GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
An Architectural History
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
Gothic architecture, architectural style in Europe that lasted from the mid-12th century to the 16th century, particularly a style of
masonry building characterized by cavernous spaces with the expanse of walls broken up by overlaid tracery.
In the 12th–13th century, feats of engineering permitted increasingly gigantic buildings. The rib vault, flying buttress, and pointed
(Gothic) arch were used as solutions to the problem of building a very tall structure while preserving as much natural light as possible.
Stained-glass window panels rendered startling sun-dappled interior effects. One of the earliest buildings to combine these elements into
a coherent style was the abbey of Saint-Denis, Paris (c. 1135–44). The High Gothic years (c. 1250–1300), heralded by Chartres
Cathedral, were dominated by France, especially with the development of the Rayonnant style. Britain, Germany,
and Spain produced variations of this style, while Italian Gothic stood apart in its use of brick and marble rather than stone. Late
Gothic (15th-century) architecture reached its height in Germany’s vaulted hall churches. Other late Gothic styles include the
British Perpendicular style and the French and Spanish Flamboyant style.
REIMS CAHTEDRAL INTERIOR
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
TIMELINE
Mid 12th- 16th century
EARLY GOTHIC
Early Gothic is the style of architecture that appeared in
northern France, Normandy and then England between about
1130 and the mid-13th century. Early Gothic was succeeded in
the early 13th century by a new wave of larger and taller buildings,
with further technical innovations, in a style later known as High
Gothic.
However, the first buildings to be considered fully Gothic are the
royal funerary abbey of the French kings, the Abbey of Saint-
Denis (1134–44), and the archiepiscopal cathedral at Sens (1143–
63) They were the first buildings to systematically combine rib
vaulting, buttresses, and pointed arches.
Early Gothic: Abbey church of
early Gothic triple elevation
Saint-Denis, west façade (1135-
Sens Cathedral (1135–1164)
40)
E A R LY E N G L I S H A N D H I G H
GOTHIC
Early English is typified by lancet windows, tall narrow lights topped by a pointed
arch. They were grouped together side by side under a single arch and decorated with
mullions in tracery patterns, such as cusps, or spear-points.
High Gothic is a particularly refined and imposing style of Gothic architecture that
appeared in northern France from about 1195 until 1250. ... It followed Early Gothic
architecture and was succeeded by the Rayonnant style. It is often described as the high
point of the Gothic style.
High Gothic: flying buttresses High Gothic: west front, Reims
Metz Cathedral (1220–) Cathedral (1211–)
R AY O N N A N T
G O T H I C A N D D E C O R AT E D S T Y L E
Rayonnant Gothic maximised the coverage of stained glass
windows such that the walls are effectively entirely glazed.
Decorated Gothic similarly sought to emphasise the windows,
but excelled in the ornamentation of their tracery.
Rayonnant Gothic west front
Strasbourg Cathedral (1276–)
L AT E
G O T H I C : F L A M B O YA N T A N D P E R P E N D I C U L A R
The flamboyant style was characterised by the multiplication of the ribs of the
vaults, with new purely decorative ribs, called tiercons and liernes, and additional
diagonal ribs.
Ornamental rib-vaulting and tracery of Decorated Gothic co-existed with, and then
gave way to, the perpendicular style from the 1320s, with straightened, orthogonal
tracery topped with fan-vaulting.
Perpendicular Gothic east end, Flamboyant Gothic east end,
Henry VII Chapel (c. 1503–12) Prague Cathedral (1344–)
POINTED ARCHES
One of the common characteristics of the Gothic style is the pointed arch,
which was widely used in both structure and decoration. The pointed arch
did not originate in Gothic architecture; they had been employed for
centuries in the Near East in pre-Islamic as well as Islamic architecture for
arches, arcades, and ribbed vaults. In Gothic architecture, particularly in the
later Gothic styles, they became the most visible and characteristic element,
giving a sensation of verticality and pointing upward, like the spires.
POINTED ARCHES
RIB VAULT
The Gothic rib vault was one of the essential elements that made
possible the great height and large windows of the Gothic style.
Unlike the semi-circular barrel vault of Roman and Romanesque
buildings, where the weight pressed directly downward, and
required thick walls and small windows, the Gothic rib vault was
made of diagonal crossing arched ribs.
COLUMNS AND PIERS
In early Gothic churches with six-part rib vaults, the columns in
the nave alternated with more massive piers to provide support for
the vaults. With the introduction of the four-part rib vault, all of the
piers or columns in the nave could have the same design. In the
High Gothic period, a new form was introduced, composed of a
central core surrounded several attached slender columns, or
colonettes, going up to the vaults.
COLUMNS AND PIERS
FLYING BUTTRESSES
An important feature of Gothic architecture was the flying
buttress, a half-arch outside the building which carried the thrust of
weight of the roof or vaults inside over a roof or an aisle to a heavy
stone column. The buttresses were placed in rows on either side of
the building, and were often topped by heavy stone pinnacles, both
to give extra weight and for additional decoration.
FLYING BUTTRESSES
TOWERS AND SPIRES
Towers, spires and fleches were an important feature of Gothic churches.
They presented a dramatic spectacle of great height, helped make their
churches the tallest and most visible buildings in their city, and symbolised
the aspirations of their builders toward heaven. They also had a practical
purpose; they often served as bell towers supporting belfries, whose bells
told the time by announcing religious services, warned of fire or enemy
attack, and celebrated special occasions like military victories and
coronations.
TOWERS AND SPIRES
TRACERY
Tracery is an architectural solution by which windows (or
screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various
proportions by stone bars or ribs of moulding.[
TRACERY
PLANS
the plan of Gothic cathedrals and churches was usually based on the Latin cross (or "cruciform") plan,
taken from the ancient Roman Basilica, and from the later Romanesque churches. They have a long nave
making the body of the church, where the parishioners worshipped; a transverse arm called the transept and,
beyond it to the east, the choir, also known as a chancel or presbytery, that was usually reserved for the
clergy. The eastern end of the church was rounded in French churches, and was occupied by several radiating
chapels, which allowed multiple ceremonies to go on simultaneously. In English churches the eastern end
also had chapels, but was usually rectangular. A passage called the ambulatory circled the choir. This allowed
parishioners, and especially pilgrims, to walk past the chapels to see the relics displayed there without
disturbing other services going on.
SCULPTURE
Portals and tympanum: Sculpture was an important element of Gothic
architecture. Its intent was present the stories of the Bible in vivid and
understandable fashion to the great majority of the faithful who could not read. The
iconography of the sculptural decoration on the façade was not left to the sculptors.
An edict of the Second Council of Nicaea in 787 had declared: "The composition of
religious images is not to be left to the inspiration of artists; it is derived from the
principles put in place by the Catholic Church and religious tradition. Only the art
belongs to the artist; the composition belongs to the Fathers.
GROTESQUES AND LABYRINTHS
Besides saints and apostles, the exteriors of Gothic churches
were also decorated with sculptures of a variety of fabulous and
frightening grotesques or monsters. These included the chimera, a
mythical hybrid creature which usually had the body of a lion and
the head of a goat, and the strix or stryge, a creature resembling
an owl or bat, which was said to eat human flesh.a
W I N D O W S A N D S TA I N E D G L A S S
increasing the amount of light in the interior was a primary
objective of the founders of the Gothic movement. Abbot Suger
described the new kind of architecture he had created in the east
end of the Saint-Denis: "a circular ring of chapels, by virtue of
which the whole church would shine with the wonderful and
uninterrupted light of most luminous windows, pervading the
interior beauty.
ROSE WINDOWS
Rose windows were a prominent feature of many Gothic
churches and cathedrals. The rose was a symbol of the Virgin Mary,
and they were particularly used in churches dedicated to her.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOTHIC
AND BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE
gothic design was in the mid to late Middle Baroque began in the late 16th century (1500’s).
The Catholic Church wanted to keep the people from
Ages (400 – 1400’s). Gothic architecture is
leaving the church and going to Protestant churches.
made of stone, the inside designs are carved
So they made their churches so much fancier hoping
out of wood. The Gothic style is the form of that the people would feel more heavenly in the
design of many of the greatest churches and their churches. The architecture was often based on
the use of ovals and circles, which were thought to
cathedrals in Europe. Gothic is very basic
heighten emotion and spirituality. It has lots of very
on the inside. The term is normally used to
detailed work. It has a lot of paintings on the walls
refer to buildings which have pointed and the ceilings.
arches, ribbed roofs, large windows and
unique and fancy outsides.
SOURCE:
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/gothic-art-and-architecture/
history-and-concepts/
https://www.iconeye.com/design/movements/a-brief-history-of-
gothic-architecture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_architecture
https://www.britannica.com/art/Gothic-architecture
https://mymodernmet.com/gothic-architecture-characteristics/
