Romaanse

Romaanse is a Dutch adjective (and, in some contexts, a noun) used to refer to things connected with Rome or with the Romance family, and to a medieval European art- and architectural style. In scholarship, it is most commonly encountered in two main domains: the Romaanse talen (Romance languages) and the Romaanse bouwkunst (Romanesque architecture).

In linguistics, Romaanse talen designate the language group descended from Vulgar Latin, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Romanian, Catalan, and others. These languages share historical origin in the Western Roman Empire; they show similarities in vocabulary, morphology and syntax, but have diverged substantially over centuries, developing numerous dialects and national standards. The study of Romaanse talen covers phonological changes such as loss of case endings, development of articles, and verb-structure variations.

In architecture, Romaanse bouwkunst refers to the medieval European architectural style roughly from the 10th through the 12th centuries, precursors to Gothic architecture. It is characterized by thick masonry walls, small round-arched windows, semicircular arches, barrel and groin vaults, and an overall solid, monumental appearance. This style flourished in monastic and pilgrimage churches, castles, and civic buildings, often with decorative arcading and sculptural programs.

Other uses of Romaanse occur when describing related cultural-historical domains or when translating English terms such as Romance or Romanesque, depending on context.