worship and prayer, but the beauty and religious

significance of these buildings also attract

visitors who do not share the Christian faith.

These spectacular churches, built using the

resources of the entire community, were and

remain a source of great civic pride. Pilgrims

traveled to Notre Dame Cathedral (4.1.1) in Paris,

France, to worship and to experience a sense of

religious community, both because the building

was so impressive and because it held relics that

Christians considered sacred, such as a piece

of the True Cross on which Jesus Christ was

crucified, a fragment of the Holy Lance used to

pierce his side, and the Crown of Thorns that

the Romans made to mock Christ as King of the

Jews. Pilgrims curious to see these items from

Christ’s Passion also hoped to benefit from their

Patron: an organization or

individual who sponsors the

creation of works of art

Gothic: Western European

architectural style of the

twelfth to the sixteenth

century, characterized by the

use of pointed arches and

ornate decoration

Passion: the arrest, trial,

and execution of Jesus

Christ, and his sufferings

during them

Arches: structures, usually

curved, that span an opening

Stained glass: colored

glass used for windows or

decorative applications

Vaulted: covered with an

arch-shaped ceiling or roof

Nave: the central space of

a cathedral or basilica

4.1.1 Notre Dame

Cathedral, interior,

1163–1250, Île de la Cité,

Paris, France

mystical power. Notre Dame’s grand interior

combines all of the characteristic elements of

Gothic architecture, including pointed arches

and stained-glass windows. The vaulted

ceiling is 102 ft. above the floor and the nave is

more than 39 ft. wide, surrounding receptive

visitors with soaring height and spiritual light to

transport them beyond the cares and concerns

of the ordinary world.

While cathedrals, churches, and other

places of worship have become noteworthy

as centers of community activity, buildings

designed to gather together and entertain

whole communities have existed since

antiquity. Amongst the most famous arenas

of the ancient world was the Colosseum, one

of imperial Rome’s largest public buildings