INTRODUCTION

Gothic art originated around 1140 in the Ile-de, France. Initially confined to the cathedrals and
the most important abbeys of this region, it was soon to be regarded as a model for the rest of
France and finally for Europe as a whole. The new style was not solely confined to the sacral
domain, but rather increasingly invaded the secular and private spheres.
Gothic is the first art-historical epoch from which art works of all genres have survived.
Prominent among these remarkable works are the numerous richly-varied cathedrals, the
abbeys and town churches with their sequences of sculptures, colorful windows, wall
paintings, gold work and book illuminations. Alongside these, the diverse town sites, the
castles and palaces with their elaborate and artistic furnishings, continue to amaze the modern
viewer.
Abbot Suger of St.-Denis: The Beginnings of Gothic
Gothic is of French origin. It emerged around 1140 in the small kingdom, which already bore
the name Francia, that occupied the area between Compiegne and Bourges, and that had Paris,
the royal city, as its center.
It was here, at a place important because of its historical significance, that Abbot Suger, through
the work on his abbey (1137-44), became the initiator of a new spatial order for church building.
For the first time, and along with other innovative measures, he and his architect closely united
elements of Burgundian architecture (the pointed arch) and Norman architecture (rib vaults). By
doing so, he became, in effect, the "creator of Gothic.”

ELEMENTS OF RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

Basilica
The basilica type of church is constructed with a nave and at least two side aisles, the nave
and aisles being separated by arcades. The nave is higher than the aisles so that it can be lit by
its own source of light, the clerestory. If a high nave is not lit with upper windows in this way, the
church is referred to as a pseudo-basilica.
The considerable height of the Gothic basilica nave is as a rule supported on the outside by
buttressing (Reims), though not always (Magdeburg). Basilicas can have up to six aisles
(Antwerp).
Hall Church
This type of church has aisles that are as high, or nearly as high, as the nave. The hall church
usually has a nave and two aisles, the nave receiving its light indirectly from large windows in the
aisle walls. If the nave is higher than the side aisles, the church is referred to as a stepped hall
church. Hall churches can have as many as two aisles on each side of the nave (St. Peter's,
Lubeck). Since the aisles support one another, there is no need for external buttresses.
Centrally Planned Church
In contrast to basilicas and hall churches, which are constructed along a horizontal axis, centrally
planned churches are designed around a single central point. Centrally planned churches are
round or polygonal (from hexagonal to any number of angles). A church built on a Greek cross
plan (with four equal arms) is also considered to be centrally planned.
Vault
A vault is a curved ceiling or roof made of stone or brick. In Gothic architecture, ribs were
used in place of roof hips. The ribs can be part of the load-bearing structure or purely decorative.
In terms of their form, a distinction is made between cross rib and reticulated or stellar vaults.
Tracery
Tracery is a decorative system of slender, intersecting stone bars which form a geometrical
or flowing pattern in Gothic windows. Originally developed only for dividing the crown of large
windows, it became increasingly intricate and was later used not only on windows but also on wall
surfaces, gablets, gables, etc. The basic forms of tracery are the foil (trefoil, quatrefoil to
multifoil) and the vesica, an oval with a pointed head and foot, which occurs only in Late Gothic
architecture. Window tracery usually consists of a crown couronnement supported by mullions.
Rood Screen and Choir Screen
The rood screen is a dividing wall between the choir and the nave, its purpose being to
separate the monks and clergy in the choir from the laity in the nave. In many cases the
rood screen is extended by arcades placed in front of it so that a low "transverse building" arises
in front of the presbytery. Below rood screens there are 8 sometimes altars. The top of the rood
screens could serve as a platform, for singers for example, usually set behind a tracery parapet.
Choir screens are low walls that separate the choir from the ambulatory. In polygonal choir
screens these walls are occasionally pierced or even constructed with railings.

ARCHITECTURAL BACKGROUND
It can be argued that the foundation stone of Gothic architecture was laid on July 14, 1140. For
it was on that day, a few kilometers to the north of Paris, that the rebuilding of the choir of the
Benedictine church of St.-Denis was begun at the instigation of Abbot Suger. A work of the highest
artistic achievement, the choir harmoniously integrates the elements and motifs we now consider
characteristically Gothic, and thus effectively established the basis for the emergence of the style.
Suger himself had already started a new façade for the western end of the church of St.-Denis.
Though not strictly Gothic, this façade fits perfectly into the context of architectural
renovations taking place at the time in Paris and the surrounding areas. So the choir of St.-
Denis should be seen not as the entirely novel starting point of Gothic, but rather as the major
catalyst for a movement that had begun a few years earlier. This can clearly be seen in the use
of rib vaults, which were to become one of the most important features of Gothic architecture.
The technical and aesthetic possibilities of this vaulting system appear to have been recognized
shortly after 1100 in several parts of Europe, notably in north Italy, in Speyer in the Upper Rhine,
and also in Durham in England, from where it found its way into Normandy.
The architects of the Ile-de-France learned of it there and used it around 1140, for example in
the church of St.-Etienne in Beauvais, on the border with Normandy. At about the same time
the interior space immediately behind the façade of the Cluniac priory at St.-Leud'Esserent on
the Oise was given rib vaults. And in the abbey church of Notre-Dame in Morienval, which was
probably renovated shortly after the reception of the relics of St. Annobertus in 1122, this new
style of vaulting was installed in a particularly original way.

INFLUENCING FACTORS
Political

The roots of the Gothic style lie in those towns that, since the 11th century, had been enjoying
increased prosperity and growth, began to experience more and more freedom from traditional
feudal authority. At the end of the 12th century, Europe was divided into a multitude of city
states and kingdoms.

The area encompassing modern Germany, southern Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium,
Luxembourg, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic and much of northern
Italy (excluding Venice and Papal State) was nominally part of the Holy Roman Empire, but local
rulers exercised considerable autonomy under the system of Feudalism.

Gothic art is sometimes viewed as the art of the era of feudalism but also as being connected
to change in medieval social structure, as the Gothic style of architecture seemed to parallel
the beginning of the decline of feudalism. Nevertheless, the influence of the established feudal
elite can be seen in the Chateaux of French lords and in those churches sponsored by feudal
lords.

Religious

The geographical expanse of the Gothic style is analogous to that of the Catholic Church,
which prevailed across Europe at this time and influenced not only faith but also wealth and
power. Bishops were appointed by the feudal lords (Kings, Dukes, and other landowners) and
they often ruled as virtual princes over large estates. The early Medieval periods had seen a
rapid growth in monasticism, with several different orders being prevalent and spreading their
influence widely.
The primary use of the Gothic style is in religious structures, naturally leading it to an
association with the Church and it is considered to be one of the most formal and coordinated
forms of the physical church, thought of as being the physical residence of God on Earth.

According to Hans Sedlmayr, it was “even the considered the temporal image of Paradise,
of the New Jerusalem.” The horizontal and vertical scope of the Gothic church, filled with the
light thought of as a symbol of the grace of God admitted into the structure via the style’s iconic
windows are among the very best examples of Christian architecture.

Grodecki’s Gothic Architecture also notes that the glass pieces of various colors that make
up those windows have been compared to “precious stones encrusting the walls of the New
Jerusalem,” and that “the numerous towers and pinnacles evoke similar structures that
appear in the visions of Saint John.” Another idea, held by Georg Dehio and Erwin Panofsky,
is that the designs of Gothic followed the current theological scholastic thought.

Geographic

From the 10th to the 13th century, Romanesque architecture had become a pan-European
style and manner of construction, affecting buildings in countries as far apart as Ireland and
Croatia, and Sweden and Sicily. The same wide geographic area was then affected by the
development of Gothic architecture, but the acceptance of the Gothic style and methods of
construction differed from place to place, as did the expressions of Gothic taste.

The proximity of some regions meant that modern country borders did not define divisions of style.
On the other hand, some regions such as England and Spain produced defining characteristics
rarely seen elsewhere, except where they have been carried by itinerant craftsmen, or the transfer
of bishops.

For example, studies of the population statistics reveal disparities such as the multitude of
churches, abbeys, and cathedrals in northern France while in more urbanised regions
construction activity of a similar scale was reserved to a few important cities. Such an example
comes from Roberto López, wherein the French city of Amiens was able to fund its
architectural projects whereas Cologne could not because of the economic inequality of
the two.

Geological

In northern Germany, Netherlands, northern Poland, Denmark, and the Baltic countries local
building stone was unavailable but there was a strong tradition of building in brick. The
resultant style, Brick Gothic, called Gotyk ceglany in Poland and Backsteingotik in Germany
and Scandinavia. The style is also associated with the Hanseatic League.

In Italy, stone was used for fortifications, so brick was preferred for other buildings. Because
of the extensive and varied deposits of marble, many buildings were faced in marble, or were
left with undecorated façade so that this might be achieved at a later date. The availability of
timber also influenced the style of architecture, with timber buildings prevailing in
Scandinavia. Availability of timber affected methods of roof construction across Europe.

Climatic
However, as rain, snow, cloudier weather, and colder temperatures became more prevalent
in the north, architects were compelled to design churches and cathedrals that would provide
more interior lighting (larger windows) and better roofing. The Gothic style, with its pointed
spires, high inclination roofs, large, symmetric windows, and efficient drainage system in the form
of gargoyles, was more suitable the Little Ice Age climate of Northern Europe. When the
Gothic style was used in Mediterranean countries it often took on vastly different qualities, and
many of these southern Gothic churches were similar to the Romanesque and Early Gothic
designs from the Medieval Warm Period.
In addition to linking international architectural style changes in Medieval Europe to
climactic patterns, this study tracks the regional shifts in architectural styles still visible today,
such as the differences between Gothic windows in France versus Gothic windows in Italy,
as well as style changes over time (such as the expansion of window size and reduction of
deep color stain glass usage from the high to late Medieval eras in northern Europe, as well as
the slow progression of gargoyles from northern to southern France at the onset of the Little
Ice Age).
Possible Eastern Influence

The pointed arch, one of the defining attributes of Gothic, was earlier incorporated into Islamic
architecture following the Islamic conquests of Roman Syria and the Sassanid Empire in the 7th
century. The pointed arch and its precursors had been employed in Late Roman and
Sassanian architecture; within the Roman context, evidenced in early church building in Syria
and occasional secular structures, like the Roman Karamagara Bridge; in Sassanid architecture,
in the parabolic and pointed arches employed in palace and sacred construction. Use of the
pointed arch seems to have taken off dramatically after its incorporation into Islamic architecture.

Romanesque Tradition

By the 12th century, Romanesque architecture, termed Norman Gothic in England, was
established throughout Europe and provided the basic architectural forms and units that were to
remain in evolution throughout the Medieval period. The important categories of building: the
cathedral, parish church, monastery, castle, palace, great hall, gatehouse, and civic
building had been established in the Romanesque period.

Many architectural features that are associated with Gothic architecture had been developed and
used by the architects of Romanesque buildings, but not fully exploited. These include ribbed
vaults, buttresses, clustered columns, ambulatories, wheel windows, spires, stained glass
windows, and richly carved door tympana. These features, namely the rib vault and the
pointed arch, had been used since the late 11th century in Southern Italy, Durham, and Picardy.

It was principally the widespread introduction of a single feature, the pointed arch, which was to
bring about the change that separates Gothic from Romanesque. The technological change
permitted a stylistic change which broke the tradition of massive masonry and solid walls
penetrated by small openings, replacing it with a style where light appears to triumph over
substance.

Transition from Romanesque to Gothic Architecture

Gothic architecture did not emerge from a dying Romanesque tradition, but from a Romanesque
style at the height of its popularity, and it would supplant it for many years. This shift in style
beginning in the mid-12th century came about in an environment of much intellectual and
political development as the Catholic Church began to grow into a very powerful political entity.

Other characteristics of early Gothic architecture, such as vertical shafts, clustered columns,
compound piers, plate tracery and groups of narrow openings had evolved during the
Romanesque period. The west front of Ely Cathedral exemplifies this development. Internally
the three tiered arrangement of arcade, gallery and clerestory was established. Interiors had
become lighter with the insertion of more and larger windows.

Salient Features

1. Architectural Character
a. Plans—Latin cross plan oftentimes with chevet; long and narrow with central – towers, or short
and wide.
b. Hall churches were predominant.
c. Rich intricate wooden moldings and elaborate screen work
d. Traceried circular and lancet windows with stained glass
e. Human figure as unit of scale in doorways and statues

2. Structural
a. The development and modification of quadripartite rib vaulting and the pointed arch
b. The flying buttress principle or the equilibrium principle based on the proper adjustment
of thrust and counterthrust

Methods of Construction

1. The application of static loads was extended by using small pieces of stones laid in courses
with thick mortar joints to obtain the greatest amount of stability and elasticity by means of
voussoirs and bosses or keystones.
2. Flying buttresses had pinnacles to take care of the horizontal component of the load from
the roof or vault.
Contributions of Gothic Architecture

1. The pointed arch

2. The flying buttress
3. The evolution of quadruplicate vaulting
4. The rose window
5. The extensive use of elaborate traceried stained glass windows
FRENCH GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
I. Influences
1. Geographical
The River Loire divided France into two parts and somehow influenced the architectural
character during 12th to 16th century.
2. Geological
Materials used were the same as in the Romanesque period due to an abundance of excellent
building stone in France.
II. Salient Features
1. Architectural Character
a. 12th century (Lancettes) pointed arch, geometric traceried windows
b. 13th century (Rayonnat) rose and wheel windows with wheel tracery
c. 14th, 15th, and 16th century (Flamboyant) flame-like window tracery
d. Plans—Cathedrals are short, wide and lofty; length – about 4x width; semicircular chevet
apse with its chapels and double processional aisles.
e. Lofty, vaults, western towers and turrets, tapering spires and pinnacles and high pitched slate
roofs
f. Flying buttresses; circular or rose windows; dormer windows on gabled roof
g. Gothic spiral staircase of Louis XII

2. Structural
a. The flying buttress with pinnacles
b. The development of quadruplicate vaulting held by a network of iron-tie rods
c. The slender timber “fleche” on the roof

3. Decorative
a. The invention and use of stained glass on rose windows.
b. The use of gargoyles to throw off water from the roof.
c. The use of decorative figure sculpture in niches and the use of ornamental mouldings like
crockets on spires and finials on dormer window.

III. Contributions of French Gothic Architecture

1. Pointed arch
2. Flying Buttress
3. Quadripartite vaulting
4. Circular Traceried Windows
5. Chateaux or country houses
6. Hotels de Ville

IV. Examples
1. Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris by Bishop de Sully
2. Amiens Cathedral by Robert de Luzarches
3. Rheims Cathedral by Bernard de Soissons
4. Chartres Cathedral
ENGLISH GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE/ ENGLISH MEDIAEVAL ARCHITECTURE
I. Influences
1. Geographical
Political contacts with France and Norman and Early English architecture influenced the style in the
British Isles from the 12th to 16th century.
2. Geological
Materials; flints, bath stone, bricks, timber and marble, and Purbeck stone

II. Salient Features

1. Architectural Character
a. Early English Period – known as “Lancet” style or First Pointed. Lancet windows, quadripartite
vaulting, ploughshare twist, arch mouldings with foliage, dog-tooth ornaments
b. Decorated Period – Second pointed style. Stellar vaulting or “lierne” vaulting, carved bosses or
keystones, window tracery and stained glass traceried windows. Richly decorated and web-like
appearance, extremely ornamental
c. Perpendicular Period -- Third pointed or Rectilinear style. Fan and pendant palm or conoidal
vaulting, walls with tracery like panels, slender columns. Lavish ornamentation, strong geometry.
Horizontal transoms on windows, mullions and silver stain on Gothic glass.
d. Tutor Period Late Perpendicular Gothic style. Tudor or four-centered arch with lancet shaped
windows and the drop arch form
e. Elizabeth period – Early Renaissance Style
f. English Medieval -- open timber roof
1) Trussed rafter roof
2) Tie-beam roof
3) Collar braced roof
4) Hammer-beam roof
5) Aisle roof
g. Plans—Cathedrals are long and narrow; cloisters are common, with or without chevet apse; length
about 6x width; bold projecting transepts with secondary transeptsh. Central towers on churches,
usually 3 towers; angle turret or bartizan; lead covered roof to let smoke from hearth escape.
2. Structural

a. Use of piers and projecting buttresses

b. Vaulting for Cathedrals and timber-trussed roof for churches
c. Rubble walls are plastered with thin limestone.
3. Decorative
a. Use of crenellated parapets
b. Polychromatic pointed decorations
c. Stained glass traceried windows
d. Traceries on parclose screen, chantry screen, and rood screens and reredos at altar
III. Contributions of English Gothic Architecture

1. The fan and pendant vaulting

2. Perpendicular tracery
3. English Medieval open timber roof
4. Manor house
5. The adaption of long and narrow plan for Cathedrals with prominently projecting transepts
IV. Examples
1. Cathedrals 3) Rochester Cathedral

a. Old foundation Cathedral c. New foundation

1) York Cathedral 1) Manchester Cathedral
2) Lichfield Cathedral 2) New Castle Cathedral
3) Exeter Cathedral
2. Monasteries and Secular Buildings
b. Monastic foundation a. The Westminster Abbey by Dunstan
1) Canterbury Cathedral b. Old London Bridge
2) Durham Cathedral
GERMAN AND DUTCH GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
I. Influences
1. Geographical
The Rhine River, Rhineland and Westphalia helped spread French influence to all its
surrounding states in the 12th to 16th century.
2. Geological
Netherlands: marbles, limestone, granite, brick, and timber
Germany: timber, stone, and bricks
II. Salient Features
1. Architectural Character
a. Plans—Triapsal plans with chevet for Cathedrals with towers; hall churches without triforium
b. Towers with spires; rose windows; timber vaults
c. Adaption to brick
2. Decorative
a. Tracery or rectilinear wall paneling
III. Contribution of German and Dutch Gothic Architecture
1. “Hall Church” forms without triforium
IV. Examples
1. Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic church in Northern France
2. Antwerp Cathedral by Jean de Boulogne
ITALIAN GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
I. Influences
1. Geographical
Seas and mountains around Italy exposed it to Roman, Greek and Byzantine influences thus
producing a peculiar blend of Medieval architecture.
2. Geological
Materials: white, colored marbles; clay for bricks and terracotta
3. Social
The immigration of Greco-Byzantine artists into Italy enriched and developed its Gothic
architecture.
II. Salient Features
1. Architectural Character
a. Plans—Latin cross plan of churches
b. Small windows without tracery; columnar interior; absence of pinnacles and flying
buttresses except at Milan Cathedral; flat or low pitch roofs; projecting porch or “ringhiera”
supported by slender columns
c. The screen wall of the west façade hides the aisle roof.
d. Vast, lofty, imposing with fine, perspective views
2. Decorative
a. Strips of white and colored marbles inserted between stone layers or brick bands
b. Venetian Gothic design of columned and pointed arcades
c. Lacelike parapet of Oriental cresting
3. Structural
a. The application of tensional principle to domes and vaults by the use of tie-bars
III. Contributions of Italian Gothic Architecture
1. Latin cross plan of churches
2. Use of tie-bars in domes
IV. Examples
1. Milan Cathedral
2. The Doges’ Palace in Venice by Buon
3. Florence Cathedral by Arnolfo di Cambio
4. Siena Cathedral
SPANISH GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
I. Influences
1. Geographical and Geological
Same as Spanish Romanesque to 16th century up to the 12th century.
II. Salient Features
1. Architectural Character
a. Plans—Cathedrals are very wide and short patterned – after the Early Christian basilican
plan; chapels and a parish church is part of the cathedral with cimborio.
b. Traceried open-work spires; large and wide traceried windows; ornately sculptured arcades;
massive piers; octagonal vaults over the crossing and chapels
c. Romanesque and Moorish influence in architectural style as in the horseshoe arch and
pierced stone tracery
2. Structural
a. Single span vaulting over large vast areas
3. Decorative
a. Fine intricate wooden “retablo” and “reredos”
b. Hammered iron pulpits
c. Elaborate screen work and great frilled arches
III. Contributions of Spanish Gothic Architecture
1. Intricate, rich “retablo” and “reredos”
2. Single large span vaulting
IV. Examples
1. Burgos Cathedral
2. Salamanca Old Cathedral
3. Avila Cathedral
4. Toledo Cathedral
5. Seville Cathedral – the largest Gothic or Medieval Cathedral in Europe