HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE II

ARCH 1204
YEAR I SEMESTER II

LESSON 4:

GOTHIC
ARCHITECTURE
 History of Architecture II: GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

Later Medieval= Gothic Architecture

(1300-1500 AD)

Medieval Period (after Classical Roman Empire)

 Early Medieval = Byzantine Architecture (500-1000 AD)

 High Medieval =Romanesque Architecture(1000-1300 AD)

 Later Medieval= Gothic Architecture(1300-1500 AD)

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Introduction
 Gothic style was mostly expressed in the great churches and
cathedrals and in a number of civic buildings.

 Its characteristics appealed to the emotions, whether

springing from faith or from civic pride.

A great number of ecclesiastical buildings remain from

this period, of which even the smallest are often structures
of architectural distinction while many of the larger churches
are considered priceless works of art and are listed with
UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.
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ORIGINS OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

 Gothic Architecture is a style of architecture developed

between the Romanesque and the Renaissance styles of
architecture.

 Gothic architecture originated from France and flourished

during the high and late medieval period.

 Gothic architecture is characterized by the introduction of

stained-glass windows, gargoyles, flying buttresses,
tall spires and pointed arches.

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 The Term 'Gothic‘:

− Was first used during the Renaissance period of history.
− Appalled at the abandonment of classical lines and
proportion it was contemptuously called "Gothic".
− This title alluded to the Barbaric Goths, or Visigoths,
who, brought the downfall of the Roman Empire in
410AD.

 With its origins in France, Gothic architecture later spread

throughout the whole of Europe.

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INFLUENCING FACTORS

Historical.
 “It is customary to say Gothic architecture was invented in
1141 for Suger, abbot of the monastery of Saint Dennis, a
town north of Paris.”

 Suger and his architects intergrated a number of

improvements in late Romanesque church architecture
including pointed arches and ribbed vaulting to create a
lighter and more visually transparent architecture.

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 Suger wanted to replace the walls of stone with

membranes of stained glass , which filtered and
transformed sunlight so as to symbolize divine
illumiantion

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Geographical.
 The nations of Western Europe had come into existence.

 Germany was the centre of the Western Empire and the

Kingdoms of France, Italy and Spain were also becoming
strong united states.

 England had become thoroughly united under the

Norman Kings.

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The map gives the general distribution of the

various countries in the thirteenth century.

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Climate
 It is said that the sun, in Northern Europe, is more
suitable for Gothic than Classic Architecture, for sun angle
is low, and sunrays are better caught by the flying lateral
buttresses of a Gothic facade, than by the heavy horizontal
Classic cornices, which are more effective under the
Grecian or Italian sun, which moves higher.

 Snow and inclement weather were responsible for the high

pitched Gothic roof of Northern Europe.

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Religion.
 The unifying agent across Europe continued to be the
church. The focus of human action remained religious life,
so that the buildings that most advanced architectural
design and technology were those built by the church ie
Cathedrals, monasteries, schools, hospitals or the new
universities.

 The immense power of the Popes, which was probably at

its height in the thirteenth century, was evidenced in the
way they made and unmade Emperors and Kings and
disposed of their dominions.
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 The clergy, in consequence of their learning, also took a

prominent part in temporal affairs, and by so doing
attracted wealth and power to their orders.

 The periodical pilgrimages, the adoration of the Virgin

Mary and other forms of ritual, also had their influence on
the monuments.

 The foundation of chantry chapels where masses for the

dead could be repeated, also affected the general plan of
many buildings.
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Social and Political.

 The growth of towns which developed into important
cities brought about an increase of riches and the erection
of magnificent buildings owing to municipal rivalries.

 In Italy, the country was divided into different portions

belonging to the larger towns, which afterwards became
principalities, whereas in Germany, towns joined together
for mutual defence.

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INNOVATIONS OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

Three structural innovations were crucial to the Gothic
style: the pointed arch, rib vault, and flying buttress.

 The pointed arch had an advantage over its round

predecessor. The pointed arch greatly reduced the lateral
load induced on the vertical supports hence attaining
thinner walls.

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 This qualities of the pointed arch enabled the development of

the rib vault.

A groin vault must be constructed as one solid piece, making

it very thick and heavy.

 The ribbed vault enabled a thin shell of stone panels and

mortar to be placed on ribs , which greatly reduced the
weight of the vault immensely.

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 Finally, the flying buttress enabled the diagonal transfer

of weight from the walls of the nave to the walls of the
aisles.

A buttress is simply part of a wall that has been thickened

for reinforcement. By connecting two ordinary buttresses
with a flying buttress, weight is transferred from the upper
to the lower buttress.

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ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS

 The principles and character of Gothic architecture were

similar throughout Western Europe.

 The fully-developed Gothic art of the thirteenth century

was the style which had been slowly developing itself
throughout Europe as a necessary sequence of
Romanesque art.

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 While the weight of a Romanesque church is supported

mainly by walls and massive interior piers, most of the
weight of a Gothic church is supported by exterior
buttresses.

 The buttresses allow the nave walls of a Gothic church

to be relatively thin, and to contain an abundance of
large windows.

 Use of stained glass flourished during this period.

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 The flying buttresses themselves are slender enough that

they complement (rather than obstruct) the exterior
aesthetic of the cathedral.

 Gothic churches are generally lighter and taller in

appearance.

 Compared with earlier styles, sculpture(including

ornaments, figures, and narrative scenes) is far more
plentiful on the surface of a Gothic church, inside and out.

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 Spires were usually placed on top of steeples(towers)

enabling them attain great heights and symbolising their
aspirations towards heaven.

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For ornementation and decoration;

A common form of Gothic
embellishment is the crocket, a stone
nub carved into stylized foliage (e.g. a
bud, flower, or leaf cluster).

 Gothic gargoyles were usually

carvings of strange, ugly little
creatures perched on buildings,
usually carved from granite or other
stone used to convey water from the
roof.
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 The use of tracery(a network of stone bands that fill the

space within a frame). This frame may be provided by a
window, railing, or blind arch. Especially rich tracery is
often lavished on the rose window, found above the main
entrance of many cathedrals.

 Rood screens(screen of richly carved wood or stone

separating the nave and chancel) were also introduced in
churches, most commonly in England

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 Frescoes continued to be used as the main pictorial

narrative craft on church walls in southern Europe as a
continuation of early Christian and Romanesque traditions.

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EXAMPLES: ECCLESIASTIC EXAMPLES

Basilica of Saint Dennis, France

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Cathedral of Ely, England

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Notre Dame, Paris, France

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Cathedral of Our Lady, Antwerp, Belgium

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Regensburg Cathedral, Germany

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EXAMPLES: SECULAR EXAMPLES

Palais du louvre, France
It was built as a medieval fortress, to secure the Paris city
wall but was transformed by King Charles V into a luxurious
palace after it lost its defensive role.

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Palais des Papes, Avignon, France

Defensive architecture with battlement

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House of Jacques Coeur the Merchant, in Bourges,

France (1443-1453)

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House of Jacques Coeur the Merchant, in Bourges,

France (1443-1453)

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Hôtel de Sens or Hôtel des archevêques de Sens

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END

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