Bahirdar university

Institute of land
Administration
Department of
Architecture

GOTHIC AND
ROMANSEQUE
ARCHITECTURE

January
2014
 E.Cc

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE ll
Instructors Mr. Tsegaye
Mrs. Helen

Prepared by Eyuel Assaye

Eyasu Erike
Haile leul Demelash
Meklit Girma
Tesfanew Assefa

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Contents
Chapter 1 Romanesque architecture..........................................................................................................6
What is Romanesque architecture?........................................................................................................6
Definition.................................................................................................................................................7
The scope of Romanesque architecture..................................................................................................8
History of ROMANSQUE architecture......................................................................................................8
Origins.....................................................................................................................................................8
Politics.....................................................................................................................................................9
Religion..................................................................................................................................................10
Monasticism..........................................................................................................................................10
Pilgrimage and Crusade.........................................................................................................................11
Characteristics of ROMANSQUE Architecture........................................................................................11
Walls......................................................................................................................................................11
Buttresses..............................................................................................................................................12
Rounded Arches and openings..............................................................................................................12
Arcades..................................................................................................................................................13
Piers.......................................................................................................................................................13
Columns.................................................................................................................................................13
Salvaged columns..................................................................................................................................14
Drum columns.......................................................................................................................................14
Hollow core columns.............................................................................................................................15
Alternation............................................................................................................................................15
Piers and columns..................................................................................................................................16
Capitals..................................................................................................................................................16
Vaults and roofs.....................................................................................................................................17
Barrel vault............................................................................................................................................17
Groin vault.............................................................................................................................................18
Ribbed vault...........................................................................................................................................18
Pointed arched vault.............................................................................................................................18
Domes...................................................................................................................................................19
Chapter 2...................................................................................................................................................21
Gothic architecture....................................................................................................................................21
What is gothic architecture?..................................................................................................................22

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 What Is Gothic( the word )?..................................................................................................................22
What Influenced Gothic architecture?..................................................................................................23
Periods of gothic architecture...............................................................................................................23
History of gothic architecture?..............................................................................................................23
Early gothic............................................................................................................................................23
Early English high gothic........................................................................................................................25
Rayonnant Gothic and Decorated Style.................................................................................................26
Late Gothic: flamboyant and perpendicular..........................................................................................27
Decline of gothic architecture...............................................................................................................28
Elements of gothic architecture............................................................................................................29
Pointed arches.......................................................................................................................................29
Rib vaults...............................................................................................................................................29
Columns and piers.................................................................................................................................29
Flying buttresses....................................................................................................................................30
Towers and pierces................................................................................................................................30
Elevation and height..............................................................................................................................32
West Front.............................................................................................................................................33
East end.................................................................................................................................................33
Portals and Tympanum..........................................................................................................................34
Gargoyles...............................................................................................................................................34
Rose stained windows...........................................................................................................................35
What influences Gothic architecture ?..................................................................................................36
Decline of gothic architecture...............................................................................................................36
Material during Gothic period...............................................................................................................36
Compare and contrast gothic and Romanesque Architecture...............................................................37
Chapter 3...................................................................................................................................................40
famous architectural buildings of Gothic and Romanesque Period...........................................................40
Romanesque period..............................................................................................................................40

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Introduction
Architecture is not only building or designing some functional space. It is also a way of
representing contextual manifestation of the contemporary socio-economical and cultural
factors.in this paper we aimed to discuss the two architectural styles immerged during the dark
ages. Gothic and Romanesque architectural styles are way of building immerged after the fall of
roman empire on 476 A.D. At that time the dominant power on the Europe was the roman
catholic church. In this case most of the buildings were built in order to serve religious manners.
Romanesque architecture immerged during 1000 A.D. it lasted to around 1200 A.D.
By the beginning of the 12th century, the Romanesque form was gradually giving way to the
Gothic style. The word “Gothic” was first used in the Italian Renaissance as a negative term for
all art and architecture of the Middle Ages, suggesting that it was of the quality of the work of
the barbarian Goths. Today the term Gothic Age refers to the period of art and architecture
immediately following the Romanesque. It is regarded to be an era of outstanding artistic
achievement.
This paper is divided into two main chapters the first chapter briefly discuss important features
and points about Romanesque architecture. The second chapter discusses about the following
gothic era.

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 beginning date of the Romanesque style, with
proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th
century, this later date being the most commonly
Chapter 1 held. In the 12th century it developed into the
Gothic style, marked by pointed arches.
Romanesque Examples of Romanesque architecture can be
found across the continent, making it the first
architecture pan-European architectural style since Imperial
Roman architecture. The Romanesque style in
England is traditionally referred to as Norman
architecture.
Combining features of ancient Roman and
Byzantine buildings and other local traditions,
Romanesque architecture is known by its
massive quality, thick walls, round arches,
sturdy pillars, barrel vaults, large towers and
decorative arcading. Each building has clearly
defined forms, frequently of very regular,
symmetrical plan; the overall appearance is one
of simplicity when compared with the Gothic
buildings that were to follow. The style can be
identified right across Europe, despite regional
characteristics and different materials.

Many castles were built

during this period, but they
are greatly outnumbered by
churches. The most
significant are the great
abbey churches, many of
which are still standing,
more or less complete and
frequently in use. The
enormous quantity of
churches built in the
Romanesque period was
succeeded by the still busier
period of Gothic
architecture, which partly or
What is Romanesque entirely rebuilt most
Romanesque churches in
architecture? prosperous areas like
England and Portugal. The
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style
of medieval Europe characterized by semi- largest groups of
circular arches. There is no consensus for the Romanesque survivors are

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 in areas that were less
prosperous in subsequent
periods, including parts of
southern France, rural
Spain and rural Italy.
Survivals of unfortified
Romanesque secular houses
and palaces, and the
domestic quarters of
monasteries are far rarer,
but these used and adapted
the features found in church
buildings, on a domestic
scale.
Definition
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the
word "Romanesque" means "descended from
Roman" and was first used in English to
designate what are now called Romance
languages (first cited 1715). The French term
"romane" was first used in the architectural
sense by archaeologist Charles de Gerville in a
letter of 18 December 1818 to Auguste Le
Prévost to describe what Gerville sees as a
debased Roman architecture.In 1824 Gerville's
friend Arcisse de Caumont adopted the label
"roman" to describe the "degraded" European
architecture from the 5th to the 13th centuries, in
his Essai sur l'architecture religieuse du moyen-
âge, particulièrement en Normandie,at a time
when the actual dates of many of the buildings
so described had not been ascertained.
The name Roman (esque) we give to this
architecture, which should be universal as it is
the same everywhere with slight local
differences, also has the merit of indicating its
origin and is not new since it is used already to
describe the language of the same period.
Romance language is degenerated Latin
language. Romanesque architecture is debased
Roman architecture.
The first use in a published work is in William
Gunn's An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence
of Gothic Architecture (London 1819).The word
was used by Gunn to describe the style that was
identifiably Medieval and prefigured the Gothic,
yet maintained the rounded Roman arch and thus
appeared to be a continuation of the Roman
tradition of building.
The term is now used for the more restricted
period from the late 10th to 12th centuries. The
term "Pre-romanesque" is sometimes applied to
architecture in Germany of the Carolingian and
Ottonian periods and Visigothic, Mozarab and
Asturian constructions between the 8th and the
10th centuries in the Iberian Peninsula while
"First Romanesque" is applied to buildings in
north of Italy and Spain and parts of France that
have Romanesque features but pre-date the
influence of the Abbey of Cluny.
Buildings of every type were constructed in the
Romanesque style, with evidence remaining of
simple domestic buildings, elegant town houses,
grand palaces, commercial premises, civic
buildings, castles, city walls, bridges, village
churches, abbey churches, abbey complexes and
large cathedrals. Of these types of buildings,
domestic and commercial buildings are the most
rare, with only a handful of survivors in the
United Kingdom, several clusters in France,
isolated buildings across Europe and by far the
largest number, often unidentified and altered
over the centuries, in Italy. Many castles exist,
the foundations of which date from the
Romanesque period. Most have been
substantially altered, and many are in ruins.
By far the greatest number of surviving
Romanesque buildings are churches. These
range from tiny chapels to large cathedrals.
Although many have been extended and altered
in different styles, a large number remain either
substantially intact or sympathetically restored,
demonstrating the form, character and
decoration of Romanesque church architecture.
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The scope of Romanesque
architecture
Buildings of every type were constructed in the
Romanesque style, with evidence remaining of
simple domestic buildings, elegant town houses,
grand palaces, commercial premises, civic
buildings, castles, city walls, bridges, village
churches, abbey churches, abbey complexes and
large cathedrals. Of these types of buildings,
domestic and commercial buildings are the most
rare, with only a handful of survivors in the
United Kingdom, several clusters in France,
isolated buildings across Europe and by far the
largest number, often unidentified and altered
over the centuries, in Italy. Many castles exist,
the foundations of which date from the
Romanesque period. Most have been
substantially altered, and many are in ruins.
By far the greatest number of surviving
Romanesque buildings are churches. These
range from tiny chapels to large cathedrals.
Although many have been extended and altered
in different styles, a large number remain either
substantially intact or sympathetically restored,
demonstrating the form, character and
decoration of Romanesque church architecture.
History of ROMANSQUE
architecture
Origins
Romanesque architecture was the first
distinctive style to spread across Europe since
the Roman Empire. With the decline of Rome,
Roman building methods survived to an extent
in Western Europe, where successive
Merovingian, Carolingian and Ottonian
architects continued to build large stone
buildings such as monastery churches and
palaces. In the more northern countries, Roman
building styles and techniques had never been
adopted except for official buildings, while in
Scandinavia they were unknown. Although the
round arch continued in use, the engineering
skills required to vault large spaces and build
large domes were lost. There was a loss of
stylistic continuity, particularly apparent in the
decline of the formal vocabulary of the Classical
Orders. In Rome several great Constantinian
basilicas continued in use as an inspiration to
later builders. Some traditions of Roman
architecture also survived in Byzantine
architecture with the 6th-century octagonal
Byzantine Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna
being the inspiration for the greatest building of
the Dark Ages in Europe, the Emperor
Charlemagne's Palatine Chapel, Aachen,
Germany, built around the year AD 800.
Dating shortly after the Palatine Chapel is a
remarkable 9th-century Swiss manuscript known
as the Plan of Saint Gall and showing a very
detailed plan of a monastic complex, with all its
various monastic buildings and their functions
labelled. The largest building is the church, the
plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an
apse at both ends, an arrangement not generally
seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is
its regular proportion, the square plan of the
crossing tower providing a module for the rest of
the plan. These features can both be seen at the
Proto-Romanesque St. Michael's Church,
Hildesheim, 1001–1030.
Architecture of a Romanesque style also
developed simultaneously in the north of Italy,
parts of France and in the Iberian Peninsula in
the 10th century and prior to the later influence
of the Abbey of Cluny. The style, sometimes
called First Romanesque or Lombard
Romanesque, is Characterized by thick walls,
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lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic
ornamental arches known as a Lombard band.
Politics
Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III in
Old St. Peter's Basilica on Christmas Day of
800, with an aim to re-establishing the old
Roman Empire. Charlemagne's political
successors continued to rule much of Europe,
with a gradual emergence of the separate
political states that were eventually to become
welded into nations, either by allegiance or
defeat, into the Kingdom of Germany giving rise
to the Holy Roman Empire. The invasion of
England by William, Duke of Normandy, in
1066, saw the building of both castles and
churches that reinforced the Norman presence.
Several significant churches that were built at
this time were founded by rulers as seats of
temporal and religious power, or places of
coronation and burial. These include the
Abbaye-Saint-Denis, Speyer Cathedral and
Westminster Abbey (where little of the Norman
church now remains).
At a time when the remaining architectural
structures of the Roman Empire were falling
into decay and much of its learning and
technology lost, the building of masonry domes
and the carving of decorative architectural
details continued unabated, though greatly
evolved in style since the fall of Rome, in the
enduring Byzantine Empire. The domed
churches of Constantinople and Eastern Europe
were to greatly affect the architecture of certain
towns, particularly through trade and through
the Crusades. The most notable single building
that demonstrates this is St Mark's Basilica,
Venice, but there are many lesser-known
examples, particularly in France, such as the
church of Saint-Front, Périgueux and
Angoulême Cathedral.
Much of Europe was affected by feudalism in
which peasants held tenure from local rulers
over the land that they farmed in exchange for
military service. The result of this was that they
could be called upon, not only for local and
regional spats, but to follow their lord to travel
across Europe to the Crusades, if they were
required to do so. The Crusades, 1095–1270,
brought about a very large movement of people
and, with them, ideas and trade skills,
particularly those involved in the building of
fortifications and the metal working needed for
the provision of arms, which was also applied to
the fitting and decoration of buildings. The
continual movement of people, rulers, nobles,
bishops, abbots, craftsmen and peasants, was an
important factor in creating a homogeneity in
building methods and a recognizable
Romanesque style, despite regional differences.
Life became generally less secure after the
Carolingian period. This resulted in the building
of castles at strategic points, many of them being
constructed as strongholds of the Normans,
descendants of the Vikings who invaded
northern France under Rollo in 911. Political
struggles also resulted in the fortification of
many towns, or the rebuilding and strengthening
of walls that remained from the Roman period.
One of the most notable surviving fortifications
is that of the city of Carcassonne. The enclosure
of towns brought about a lack of living space
within the walls, and resulted in a style of town
house that was tall and narrow, often
surrounding communal courtyards, as at San
Gimignano in Tuscany.
In Germany, the Holy Roman Emperors built a
number of residences, fortified, but essentially
palaces rather than castles, at strategic points
and on trade routes. The Imperial Palace of
Goslar (heavily restored in the 19th century) was
built in the early 11th century by Otto III and
Henry III, while the ruined Palace at Gelnhausen
was received by Frederick Barbarossa prior to
1170. The movement of people and armies also
brought about the building of bridges, some of
which have survived, including the 12th-century
bridge at Besalú, Catalonia, the 11th-century
Puente de la Reina, Navarre and the Pont-Saint-
Bénézet, Avignon.
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Religion
Across Europe, the late 11th and 12th centuries
saw an unprecedented growth in the number of
churches.A great number of these buildings,
both large and small, remain, some almost intact
and in others altered almost beyond recognition
in later centuries. They include many very well
known churches such as Santa Maria in
Cosmedin in Rome ,the Baptistery in Florence
and San Zeno Maggiore in Verona. In France,
the famous abbeys of Aux Dames and Les
Hommes at Caen and Mont Saint-Michel date
from this period, as well as the abbeys of the
pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.
Many cathedrals owe their foundation to this
date, with others beginning as abbey churches,
and later becoming cathedrals. In England, of
the cathedrals of ancient foundation, all were
begun in this period with the exception of
Salisbury, where the monks relocated from the
Norman church at Old Sarum, and several, such
as Canterbury, which were rebuilt on the site of
Saxon churches. In Spain, the most famous
church of the period is Santiago de Compostela.
In Germany, the Rhine and its tributaries were
the location of many Romanesque abbeys,
notably Mainz, Worms, Speyer and Bamberg. In
Cologne, then the largest city north of the Alps,
a very important group of large city churches
survives largely intact. As monasticism spread
across Europe, Romanesque churches sprang up
in Scotland, Scandinavia, Poland, Hungary,
Sicily, Serbia and Tunisia. Several important
Romanesque churches were built in the Crusader
kingdoms.
Monasticism
The system of monasticism in which the
religious become members of an order, with
common ties and a common rule, living in a
mutually dependent community, rather than as a
group of hermits living in proximity but
essentially separate, was established by the
monk Benedict in the 6th century. The
Benedictine monasteries spread from Italy
throughout Europe, being always by far the most
numerous in England. They were followed by
the Cluniac order, the Cistercians, Carthusians
and Augustinian Canons. During the Crusades,
the military orders of the Knights Hospitaller
and the Knights Templar were founded.
The monasteries, which sometimes also
functioned as cathedrals, and the cathedrals that
had bodies of secular clergy often living in
community, were a major source of power in
Europe. Bishops and the abbots of important
monasteries lived and functioned like princes.
The monasteries were the major seats of learning
of all sorts. Benedict had ordered that all the arts
were to be taught and practiced in the
monasteries. Within the monasteries books were
transcribed by hand, and few people outside the
monasteries could read or write.
In France, Burgundy was the center of
monasticism. The enormous and powerful
monastery at Cluny was to have lasting effect on
the layout of other monasteries and the design of
their churches. Unfortunately, very little of the
abbey church at Cluny remains; the "Cluny II"
rebuilding of 963 onwards has completely
vanished, but we have a good idea of the design
of "Cluny III" from 1088 to 1130, which until
the Renaissance remained the largest building in
Europe. However, the church of St. Sernin at
Toulouse, 1080–1120, has remained intact and
demonstrates the regularity of Romanesque
design with its modular form, its massive
appearance and the repetition of the simple
arched window motif.
Pilgrimage and Crusade
One of the effects of the Crusades, which were
intended to wrest the Holy Places of the Levant
from Islamic control, was to excite a great deal
of religious favo r, which in turn inspired great
building programs. The Nobility of Europe,
upon safe return, thanked God by the building of
a new church or the enhancement of an old one.
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Likewise, those who did not return from the
Crusades could be suitably commemorated by
their family in a work of stone and mortar.
The Crusades resulted in the transfer of, among
other things, a great number of Holy Relics of
saints and apostles. Many churches, like Saint-
Front, Périgueux, had their own home grown
saint while others, most notably Santiago de
Compostela, claimed the remains and the
patronage of a powerful saint, in this case one of
the Twelve Apostles. Santiago de Compostela,
located in the Kingdom of Galicia (present day
Galicia, Spain) became one of the most
important pilgrimage destinations in Europe.
Most of the pilgrims travelled the Way of St.
James on foot, many of them barefooted as a
sign of penance. They moved along one of the
four main routes that passed through France,
congregating for the journey at Jumièges, Paris,
Vézelay, Cluny, Arles and St. Gall in
Switzerland. They crossed two passes in the
Pyrenees and converged into a single stream to
traverse north-western Spain. Along the route
they were urged on by those pilgrims returning
from the journey. On each of the routes abbeys
such as those at Moissac, Toulouse,
Roncesvalles, Conques, Limoges and Burgos
catered for the flow of people and grew wealthy
from the passing trade. Saint-Benoît-du-Sault, in
the Berry province, is typical of the churches
that were founded on the pilgrim route.
Characteristics of ROMANSQUE
Architecture
The general impression given by Romanesque
architecture, in both ecclesiastical and secular
buildings, is one of massive solidity and
strength. In contrast with both the preceding
Roman and later Gothic architecture, in which
the load-bearing structural members are, or
appear to be, columns, pilasters and arches,
Romanesque architecture, in common with
Byzantine architecture, relies upon its walls, or
sections of walls called piers.
Romanesque architecture is often divided into
two periods known as the "First Romanesque"
style and the "Romanesque" style. The
difference is chiefly a matter of the expertise
with which the buildings were constructed. The
First Romanesque employed rubble walls,
smaller windows and unvaulted roofs. A greater
refinement marks the Second Romanesque,
along with increased use of the vault and dressed
stone.
Walls
The walls of Romanesque buildings are often of
massive thickness with few and comparatively
small openings. They are often double shells,
filled with rubble.
The building material differs greatly across
Europe, depending upon the local stone and
building traditions. In Italy, Poland, much of
Germany and parts of the Netherlands, brick is
generally used. Other areas saw extensive use of
limestone, granite and flint. The building stone
was often used in comparatively small and
irregular pieces, bedded in thick mortar. Smooth
ashlar masonry was not a distinguishing feature
of the style, particularly in the earlier part of the
period, but occurred chiefly where easily worked
limestone was available.
Buttresses
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Because of the massive nature of Romanesque
walls, buttresses are not a highly significant
feature, as they are in Gothic architecture.
Romanesque buttresses are generally of flat
square profile and do not project a great deal
beyond the wall. In the case of aisled churches,
barrel vaults, or half-barrel vaults over the aisles
helped to buttress the nave, if it was vaulted.
In the cases where half-barrel vaults were used,
they effectively became like flying buttresses.
Often aisles extended through two storeys,
rather than the one usual in Gothic architecture,
so as to better support the weight of a vaulted
nave. In the case of Durham Cathedral, flying
buttresses have been employed, but are hidden
inside the triforium gallery.
Rounded Arches and openings
The arches used in Romanesque architecture are
nearly always semicircular, for openings such as
doors and windows, for vaults and for arcades.
Wide doorways are usually surmounted by a
semi-circular arch, except where a door with a
lintel is set into a large arched recess and
surmounted by a semi-circular "lunette" with
decorative carving.These doors sometimes have
a carved central jamb.
Narrow doors and small windows might be
surmounted by a solid stone lintel. Larger
openings are nearly always arched. A
characteristic feature of Romanesque
architecture, both ecclesiastic and domestic, is
the pairing of two arched windows or arcade
openings, separated by a pillar or colonette and
often set within a larger arch. Ocular windows
are common in Italy, particularly in the facade
gable and are also seen in Germany. Later
Romanesque churches may have wheel windows
or rose windows with plate tracery.
There are a very small number of buildings in
the Romanesque style, such as Autun Cathedral
in France and Monreale Cathedral in Sicily in
which pointed arches have been used
extensively, apparently for stylistic reasons. It is
believed that in these cases there is a direct
imitation of Islamic architecture. At other late
Romanesque churches such as Durham
Cathedral, and Cefalù Cathedral, the pointed
arch was introduced as a structural device in
ribbed vaulting. Its increasing application was
fundamental to the development of Gothic
architecture.
Arcades
An arcade is a row of arches, supported on piers
or columns. They occur in the interior of large
churches, separating the nave from the aisles,
and in large secular interiors spaces, such as the
great hall of a castle, supporting the timbers of a
roof or upper floor. Arcades also occur in
cloisters and atriums, enclosing an open space.
Arcades can occur in story or stages. While the
arcade of a cloister is typically of a single stage,
the arcade that divides the nave and aisles in a
church is typically of two stages, with a third
12 | P a g e
stage of window openings known as the
clerestory rising above them. Arcading on a
large scale generally fulfils a structural purpose,
but it is also used, generally on a smaller scale,
as a decorative feature, both internally and
externally where it is frequently "blind arcading"
with only a wall or a narrow passage behind it.

Columns

Columns are an important structural feature of

Romanesque architecture. Colonnettes and
attached shafts are also used structurally and for
decoration. Monolithic columns cut from a
single piece of stone were frequently used in
Italy, as they had been in Roman and Early
Christian architecture. They were also used,
particularly in Germany, when they alternated
between more massive piers. Arcades of
columns cut from single pieces are also common
Piers in structures that do not bear massive weights of
masonry, such as cloisters, where they are
In Romanesque architecture, piers were often sometimes paired.
employed to support arches. They were built of
masonry and square or rectangular in section,
generally having a horizontal moulding
representing a capital at the springing of the
arch. Sometimes piers have vertical shafts
attached to them, and may also have horizontal
mouldings at the level of the base.
Although basically rectangular, piers can often
be of highly complex form, with half-segments
of large hollow-core columns on the inner
surface supporting the arch, or a clustered group
of smaller shafts leading into the mouldings of
the arch.
Piers that occur at the intersection of two large
arches, such as those under the crossing of the
nave and transept, are commonly cruciform in
shape, each arch having its own supporting
rectangular pier at right angles to the other.

13 | P a g e
Salvaged columns Drum columns

In Italy, during this period, a great number of In most parts of Europe, Romanesque columns
antique Roman columns were salvaged and were massive, as they supported thick upper
reused in the interiors and on the porticos of walls with small windows, and sometimes heavy
churches. The most durable of these columns are vaults. The most common method of
of marble and have the stone horizontally construction was to build them out of stone
bedded. The majority are vertically bedded and cylinders called drums, as in the crypt at Speyer
are sometimes of a variety of colours. They may
have retained their original Roman capitals,
generally of the Corinthian or Roman Composite
style. Some buildings, like Santa Maria in
Cosmedin (illustrated above) and the atrium at
San Clemente in Rome, may have an odd
assortment of columns in which large capitals
are placed on short columns and small capitals
are placed on taller columns to even the height.
Architectural compromises of this type are seen
where materials have been salvaged from a
number of buildings. Salvaged columns were
also used to a lesser extent in France.
Cathedral.

Hollow core columns

Where really massive columns were called for,

such as those at Durham Cathedral, they were
constructed of ashlar masonry and the hollow
core was filled with rubble. These huge
untapered columns are sometimes ornamented
with incised decorations.

Alternation

A common characteristic of Romanesque

buildings, occurring both in churches and in the

14 | P a g e
arcades that separate large interior spaces of
castles, is the alternation of piers and columns.
The most simple form that this takes is to have a
column between each adjoining pier. Sometimes
the columns are in multiples of two or three. At
St. Michael's, Hildesheim, an A B B A
alternation occurs in the nave while an A B A
Piers and columns
alternation can be seen in the transepts.
Although basically rectangular, piers can often
At Jumièges there are tall drum columns
between piers each of which has a half-column
supporting the arch. There are many variations
on this theme, most notably at Durham
Cathedral where the mouldings and shafts of the
piers are of exceptional richness and the huge
masonry columns are deeply incised with
geometric patterns.
Often the arrangement was made more complex
by the complexity of the piers themselves, so
that it was not piers and columns that alternated,
but rather, piers of entirely different form from
each other, such as those of Sant' Ambrogio,
be highly complex, with half-segments of large
Milan, where the nature of the vault dictated that
hollow-core columns on the inner surface
the alternate piers bore a great deal more weight
supporting the arch and a clustered group of
than the intermediate ones and are thus very
smaller shafts leading into the moldings of the
much larger.
arch. Piers that occur at the intersection of two
large arches, such as those under the crossing of
the nave and transept , are commonly cruciform
in shape, each with its own supporting
rectangular pier perpendicular to the other.
Columns were often used in Romanesque
architecture, but varied in building material and
decorative style. In Italy, a great number of
antique Roman columns were salvaged and
reused in the interiors and on the porticos of
churches. In most parts of Europe, Romanesque
columns were massive, supporting thick upper
walls with small windows and sometimes heavy
vaults. Where massive columns were called for,
such as those at Durham Cathedral, they were
constructed of ashlar masonry with a hollow
core was filled with rubble. These huge
untapered columns were sometimes ornamented
with incised decorations.

15 | P a g e
A common characteristic of Romanesque
buildings, found in both churches and in the
arcades that separate large interior spaces of
castles, is the alternation of piers and columns.
The most simple form is a column between each
adjoining pier. Sometimes the columns are in
multiples of two or three. Often the arrangement
is made more complex by the complexity of the
piers themselves, so that the alternation was not
of piers and columns but rather of piers of
entirely different forms.
The foliate Corinthian style provided the
inspiration for many Romanesque capitals , and
the accuracy with which they were carved
depended on the availability of original models.
Capitals in Italian churches, such as Pisa
Cathedral or church of Sant’Alessandro in Lucca
and southern France, are much closer to the
Classical form and style than those in England.
Capitals
The foliate Corinthian style provided the
inspiration for many Romanesque capitals, and
the accuracy with which they were carved
depended very much on the availability of
original models, those in Italian churches such
as Pisa Cathedral or church of Sant'Alessandro
in Lucca and southern France being much closer
to the Classical than those in England.
The Corinthian capital is essentially round at the
bottom where it sits on a circular column and
square at the top, where it supports the wall or
arch. This form of capital was maintained in the
general proportions and outline of the
Romanesque capital. This was achieved most
simply by cutting a rectangular block and taking
the four lower corners off at an angle so that the
block was square at the top, but octagonal at the
bottom, as can be seen at St. Michael's
Hildesheim.This shape lent itself to a wide
variety of superficial treatments, sometimes
foliate in imitation of the source, but often
figurative. In Northern Europe the foliate
capitals generally bear far more resemblance to
the intricacies of manuscript illumination than to
Classical sources. In parts of France and Italy
there are strong links to the pierced capitals of
Byzantine architecture. It is in the figurative
capitals that the greatest originality is shown.
While some are dependent on manuscripts
illustrations of Biblical scenes and depictions of
beasts and monsters, others are lively scenes of
the legends of local saints.
The capitals, while retaining the form of a
square top and a round bottom, were often
compressed into little more than a bulging
cushion-shape. This is particularly the case on
large masonry columns, or on large columns that
alternate with piers as at Durham.
Vaults and roofs
The majority of buildings have wooden roofs,
generally of a simple truss, tie beam or king post
form. In the case of trussed rafter roofs, they are
sometimes lined with wooden ceilings in three
sections like those that survive at Ely and
Peterborough cathedrals in England. In
churches, typically the aisles are vaulted, but the
nave is roofed with timber, as is the case at both
Peterborough and Ely. In Italy where open
wooden roofs are common, and tie beams
frequently occur in conjunction with vaults, the
timbers have often been decorated as at San
Miniato al Monte, Florence.
Vaults of stone or brick took on several different
forms and showed marked development during
the period, evolving into the pointed ribbed arch
16 | P a g e
characteristic of Gothic
architecture
Barrel vault
The simplest type of vaulted roof is the barrel
vault in which a single arched surface extends
from wall to wall, the length of the space to be
vaulted, for example, the nave of a church. An
important example, which retains Medieval
paintings, is the vault of Saint-Savin-sur-
Gartempe, France, of the early 12th century.
However, the barrel vault generally required the
support of solid walls, or walls in which the
windows were very small.
Groin vault
Groin vaults occur in early Romanesque
buildings, notably at Speyer Cathedral where the
high vault of about 1060 is the first employment
in Romanesque architecture of this type of vault
for a wide nave.In later buildings employing
ribbed vaultings, groin vaults are most
frequently used for the less visible and smaller
vaults, particularly in crypts and aisles. A groin
vault is almost always square in plan and is
constructed of two barrel vaults intersecting at
right angles. Unlike a ribbed vault, the entire
arch is a structural member. Groin vaults are
frequently separated by transverse arched ribs of
low profile as at Speyer and Santiago de
Compostela. At Sainte Marie Madeleine,
Vézelay, the ribs are square in section, strongly
projecting and polychrome.
Ribbed vault
Ribbed vaults came into general use in the 12th
century. In ribbed vaults, not only are there ribs
spanning the vaulted area transversely, but each
vaulted bay has diagonal ribs, following the
same course as the groins in a groin vault.
However, whereas in a groin vault, the vault
itself is the structural member, in a ribbed vault,
it is the ribs that are the structural members, and
17 | P a g e
the spaces between them can be filled with first appearance in the transverse ribs of the
lighter, non-structural material. vaults at Durham Cathedral in northern England,
dating from 1128. Durham is a cathedral of
Because Romanesque arches are nearly always
massive Romanesque proportions and
semi-circular, the structural and design problem
appearance, yet its builders introduced several
inherent in the ribbed vault is that the diagonal
structural features that were new to architectural
span is larger and therefore higher than the
design and were later to be hallmark features of
transverse span. The Romanesque builders used
the Gothic. Another Gothic structural feature
a number of solutions to this problem. One was
employed at Durham is the flying buttress.
to have the center point where the diagonal ribs
However, these are hidden beneath the roofs of
met as the highest point, with the infill of all the
the aisles. The earliest pointed vault in France is
surfaces sloping upwards towards it, in a
that of the narthex of La Madeleine, Vézelay,
domical manner. This solution was employed in
dating from 1130. They were subsequently
Italy at San Michele, Pavia, and Sant' Ambrogio,
employed with the development of the Gothic
Milan.
style at the east end of the Basilica of St Denis
The solution employed in England was to stilt in Paris in 1140. An early ribbed vault in the
the transverse ribs, maintaining a horizontal Romanesque architecture of Sicily is that of the
central line to the roof like that of a barrel vault. chancel at the Cathedral of Cefalù.
The diagonal ribs could also be depressed, a
solution used on the sexpartite vaults at both the
Saint-Étienne, (Abbaye-aux-Hommes) and
Sainte-Trinité, (Abbaye-aux-Dames) at Caen,
France, in the late 11th and early 12th centuries.

Pointed arched vault

The problems encountered in the structure and

appearance of vaults was solved late in the
Romanesque period with the introduction of
pointed arched ribs which allowed the height of
both diagonal and transverse ribs to be varied in
proportion to each other Pointed ribs made their

18 | P a g e
Domes
Domes in Romanesque architecture are
generally found within crossing towers at the
intersection of a church's nave and transept,
which conceal the domes externally Called a
tiburio, this tower-like structure often has a blind
arcade near the roof. Romanesque domes are
typically octagonal in plan and use corner
squinches to translate a square bay into a
suitable octagonal base.Octagonal cloister vaults
appear "in connection with basilicas almost
throughout Europe" between 1050 and 1100.
The precise form differs from region to region.
Material during
Romanesque period
Precious objects in metalwork, ivories, and
enamels held high status in the Romanesque
period. The creators of these objects are
more well-known than contemporary
painters, illuminators, and architect-masons.
Metalwork, including decoration in enamel,
became very sophisticated. Many
spectacular shrines made to hold relics have
survived, of which the best known is the
Shrine of the Three Kings at Cologne
Cathedral by Nicholas of Verdun (circa
1180–1225). The bronze Gloucester
candlestick is a superb example of metal
casting , with intricate and energetic
qualities that draw on manuscript painting.
The Stavelot Triptych and Reliquary of St.
Maurus are other examples of Mosan
enamelwork. Large reliquaries and altar
frontals were built around a wooden frame,
but smaller caskets were made entirely of
metal and enamel. A few secular pieces such
as mirror cases, jewelry, and clasps have
also survived, but these no doubt under-
19 | P a g e
represent the amount of fine metalwork
owned by the nobility.

20 | P a g e
Chapter 2
Gothic
architecture

21 | P a g e
What is gothic architecture?
Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture)
is an architectural style that was prevalent in
Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century,
during the High and Late Middle Ages,
surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in
some areas. It evolved from Romanesque
architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance
architecture. It originated in the Île-de-
France region of northern France as a
development of Norman architecture. The style
at the time was sometimes known as opus
Francigenum (lit. French work); the
term Gothic was first applied contemptuously
during the later Renaissance, by those ambitious
to revive the architecture of classical antiquity.
The defining design element of Gothic
architecture is the pointed or ogival arch. The
use of the pointed arch in turn led to the
development of the pointed rib vault and flying
buttresses, combined with
elaborate tracery and stained glass windows.
At the Abbey of Saint-Denis, near Paris, the
choir was reconstructed between 1140 and 1144,
drawing together for the first time the
developing Gothic architectural features. In
doing so, a new architectural style emerged that
emphasised verticality and the effect created by
the transmission of light through stained glass
windows.
Common examples are found
in Christian ecclesiastical architecture,
and Gothic cathedrals and churches, as well
as abbeys, and parish churches. It is also the
architecture of many castles, palaces, town
halls, guildhalls, universities and, less
prominently today, private dwellings. Many of
the finest examples of medieval Gothic
architecture are listed with UNESCO as World
Heritage Sites.
With the development of Renaissance
architecture in Italy during the mid 15th century,
the Gothic style was supplanted by the new
style, but in some regions, notably England and
Belgium, Gothic continued to flourish and
develop into the 16th century. A series of Gothic
revivals began in mid-18th century England,
spread through 19th-century Europe and
continued, largely for churches and university
buildings, into the 20th century.
What Is Gothic( the word )?
Gothic architecture is also known as pointed
architecture or ogival architecture. Medieval
contemporaries described the style
as Latin: opus Francigenum,  'French work' or
'Frankish work', as opus modernum, 'modern
work', novum opus, 'new work', or
as Italian: maniera tedesca,   'German style'.
The term "Gothic architecture" originated as
a pejorative description. Giorgio Vasari used the
term "barbarous German style" in his Lives of
the Artists to describe what is now considered
the Gothic style, and in the introduction to
the Lives he attributes various architectural
features to the Goths, whom he held responsible
for destroying the ancient buildings after they
conquered Rome, and erecting new ones in this
style. When Vasari wrote, Italy had experienced
a century of building in
the Vitruvian architectural vocabulary
of classical orders revived in
the Renaissance and seen as evidence of a
new Golden Age of learning and refinement.
Thus the Gothic style, being in opposition to
classical architecture, from that point of view
was associated with the destruction of
advancement and sophistication. The
assumption that classical architecture was better
than Gothic architecture was widespread and
proved difficult to defeat. Vasari was echoed in
the 16th century by François Rabelais, who
referred
to Goths and Ostrogoths (Gotz and Ostrogotz).
arch. Wren claimed the inventors of the Gothic
had seen the Saracen architecture during
the Crusades, also called the Religious war or
Holy War, organised by the Normans in the year
1095:
22 | P a g e
The Holy War gave the Christians, who had sinuous lines and naturalistic forms, which are
been there, an Idea of the Saracen Works, which precursors to the Gothic style.
were afterwards by them imitated in the West;
and they refined upon it every day, as they Periods of gothic architecture
proceeded in building Churches.
Architecture "became a leading form of artistic
What Influenced Gothic architecture? expression during the late Middle Ages". Gothic
architecture began in the earlier 12th century in
The Gothic style of architecture was strongly northwest France and England and spread
influenced by the Romanesque throughout Latin Europe in the 13th century; by
architecture which preceded it; by the growing 1300, a first "international style" of Gothic had
population and wealth of European cities, and by developed, with common design features and
the desire to express local and national formal language. A second "international style"
grandeur. It was also influenced by theological emerged by 1400, alongside innovations in
doctrines which called for more lightand by England and central Europe that produced both
technical improvements in vaults and buttresses the perpendicular and flamboyant varieties.
that allowed much greater height and larger Typically, these typologies are identified as:
windows. It was also influenced by the necessity
 c.1130–c.1240 Early to High
of many churches, such as Chartres
Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral, to Gothic and Early English
accommodate growing numbers of pilgrims. It
 c.1240–c.1350 Rayonnant and Decorate
also adapted features from earlier styles, such
d Style
as Islamic architecture. According to Charles
Texier (French historian, architect, and  c.1350–c.1500 Late
archaeologist) and Josef Strzygowski (Polish- Gothic: flamboyant and perpendicular
Austrian art historian), after lengthy research
and study of cathedrals in the medieval city of
Ani, the capital of the medieval kingdom of History of gothic
Armenia concluded to have discovered the
oldest Gothic arch. According to these
architecture?
historians, the architecture of the Saint Hripsime
Church near the Armenian religious seat
Early gothic
Etchmiadzin was built in the fourth century A.D.
Norman architecture on either side of
and was repaired in 618. The cathedral of Ani
the English Channel developed in parallel
was built in 980-1012 A.D.. They concluded that
towards Early Gothic. Gothic features, such as
Gothic architecture was carried to Marseille,
the rib vault, had appeared in England and
France and to different parts of Europe.
Normandy in the 11th century. Rib-vaults were
However many of the elements of Islamic and
employed in some parts of the cathedral
Armenian architecture that have been cited as
at Durham (1093–) and in Lessay Abbey in
influences on Gothic architecture also appeared
Normandy (1098). However, the first buildings
in Late Roman and Byzantine architecture, the
to be considered fully Gothic are the royal
most noticeable example being the pointed arch
funerary abbey of the French kings, the Abbey
and flying buttress. Byzantine architecture was
of Saint-Denis (1134–44), and the
one of the most important influences on Gothic
archiepiscopal cathedral at Sens (1143–63) They
architecture. The greatest example being the
were the first buildings to systematically
capitals that broke away from the Classical
combine rib vaulting, buttresses, and pointed
conventions of ancient Greek and Rome with

23 | P a g e
arches. Most of the characteristics of later Early between 1093 and 1104. The first cathedral built
English were already present in the entirely in the new style was Sens Cathedral,
lower chevet of Saint-Denis. begun between 1135 and 1140 and consecrated
in 1160. Sens Cathedral features a Gothic choir,
The Duchy of Normandy, part of the Angevin
and six-part rib vaults over the nave and
Empire until the 13th century, developed its own
collateral aisles, alternating pillars and doubled
version of Gothic. One of these was the
columns to support the vaults, and buttresses to
Norman chevet, a small apse or chapel attached
offset the outward thrust from the vaults. One of
to the choir at the east end of the church, which
the builders who is believed to have worked on
typically had a half-dome. The lantern
Sens Cathedral, William of Sens, later travelled
tower was another common feature in Norman
to England and became the architect who,
Gothic. One example of early Norman Gothic
between 1175 and 1180, reconstructed the choir
is Bayeux Cathedral (1060–70) where the
of Canterbury Cathedral in the new Gothic style.
Romanesque cathedral nave and choir were
rebuilt into the Gothic style. Lisieux Sens Cathedral was influential in its strongly
Cathedral was begun in 1170. Rouen vertical appearance and in its three-part
Cathedral (begun 1185) was rebuilt from elevation, typical of subsequent Gothic
Romanesque to Gothic with distinct Norman buildings, with a clerestory at the top supported
features, including a lantern tower, deeply by a triforium, all carried on high arcades of
moulded decoration, and high pointed arcades. pointed arches. In the following decades flying
Coutances Cathedral was remade into Gothic buttresses began to be used, allowing the
beginning about 1220. Its most distinctive construction of lighter, higher walls. French
feature is the octagonal lantern on the crossing Gothic churches were heavily influenced both
of the transept, decorated with ornamental ribs, by the ambulatory and side-chapels around the
and surrounded by sixteen bays and sixteen choir at Saint-Denis, and by the paired towers
lancet windows. and triple doors on the western façade.
Saint-Denis was the work of the Abbot Suger, a Sens was quickly followed by Senlis
close adviser of Kings Louis VI and Louis VII. Cathedral (begun 1160), and Notre-Dame de
Suger reconstructed portions of the old Paris (begun 1160). Their builders abandoned
Romanesque church with the rib vault in order the traditional plans and introduced the new
to remove walls and to make more space for Gothic elements from Saint-Denis.
windows. He described the new ambulatory as
"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." To support the vaults He also
introduced columns with capitals of carved
vegetal designs, modelled upon the classical
columns he had seen in Rome. In addition, he
installed a circular rose window over the portal
on the facade. These also became a common
feature of Gothic cathedrals.
Some elements of Gothic style appeared very
early in England. Durham Cathedral was the
first cathedral to employ a rib vault, built

24 | P a g e
The builders of Notre-Dame went further by
introducing the flying buttress, heavy columns
of support outside the walls connected by arches
to the upper walls. The vaults received and
counterbalanced the outward thrust from the rib
vaults of the roof. This allowed the builders to
construct higher walls and larger windows.
Early English high gothic
Following the destruction by fire of the choir
of Canterbury Cathedral in 1174, a group of
master builders was invited to propose plans for
the reconstruction. The master-builder William
of Sens, who had worked on Sens Cathedral,
won the competition. Work began that same
year, but in 1178 William was badly injured by
fall from the scaffolding, and returned to France,
where he died. His work was continued
by William the Englishman who replaced his
French namesake in 1178. The resulting
structure of the choir of Canterbury Cathedral is
considered the first work of Early English
Gothic.The cathedral churches
of Worcester (1175), Wells (c.1180), Lincoln (1
192–), and Salisbury (1220–) are all, with
Canterbury, major examples. Tiercerons –
decorative vaulting ribs – seem first to be have
been used in vaulting at Lincoln Cathedral,
installed c.1200. Instead of a triforium, Early
English churches usually retained a gallery.
High Gothic (c. 1194–1250) was a brief but very
productive period, which produced some of the
great landmarks of Gothic art. The first building
in the High Gothic (French: Classique)
was Chartres Cathedral, an important pilgrimage
church south of Paris. The Romanesque
cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1194, but was
swiftly rebuilt in the new style, with
contributions from King Philip II of
France, Pope Celestine III, local gentry,
merchants, craftsmen, and Richard the
Lionheart, king of England. The builders
simplified the elevation used at Notre Dame,
eliminated the tribune galleries, and used flying
buttresses to support the upper walls. The walls
were filled with stained glass, mainly depicting
the story of the Virgin Mary but also, in a small
corner of each window, illustrating the crafts of
the guilds who donated those windows.
The model of Chartres was followed by a series
of new cathedrals of unprecedented height and
size. These were Reims Cathedral (begun 1211),
where coronations of the kings of France took
place; Amiens Cathedral (1220–1226); Bourges
Cathedral (1195–1230) (which, unlike the
others, continued to use six-part rib vaults);
and Beauvais Cathedral(1225–).
In central Europe, the High Gothic style
appeared in the Holy Roman Empire, first
at Toul (1220–), whose Romanesque cathedral
was rebuilt in the style of Reims Cathedral;
then Trier's Liebfrauenkirche parish church
(1228–), and then throughout the Reich,
beginning with
the Elisabethkirche at Marburg (1235–) and the
cathedral at Metz (c.1235–).
In High Gothic, the whole surface of the
clerestory was given over to windows. At
Chartres Cathedral, plate tracery was used for
the rose window, but at Reims the bar-tracery
was free-standing. Lancet windows were
supplanted by multiple lights separated
by geometrical bar-tracery. Tracery of this kind
25 | P a g e
distinguishes Middle Pointed style from the
simpler First Pointed. Inside, the nave was
divided into by regular bays, each covered by a
quadripartite rib vaults.
Other characteristics of the High Gothic were
the development of rose windows of greater
size, using bar-tracery, higher and longer flying
buttresses, which could reach up to the highest
windows, and walls of sculpture illustrating
biblical stories filling the facade and the fronts
of the transept. Reims Cathedral had two
thousand three hundred statues on the front and
back side of the facade
The new High Gothic churches competed to be
the tallest, with increasingly ambitious structures
lifting the vault yet higher. Chartres Cathedral's
height of 38 m (125 ft) was exceeded by
Beauvais Cathedral's 48 m (157 ft), but on
account of the latter's collapse in 1248, no
further attempt was made to build higher
Attention turned from achieving greater height
to creating more awe-inspiring decoration.
Rayonnant Gothic and Decorated Style
Rayonnant Gothic maximized the coverage of
stained glass windows such that the walls are
effectively entirely glazed; examples are the
nave of Saint-Denis (1231–) and the royal
chapel of Louis IX of France on the Île de la
Cité in the Seine – the Sainte-Chapelle (c.1241–
8). The high and thin walls of French Rayonnant
Gothic allowed by the flying buttresses enabled
increasingly ambitious expanses of glass and
decorated tracery, reinforced with ironwork.
Shortly after Saint-Denis, in the 1250s, Louis IX
commissioned the rebuilt transepts and
enormous rose windows of Notre-Dame de
Paris (1250s for the north transept, 1258 for the
beginning of south transept).This first
'international style' was also used in the
clerestory of Metz Cathedral (c.1245–), then in
the choir of Cologne's cathedral (c.1250–), and
again in the nave of the cathedral
at Strasbourg (c.1250–).Masons elaborated a
series of tracery patterns for windows – from the
basic geometrical to the reticulated and
the curvilinear – which had superseded the
lancet window. Bar-tracery of the curvilinear,
flowing, and reticulated types
distinguish Second Pointed style.
Decorated Gothic similarly sought to emphasise
the windows, but excelled in the ornamentation
of their tracery. Churches with features of this
style include Westminster Abbey (1245–), the
cathedrals at Lichfield (after 1257–)
and Exeter (1275–), Bath Abbey (1298–), and
the retro choir at Wells Cathedral (c.1320–).
The Rayonnant developed its second
'international style' with increasingly
autonomous and sharp-edged tracery moldings
apparent in the cathedral at Clermont-
Ferrand (1248–), the papal collegiate church
at Troyes, Saint-Urbain (1262–), and the west
façade of Strasbourg Cathedral (1276–1439)).
By 1300, there were examples influenced by
Strasbourg in the cathedrals
of Limoges (1273–), Regensburg (c.1275–), and
in the cathedral nave at York (1292–).
26 | P a g e

Late
Gothic: flamboyant and perpendicular
Central Europe began to lead the emergence of a
new, international flamboyant style with the
construction of a new cathedral
at Prague (1344–) under the direction of Peter
Parler. This model of rich and variegated tracery
and intricate reticulated rib-vaulting was
definitive in the Late Gothic of continental
Europe, emulated not only by the collegiate
churches and cathedrals, but by urban parish
churches which rivalled them in size and
magnificence. The minster at Ulm and other
parish churches like the Heilig-Kreuz-Münster
at Schwäbisch Gmünd (c.1320–), St Barbara's
Church at Kutná Hora (1389–), and the Heilig-
Geist-Kirche (1407–) and St Martin's
Church (c.1385–) in Landshut are typical. Use
of ogees was especially common.
The flamboyant style was characterized by the
multiplication of the ribs of the vaults, with new
purely decorative ribs, called tiercons and
liernes, and additional diagonal ribs. One
common ornament of flamboyant in France is
the arc-en-accolade, an arch over a window
topped by a pinnacle, which was itself topped
with fleuron, and flanked by other pinnacles.
Examples of French flamboyant building include
the west façade of Rouen Cathedral, and
especially the façades of Sainte-Chapelle de
Vincennes (1370s) and choir Mont-Saint-
Michel's abbey church (1448).
In England, 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 was unknown in
continental Europe and unlike earlier styles had
no equivalent in Scotland or Ireland. It first
appeared in the cloisters and chapter-house (c.
1332) of Old St Paul's Cathedral in London
by William de Ramsey. The chancel
of Gloucester Cathedral (c. 1337–57) and its
latter 14th century cloisters are early
examples. Four-centred arches were often used,
and lierne vaults seen in early buildings were
developed into fan vaults, first at the latter 14th
century chapter-house of Hereford
Cathedral (demolished 1769) and cloisters at
27 | P a g e
Gloucester, and then at Reginald Ely's King's
College Chapel, Cambridge (1446–1461) and
the brothers William and Robert Vertue's Henry
VII Chapel (c. 1503–12) at Westminster
Abbey. Perpendicular is sometimes called Third
Pointed and was employed over three centuries;
the fan-vaulted staircase at Christ Church,
Oxford built around 1640.
Lacey patterns of tracery continued to
Characterize continental Gothic building, with
very elaborate and articulated vaulting, as at St
Barbara's, Kutná Hora (1512). In certain areas,
Gothic architecture continued to be employed
until the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in
provincial and ecclesiastical contexts, notably
at Oxford.
Decline of gothic architecture
Beginning in the mid-15th century, the Gothic
style gradually lost its dominance in Europe. It
had never been popular in Italy, and in the mid-
15th century the Italians, drawing upon ancient
Roman ruins, returned to classical models. The
dome of Florence Cathedral (1420–1436)
by Filippo Brunelleschi, inspired by
the Pantheon, Rome, was one of the first
Renaissance landmarks, but it also employed
Gothic technology; the outer skin of the dome
was supported by a framework of twenty-four
ribs.
The Kings of France had first-hand knowledge
of the new Italian style, because of the military
campaign of Charles VIII to Naples and Milan
(1494), and especially the campaigns of Louis
XII and Francis I (1500–1505) to restore French
control over Milan and Genoa. They brought
back Italian paintings, sculpture and building
plans, and, more important, Italian craftsmen
and artists. The Cardinal Georges d'Amboise,
chief minister of Louis XII, built the Chateau of
Gaillon near Rouen (1502–10) with the
assistance of Italian craftsmen. The Château de
Blois (1515–24) introduced the Renaissance
loggia and open stairway. King Francois I
installed Leonardo da Vinci at his Chateau of
Chambord in 1516, and introduced a
Renaissance long gallery at the Palace of
Fontainebleau in 1528–1540. In 1546 Francois I
began building the first example of French
classicism, the square courtyard of the Louvre
Palace designed by Pierre Lescot.
In Germany, some Italian elements were
introduced at the Fugger Chapel of St Anne's
Church, Augsburg, (1510–1512) combined with
Gothic vaults; and others appeared in the Church
of St. Michael in Munich, but in Germany
Renaissance elements were used primarily for
decoration. Some Renaissance elements also
appeared in Spain, in the new palace begun by
Emperor Charles V in Granada, within
the Alhambra (1485–1550), inspired by
Bramante and Raphael, but it was never
completed. The first major Renaissance work in
Spain was El Escorial, the monastery-palace
built by Philip II of Spain.
Under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, England was
largely isolated from architectural developments
on the continent. The first classical building in
England was the Old Somerset House in London
(1547–1552) (since demolished), built
by Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, who
was regent as Lord Protector for Edward
VI until the young king came of age in 1547.
Somerset's successor, John Dudley, 1st Duke of
Northumberland, sent the architectural
scholar John Shute to Italy to study the style.
Shute published the first book in English on
classical architecture in 1570. The first English
houses in the new style were Burghley
House (1550s–1580s) and Longleat, built by
associates of Somerset. With those buildings, a
new age of architecture began in England.
Gothic architecture survived the early modern
period and flourished again in a revival from the
late 18th century and throughout the
19th. Perpendicular was the first Gothic style
revived in the 18th century.
28 | P a g e
Elements of gothic
architecture
Pointed arches
The defining characteristic 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.
Gothic rib vaults covered the nave, and pointed
arches were commonly used for the arcades,
windows, doorways, in the tracery, and
especially in the later Gothic styles decorating
the façades. They were also sometimes used for
more practical purposes, such as to bring
transverse vaults to the same height as diagonal
vaults, as in the nave and aisles of Durham
Cathedral, built in 1093.
Rib vaults
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.
These ribs directed the thrust outwards to the
corners of the vault, and downwards via slender
colonettes and bundled columns, to the pillars
and columns below. The space between the ribs
was filled with thin panels of small pieces of
stone, which were much lighter than earlier
groin vaults. The outward thrust against the
walls was countered by the weight of buttresses
and later flying buttresses. As a result, the
massive thick walls of Romanesque buildings
were no longer needed; Since the vaults were
supported by the columns and piers, the walls
could be thinner and higher, and filled with
windows.
Columns and piers
In Early French Gothic architecture, the capitals
of the columns were modeled after Roman
columns of the Corinthian order, with finely-
sculpted leaves. They were used in the
ambulatory of the Abbey church of Saint-Denis.
According to its builder, the Abbot Suger, they
were inspired by the columns he had seen in the
29 | P a g e
ancient baths in Rome. They were used later at
Sens, at Notre-Dame de Paris and at Canterbury
in England.
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.
These clustered columns were used at Chartres,
Amiens, Reims and Bourges, Westminster
Abbey and Salisbury Cathedral. Another
variation was a quadrilobe column, shaped like a
clover, formed of four attached columns. in
England, the clustered columns were often
ornamented with stone rings, as well as columns
with carved leaves.
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.
Buttresses had existed since Roman times,
usually set directly against the building, but the
Gothic vaults were more sophisticated. In later
structures, the buttresses often had several
arches, each reaching in to a different level of
the structure. The buttresses permitted the
buildings to be both taller, and to have thinner
walls, with greater space for windows.
Over time, the buttresses and pinnacles became
more elaborate supporting statues and other
decoration, as at Beauvais Cathedral and Reims
Cathedral. The arches had an additional practical
purpose; they contained lead channels which
carried rainwater off the roof; it was expelled
from the mouths of stone gargoyles placed in
rows on the buttresses.
Towers and pierces
30 | P a g e
 Trace

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 symbolized 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. Sometimes the bell tower is built
separate from a church; the best-known example
of this is the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
The towers of cathedrals were usually the last
part of the structure to be built. Since cathedral
construction usually took many years, and was
extremely expensive, by the time the tower were
to be built public enthusiasm waned, and tastes
changed. Many projected towers were never
built, or were built in different styles than other
parts of the cathedral, or with different styles on
each level of the tower. At Chartres Cathedral, By Eyasu Erkie
the south tower was built in the 12th century, in Tracery is an architectural solution by which
the simpler Early Gothic, while the north tower windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are
is the more highly decorated Flamboyant style. divided into sections of various proportions by
Chartres would have been even more exuberant stone bars or ribs of molding. Pointed arch
if the second plan had been followed; it called windows of Gothic buildings were initially (late
for seven towers around the transept and 12th–late 13th centuries) lancet windows, a
sanctuary. solution typical of the Early Gothic or First
In the Île-de-France, cathedral towers followed Pointed style and of the Early
the Romanesque tradition of two identical English Gothic. Plate tracery was the first type
towers, one on either side of the portals. The of tracery to be developed, emerging in the later
west front of the Saint-Denis, became the model phase of Early Gothic or First Pointed. Second
for the early Gothic cathedrals and High Gothic Pointed is distinguished from First by the
cathedrals in northern France, including Notre- appearance of bar–tracery, allowing the
Dame de Paris, Reims Cathedral, and Amiens construction of much larger window openings,
Cathedral. and the development of Curvilinear, Flowing,
and Reticulated tracery, ultimately contributing
to the Flamboyant style. Late Gothic in most of
Europe saw tracery patterns
resembling lace develop, while in
England Perpendicular Gothic or Third
Pointed preferred plainer vertical mullions and

31 | P a g e
transoms. Tracery is practical as well as
decorative, because the increasingly large
windows of Gothic buildings needed maximum
support against the wind.
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.
NOTER-DAM CATHEDRAL PLAN
Elevation and height
 Gothic architecture was a continual search for
greater height, thinner walls, and more light.
This was clearly illustrated in the evolving
elevations of the cathedrals.
An important characteristic of Gothic church
architecture is its height, both absolute and in
proportion to its width, the verticality suggesting
an aspiration to Heaven. The increasing height
of cathedrals over the Gothic period was
accompanied by an increasing proportion of the
wall devoted to windows, until, by the late
Gothic, the interiors became like cages of glass.
This was made possible by the development of
the flying buttress, which transferred the thrust
of the weight of the roof to the supports outside
the walls. As a result, the walls gradually
became thinner and higher, and masonry was
replaced with glass. The four-part elevation of
the naves of early Cathedrals such as Notre-
Dame (arcade, tribune, triforium, clerestory) was
transformed in the choir of Beauvais
Cathedral to very tall arcades, a thin triforium,
and soaring windows up to the roof.
32 | P a g e

West Front
Churches traditionally face east, with the altar at
the east, and the west front, or facade, was
considered the most important entrance. Gothic
facades were adapted from the model of the
Romanesque facades.] The facades usually had
three portals, or doorways, leading into the nave.
Over each doorway was a tympanum, a work of
sculpture crowded with figures. The sculpture of
the central tympanum was devoted to the Last
Judgement, that to the left to the Virgin Mary,
and that to the right to the Saints honoured at
that particular cathedral. In the early Gothic, the
columns of the doorways took the form of
statues of saints, making them literally "pillars
of the church".
In the early Gothic, the facades were
characterized by height, elegance, harmony,
unity, and a balance of proportions. They
followed the doctrine expressed by
Saint Thomas Aquinas that beauty was a
"harmony of contrasts." Following the model of
Saint-Denis and later Notre-Dame de Paris, the
facade was flanked by two towers proportional
to the rest of the facade, which balanced the
horizontal and vertical elements. Early Gothic
facades often had a small rose window placed
above the central portal. In England the rose
window was often replaced by several lancet
windows.
East end
Cathedrals and churches were traditionally
constructed with the altar at the east end, so that
the priest and congregation faced the rising sun
during the morning liturgy. The sun was
considered the symbol of Christ and the Second
Coming, a major theme in Cathedral sculpture.
The portion of the church east of altar is the
choir, reserved for members of the clergy. There
is usually a single or double ambulatory, or
aisle, around the choir and east end, so
parishioners and pilgrims could walk freely
easily around east end.
In Romanesque churches, the east end was very
dark, due to the thick walls and small windows.
In the ambulatory the Basilica of Saint Denis.
33 | P a g e
Abbot Suger first used the novel combination rib
vaults and buttresses to replace the thick walls
and replace them with stained glass, opening up
that portion of the church to what he considered
"divine light".
In French Gothic churches, the east end,
or chevet, often had an apse, a semi-circular
projection with a vaulted or domed roof. The
chevet of large cathedrals frequently had a ring
of radiating chapels, placed between the
buttresses to get maximum light. There are three
such chapels at Chartres Cathedral, seven at
Notre Dame de Paris, Amiens Cathedral, Prague
Cathedral and Cologne Cathedral, and nine
at Basilica of Saint Anthony of Padua in Italy. In
England, the east end is more often rectangular,
and gives access to a separate and large Lady
Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Lady
Chapels were also common in Italy.
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."
In Early Gothic churches, following the
Romanesque tradition, sculpture appeared on the
facade or west front in the triangular tympanum
over the central portal. Gradually, as the style
evolved, the sculpture became more and more
prominent, taking over the columns of the
portal, and gradually climbing above the portals,
until statues in niches covered the entire facade,
as in Wells Cathedral, to the transepts, and, as at
Amiens Cathedral, even on the interior of the
facade.
Gargoyles
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. The strix appeared in classical
Roman literature; it was described by the Roman
poet Ovid, who was widely read in the Middle
Ages, as a large-headed bird with transfixed
eyes, rapacious beak, and greyish white wings.
They were part of the visual message for the
34 | P a g e
illiterate worshippers, symbols of the evil and
danger that threatened those who did not follow
the teachings of the church.
Rose stained windows
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."
Religious teachings in the Middle Ages,
particularly the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius
the Areopagite, a 6th-century mystic whose
book, De Coelesti Hierarchia, was popular
among monks in France, taught that all light was
divine. When the Abbot Suger ordered the
reconstruction of choir of the his abbey church
at Saint-Denis, he had the builders create
seventy windows, admitting as much light as
possible, as the means by which the faithful
could be elevated from the material world to the
immaterial world.
The placement of the windows was also
determined by religious doctrine. The windows
on the north side, frequently in the shade, had
windows depicting the Old Testament. The
windows of the east, corresponding to the
direction of the sunrise, had images of Christ
and scenes from the New Testament.
In the Early Gothic, period. the glass was
particularly thick and was deeply coloured with
metal oxides; cobalt for blue, copper for a ruby
red, iron for green, and antimony for yellow.
The process of making the windows was
described detail by the 12th-century monk
known as Theophilus Presbyter. The glass of
each colour was melted with the oxide, blown,
shaped into small sheets, cracked with a hot iron
into small pieces, and assembled on a large
table. The details were painted onto the glass
in vitreous enamel, then baked in a kiln to fuse
the enamel on the glass. The pieces were fit into
a framework of thin lead strips, and then put into
a more solid frame or iron armatures between
the panels. The finished window was set into the
stone opening. Thin vertical and horizontal bars
of iron, called vergettes or barlotierres, were
placed inside the window to reinforce the glass
against the wind.
The use of iron rods between the panels of glass
and a framework of stone mullions, or ribs,
made it possible to create much larger windows.
The three rose windows at Chartres (1203–1240)
each were more than 12 m (40 ft) in diameter.
Larger windows also appeared at York
Minster (1140–1160) and Canterbury Cathedral
(1178–1200)
The stained glass windows were extremely
complex and expensive to create. King Louis
IX paid for the rose windows in the transept of
Notre-Dame de Paris, but other windows were
35 | P a g e
financed by the contributions of the professions
or guilds of the city. These windows usually had
a panel which illustrated the work of the guild
which funded it, such as
the drapers, stonemasons, or coopers.
What influences Gothic architecture ?
The Gothic style of architecture was strongly
influenced by the Romanesque architecture
which preceded it; by the growing population
and wealth of European cities, and by the desire
to express national grandeur. It was also
influenced by theological doctrines which called
for more light, by technical improvements in
vaulting and buttresses that allowed much
greater height and larger windows, and by the
necessity of many churches to accommodate
large numbers of pilgrims.
Decline of gothic architecture
Beginning in the 16th century, as Renaissance
architecture from Italy began to appear in France
and other countries in Europe, the dominance of
Gothic architecture began to wane. Nonetheless,
new Gothic buildings, particularly churches,
continued to be built.
New Gothic churches built in Paris in this period
included Saint-Merri (1520–1552) and Saint-
Germain l'Auxerrois. The first signs of
classicism in Paris churches did not appear until
1540, at Saint-Gervais-Saint-Protais. The largest
new church, Saint-Eustache (1532–1560),
rivalled Notre-Dame in size, 105 m (344 ft)
long, 44 m (144 ft) wide, and 35 m (115 ft) high.
As construction of this church continued,
elements of Renaissance decoration, including
the system of classical orders of columns, were
added to the design, making it a Gothic-
Renaissance hybrid.
The Gothic style began to be described as
outdated, ugly and even barbaric. The term
"Gothic" was first used as
a pejorative description. Giorgio Vasari used the
term "barbarous German style" in his 1550 Lives
of the Artists to describe what is now considered
the Gothic style. In the introduction to
the Lives he attributed various architectural
features to the Goths whom he held responsible
for destroying the ancient buildings after they
conquered Rome, and erecting new ones in this
style. In the 17th century, Molière also mocked
the Gothic style in the 1669 poem La Gloire:
"...the insipid taste of Gothic ornamentation,
these odious monstrosities of an ignorant age,
produced by the torrents of barbarism..." The
dominant styles in Europe became in turn Italian
Renaissance architecture, Baroque architecture,
and the grand classicism of the style Louis XIV.
Material during Gothic period
Using radiocarbon dating on metal found in
Gothic cathedrals, an interdisciplinary team
has shown, for the first time through
absolute dating, that iron was used to
reinforce stone from the construction
phase.
36 | P a g e
This innovative method could improve interdisciplinary team of French researchers
understanding of medieval buildings in has, for the first time, successfully used
Europe, such as the Sainte-Chapelle, as well radiocarbon dating to reliably determine
as in Asia, such as the temples of Angkor. the age of iron in cathedrals. By combining
their expertise (in archeology, history,
Gothic architecture, which flourished from materials science, chemistry), they have
the middle of the twelfth century around proven that the metal reinforcements were
Paris, included considerable amounts of integrated as a supplement to stone from
iron or steel reinforcements, as shown by the initial design phase.
historical and archeological investigation.
However, cathedrals are living buildings,
which, over the centuries, have undergone
building projects for the purposes of
modification, reparation or conservation.
Consequently, if certain architectural and
technological evidence suggested that the
metal was part of the initial design, the date
of its assimilation was still debated. Now an

Compare and contrast gothic and Romanesque Architecture

37 | P a g e
 Structural
# Romanesque Gothic Developments
elements

The pointed Gothic

arch varied from a
1 Arches Round Pointed
very sharp form, to a
wide, flattened form.

Ribbed vaults
appeared in the
2 Vaults Barrel or groin Ribbed Romanesque era and
were elaborated in
the Gothic era.

Wall structure
diminished during
Thick, with Thinner, with the Gothic era to a
3 Walls
small openings large openings framework of
mullions supporting
windows.

Complex Gothic
Wall buttresses
Wall buttresses buttresses supported
of high
4 Buttresses of low the high vaults and
projection, and
projection. the walls pierced
flying buttresses
with windows

Structural
# Romanesque Gothic Developments
elements

38 | P a g e
 Gothic windows
Round arches, Pointed arches,
varied from simple
5 Windows sometimes often with
lancet form to ornate
paired tracery
flamboyant patterns

Cylindrical Cylindrical and Columns and piers

Piers and columns, clustered developed increasing
6
columns rectangular columns, complexity during
piers complex piers the Gothic era

The Gothic gallery

Two openings Two pointed
Gallery became increasingly
7 under an arch, openings under a
arcades complex and unified
paired. pointed arch
with the clerestory

39 | P a g e
 Romanesque period

Pisa Cathedral |
A medieval Roman Catholic cathedral,
building style known as Pisan Romanesque,
is situated in the Piazza Dei Miracoli, a
Cathedral Square in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy. It
was erected outside Pisa’s medieval walls,
has various stylish elements such as
classical, Byzantine, Islamic, and Lombard-
Emilian. The original plan was a Greek
cross but today’s plan has a Latin cross
with a nave on center with two aisles on
Chapter 3 each side with apse and transepts having
three naives.

famous architectural The exterior decoration is lavish with

mosaic, multicolored marble, high arches
buildings of Gothic with Islamic and southern Italian influence,
blind arches with lozenge shapes, and
and Romanesque numerous bronze objects.

Period The interior is covered with white and black

marble with monolithic grey marble
columns having Corinthian capitals and a
wooden 17th-century coffered ceiling
painted and decorated with gold leaf.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Tower of Pisa is a freestanding bell
tower of the Pisa Cathedral is a Romanesque

40 | P a g e
Architecture example famous for its four-
degree lean. The tower heights about 183
feet on the lower side and 185 feet on the
higher side with the weight estimated to be
14,500 metric tons. The north-facing
staircase has around 296 steps.
Got
hic period
A pan-European style that lasted between
the mid-12th Century and the 16th Century,
Gothic art and architecture was actually
developed to bring sunshine into people's
lives, and especially into their churches.
Growing out of the Romanesque
architectural style, a medieval aesthetic
characterized by arches, vaulted ceilings,
and small stained glass windows, it
represented giant steps away from the
previous, relatively basic building systems
that had prevailed. The gothic style adopted
and adapted the main elements of the
Romanesque one to produce a new style of
building that featured exaggerated arches,
increased vaulting, and enlarged windows.
Becoming taller and taller, these cathedrals
and churches were supposed to evoke
ethereality and reach toward the heavens.
The Gothic architecture introduced heavy
use of cavernous spaces with walls broken
up by overlaid tracery, with the most
fundamental element being the pointed arch.
This relieved some of the thrust, and
therefore the stress on other structural
elements, allowing to reduce the size of the
columns or piers that supported the arch
which became more slender. Buildings
became more delicate with thinner walls due
to the introduction of the flying buttresses
that were used for support.
Another main feature of the style were
kaleidoscopic stained glass windows made
of meticulously cut colored glass. Larger
than those found in other types of churches,
these windows allowed the architects to let
in more dazzling light.
The Gothic style introduced fantastic
examples of vaulting and ornamentation.
The architects began utilizing a new method
of ribbed vaulting, involving the use of
intersecting barrel vaults. Ornate decorative
elements included embellished colonnades
and colonettes, sculptural moldings, statues
of saints and historical figures, pinnacles
and spires, and gargoyles, grotesque figures
that double as water spouts.
Developed over four centuries, Gothic
architecture went through several periods.
Early Gothic art lasted between 1130 and
1200, with notable examples being the
Abbey of St-Denis, Sens Cathedral and
Chartres Cathedral; Rayonnant Gothic lasted
between 1250 and 1370s, with notable
examples being the chapel of Sainte-
Chapelle and Notre Dame; and Flamboyant
Gothic lasted between 1350 and 1550, with
notable examples including the Rouen
Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle de
Vincennes.
Below, find the most renowned examples of
Gothic art and architecture across Europe
41 | P a g e

The Milan Cathedral
Telling a story of faith and Gothic art
spanning over six centuries, the Milan
Cathedral, or the Duomo di Milano, is the
largest church in Italy, the third-largest in
Europe and the fifth-largest in the world.
The construction work on the Duomo of
Milan probably began in 1386, in the area of
the ancient basilicas of Santa Maria
Maggiore and Santa Tecla. It took six
centuries to complete, resulting in a number
of contrasting styles. The plan consists of a
nave with four side-aisles, which forms the
highest Gothic vaults of a complete church,
while the roof of the building is renowned
for the forest of openwork pinnacles and
spires, set upon delicate flying buttresses.
Notre Dame, Paris
One of the most famous of the Gothic
cathedrals of the Middle Ages, the Notre
Dame of Paris, France is distinguished for
its size, antiquity, and architectural interest.
It was consecrated to the Virgin Mary, with
its name meaning Our Lady of Paris.
Today considered to be one of the finest
examples of French Gothic artwork and
architecture, it is renowned for its
pioneering use of the rib vault and flying
buttress, its enormous and colorful rose
windows, as well as naturalism and
abundance of its sculptural decoration. It
consists of a choir and apse, a short transept,
a nave flanked by double aisles and square
chapels and a central spire. On its exterior, it
has a range of small statues, all individually
crafted.
The Saint Denis Basilica
A building of singular importance, the
Basilica of Saint-Denis is the earliest
masterpiece of French Gothic architecture.
A royal abbey and major pilgrimage site in
the Middle Ages, the Basilica Cathedral in
Saint-Denis, France assumed its principal
role as the burial place for the kings of
France as early as the 6th century. Its
architecture the features of Norman
architecture, rib vaults, to those of
Burgundian style, pointed arches, hence
giving birth to Gothic architecture style and
serving as a model to the main Gothic
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cathedrals in France in the 13th century. It
has a central nave with lower aisles and
clerestory windows, with an additional aisle
on the northern side formed of a row of
chapels. It is renowned for its stained glass
which dates from many different periods.

The Chartres Cathedral

Also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of
Chartres, the Chartres Cathedral in France
was partly built starting in 1145 and then
reconstructed over a 26-year period after the
fire of 1194.

Saint Vitus Cathedral, Prague

Constructed over a time span of almost 600

Marking the high point of French Gothic art,
it is renowned for the vast nave, in pure
ogival style, the porches adorned with fine
sculptures from the middle of the 12th
century, and the magnificent 12th- and 13th-
century stained-glass windows. Heavy
flying buttresses allowed the architects to
increase the window size significantly, while
the west end is dominated by two
contrasting spires. With all the features
miraculously preserved from the ravages of
humankind and time, it is certainly one of
the most admirable and best-preserved
examples of Gothic art and architecture.
years, the Saint Vitus Cathedral in Prague is
central to the religious and cultural life of
the Czech Republic.
Regarded as one of the most richly endowed
cathedrals in central Europe, it houses
treasures that range from the 14th-century
mosaic of the Last Judgement and the tombs
of St Wenceslas and Charles IV, to the
baroque silver tomb of St John of Nepomuk,
the ornate Chapel of St Wenceslas and art
nouveau stained glass by Alphonse Mucha.
Its construction began in 1344, when the
overall layout of the building, which was an
import of French Gothic, was built.
Renaissance and baroque details were added
over the following centuries.

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Town Hall, Brussels

An elegant building dating back to the 15th

century, the Town Hall in Brussels is the
only remaining medieval building of the
Grand Place and is considered a masterpiece
of civil Gothic architecture and more
particularly of Brabantine Gothic.

A work of several architects, it is

particularly imposing due to its size, its
remarkable sculpted decorations and its
asymmetrical facade. Its east wing, together
with a shorter belfry, is the oldest part of the
building. The facade is decorated with
gothic artwork comprised of numerous
statues representing nobles, saints, and
allegorical figures, which are reproductions
of the original ones which are now housed in
the city museum in the King's House across
the Grand Place.

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