns are deeply incised with geometric patterns.<ref name=Toman/>

Often the arrangement was made more complex by the complexity of the piers themselves, so that it was not piers and columns that alternated, but rather, piers of entirely different form from each other, such as those of [[Sant' Ambrogio, Milan]], where the nature of the vault dictated that the alternate piers bore a great deal more weight than the intermediate ones and are thus very much larger.<ref name=HG/>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="240" caption="Piers and columns">
File:Hildesheim St Michael alternation of arcade.jpg|St Michael's, [[Hildesheim]], shows two columns set between the piers.
File:Mainzer Dom Wandaufriss.jpg|alt=Mainz Cathedral, Germany, has rectangular piers and possibly the earliest example of an internal elevation of 3 stages. (Gothic vault)|[[Mainz Cathedral]], Germany, has rectangular piers and possibly the earliest example of an internal elevation of three stages. <small>(Gothic vault)</small>
File:MalmesburyAbbey.JPG|[[Malmesbury Abbey]], England, has hollow core columns, probably filled with rubble. <small>(Gothic vault)</small>
File:SantCompostela21.jpg|The [[cathedral of Santiago de Compostela]], Spain, has large drum columns with attached shafts supporting a barrel vault. 
File:Durham - Cathedral - panoramio crop piers and columns.jpg|[[Durham Cathedral]], England, has decorated masonry columns alternating with piers of clustered shafts.
</gallery>