Editing Mainz Cathedral (section)

===Evolution of the main nave===
[[Image:Mainzer Dom Hauptschiff nach Westen.jpg|right|thumb|upright|The main nave of the cathedral]]
Archbishop [[Adalbert I of Mainz|Adalbert I of Saarbrücken]] (1110–1137) had a two-story chapel, called the Gotthard Chapel, built as the official palace chapel next to the cathedral. It is believed that he also ordered the renovation of the main body of the cathedral, mainly due to similarities between the main hall and the [[Vault (architecture)|vault]] of the new chapel.

Conception for the renovations was again taken from the Romanesque Speyer Cathedral. This time, however, without money from the emperor, the builders lacked the resources to acquire the high-quality [[sandstone]] used in Henry's additions. They instead used [[limestone]]. The other aspects of the renovations were also much cheaper, and the extravagant style of Speyer Cathedral was largely avoided.

The central [[nave]] was built to {{Convert|28|m|ft|abbr=on}}, {{Convert|5|m|ft|abbr=on}} short of Speyer Cathedral's {{Convert|33|m|ft|abbr=on}}. It seems that the [[blind arch]]es were intended to encompass the windows, as in Speyer Cathedral, but the height of the roof did not allow this. The resulting three-level effect, due to the arches ending before the windows, was a technique not before seen in architecture.

The main hall was further renovated throughout the entire 12th century. The entire outer wall structure was eventually replaced. Around the year 1200, the ceiling was replaced with a [[ribbed vault]], a rather new technique for the time.