Gothic (Part Seven).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: The longitudinal emphasis, in the Nave of Wells Cathedral, 

Somerset, England, is typically English.

Français: Intérieur de la cathédrale de Wells, Somerset, Angleterre.

Photo: 6 May 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Antoine.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The distinctive characteristic of Gothic Cathedrals of the Iberian Peninsula is their spatial complexity, with many areas of different shapes leading from each other. They are comparatively wide, and often have very tall Arcades surmounted by low Clerestories, giving a similar spacious appearance to the hallenkirche of Germany, as at the Church of the Batalha Monastery, in Portugal. 

Many of the Cathedrals are completely surrounded by Chapels. Like English Cathedrals, each is often stylistically diverse. This expresses itself both in the addition of Chapels and in the application of decorative details drawn from different sources. Among the influences, on both decoration and form, are Islamic architecture, and, towards the end of the period, Renaissance details combined with the Gothic in a distinctive manner. 

The West Front, as at Leon Cathedral, typically resembles a French West Front, but wider in proportion to height, and often with greater diversity of detail, and a combination of intricate ornament with broad plain surfaces. At Burgos Cathedral, there are Spires of German style. The roof-line often has pierced Parapets, with comparatively few Pinnacles. There are often Towers and Domes, of a great variety of shapes and structural invention, rising above the roof.

English: Front of the Pope's Palace in Avignon, France.

Français: Façade avant du Palais des Papes à Avignon.

Deutsch: Vorderansicht des Papst-Palastes in Avignon.

Photo: 3 April 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Chimigi.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The distinctive characteristic of Italian Gothic is the use of polychrome decoration, both externally, as marble veneer on the brick façade, and, also, internally, where the Arches are often made of alternating black and white segments, and where the Columns may be painted red, the walls decorated with frescoes and the Apse with mosaic. The Plan is usually regular and symmetrical. 

With the exception of Milan Cathedral, which is Germanic in style, Italian Cathedrals have few and widely spaced Columns. The proportions are generally mathematically equilibriated, based on the square and the concept of "armonìa", and, except in Venice, where they loved Flamboyant Arches, the Arches are almost always equilateral. Colours and mouldings define the architectural units rather than blending them. 

Italian Cathedral façades are often polychrome and may include mosaics in the Lunettes over the doors. The façades have projecting open Porches, and Occular or Wheel Windows, rather than Rose Windows, and do not usually have a Tower. 

The Crossing is usually surmounted by a Dome. There is often a free-standing Tower and Baptistry. The Eastern End usually has an Apse of comparatively low projection. The windows are not as large as in Northern Europe and, although Stained Glass Windows are often found, the favourite narrative medium for the Interior is the fresco.

English: Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica 

of the Nativity of Saint Mary,

Milan, Italy.

Italiano: Basilica cattedrale metropolitana 

di Santa Maria Nascente,

Milano, Italia.

Photo: February 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: MarkusMark.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Synagogues, commonly built in the prevailing architectural style of the period and country where they are constructed, were built in the Gothic style in Europe during the Mediaeval period. A surviving example is the Old New Synagogue in Prague, built in the 13th-Century. Many examples of secular, non-military, structures in Gothic style survive in fairly original condition. The Palais des Papes, in Avignon, France, is the best complete large Royal Palace, with partial survivals in the Great Hall at the Palace of Westminster, London, an 11th-Century hall, renovated in the Late-14th-Century with Gothic windows and a wooden Hammer-Beam roof, and the famous Conciergerie, former Palace of the Kings of France, in Paris. 

In addition to monumental secular architecture, examples of the Gothic style can be seen in surviving Mediaeval portions of cities across Europe, above all the distinctive Venetian Gothic, such as the Ca' d'Oro, Venice, Italy. The house of the wealthy Early-15th-Century merchant, Jacques Coeur, in Bourges, France, is the classic Gothic bourgeois mansion, full of the asymmetry and complicated detail beloved of the Gothic Revival.

English: Ca' d'Oro façade overlooking the Grand Canal, Venice, Italy.

Français: Ca' d'Oro à Venise Vue de la façade.

Italiano: Ca' d'Oro Venezia Facciata.

Photo: 5 July 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Didier Descouens.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Other cities, with a concentration of secular Gothic, include Bruges, Belgium, and Siena, Italy. Most surviving small secular buildings are relatively plain and straightforward; most windows are flat-topped with mullions, with Pointed Arches and Vaulted Ceilings often only found at a few focal points. The country-houses of the nobility were slow to abandon the appearance of being a Castle, even in parts of Europe, like England, where defence had ceased to be a real concern. The living and working parts of many Monastic buildings survive, for example at Mont Saint-Michel, France.

There are many excellent examples of secular Brick Gothic structures scattered throughout Poland and the Baltic States, most notably Malbork Castle, the Gdańsk and Wrocław Town Halls, and Collegium Maius, in Kraków, Poland.

Exceptional works of Gothic architecture can also be found in Sicily, Cyprus, especially in the walled cities of Nicosia and Famagusta. Also, the roof of the Znojmo Town Hall Tower, in the Czech Republic, is an excellent example of Late-Gothic craftsmanship.

English: Malbork Castle, Żuławy region, Poland.

Deutsch: In Malbork nach der Wikimania 2010 aufgenommenes Foto. 

Panorama der Marienburg.

Français: La Forteresse teutonique de Marienbourg, 

en Poméranie (Pologne).

Photo: 14 July 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: DerHexer; derivate work: Carschten.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In 1663, at the Archbishop of Canterbury's residence, Lambeth Palace, England, a Gothic Hammer-Beam roof was built to replace that destroyed when the building was sacked during the English Civil War. Also in the Late-17th-Century, some discreet Gothic details appeared on new construction at Oxford University and Cambridge University, notably on Tom Tower at Christ Church, Oxford, by Christopher Wren. It is not easy to decide whether these instances were Gothic Survival or early appearances of Gothic Revival.

In England, in the Mid-18th-Century, the Gothic style was more widely revived, first as a decorative, whimsical, alternative to Rococo, that is still conventionally termed 'Gothick', of which Horace Walpole's Twickenham Villa, "Strawberry Hill", is the familiar example.

Horace Walpole's house, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham, England, 

gleaming white in Spring sunshine, soon after restoration.

Photo: 25 May 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Chiswick Chap.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Wrocław Town Hall, Poland.

Polski: Ratusz we Wrocławiu.

Deutsch: Breslauer Rathaus.

Photo: 20 September 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:Kolossos.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In England, partly in response to a philosophy propounded by the Oxford Movement, and others associated with the emerging revival of 'High Church' or Anglo-Catholic ideas, during the second quarter of the 19th-Century, Neo-Gothic began to become promoted by influential establishment figures as the preferred style for ecclesiastical, civic and institutional architecture. 

The appeal of this Gothic Revival (which, after 1837, in Britain, is sometimes termed "Victorian Gothic"), gradually widened to encompass "Low Church", as well as "High Church", clients. This period of more universal appeal, spanning 1855–1885, is known in Britain as "High Victorian Gothic".

The Houses of Parliament, in London, by Sir Charles Barry, with Interiors by a major exponent of the Early-Gothic Revival, Augustus Welby Pugin, is an example of the Gothic Revival style from its earlier period in the second quarter of the 19th-Century. Examples from the High Victorian Gothic period include George Gilbert Scott's design for the Albert Memorial, in London, and William Butterfield's Chapel, at Keble College, Oxford. 

From the second half of the 19th-Century, onwards, it became more common in Britain for Neo-Gothic to be used in the design of non-ecclesiastical and non-governmental building types. Gothic details even began to appear in working-class housing schemes subsidised by philanthropy, though, given the expense, less frequently than in the design of Upper- and Middle-Class housing.

Westminster Hall, in the Palace of Westminster, London,

with its classic Hammer-Beam roof.

Date: November 1808.

Source: Ackermann's Microcosm of London (1808-11); 

Microcosm of London at Google Books.

Author: Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827) 

and Augustus Pugin (1768-1832).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Coronation Banquet of King George IV,

in Westminster Hall, London, 1821.

Artist: Unknown.

Current location: Museum of London.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Houses of Parliament, London.

Photo: July 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mgimelfarb.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In France, simultaneously, the towering figure of the Gothic Revival was Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, who outdid historical Gothic constructions to create a Gothic as it ought to have been, notably at the fortified city of Carcassonne, in the South of France, and in some richly-fortified Keeps for industrial magnates. 

Viollet-le-Duc compiled and co-ordinated an Encyclopédie médiévale, that was a rich repertory that his contemporaries mined for architectural details. He effected vigorous restoration of crumbling detail of French Cathedrals, including the Abbey of Saint-Denis and, famously, at Notre Dame, Paris, where many of whose most "Gothic" gargoyles are Viollet-le-Duc's. He taught a generation of Reform-Gothic designers and showed how to apply Gothic style to modern structural materials, especially cast iron.

In Germany, the great Cathedral of Cologne and the Ulm Minster, left unfinished for 600 years, were brought to completion, while, in Italy, Florence Cathedral finally received its polychrome Gothic façade. New Churches in the Gothic style were created all over the world, including Mexico, Argentina, Japan, Thailand, India, Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii and South Africa.

Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.

Photograph by Nadar.

Deutsch: Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879), französischer Architekt 

und Kunsthistoriker. Porträt von Nadar.

English: Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (27 January 1814 – 17 September 1879).

Source: http://perso.wanadoo.fr/patrimoineindustriel/Petit%20Fagnieres/tour.htm.

Author: Nadar (1820–1910).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Basilica of Mary Magdalene, 

Saint Maximin-la-Sainte, Baume, France.

Photo: December 2003.

Source: Übernahme aus der engl.WP.

This File: 30 August 2005.

User: Godewind.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Basilica of Mary Magdalene, 

Saint Maximin-la-Sainte, Baume, Provence, 

France,was begun in 1295.

Building work continued for more than 100 years, 

maintaining the 13th-Century style.

As in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand utilised Neo-Gothic for the building of Universities, a fine example being Sydney University, by Edmund Blacket. In Canada, the Canadian Parliament Buildings, in Ottawa, designed by Thomas Fuller and Chilion Jones, with its huge centrally-placed Tower, draws influence from Flemish Gothic buildings.

Although falling out of favour for domestic and civic use, Gothic, for Churches and Universities, continued into the 20th-Century, with buildings such as Liverpool Cathedral, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York, and São Paulo Cathedral, Brazil. The Gothic style was also applied to iron-framed city skyscrapers, such as Cass Gilbert's Woolworth Building and Raymond Hood's Tribune Tower.

Post-Modernism, in the Late-20th- and Early-21st-Centuries, has seen some revival of Gothic forms in individual buildings, such as the Gare do Oriente, in Lisbon, Portugal, and a finishing of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Mexico.

THIS CONCLUDES THE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON "GOTHIC".

Gothic (Part Six).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Bristol Cathedral, England.

Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity.

[Editor: A new Nave, harmonious in style with the Eastern End, 

was added between 1868 and 1877 by George Edmund Street.]

The unique "Lierne" Vaulting of the Choir and Tower 

can be seen here from Street's Nave, 

with clustered Columns and Purbeck Marble Shafts.

Photo: April 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Adrian Pingstone Arpingstone.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Depressed, or Four-Centred Arch, is much wider than its height and gives the visual effect of having been flattened under pressure. Its structure is achieved by drafting two arcs, which rise steeply from each springing point on a small radius, and then turn into two Arches, with a wide radius and much lower springing point.

This type of Arch, when employed as a window opening, lends itself to very wide spaces, provided it is adequately supported by many narrow vertical Shafts. These are often further braced by horizontal Transoms. The overall effect produces a grid-like appearance of regular, delicate, rectangular forms with an emphasis on the perpendicular. It is also employed as a wall decoration, in which Arcade and window openings form part of the whole decorative surface.

The Gloucester Cathedral Cloisters 

are the earliest surviving Fan Vaults, 

having been constructed in the Mid-14th-Century. 

The Cloisters were used in several of the Harry Potter films.

Photo: 29 August 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Saffron Blaze.

Permission: Outside of Wikimedia Foundation projects, 

attribution is to be made to:

W. Lloyd MacKenzie, via Flickr @ 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saffron_blaze/.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The style, known as Perpendicular, that evolved from this treatment, is specific to England, although very similar to contemporary Spanish style in particular, and was employed to great effect through the 15th-Century and first half of the 16th-Century, as Renaissance styles were much slower to arrive in England than in Italy and France.

It can be seen notably at the East End of Gloucester Cathedral, where the East Window is said to be as large as a tennis court. There are three very famous Royal Chapels and one Chapel-like-Abbey which show the style at its most elaborate: King's College Chapel, Cambridge; Saint George's Chapel, Windsor; Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster Abbey; and Bath Abbey. However, very many simpler buildings, especially Churches built during the Wool boom in East Anglia, are fine examples of the style.

King's College Chapel, 

Cambridge, England.

Photo: 4 July 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Antoine Tavenaux.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Gothic Cathedral represented the Universe, in microcosm, and each architectural concept, including the loftiness and huge dimensions of the structure, were intended to convey a Theological message: The great glory of God. The building becomes a microcosm in two ways: Firstly, the mathematical and geometrical nature of the construction is an image of the orderly Universe, in which an underlying rationality and logic can be perceived;

Secondly, the Statues, sculptural decoration, Stained Glass and murals incorporate the essence of Creation, in depictions of the Labours of the Months, and the Zodiac, and Sacred History from the Old and New Testaments and Lives of the Saints, as well as reference to the Eternal in the Last Judgment and Coronation of the Virgin.

The decorative schemes usually incorporated Biblical stories, emphasising visual typological allegories between Old Testament Prophecy and the New Testament.

English: Chapter House of Westminster Abbey, London. 14th-Century Wall Paintings.

Deutsch: Wandmalereien im Kapitelhaus der Westminster Abbey London.

Photo: 27 September 2012.

Source: Own work.

Author: Klaus D. Peter, Wiehl, Germany.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Many Churches were very richly decorated, both inside and out. Sculpture and architectural details were often bright, with coloured paint, of which traces remain at the Cathedral of Chartres. Wooden ceilings and panelling were usually brightly coloured. Sometimes, the Stone Columns of the Nave were painted, and the panels in decorative Wall Arcading contained narratives or figures of Saints. These have rarely remained intact, but may be seen at the Chapter House of Westminster Abbey.

Some important Gothic Churches could be severely simple, such as the Basilica of Mary Magdalene, in Saint-Maximin, Provence, France, where the local traditions of the sober, massive, Romanesque architecture were still strong.

Gloucester Cathedral, England,

lit by the setting Sun.

Photo: 4 May 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Saffron Blaze.

Permission: Outside of Wikimedia Foundation projects, 

attribution is to be made to:

W. Lloyd MacKenzie, via Flickr @ 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/saffron_blaze/

(Wikimedia Commons)

Wherever Gothic architecture is found, it is subject to local influences, and frequently the influence of itinerant stonemasons and artisans, carrying ideas between cities and sometimes between countries. Certain characteristics are typical of particular regions and often override the style itself, appearing in buildings hundreds of years apart.

The distinctive characteristic of French Cathedrals, and those in Germany and Belgium that were strongly influenced by them, is their height and their impression of verticality. Each French Cathedral tends to be stylistically unified in appearance, when compared with an English Cathedral, where there is great diversity in almost every building. They are compact, with slight or no projection of the Transepts and subsidiary Chapels. The West Fronts are highly consistent, having three Portals, surmounted by a Rose Window, and two large Towers. Sometimes, there are additional Towers on the Transept Ends. The East End is polygonal, with Ambulatory and, sometimes, a Chevette of Radiating Chapels. In the South of France, many of the major Churches are without Transepts and some are without Aisles.

English: Amiens Cathedral, Somme, Picardie, France. The Chancel.

Français: Notre-Dame d'Amiens, Somme, Picardie, France. Le chœur.

Photo: 2 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The distinctive characteristic of English Cathedrals is their extreme length, and their internal emphasis upon the horizontal, which may be emphasised visually, as much, or more than, the vertical lines. Each English Cathedral (with the exception of Salisbury Cathedral) has an extraordinary degree of stylistic diversity, when compared with most French, German and Italian Cathedrals. 

It is not unusual for every part of the building to have been built in a different century, and in a different style, with no attempt at creating a stylistic unity. Unlike French Cathedrals, English Cathedrals sprawl across their sites, with Double Transepts projecting strongly, and Lady Chapels tacked on at a later date. 

In the West Front, the doors are not as significant as in France, the usual congregational entrance being through a Side Porch. The West Window is very large and never a Rose Window, which are reserved for the Transept Gables. The West Front may have two Towers, like a French Cathedral, or none. There is nearly always a Tower at The Crossing and it may be very large and surmounted by a Spire. The distinctive English East End is square, but it may take a completely different form. Both Internally and Externally, the stonework is often richly decorated with carvings, particularly the Capitals.

English: Avranches Cathedral, France.

Français: Église Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Avranches, France.

Photo: 17 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Avranches Cathedral, France.

Français: Église Notre-Dame-des-Champs, Avranches, France.

Photo: 17 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Romanesque architecture in Germany, Poland, The Czech Republic, and Austria, is characterised by its massive and modular nature. This is expressed in the Gothic architecture of Central Europe in the huge size of the Towers and Spires, often projected, but not always completed.

The West Front generally follows the French formula, but the Towers are very much taller, and, if complete, are surmounted by enormous Openwork Spires that are a regional feature. Because of the size of the Towers, the section of the façade that is between them may appear narrow and compressed. 

The Eastern End follows the French form. The distinctive character of the Interior of German Gothic Cathedrals is their breadth and openness. This is the case even when, as at Cologne Cathedral, they have been modelled upon a French Cathedral. German Cathedrals, like the French, tend not to have strongly projecting Transepts. There are also many Hall Churches (Hallenkirchen) without Clerestory windows.

PART SEVEN FOLLOWS.

Gothic (Part Five).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

Sainte Chapelle, Paris, France.

Photo: 14 October 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Didier B (Sam67fr).

(Wikimedia Commons)

The façade of a large Church or Cathedral, often referred to as the West Front, is generally designed to create a powerful impression on the approaching worshipper, demonstrating both the might of God and the might of the institution that it represents. One of the best known, and most typical of such façades, is that of Notre Dame de Paris.

Central to the façade is the main Portal, often flanked by additional doors. In the Arch of the door, the Tympanum, is often a significant piece of sculpture, most frequently Christ in Majesty and Judgment Day. If there is a central Door Jamb, or a Trumeau, then it frequently bears a statue of the Madonna and Child. There may be much other carving, often of figures in Niches set into the mouldings around the Portals, or in sculptural screens extending across the façade.

Facade of Orvieto Cathedral, Italy.

Photo: 14 September 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Adonovan0.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Above the main Portal, there is generally a large window, like that at York Minster, or a group of windows, such as those at Ripon Cathedral. In France, there is generally a Rose Window, like that at Reims Cathedral. Rose Windows are also often found in the façades of Churches of Spain and Italy, but are rarer elsewhere and are not found on the façades of any English Cathedrals. The gable is usually richly decorated with Arcading or sculpture, or, in the case of Italy, may be decorated with the rest of the façade, with polychrome marble and mosaic, as at Orvieto Cathedral.

English: Notre-Dame de Paris. 

South facade. View from the River Seine.

Italiano: La cattedrale di Notre Dame de Paris vista dalla Senna.

Photo: 28 April 2009.

Source: Zuffe.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The West Front of a French Cathedral, and many English, Spanish and German Cathedrals, generally have two Towers, which, particularly in France, express an enormous diversity of form and decoration. However, some German Cathedrals have only one Tower, located in the middle of the façade (such as Freiburg Minster, Germany).

The way in which the Pointed Arch was drafted and utilised developed throughout the Gothic period. There were fairly clear stages of development, which did not, however, progress at the same rate, or in the same way in every country. Moreover, the names used to define various periods or styles, within the Gothic, differ from country to country.

The simplest shape is the long opening with a Pointed Arch, known in England as the Lancet. Lancet openings are often grouped, usually as a cluster of three or five. Lancet openings may be very narrow and steeply pointed. Lancet Arches are typically defined as two-centered Arches whose radii are larger than the Arch's span.

Windows in the Chapter House at York Minster show the

Equilateral Arch with typical circular motifs in the Tracery.

Photo: 19 December 2003.

Source: Own work.

Author: Andy Barrett (User:Big Smooth).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Salisbury Cathedral is famous for the beauty and simplicity of its Lancet Gothic, known in England as the Early English Style. York Minster has a group of Lancet Windows each fifty feet high and still containing ancient glass. They are known as the Five Sisters. These simple undecorated grouped windows are found at Chartres Cathedral and Laon Cathedral and are used extensively in Italy.

Many Gothic openings are based upon the Equilateral form. In other words, when the Arch is drafted, the radius is exactly the width of the opening, and the centre of each Arch coincides with the point from which the opposite Arch springs. This makes the Arch higher, in relation to its width, than a semi-circular Arch, which is exactly half as high as it is wide.

The Equilateral Arch gives a wide opening of satisfying proportion, useful for doorways, decorative Arcades and large windows.

The Depressed Arch, supported by Fan Vaulting, 

at King's College Chapel, England.

Photo: July 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Agnete.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The structural beauty of the Gothic Arch means, however, that no set proportion had to be rigidly maintained. The Equilateral Arch was employed as a useful tool, not as a Principle of Design. This meant that narrower or wider Arches were introduced into a building Plan, wherever necessity dictated. In the architecture of some Italian cities, notably Venice, semi-circular Arches are interspersed with Pointed Arches.

The Equilateral Arch lends itself to filling with Tracery of simple equilateral, circular and semi-circular forms. The type of Tracery that evolved, to fill these spaces, is known in England as Geometric Decorated Gothic, and can be seen to splendid effect at many English and French Cathedrals, notably Lincoln Cathedral and Notre Dame Cathedral, in Paris. Windows of complex design, and of three or more Lights, or vertical sections, are often designed by overlapping two or more Equilateral Arches.

The Flamboyant Arch is one that is drafted from four points, the upper part of each main arc turning upwards into a smaller arc and meeting at a sharp, flame-like point. These Arches create a rich and lively effect when used for Window Tracery and surface decoration. The form is structurally weak and has very rarely been used for large openings, except when contained within a larger and more stable Arch. It is not employed at all for Vaulting.

Flamboyant Window Tracery 

at Limoges Cathedral, France.

Photo: 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: TTaylor.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: Limoges Cathedral, France.

Français: Vue nocturne de la cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Limoges,

Haute-Vienne, France.

Photo: 20 December 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Babsy.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Some of the most beautiful and famous Traceried Windows of Europe employ this type of Tracery. It can be seen at St Stephen's Vienna, Sainte Chapelle in Paris, at the Cathedrals of Limoges and Rouen, in France, and at Milan Cathedral, in Italy. In England, the most famous examples are the West Window of York Minster, with its design based on the Sacred Heart, the extraordinarily-rich seven-light East Window at Carlisle Cathedral and the exquisite East Window of Selby Abbey.

Doorways, surmounted by Flamboyant mouldings, are very common in both ecclesiastical and domestic architecture in France. They are much rarer in England. A notable example is the doorway to the Chapter Room at Rochester Cathedral, Kent, England.

The style was much used in England for Wall Arcading and Niches. Prime examples are in the Lady Chapel at Ely Cathedral, the Screen at Lincoln Cathedral, and externally on the façade of Exeter Cathedral. In German and Spanish Gothic architecture, it often appears as Openwork Screens on the exterior of buildings. The style was used to rich, and sometimes extraordinary, effect in both these countries, notably on the famous pulpit in Vienna Cathedral.

PART SIX FOLLOWS.

Gothic (Part Four).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

English: Nave of Salisbury Cathedral, England.

Français: Nef de la Cathédrale de Salisbury, Angleterre.

Photo: 1 September 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bernard Gagnon.

(Wikimedia Commons)

One of the defining characteristics of Gothic architecture is the Pointed, or ogival, Arch. Arches of a similar type were used in the Near East, in pre-Islamic as well as Islamic architecture, before they were structurally employed in mediaeval architecture. It is thought by some architectural historians that this was the inspiration for the use of the Pointed Arch in France, in otherwise Romanesque buildings, as at Autun Cathedral.

Contrary to the diffusionist theory, it appears that there was simultaneously a structural evolution towards the Pointed Arch, for the purpose of Vaulting spaces of irregular plan, or to bring Transverse Vaults to the same height as Diagonal Vaults. This latter occurs at Durham Cathedral in the Nave Aisles in 1093. Pointed Arches also occur extensively in Romanesque decorative Blind Arcading, where Semi-Circular Arches overlap each other in a simple decorative pattern, and the points are accidental to the design.

The Gothic Vault, unlike the Semi-Circular Vault of Roman and Romanesque buildings, can be used to roof rectangular and irregularly-shaped plans, such as trapezoids. The other structural advantage is that the Pointed Arch channels the weight onto the bearing Piers or Columns at a steep angle. This enabled architects to raise Vaults much higher than was possible in Romanesque architecture. While, structurally, use of the Pointed Arch gave a greater flexibility to architectural form, it also gave Gothic architecture a very different and more vertical visual character than Romanesque.

Norman Blind Arcading

at Canterbury Cathedral, England.

Note how the Semi-Circular Arches, 

when interlinking, form a Pointed Arch.

Photo: August 2006.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Author: Immanuel Giel.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In Gothic architecture the Pointed Arch is used in every location where a vaulted shape is called for, both structural and decorative. Gothic openings, such as doorways, windows, Arcades and Galleries, have Pointed Arches. Gothic Vaulting above spaces, both large and small, is usually supported by richly-moulded Ribs.

Rows of Pointed Arches, upon delicate Shafts, form a typical wall decoration known as Blind Arcading. Niches with Pointed Arches, and containing statuary, are a major external feature. The Pointed Arch lent itself to elaborate intersecting shapes which developed, within window spaces, into complex Gothic Tracery, forming the structural support of the large windows that are characteristic of the style.

A characteristic of Gothic Church architecture is its height, both absolute and in proportion to its width, the verticality suggesting an aspiration to Heaven. A section of the main body of a Gothic Church usually shows the Nave as considerably taller than it is wide. In England, the proportion is sometimes greater than 2:1, while the greatest proportional difference achieved is at Cologne Cathedral with a ratio of 3.6:1. The highest Internal Vault is at Beauvais Cathedral, at 48 metres (157 ft).

York Minster, England.

The Rose Window,

South Front.

Photo: October 2000.

Source: Own work.

Author: Clem Rutter, Rochester, Kent.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Externally, Towers and Spires are characteristic of Gothic Churches, both great and small, the number and positioning being one of the greatest variables in Gothic architecture. In Italy, the Tower, if present, is almost always detached from the building, as at Florence Cathedral, and is often from an earlier structure. In France and Spain, two Towers on the front is the norm. In England, Germany and Scandinavia, this is often the arrangement, but an English Cathedral may also be surmounted by an enormous Tower at The Crossing. Smaller Churches usually have just one Tower, but this may also be the case at larger buildings, such as Salisbury Cathedral or Ulm Minster, which has the tallest spire in the world, slightly exceeding that of Lincoln Cathedral, the tallest which was actually completed during the Mediaeval period, at 160 metres (520 ft).

The Pointed Arch lends itself to a suggestion of height. This appearance is characteristically further enhanced by both the architectural features and the decoration of the building.

On the exterior, the verticality is emphasised in a major way by the Towers and Spires, and, in a lesser way, by strongly projecting vertical Buttresses, by narrow Half-Columns, called Attached Shafts, which often pass through several storeys of the building, by long narrow windows, vertical Mouldings around doors, and figurative sculpture, which emphasises the vertical and is often attenuated. The roofline, gable ends, Buttresses, and other parts of the building, are often terminated by small Pinnacles, Milan Cathedral being an extreme example in the use of this form of decoration.

On the interior of the building, Attached Shafts often sweep unbroken from floor to ceiling and meet the Ribs of the Vault, like a tall tree spreading into branches. The verticals are generally repeated in the treatment of the windows and wall surfaces. In many Gothic Churches, particularly in France, and in the Perpendicular period of English Gothic architecture, the treatment of vertical elements in Gallery and Window Tracery creates a strongly unifying feature that counteracts the horizontal divisions of the interior structure.

Salisbury Cathedral,

has the tallest Spire in England

(123 metres (404 feet)).

Photo: 11 February 2010.

Source: Own work.

Author: Ashley Pomeroy.

(Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia)

One of the most distinctive characteristics of Gothic architecture is the expansive area of the windows, as at Sainte Chapelle, France, and the very large size of many individual windows, as at York Minster, Gloucester Cathedral, and Milan Cathedral. The increase in size, between windows of the Romanesque and Gothic periods, is related to the use of the Ribbed Vault, and, in particular, the Pointed Ribbed Vault, which channelled the weight to a supporting Shaft, with less outward thrust than a Semi-Circular Vault. Walls did not need to be so weighty.

A further development was the Flying Buttress, which arched externally, from the springing of the Vault, across the roof of the Aisle to a large Buttress Pier projecting well beyond the line of the external wall. These Piers were often surmounted by a Pinnacle or Statue, further adding to the downward weight, and counteracting the outward thrust of the Vault and Buttress Arch, as well as stress from wind loading.

York Minster, England.

Photo: 28 September 2006.

Source: Flickr.

Author: rowanofravara.

(Wikimedia Commons)

York Minster, England.

Photo: 30 September 2009.

Source: From geograph.org.uk.

Author: Peter McDermott.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The internal Columns of the Arcade, with their attached Shafts, the Ribs of the Vault, and the Flying Buttresses, with their associated vertical Buttresses jutting at right-angles to the building, created a stone skeleton. Between these parts, the walls and the infill of the Vaults could be of lighter construction. Between the narrow Buttresses, the walls could be opened up into large windows.

Through the Gothic period, thanks to the versatility of the Pointed Arch, the structure of Gothic windows developed from simple openings to immensely rich and decorative sculptural designs. The windows were very often filled with Stained Glass, which added a dimension of colour to the light within the building, as well as providing a medium for figurative and narrative art.

York Minster, England.

Photo: 2007.

Source: Own work.

Author: Smu03mw.

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART FIVE FOLLOWS.

Gothic (Part Three).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,
unless otherwise stated.

The South-Western Tower,

Ely Cathedral, England.

Photo: 22 November 2009.

Source: From geograph.org.uk.

Author: Chris Gunns.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The characteristic forms, that were to define Gothic architecture, grew out of Romanesque architecture and developed at several different geographic locations, as the result of different influences and structural requirements. While Barrel Vaults and Groin Vaults are typical of Romanesque architecture, Ribbed Vaults were used in the Naves of two Romanesque Churches in Caen, France; Abbey of Saint-Étienne and Abbaye aux Dames, in 1120. The Ribbed Vaults over the North Transept at Durham Cathedral in England are probably still earlier. At Durham, the Pointed Arches of the Nave Vault, 1128-1134, were used for the first time in a High Vault.

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.

The Abbey of Saint-Denis, France, is generally cited as the first truly Gothic building, however, Noyon Cathedral, also in France, saw the earliest completion of a rebuilding of an entire Cathedral in the new style, from 1150-1231. While using all those features that came to be known as Gothic, including Pointed Arches, Flying Buttresses and Ribbed Vaulting, the builders continued to employ the Round-Headed Arch throughout the building, varying the shape to Pointed, where it was functionally practical to do so.

Ely Cathedral, England.

Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity.

The West Tower (1174–97).

Photo: June 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: User:Tom-.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Wells Cathedral, in England, was rebuilt from 1174-1239, and was the first building where the designers entirely dispensed with the Round Arch, in favour of the Pointed Arch, and is, thus, the very first truly-Gothic Cathedral.

The Eastern End of the Basilica Church of Saint-Denis, France, built by Abbot Suger and completed in 1144, is often cited as the first truly-Gothic building, as it draws together many of the architectural forms which had evolved from Romanesque and typify the Gothic style.

Suger, friend and confidant of the French Kings, Louis VI and Louis VII, decided, in about 1137, to rebuild the great Church of Saint-Denis, attached to an Abbey which was also a Royal Residence. He began with the West Front, reconstructing the original Carolingian façade with its single door. He designed the façade of Saint-Denis to be an echo of the Roman Arch of Constantine, with its three-part division and three large Portals, to ease the problem of congestion. The Rose Window is the earliest-known example above the West Portal in France. The façade combines both Round Arches and Pointed Arches of the Gothic style.

Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons, France.

The Nave, looking toward the Altar.

Photo: 6 February 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Soissons Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons) is a Gothic Cathedral in Soissons, France. The construction of the South Transept was begun about 1177, and the lowest courses of the Choir in 1182. The Choir, with its original three-storey elevation and extremely tall Clerestory, was completed in 1211. This was earlier than Chartres, on which the design was supposed to have been based. Work then continued into the Nave until the Late-13th-Century.

At the completion of the West Front in 1140, Abbot Suger moved on to the reconstruction of the Eastern End, leaving the Carolingian Nave in use. He designed a Choir that would be suffused with light. To achieve his aims, his masons drew on the several new features which evolved from, or had been introduced to, Romanesque architecture, the Pointed Arch, the Ribbed Vault, the Ambulatory, with radiating Chapels, the Clustered Columns, supporting Ribs springing in different directions, and the Flying Buttresses, which enabled the insertion of large Clerestory windows.

The new structure was finished and dedicated on 11 June 1144, in the presence of the King. The Choir, and West Front, of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, both became the prototypes for further building in the Royal Domain of Northern France and in the Duchy of Normandy. Through the rule of the Angevin dynasty, the new style was introduced to England and spread throughout France, the Low Countries, Germany, Spain, Northern Italy and Sicily.

While many secular buildings exist from the Late Middle Ages, it is in the buildings of Cathedrals and great Churches that Gothic architecture displays its pertinent structures and characteristics to the fullest advantage. A Gothic Cathedral or Abbey was, prior to the 20th-Century, generally the landmark building in its town, rising high above all the domestic structures and often surmounted by one or more Towers and Pinnacles and perhaps tall Spires.

Cathédrale Saint-Gervais-et-Saint-Protais de Soissons, France.

Photo: 6 February 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

These Cathedrals were the skyscrapers of their day and would have been the largest buildings by far that Europeans would ever have seen. It is in the architecture of these Gothic Churches that a unique combination of existing technologies established the emergence of a new building style. Those technologies were the ogival, or Pointed Arch, the Ribbed Vault, and the Buttress.

The Gothic style, when applied to an ecclesiastical building, emphasises verticality and light. This appearance was achieved by the development of certain architectural features, which together provided an engineering solution. The structural parts of the building ceased to be its solid walls, and became a stone skeleton comprising Clustered Columns, Pointed Ribbed Vaults and Flying Buttresses.

Wells Cathedral, England.

". . . the first truly-Gothic Cathedral."

Photo: 8 May 2005.

Source: Own work.

Author: Hisane.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Most large Gothic Churches, and many smaller Parish Churches, are of the Latin Cross (or "cruciform") plan, with a long Nave making the body of the Church, a transverse arm called the Transept, and, beyond it, an extension which may be called the Choir, Chancel or Presbytery. There are several regional variations on this plan.

The Nave is generally flanked on either side by Aisles, usually single, but sometimes double. The Nave is generally considerably taller than the Aisles, having Clerestory windows which light the central space. Gothic Churches of the Germanic tradition, like Saint Stephen of Vienna, often have Nave and Aisles of similar height and are called Hallenkirche. In the South of France, there is often a single wide Nave and no Aisles, as at Sainte-Marie in Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges.

Lincoln Cathedral, 

Lincoln, England.

Clerestory and Triforium.

Photo: 16 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Lincoln Cathedral, 

Lincoln, England.

Sexpartite Vaulting above the Nave.

Photo: 16 April 2011.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

In some Churches with Double Aisles, like Notre Dame, Paris, the Transept does not project beyond the Aisles. In English Cathedrals, Transepts tend to project boldly, and there may be two of them, as at Salisbury Cathedral, though this is not the case with lesser Churches.

The Eastern Arm shows considerable diversity. In England, it is generally long and may have two distinct sections, both Choir and Presbytery. It is often square ended or has a projecting Lady Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In France, the Eastern End is often polygonal and surrounded by a walkway, called an Ambulatory, and sometimes a ring of Chapels called a "chevet". While German Churches are often similar to those of France, in Italy, the Eastern projection, beyond the Transept, is usually just a shallow Apsidal Chapel containing the Sanctuary, as at Florence Cathedral.

PART FOUR FOLLOWS.

Gothic (Part Two).

Text and Illustrations from Wikipedia - the free encyclopaedia,

unless otherwise stated.

The Nave, 

Cologne Cathedral, Germany.

Photo: 6 September 2004.

Source: From de.wp

Author: Thomas Robbin.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The Gothic East End of Cologne Cathedral 

represents the extreme of verticality. 

(Nave, dating to the 19th-Century).

The Catholic Church prevailed across Europe at this time, influencing not only Faith but also wealth and power. Bishops were appointed by the Church and often ruled as virtual Princes over large estates. The early Mediaeval periods had seen a rapid growth in Monasticism, with several different Orders being prevalent and spreading their influence widely. Foremost were the Benedictines, whose great Abbey Churches vastly outnumbered any others in England. A part of their influence was that they tended to build within towns, unlike the Cistercians, whose ruined Abbeys are seen in the remote countryside. The Cluniac and Cistercian Orders were prevalent in France, the great Monastery at Cluny having established a formula for a well-planned Monastic site, which was then to influence all subsequent Monastic building for many centuries.

In the 13th-Century, Saint Francis of Assisi established the Franciscans, or so-called "Grey Friars", a mendicant Order. The Dominicans, another mendicant Order founded during the same period, but by Saint Dominic, in Toulouse and Bologna, were particularly influential in the building of Italy's Gothic Churches.

From the 10th-Century 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, Croatia, 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.

English: Cathedral of Saint-Gatien, Tours, France.

Français: Cathédrale Saint-Gatien de Tours.

Photo: 22 April 2008.

Source: Own work; this file is adapted from the file 

by this uploader on Wiki Commons.

Author: Goldmund100.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The proximity of some regions meant that modern country borders do 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. Regional differences, that are apparent in the great Abbey Churches and Cathedrals of the Romanesque period, often become even more apparent in the Gothic.

The local availability of materials affected both construction and style. In France, limestone was readily available in several grades, the very fine white limestone of Caen being favoured for sculptural decoration. England had coarse limestone and red sandstone, as well as dark green Purbeck marble, which was often used for architectural features.

English: Saint Gatien Cathedral, Tours, France.

High Altar and Choir.

Français: Cathédrale Saint-Gatien, Tours, 

Indre-et-Loire, Centre, France.

Maître-autel et chœur.

Photo: 22 September 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Tango7174.

(Wikimedia Commons)

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, is called "Backsteingotik" in Germany and Scandinavia and is associated with the Hanseatic League. In Italy, stone was used for fortifications, but 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. It is thought that the magnificent Hammer-Beam roofs of England were devised as a direct response to the lack of long straight seasoned timber by the end of the Mediaeval period, when forests had been decimated, not only for the construction of vast roofs, but also for ship building.

Gothic architecture grew out of the previous architectural genre, Romanesque. For the most part, there was not a clean break, as there was to be later in Renaissance Florence with the revival of the Classical style by Filippo Brunelleschi in the early 15th century, and the sudden abandonment in Renaissance Italy of both the style and the structural characteristics of Gothic.

Amiens Cathedral 

Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens, 

France.

Photo: 9 January 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Amiens Cathedral

Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens,

France.

The Last Judgment Tympanum.

Photo: 9 January 2008.

Source: Own work.

Author: Mattana.

(Wikimedia Commons)

By the 12th century, Romanesque architecture (termed Norman architecture in England because of its association with the Norman invasion), 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: thecathedral church, the parish church, the monastery, the castle, the palace, the great hall, the gatehouse, the 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. These include ribbedvaults, buttresses, clustered columns, ambulatories, wheel windows, spires and richly carved door tympana. These were already features of ecclesiastical architecture before the development of the Gothic style, and all were to develop in increasingly elaborate ways.

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. With its use came the development of many other architectural devices, previously put to the test in scattered buildings and then called into service to meet the structural, aesthetic and ideological needs of the new style. These include the flying buttresses, pinnacles and traceried windows which typify Gothic ecclesiastical architecture.

Interior of the Middle Temple Hall, London, 

with its Double Hammer Beam roof.

Photo: September 2013.

Source: Own work.

Author: Cmglee.

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Steeple of the Cathedral of Saint Lazarus, Autun, France.

Français: Clocher de la cathédrale Saint-Lazare d'Autun (Saône-et-Loire, France)

Photo: 14 October 2009.

Source: Own work.

Author: Kokin.

(Wikimedia Commons)

Autun Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Lazare d'Autun) is a Roman Catholic Cathedral, and a national monument of France, in Autun. Famous for its Cluniac inspiration, and its Romanesque sculptures by Gislebertus, it is a highlight in Burgundy and it is the seat of the Bishop of Autun. The Bishop of Autun set forth the construction of the Cathédrale Saint-Lazare, as a result of the large movement of pilgrims travelling to Vezelay, as they progressed 

on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela.

Due to social practices, that involved pilgrims venerating the Relics of Saints in this period, the Bishop of Autun ordered the creation of a larger Cathedral, to house the Relics and accommodate the influx of pilgrims into Autun. The Column Capitals and main façade of the Church are embellished with realistic sculptures carved by Gislebertus. The artwork is a means of teaching the population of Christian ethics, with dramatic scenes of Heaven and Hell.

But while Pointed Arch is so strongly associated with the Gothic style, it was first used in Western architecture in buildings that were, in other ways, clearly Romanesque, notably Durham Cathedral in the North of England, Monreale Cathedral and Cathedral of Cefalù in Sicily, and Autun Cathedral in France.

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.

Increasing military and cultural contacts with the Muslim world, including the Norman conquest of Islamic Sicily in 1090, the Crusades, beginning in 1096, and the Islamic presence in Spain, may have influenced Mediaeval Europe's adoption of the Pointed Arch, although this point remains controversial. Certainly, in those parts of the Western Mediterranean subject to Islamic control or influence, rich regional variants arose, fusing Romanesque and, later, Gothic traditions, with Islamic decorative forms, as seen, for example, in Monreale and Cefalù Cathedrals, the Alcazar of Seville, and Teruel Cathedral.

Cathedral of Monreale, Sicily, Italy.

Exterior Arabesque ornaments on the Rear Apses.

Photo: August 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Bernhard J. Scheuvens aka Bjs.

(Wikimedia Commons)

The outsides of the principal doorways of Monreale Cathedral, and their Pointed Arches, are magnificently enriched with carving and coloured inlay, a curious combination of three styles - Norman-French, Byzantine and Arab.

English: Unfinished Cologne Cathedral, 1856, with ancient crane on South Tower.

Deutsch: Vor dem unfertigen Dom: Zollverwaltung „Am Bollwerk“ mit achteckigem Zinnenturm.

Photo: 1856.

Source: Uta Grefe: Köln in frühen Photographien 1847-1914, 

Schirmer/Mosel Verlag, München, 1988, 

ISBN 3-88814-294-6. Scan by Raimond Spekking.

Author: Johann Franz Michiels (1823–1887).

(Wikimedia Commons)

English: The Nave Vault, 

with Pointed Transverse Arches, 

Durham Cathedral, England.

Norsk: Durham katedralen, Interiør.

Photo: 18 November 2004.

Source: Own work.

Author: Foto: Nina Aldin Thune; 

this version adapted.

(Wikimedia Commons)

PART THREE FOLLOWS.