The Spandrel with a Griffin in a Roundel was created in France during the twelfth century, specifically between the years 1125-1150. From the eleventh to fifteenth centuries, France emerged as one of the most powerful and prosperous Christian kingdoms, as it expanded its rule well beyond the capital in Paris. The spread of political and territorial power also aligned well with the Crusades, which gave France a religious reason to dominate over opposing cultures. Religious fervor in France during this time was at an all time high: political leaders surrounded themselves with clerics as advisors and building campaigns of churches and cathedrals throughout Europe were well underway. Some of the most famous churches built in France at this time included the churches of Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire, Saint Philibert at Tournus, and Notre-Dame at Jumièges. According to the writer Radulfus Glaber, Europe was "clothing itself with a white mantle of churches".  

It was during the Crusades that France had an artistic renaissance. Architectural sculpture found inside and outside these churches and cathedrals were commonplace. The earliest narrative depictions found on architectural elements appeared in Chauvigny in the eleventh century, with sculptural reliefs eventually becoming a mainstay found above entrances of churches such as the Vézelay Abbey, Autun Cathedral, and the Chartes Cathedral. The abundance of churches with religious narratives depicted all throughout the architecture encouraged the people of France to come together via Catholicism and join in on the great Crusader mission to retake the Holy Land. These cathedrals were built in the tradition of Romanesque art, which was exemplified by the many carved archways that were found inside and outside of the church.