The great Romanesque basilica of Vézelay in Burgundy was substantially completed around 1120, becoming one of the most important pilgrimage sites in medieval Europe. Its sculpted tympanum depicting Christ in Majesty became an iconic work of Romanesque art.

Vézelay served as a gathering point for pilgrims and crusaders, fostering the exchange of oral narratives, songs, and devotional poetry across linguistic boundaries. The basilica's iconography influenced medieval visual and verbal representations of divine judgment and salvation.