Gothic Architecture During The High And Late Middle Ages

Otto von Simson, The Gothic cathedral: origins of Gothic architecture and the medieval concept of order (New York: Pantheon Books, 1956), 21-39.

As seen in the cathedral of Salisbury, English Gothic architecture used smaller, symmetrical towers. There stained glass windows were wider than the French architecture. They tended to use fan vaulting rather than rib vaulting. An example of this type of English architecture would be the Salisbury Cathedral.

As soon as I gazed upon the church I noticed it had a very decorative Romanesque feel to it. The main facade of the church was decorated with a lot of pilasters around the windows, roof, portals, and above the central portal where the tympanum lies. This church has a very well done tympanum that depicts a priest standing in the middle of a farm with hills and trees around the edges, there is also a farmer in the background with the sun setting. Unlike a Gothic church, this church has very rounded arches above every portal and is very rounded all throughout except for the pointed roof. Left of the main facade is a big clock tower which looks to be a couple meters taller than the main facade. Four clocks lie at the very top of each side of the

Much of the architecture in the Romanesque era evolved into Gothic architecture. The Gothic era ran from the 12th century into the 16th century. There wasn’t necessarily a clean break from Romanesque to Gothic styles of architecture, but rather a gradual shift in design. The main characteristics of Gothic architecture are the pointed ribbed vaults and arches, flying buttresses and, in place of solid walls, a cluster of columns. Due to the vertical emphasis of the design, the archways could be redesigned and stretched or pointed. Four main Figure 5 – The depressed arch supported by fan vaulting at King’s College Chapel, England.

Religion has always been a part of our identity. Today, the population wander around the world seeing these wonderful churches and religious buildings all around us. The architectural style of the Middle Ages was very prominent: high stone vaults, internal elevations of multiple stories, rounded arches, and thick walls. This was characterized as Romanesque architecture. Suger revolutionized everything. He reworked these ideas and introduced, to the world, what is now known as the Gothic architectural style.

Gothic Style is some of the most beautiful works of art that man have ever made. It originated with the Romanesque style of building which lasted for about one hundred years before it was replaced by Gothic styles. The founder of the Gothic style was a man by the name of Abbot Suger. Notre Dame de Chartres cathedral was built in France between 1145 and 1513 and is Gothic architecture. Another Gothic architecture is the Bourges and it is located in Bourges France. Both of these works of art are very similar with many different features.

In 1919, the Bryn Athyn Cathedral was dedicated, but the construction on the building continued on until 1929, with the exception of the stained-glass windows which were not completed until around 1940. "The design was based on Gloucester Cathedral in England and is immense" (Architect Design).  As I stood in awe of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral, from the southern direction, it is quite a sight to behold, with its lofty, square-shaped, double-bayed, pinnacled Gothic tower rising from the crossing to the nave. The crossing is the space in which the transept traverses the nave along the cathedral's main axis. The stone facades of the cathedral are dark in color, which distinguish it from the embellished window and door surrounds, made of limestone. The roof is made of a type of nickel called, Monel, which is a corrosion-resistant nickel-copper alloy and the metal of choice, because it is known for its exceptional strength. The slender pinnacles, which are pointed towers, cap the buttressed masonry walls. Five-pointed clerestory windows, decorated with detailed tracery, along with the exquisite south portal and lancet windows of the transept above the lower chapel are magnificently, appointed Gothic features of this cathedral. Another Gothic feature is the west façade of the Bryn Athyn cathedral which features three arches or portals, demonstrating the Gothic style, as well as, ornamental pinnacles that intensify upwards from the masonry piers.

Gothic architecture a new style developing from an old style of architecture with similar characteristics and in a way different. Architects wanted to build bigger buildings with stronger walls something that could not be found elsewhere. The old buildings did not have windows they were dark places that in order to get light they needed many candles. Not even the candles could give the right amount of light the buildings needed. The middle ages architects wanted big windows on the buildings and this new style made their wish come true. Architecture during the Middle Ages became a new style with new problems to solve and a new kind of extraordinary buildings to build.

The Gothic style, dating between the 12th century and 16th century, began in France and eventually spread throughout the rest of Europe. An example of the first true Gothic church was St. Denis of Paris. Now, it is considered one of our finest artistic periods, but at the time, the term “gothic” did not exactly hold the same meaning it does today. The name came from the Goths and was used rather negatively when describing this style of architecture as they considered it to be similar to the works of the barbarians from which the name was derived.

I also thought it was interesting to learn that the abbey church of Saint Dennis was the first introduction of Gothic architecture. Another interesting thing that I wanted to point out was, that many of the churches, including the abbey church of Saint Dennis and the Chartres Cathedral, "had lengthy construction histories" (Kleiner 379). But, one church, in particular, had a fairly quick construction time frame. The Laon Cathedral, pictured below, is an example of a church that began construction around 1160 and the construction was quickly completed, by 1200. Besides, Gothic architectural features, the Laon Cathedral also demonstrates some Romanesque features, including, "nave bays with large sexpartite rib vaults" (Kleiner 379). The textbook

The Gothic style was an over exaggerated, awe-inspiring attempt to become closer to God. The worshipper was not only drawn to the altar, but experienced an ascent to heaven at the same time.1 These artistic gems are a grand testament to historical technology and the imaginative approach and vision of skilled craftsmen. The gothic style is one of the most

Gothic architecture began in the 12th century and continued well into the 16th century as an attempt to reconcile Christian theology with Greek philosophy. Gothic architecture was deeply rooted in the previous architectural genre, the Romanesque, but architects this time around no longer desired to recapture the ‘classical’ and ‘antique’. If we focus on the Gothic cathedral, we’ll find that a Gothic cathedral had a unified and unbroken space that included the apse, rather than separating them like the Romanesque architects did. The main characteristics of Gothic style cathedrals included the groin-vault. Barrel-vaults had become too difficult to make and too heavy to install and so the Gothic architects decided to pull away from them and utilize groin-vaults instead. The ribs in the groin-vaults were conveniently aligned to form a diamond pattern on the ceilings. Atop these vaults was the second main characteristic of

Fire is viewed as destruction by many, but it helped to produce growth in Gothic architecture. Many of Christianity’s beliefs are reflected in different aspects of art. The stained glass and verticality of Gothic churches is a key change from Romanesque style churches. The Gothic church found creative ways to illustrate images of important events in history through tapestry. Even the general shape and design of the Romanesque churches versus Gothic churches show Christians values. The sculptures outside of churches have evolved over time to correspond with Christian’s beliefs of Homo faber. The change in design of Romanesque churches to the new architecture of Gothic style churches shows how Christian’s incorporated their religion into churches. Christianity’s beliefs and values are directly reflected through the changes of architecture and style from Romanesque to Gothic churches along with visual and literary art.

Known for its pointed arches, flying buttresses, and detailed tracery, Gothic architecture emerged in 12th-century northern France, and the style continued into the 16th century . Gothic architecture was called, Opus Francigenum ("French work"), during the time. The term Gothic, first appearing during the late part of the Renaissance period. Gothic Architecture is wonderful on its own, how detailed, and ornate a concrete building can be finished with colorful stained-glass windows. The famous architects helped to create these building masterpieces of the century, and that became popular in other countries around the world, and still today. One of the towering achievements in the world architecture, the unique product of an era of peace, and widespread economic prosperity, deep spiritually, and extraordinary technological innovations.

The research paper, shall be concerned with discussion Gothic architecture in Europe-namely England, France, Germany, and Italy starting from 12th to the 16th Centuries. Architecture was the most original and lasting form of art during the Gothic Period, which lasted for four centuries starting from the mid 12th century. The impetus for this architecture was the Roman Catholic Church, which sought to portray their houses of worship as something which transcended the realm of mankind. It is interesting to note that many of the Northern European areas were predominately pagan, and only recently brought into the Church. The imagery provided by Gothic structural design was something these peoples could more readily understand, as they