GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

OVERVIEW

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval
period(In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted from the 5th to the 15th
century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance and the
Age of Discovery.)It evolved from Romanesque architecture(Romanesque architecture is an
architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches) and was succeeded by
Renaissance architecture(Orderly arrangements of columns, pilasters and lintels, as well as the use of
semicircular arches, hemispherical domes, niches and aedicules replaced the more complex
proportional systems and irregular profiles of medieval buildings.).

Romanesque architecture Renaissance architecture

Romanesque buildings were heavier in appearance than their Gothic counterparts. Inside, space was
separated by thick walls into units. Gothic interiors, by contrast, were open. In eliminating interior walls,
Gothic buildings created a sense of unified space. The sumptuous rows of shimmering stained-glass windows
lining the walls of Gothic buildings contributed to the impression of uninterrupted space.

In the 19th century, the Gothic style became popular again, particularly for building churches and
universities. This style is called Gothic architecture.

Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the great cathedrals, abbeys and
churches of Europe.

It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls. It lasted until the 16th century. By that
time the Renaissance style of architecture had become popular.
The important features of Gothic architecture are the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying
buttress, stained glass windows.

Overview of Reims Cathedral from north-east

The interior of the western end of Reims Cathedral

Plans[change | change source]

Cathedral plan showing parts of the building

The style evolved to one that was less heavy, had larger windows, lighter-weight vaulting
supported on stone ribs and above all, the pointed arch which is the defining characteristic of the
style now known as Gothic. With thinner walls, larger windows and high pointed arched vaults,
the distinctive flying buttresses developed as a means of support. The huge windows were
ornamented with stone tracery and filled with stained glass illustrating stories from the Bible and
the lives of the Saints

The groundplan of most Gothic churches is shaped like a cross. The long nave makes the body
of the church and, crossing it, the arms are called the transept. On the other side of the transept
is the chancel which is often called the choir because that is where the priest and the choir sing
the services.

The nave usually has a passageway or aisle on either side. Sometimes there are two aisles on
each side. The nave is usually a lot taller than the aisles, and has high windows which light up
the central space. The upper part of the building, where these windows are, is called the
clerestory
 This picture with parts cut away shows the columns, the stone ribs of the roof and the
buttresses of a Gothic church.

Cathedral shows the nave and the aisles, the upper clerestory windows and the ribbed
vault.

Features of the Gothic style[change | change source]

Cathedral section with names of the parts

 Pointed arches
 Very high towers and spires and roofs
 Clustered columns: tall columns that looked like a group of thin columns bundled together
 Ribbed vaults: arched ceilings made of stone. In the Gothic style they were held up by stone
ribs.
 A skeleton of stonework with great big glass windows in between.
 Tracery: carved stone lace in the windows and on the walls
 Stained glass: richly coloured glass in the windows, often with pictures telling stories
 Buttresses: narrow stone walls jutting out from the building to help hold it up
 Flying buttresses: buttresses that help to hold the vault up. They are made with an arch that
jumps over a lower part of the building to reach the outside wall.
 Statues: of Saints, Prophets ad Kings around the doors
 

The interior (inside) of York Minster shows clustered columns, vaulted roof, traceried
window, ancient stained glass and a stone screen.

The interior of Cologne Cathedral shows three stages:- the arcade at the lowest level, the
gallery in the middle and the clerestory windows.

Light[change | change source]

Gothic architecture usually has a lot of windows.

The flying buttresses which arch across the roof of the aisle were used to support the roof above
the windows, so the walls did not have to be so thick.

The columns of the inside, the ribs of the vault (or roof) and the flying buttresses, made a strong
stone skeleton. in between these parts, the walls and the filling of the vaults could be of lighter
thinner material. Between the narrow buttresses, the walls could be opened up into large
windows

Through the Gothic period, because of the pointed arch, Gothic windows were able to change
from simple openings to very rich designs. The windows were very often filled with stained glass
which made coloured light in the building, and was used for story-telling pictures.[3]

The clerestory windows at Reims from the inside. The flying buttresses mean there is no
need for thick walls to hold the vault up.
 

The windows at Chartres Cathedral are famous for their ancient stained glass.

In Gothic Architecture, the pointed arch is used in every place where an arch is needed, both for
strength and for decoration. Gothic openings such as doorways, windows, arcades and galleries
have pointed arches. A row of arches is called an arcade. A row of arches that is up high on a
building is a gallery. One of the good things about pointed arches was that they could be narrow
and tall, or flattened and wide. Using pointed arches, architects could make vaults of very
different shapes. They did not even have to be rectangular. A Gothic architect could make a
vault with one side narrow, two sides wide and the last side even wider. They could make a
vault with three sides or five sides quite easily, by using pointed arches.

In the Gothic period the shape and style of pointed arches changed. But the changes were not the
same in every country.

With pointed arches, windows could be made very large. Architects made many designs of
pointed arches crossing each other in different ways. These designs were often used in windows,
which look as if they are filled with beautiful stone lace. This is called "tracery". The stone
tracery was used to hold the glass in place. An Architectural Historian can often tell just how old
a part of a building is by looking at the window tracery design.

Stained Glass Windows

Probably the most important form of Gothic architectural art was the stained glass window. Stained
glass windows are closely tied to the architectural developments of Gothic cathedrals. Most of the
innovations of Gothic architecture were developed for the very purpose of adding more stained glass
windows to churches. From pointed arches to rib vaults to flying buttresses, all of these techniques
allowed Gothic architecture to replace the thick, dark walls of Romanesque cathedrals with thin,
towering walls of colored glass.
These stained glass windows were the multimedia stories of their day. Since very few people could
read at the time, stained glass windows offered illiterate Christians a glorious glimpse into the tales
of the Bible. Fitting pieces of glass together in lead frames, Gothic glaziers wrote the stories of the
Bible, not in words but in light. You can identify Gothic stained glass windows by their massive size
as well as their shape. There are two standard Gothic shapes of stained glass window: the tall
window with the pointed arch and the round rose window.
The wide spaces for windows afforded by Gothic architectural features contributed to a greater demand for
stained glass windows. Artists would blow the glass into varying forms and sizes. Pieces were then cut into
smaller fragments and assembled according to a design.
Lancet arch[change | change source]

The simplest Gothic arch is a long opening with a pointed arch known in England as the lancet.
A "lancet" is a sharp knife, so these windows are knife-shaped. Very often lancet windows are
put together in a group of three or five.

Equilateral arch[change | change source]

Many Gothic openings have tops that are based upon an equilateral triangle.[1] The Equilateral
Arch has a very pleasing look and gives a wide opening useful for doorways, arcades and big
windows.

These arches are often filled with tracery in circular designs

Flamboyant arch[change | change source]

Some Gothic windows have designs in the tracery, or even in the top of the window itself, that
rises up like a flame. This is called Flamboyant Gothic. Tracery like this makes a very rich and
lively effect

Depressed arch[change | change source]

The Depressed arch is wide and looks as if it has been pushed almost flat. When arches like this
are used to make great big windows they need to be supported by many tall thin vertical shafts
and horizontal transoms, so that the window looks as if it has been divided up into a grid (lots of
rectangles). This sort of decoration is used on walls as well