HISTORY: Gothic Architecture

OBJECTIVES

• TO KNOW HOW GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE STARTED

• TO KNOW THE DIFFERENT GOTHIC CATHEDRALS

• TO BE ABLE TO DIFFERENTIATE GOTHIC AND ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE

• TO KNOW THE CIVILIZATION/CULTURE/RELIGION/MATERIALS USED

FORGET THE ASSOCIATION OF THE WORD "GOTHIC" TO DARK, HAUNTED HOUSES, WUTHERING HEIGHTS, OR GHOSTLY

PALE PEOPLE WEARING BLACK NAIL POLISH AND RIPPED FISHNETS. THE ORIGINAL GOTHIC STYLE WAS ACTUALLY

DEVELOPED TO BRING SUNSHINE INTO PEOPLE'S LIVES, AND ESPECIALLY INTO THEIR CHURCHES.

MUSIC IN ARCHITECTURE

•WHEN MUSIC AND ARCHITECTURE

USE SUCH NATURAL AND

CONVENTIONAL MEANINGS IN SO

SIMPLIFIED A FORM THEY RAISE

EMOTIONS TO A HIGH PITCH. THE

GOTHIC CATHEDRAL PROVES THE

POINT, ESPECIALLY WHILE MUSIC IS

BEING PERFORMED ON THE INSIDE.

Notre Dame nave, the canonic view experienced as a whole.Its spatial proportions of width to height - 1/2.7 - enhance itsspiritual meaning. Music is experienced over time, whereasarchitecture is grasped as a spatial whole

Notre Dame interior, bay rhythm and its three superimposed

levels. Each of these horizontal areas can be seen as a different

choral voice. At the time, 1240, the composer Pérotin was

superimposing one plainsong chant on top of another: musical

and architectural harmony developed in parallel through notation

systems. The notebooks of Villard de Honnecourt, circa 1240,

show the nave elevation of Reims cathedral, and reveal that he

appreciated its rhythmical subtleties

MUSIC IN ARCHITECTURE

HISTORY

• THE HISTORY OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE DATES BACK TO THE 12TH CENTURY AND LASTING

THROUGH INTO 16TH. THIS WAS AN EXCITING TIME IN MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN HISTORY

• A NEW, GOTHIC STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE AND DECORATION EMERGED IN FRANCE

• GREW THROUGHOUT THE HIGH AND LATE MIDDLE AGES PERIOD

• IT IS A STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE DEVELOPED BETWEEN THE ROMANESQUE AND THE

RENAISSANCE STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE

HISTORY

• BACK IN THE 1100S-1200S, BUILDING SKILLS WERE EXTREMELY

LIMITED. STONE CASTLES WERE RUDIMENTARY - DARK, COLD, AND

DAMP. DUE TO THIS, THEY MADE GOTHIC ACHITECURE, THE

ARCHITECT WHO LEAD THIS ON IS ABBOT SUGER

• FUNDAMENTALLY, GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE TRANSFORMED CASTLES,

CHURCHES, CATHEDRALS AND PRETTY MUCH THE WHOLE OF

EUROPE!

FUN FACT

GOTHIC STYLE WAS UNDERSTOOD

DURING THE PERIOD AS OPUS

FRANCIGENUM ("FRENCH WORKS")

SETTING AND CLIMATE

The climate in France during the 10th to 14th century is referred

as the “Medieval Warm Period” since the weather was milder

than the preceding and the following periods.

MAP OF FRANCE IN THE 12TH-16TH CENTURY

CIVILIZATION • FAMOUS FOR HARASSING AND SACKING THE

CITY OF ROME IN A.D. 410.

• FOR THIS, THEY WERE ACTUALLY CONSIDERED THE ONES WHOM PRESERVED THE

CULTURE OF ROME.

• “ THEY ARE EITHER TRADITIONALLY BLAMED FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF

THE CIVILIZATION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE THAT PLUNGED WESTERN CULTURE INTO A

"DARK AGE" OR AS HEROES WHO REFUSED TO BEAR THE YOKE OF ROME

SUBMISSIVELY.”

• “AT THAT TIME, THEY WERE DISTINGUISHED BY THEIR ROUND SHIELDS, SHORT

SWORDS AND OBEDIENCE TO THEIR KING.”

•THEY WORE WOLF AND OTHER ANIMAL SKINS

AND WERE CALLED WOLVES AMONG THE SHEEP

AS MORE AND MORE GOTHS JOINED

THE ROMAN EMPIRE THEY WERE QUESTIONED OF

THEIR LOYALTY.

CIVILIZATION

CIVILIZATION FUN FACT

•THE STATE OF ROME (ESPECIALLY THE

MISERABLE PEASANTS) ACTUALLY PRAYED

THAT THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE TO BE

UNDER THE ROMAN JURISDICTION

BECAUSE THE GOTHS DID NOT CLAIM TAXES

FROM THE PEOPLE AND HAD RATHER

FAVORABLE TREATMENT TO THE POOR.

CULTURE • PRIMARILY A PUBLIC FORM OF CHRISTIAN ART, IT FLOURISHED INITIALLY IN

THE ILE DE FRANCE AND SURROUNDING REGION IN THE PERIOD 1150-1250,

AND THEN SPREAD THROUGHOUT NORTHERN EUROPE.

• GOTHIC DEVELOPED IN EUROPE DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. IT WAS MAINLY A

METHOD OF BUILDING: GOTHIC CHARACTERISTICS APPEARED FIRST IN

ARCHITECTURE.

• ITS MAIN FORM OF EXPRESSION WAS ARCHITECTURE

EX: GREAT GOTHIC CATHEDRALS

RELIGION

BEGINNING WITH CONSTANTINE IN 326, CHRISTIANITY

BECAME THE OFFICIAL RELIGION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

GOTHIC CATHEDRALS - “CATHEDRAL CAME FROM THE WORD “CATHEDRA” WHICH

MEANS THE CHAIR OR THE SEAT OF THE BISHOP OF THAT TOWN OR REGION.

LARGE WINDOWS DECORATED WITH STAINED GLASS: THIS DEPICTS STORIES FROM THE BIBLE , FROM THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH AND THE COMMUNITY.

MANY GOTHIC CATHEDRALS HAD A FLOOR PLAN IN THE SHAPE OF A CROSS WHICH WAS A REMINDER OF THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST

FAMOUS GOTHIC CATHEDRALSLONDON’S WESTMINSTER ABBEY

NOTRE DAME IN FRANCEFAMOUS GOTHIC CATHEDRALS

MATERIALS

STONE

- THE STONE NEEDS TO BE HARD

ENOUGH TO STAND UP, AND TO LAST A

THOUSAND OR TWO YEARS, AND EASY

ENOUGH FOR A MEDIEVAL CRAFTSMAN TO

WORK WITH RATHER PRIMITIVE TOOLS.

WOOD

- UNTIL VERY RECENT TIMES, THE

ROOFS OF THE GREAT CATHEDRALS WERE

FRAMED IN MASSIVE AND COMPLEX

STRUCTURES OF WOOD, OFTEN KNOWN AS

‘THE FOREST’.

the forest supporting Soissons cathedral roof

credit: Ministère de la Culture (France)

IRON

- IN THE DAYS WHEN THESE

CATHEDRALS WERE BUILT, IRON WAS A VERY

EXPENSIVE MATERIAL, PROBABLY IMPORTED

FROM SPAIN. A CATHEDRAL HAS SOME

RELATIONSHIP TO A PLAYING CARD

CONSTRUCTION, WITH VARIOUS PARTS OF THE

STRUCTURE LEANING AGAINST OTHER PARTS.

STAINED GLASS

- DURING THE GOTHIC PERIOD

AND THE RENAISSANCE (1100S–

1500S) STAINED GLASS WAS ONE OF

THE FOREMOST TECHNIQUES OF

PAINTING PRACTICED IN EUROPE.

The Virgin and Child, Master

of Klosterneuberg, Austrian,

active about 1335, pot-metal

and clear glass, black

vitreous paint, and silver

stain (J. Paul Getty Museum,

2003.32)

Saint John (from a

Crucifixion),

possibly South

German, c. 1420 (J.

Paul Getty Museum,

2003.35.2)

PITCHER - THE FIRST TOOL USED FOR

ROUGHING OUT A SHAPE FROM A STONE

SLAB...

PUNCH - FOR 'PUNCHING DOWN' THE STONE

TO A DESIRED HEIGHT OR DIMENSION, THE

POINT, OR PUNCH WAS A QUICK WAY TO

ELIMINATE UNNECESSARY STONE.

CLAW CHISEL - THIS TOOL WAS USED TO BRING

THE SURFACE DOWN TO THE DESIRED DEPTH,

BEFORE THE FINAL STEP...

STRAIGHT CHISEL - THE FINAL TOOL USED FOR

SMOOTHING THE SURFACE, WAS ALSO USED TO

ETCH MASON'S MARKS TO IDENTIFY

INDIVIDUALS SO THEY COULD BE PAID FOR

WORK COMPLETED.

LUMP HAMMER - WAS USED FOR THE INITIAL,

HEAVY WORK INVOLVED IN PITCHING AND

PUNCHING.

MALLET - MADE OF HICKORY, BEECH, OR OTHER

HARDWOOD, WAS USED WITH A LIGHTER

TOUCH TO FINISH THE STONE WITH A STRAIGHT

CHISEL.

COMPASS, OR DIVIDERS - MEDIEVAL ICONOGRAPHY SHOWS ONLY

ONE MATHEMATICAL INSTRUMENT IN THE HANDS OF THE

STONECUTTER - A COMPASS - USED FOR CONFIGURING ARCS AND

INTRICATE MOLDINGS.

ADZE OR AXE - IN DEPICTIONS OF GOTHIC CATHEDRAL

CONSTRUCTION, THE AXE IS SEEN WIELDED BY FRENCH MEDIEVAL

STONECUTTERS WITH THE BROAD SIDE DOWN, USED AS A

ROUGHING OUT TOOL, OR WITH POINTED SIDE DOWN FOR FINER

CUTS.

SET SQUARE - THE SIMPLE TOOL THAT

ENSURED THAT THE WALLS OF GOTHIC

CATHEDRALS REMAINED SQUARE AND

TRUE AT 90 DEGREE ANGLES.

STRAIGHT EDGE - ON COMPLETION OF A FLAT STONE, SUCCESS OR

FAILURE MASON TECHNIQUE DEPENDED UPON THE STRAIGHT EDGE

LAYING PERFECTLY FLAT ACROSS THE FACE OF THE STONE. SO THE USE OF

THIS TOOL WAS A LITMUS TEST OF THE STONECUTTER'S SKILL. IF

SPACES APPEARED BETWEEN THE STRAIGHT EDGE AND THE STONE, IT

WAS EVIDENT THE STONECUTTER HAD CUT TOO DEEP. IF THE STRAIGHT

EDGE 'SEE-SAWED,' MORE CUTTING WAS REQUIRED.

ARCHITECTURE

•GOTHIC ARCHITECTURAL STYLE IS

CHARACTERIZED AND DRIVEN BY THREE

MAIN FEATURES WHICH WERE BASICALLY

STRUCTURAL IN NATURE: THE POINTED

ARCH, THE RIBBED VAULT AND THE FLYING

BUTTRESS.

POINTED ARCHES

The pointed arch distributed the vault's weight in a more

vertical direction rather than horizontal

STRESS LINES Pressure above

Distributes more horizontally Distributes more vertically

RIBBED VAULTA web of strong arches of ribs. It

helps spread the

weight/force/pressure from the

ceiling. The arch also provided

the impression of height and

magnificence, giving the vaulted

ceiling a feeling of grandeur and

elegance.

RIBBED VAULTCEILING PLAN

**The ribs of the vaults work as structural

members in transferring the loads, and the

spaces between them could be filled with

lighter, non-structural material, making the

overall structure lighter.

FLYING BUTTRESSESSUPPORTS THE PIERS OF GOTHIC CATHEDRALS FROM OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING RIGHT AT THE POINT WHERE THE STRESS LINES PUSH OUT

GARGOYLES• GARGOYLES ARE FRIGHTENING AND INTIMIDATING SCULPTURES - PERFECT FOR THE LIKES OF GREAT

LORDS WHO BUILT ELABORATE FORTRESSES AND CASTLES IN ORDER TO CRUSH AND INTIMIDATE THE

INDIGENOUS POPULATION. GARGOYLES PROVIDED A METHOD OF DRAINAGE WHICH PROTECTED THE

STONES AND THE MORTAR OF CHURCHES, CATHEDRALS AND CASTLES FROM EROSION

• THE SECOND PURPOSE OF GARGOYLES WAS AS 'GUARDIANS' OF THE BUILDINGS IN THE FORM OF

ABSTRACT SYMBOLS DESIGNED TO REPRESENT, AND TO WARD OFF EVIL.

• THE SECOND PURPOSE OF GARGOYLES WAS AS 'GUARDIANS' OF THE BUILDINGS IN THE FORM OF

ABSTRACT SYMBOLS DESIGNED TO REPRESENT, AND TO WARD OFF EVIL.

• IT IS THOUGHT THAT THEY WERE USED TO SCARE PEOPLE INTO COMING TO CHURCH, REMINDING THEM

THAT THE END OF DAYS IS NEAR. IT IS ALSO THOUGHT THAT THEIR PRESENCE ASSURED CONGREGANTS

THAT EVIL IS KEPT OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH’S WALLS.

LARGE WINDOWS

• ARE A DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTIC

OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE AND

DEVELOPED FROM SIMPLE OPENINGS

TO IMMENSELY RICH AND

DECORATIVE STAINED GLASS

DESIGNS.

ARCHITECTURE (OTHER NOTES)

• THE GOTHIC STYLE EMPHASIZED VERTICALITY AND LIGHTNESS. THIS

WAS ACHIEVED BY A SKELETAL STRUCTURAL DESIGN

• THE VERTICALITY AND LOFTINESS SUGGESTED AN ASPIRATION TO

HEAVEN AND SYMBOLIZED THE GREAT GLORY OF GOD THEOLOGICALLY.

TOWERS AND SPIRES ARE CHARACTERISTIC OF GOTHIC CHURCHES.

• GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE IS CHARACTERIZED BY STAINED-GLASS

WINDOWS, FLYING BUTTRESSES, TALL SPIRES, THE GOTHIC ARCH OR

POINTED ARCH AND GOTHIC GARGOYLES.

EXAMPLES

• GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL

• CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST PETER AND

THE HOLY AND INDIVISIBLE TRINITY

• GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND

• LA SAINTE CHAPELLE

• THE HOLY CHAPEL

• IN THE HEART OF PARIS, FRANCE

• STRASBOURG CATHEDRAL (1015-1439)

• 142 METRES IN HEIGHT IT MADE THE CATHEDRAL

THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD FROM 1647

TO 1874. IT IS ALSO FAMOUS FOR ITS PINK

COLOUR, WHICH COMES FROM THE PARTICULAR

TYPE OF VOSGES SANDSTONE USED IN ITS

CONSTRUCTION. HOWEVER, THE CATHEDRAL IS

BEST KNOWN FOR THE COLOURFUL HUE OF ITS

INTERIOR, CAUSED BY SUNLIGHT POURING

THROUGH ITS HUGE STAINED GLASS WINDOWS.

• BASILICA OF SAINT-DENIS (BEGUN 1135) (CATHEDRAL 1966)

• CONSIDERED TO BE THE FIRST GOTHIC CHURCH

• THE BASILICA BECAME THE BURIAL PLACE OF ALMOST EVERY

FRENCH KING FROM THE 10TH TO THE 18TH CENTURY

• LAON CATHEDRAL (1160-1235)

• ONE OF THE MOST OUTSTANDING EXAMPLES OF

EARLY GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE OF THE 12TH AND

13TH CENTURIES

• TOURS CATHEDRAL (1170-1547)

• SAINT GATIEN'S CATHEDRAL IN TOURS

EXEMPLIFIES THE 15TH CENTURY

FLAMBOYANT STYLE OF GOTHIC

ARCHITECTURE, ALTHOUGH IT INCLUDES

ELEMENTS OF THREE SCHOOLS OF

ARCHITECTURE - GOTHIC, ROMANESQUE

AND RENAISSANCE.

• NOTRE-DAME CATHEDRAL, PARIS (1163-1345)

• ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS GOTHIC

CATHEDRALS

• NOTRE-DAME WAS ADDED TO THE UNESCO WORLD

HERITAGE LIST IN 1991.

QUESTIONS

WHO WAS THE ARCHITECT THAT STARTED THE GOTHIC STYLE OF ARCHITECTURE?

ABBOT SUGER

WHAT DOES OPUS FRANCIGENUMMEAN?

FRENCH WORKS

WHAT IS THEIR RELIGION?

CHRISTIAN

WHAT ARE THE 3 MAIN GOTHIC ARCHITECTURAL STYLE?

POINTED ARCH,

RIBBED VAULT,

FLYING BUTTRESS

GIVE AT LEAST 2 EXAMPLE OF A GOTHIC CATHEDRAL

SOURCES

• HTTP://WWW.VISUAL-ARTS-CORK.COM/ARCHITECTURE/GOTHIC-CATHEDRALS.HTM

• HTTP://WWW.MEDIEVAL-LIFE-AND-TIMES.INFO/MEDIEVAL-ART/GARGOYLES.HTM

• HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=01UNQFAKPC8

• HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=T8G1E-JLRHM

• HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=2BSHPWSH_U4

• HTTPS://WWW.KHANACADEMY.ORG/HUMANITIES/MEDIEVAL-WORLD/LATIN-WESTERN-EUROPE/GOTHIC1/A/GOTHIC-ARCHITECTURE-AN-INTRODUCTION

• HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/GOTHIC_ARCHITECTURE

• HTTP://WWW.VISUAL-ARTS-CORK.COM/HISTORY-OF-ART/GOTHIC-ARCHITECTURE.HTM

• HTTP://WWW.MEDIEVAL-LIFE-AND-TIMES.INFO/MEDIEVAL-ART/HISTORY-OF-GOTHIC-ARCHITECTURE.HTM

• HTTP://WWW.EXPLORING-CASTLES.COM/CHARACTERISTICS_OF_GOTHIC_ARCHITECTURE_2.HTML

• HTTPS://WWW.GOOGLE.COM.PH/SEARCH?Q=HISTORY+OF+GOTHIC+ARCHITECTURE&ESPV=2&BIW=1366&BIH=659&SOURCE=LNMS&TBM=ISCH&SA=X&VED=0AHUKEWIG2FEOZRTKAHUSBY4KHZ

GYAEOQ_AUIBIGB#IMGRC=_

• HTTP://WWW.LIVESCIENCE.COM/45948-ANCIENT-GOTHS.HTML

• HTTP://WWW.ANCIENT.EU/GOTHS/

• HTTPS://EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/GOTHIC_ARCHITECTURE

• HTTP://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/TOPIC/GOTH

• HTTP://WWW.ABELARD.ORG/FRANCE/CATHEDRAL-CONSTRUCTION.PHP

• HTTP://WWW.NEWYORKCARVER.COM/MASONTOOL.HTM

• HTTPS://WWW.KHANACADEMY.ORG/HUMANITIES/MEDIEVAL-WORLD/LATIN-WESTERN-EUROPE/GOTHIC1/A/STAINED-GLASS-HISTORY-AND-TECHNIQUE

• HTTP://WWW.CATHEDRALQUEST.COM/GOTHIC_ARCHITECTURE.HTM

• HTTP://WWW.ARCHITECTURAL-REVIEW.COM/RETHINK/VIEWPOINTS/ARCHITECTURE-BECOMES-MUSIC/8647050.FULLARTICLE

• HTTPS://WWW.QUORA.COM/WHAT-SHOULD-EVERYONE-KNOW-ABOUT-GOTHIC-ARCHITECTURE

WATCH!

• HTTPS://WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/WATCH?V=01UNQFAKPC8