Previously in this series:
3. Byzantine
4. Romanesque
The style we call ‘Gothic’1 originated toward the middle of the 12th century in the northern part of France, surrounding Paris, called the “Île-de-France”.
(Click on pictures to see larger images)
Fig. 1
The architectural characteristics of the Gothic style resulted from the pursuit of three perceived needs. First, there was a desire to increase the amount of light flowing into churches. Because of their thick heavy walls and supports and small windows the Romanesque churches had been rather dark. Second, a more open plan was desired to better accommodate the needs of the liturgy and larger crowds. Third, there was the somewhat vain and dubious desire to attain spectacular heights. In was in arriving at solutions that the Gothic style emerged.
As the masons accomplished their tasks and increasingly attained the three goals, aesthetic and spiritual interpretations came to mind that were inspired by the results 2. The increased light flowing into the new churches through large stained glass windows began to be understood as a metaphor for divine luminosity.
Fig. 2
The more open spacious plan began to be understood as a metaphor for divine unity and harmony.
Fig. 3
Increased height suggested soaring spirituality.
Fig. 4
These metaphysical interpretations inspired patrons and masons to even greater achievements along the same lines.
Fig. 5
The exteriors of the great Gothic cathedrals appear as huge skeletons to viewers: spiky piers and pinnacles, and soaring buttresses –but no walls, no meat. Where walls would normally be, there are windows. To reach the first two goals of Gothic builders –to admit more light into the church and to open up the interior space—the number and sizes of windows needed to be increased and solid walls and thick bulky supports, decreased.
Fig. 6
The builders did that by concentrating and directing the weight of the vaults and overall structure down more vertical support lines to relatively small points on the ground. By doing that they were able to reduce or even eliminate walls.
Fig. 7
The resulting view from the inside of many of these magnificent structures can often remind people of a birdcage, from the bird’s point of view.
Fig. 8
Not only was more light allowed to flow into the building, and the floor space opened-up, but the structural supports, thinned and lengthened, appeared as vertical lines leading the eyes upward. Furthermore, the increased effectiveness and efficiency in the support or thrust system allowed the construction of ever taller buildings. With this, all three goals were met and resulted in a style of church architecture that has become an icon of Christianity in the West.
The basic architectural form of the Gothic style is the pointed arch. It directs the weight above downward in a more vertical direction than the round Romanesque arch. This allowed for thinner piers and walls 3. The more outward thrust of the round arch required thick piers and walls to keep the arches from caving in.
Fig. 9
The same general principle applies to the pointed Gothic vaults compared to the round Romanesque vaults. The ribs used in Gothic vaults, however, may have had a more functional use in directing stress downward than the more decorative ribs of the round Romanesque groin vaults. The ribs of the Gothic vaults were apparently used to support the placement of the webbing material until the vaults were completed. They directed the stress thrust of the web material down to the vertical piers between the windows. Ribbed vaults are also a major architectural form characteristic of the Gothic style.
Fig. 10
Finally, the so called flying buttress is a prominent architectural characteristic of Gothic. It transferred the stress, weight, or thrust from the interior vaults and piers to ‘flying’ buttresses that flew over the roofs of the side aisles of the building to tower buttresses outside the structure. Some would argue that the buttresses actually work by pushing against the clerestory piers, counteracting the thrust from the vaults and locking the elements into a rigid structure. Whatever the case may be these buttresses lightened the work of the piers inside the building so that they could be less massive.
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Stained glass windows are also, of course, a characteristic of the Gothic style 4. In the quest for more abundant light came the increase in the space devoted to stained glass windows Stained glass was already in use in the Romanesque style. One aspect of the Gothic windows in particular is uniquely Gothic: tracery. Tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the ‘tracing floors’ on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out. There are different types of tracery worthy of study but we will keep it simple here by just illustrating a couple of examples.
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
The Gothic style lasted into the 16th century after passing through different phases or developments. The one country that resisted the Gothic was Italy. The cathedral in Milan was the only really true Gothic church constructed in Italy. Some others make use of pointed arches but do not stress height or utilize flying buttress. They are labelled “Italian Gothic” but are clearly in a class of their own that has little resemblance to the “French Gothic style”. England produced a version of Gothic more closely allied with the French style 5.
Fig. 15 Milan Cathedral, Italy
Fig. 16 Santa Croce, Florence, Italy. ‘Italian’ Gothic
The Italians actually developed a style in conscious opposition to the Gothic. Called the “Renaissance” style, we will explore that next in this series. I hope some folks out there are finding this series helpful even though it is rather academic.
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Notes:
1 The term ‘Gothic’ originally was used as a term of derision, meaning ‘barbaric’. It was used by Italians of the Renaissance Period who saw the new ‘French” style as a rejection of classical forms. The root word of ‘Gothic’ is Goth which is the name of a variety of barbarian tribes that had immigrated or otherwise overrun the Roman Empire but settled mostly in the north and in Spain.
2 This a debatable point as there are differences of opinion as to whether theological thinking inspired the Gothic style or whether the style developed as simple architectural development. I have tried to represent these two views by offering a possible interplay but granting the initiative to architectural developments.
3 This is somewhat relative. Gothic piers may have in some cases remained as thick as their Romanesque precursors but the space covered by the arches or vaults was greater in the Gothic structures.
4 Stained glass was actually an Arabic innovation and import into Europe from the near East. It had been used in Romanesque churches but the Gothic windows were so much larger.
5 English Gothic Cathedral naves and choirs are generally longer than the French Gothic structures. They also tend to end in squared off apses or East ends rather than the rounded style of the continent. While transepts in the French Gothic style seldom extended very far, if at all, beyond the limits of the exterior walls of the side aisles, they obviously do so in the English style. Two or even three transept arms were often used in English Gothic cathedrals in contrast to one in the French style. Elaborate tracery and ribbing was also more common in England. In all though the English cathedrals are recognizably ‘Gothic’.
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Picture Credits/Sources: Fig. 1 Il-de-France By TUBS [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Fig. 2 AmirwikiThis file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Fig. 3 http://www.oberlin.edu/images/Art310/Art310m.html. Fig. 4 Bernie Dick. Fig. 5. Taxiarchos228 at the German language Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons. Fig. 6 Saint-Denis’ Basilica in Paris – sought approval to use but no response. “Jeff Titelius | EuroTravelogue.com”. Fig. 7 This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Hill. author: w:it:utente:Hill {{PD}}. Fig. 8 By Bordeled (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Fig. 9 edited by Bernie Dick, artist unknown. Fig. 10 By Magnus Manske (Made by Magnus Manske.) [CC-BY-SA-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/1.0), GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons. Labelled by Bernie Dick. Fig. 11 labelled by Bernie Dick, artist’s name has been lost. Fig. 12. labelled by Bernie Dick, http://passport2design.com/this-buttress-is-flying (Passport To Design website); approval to use sought but no response. Fig. 13 By User:Magadan, modified TTaylor (wikimedia commons) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Common. Fig. 14 By Dmitry Tonkonog and Ksenia Fedosova (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Fig. 15 By Jiuguang Wang (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons. Fig. 16 photo by [[User:Radomil|Radomil}}<br>{{GFDL}} The interior of Santa Croce, Florence
Tags: Church Architecture, Liturgical art, Liturgical Environment
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