What term is used to describe Western European architectural style for the period from the late 10th to the 12th century which was identifiably Medieval and prefigured the Gothic, yet maintained the rounded Roman arch?
Romanesque architecture a time when the actual dates of many of the buildings so described had not been ascertained: The first use in a published work is in William Gunn's "An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture" (London 1819). The word was used by Gunn to describe the style that was identifiably Medieval and prefigured the Gothic, yet maintained the rounded Roman arch and thus appeared to be a continuation of the Roman tradition of building. The term is now used for the more restricted period from the late 10th to 12th centuries. The term "Pre-romanesque" is sometimes applied
Gothic architecture notably in town halls and university buildings. A Gothic revival began in mid-18th-century England, spread through 19th century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and university structures, into the 20th century. Gothic architecture was known during the period as ("French/Frankish work"), The term "Gothic architecture" originated in the 16th century, and was originally very negative, suggesting barbaric. Giorgio Vasari used the term "barbarous German style" in his 1550 "Lives of the Artists" to describe what is now considered the Gothic style, and in the introduction to the "Lives" he attributed various architectural features to "the Goths" whom he held responsible