GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

Introduction

• Gothic architecture has nothing to do with the historical Goths. It was a term that came to be used as early as the 1530s to describe culture that was considered rude and barbaric.

• Gothic architecture is a style of architecture, particularly associated with cathedrals and other churches.

• It flourished in Europe during 12th century.

• It was preceded by Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture in the fifteenth century.

•It originated at the Abbey church of Saint-Denis in Paris. This church was the place that French kings were buried.

* Built between 1140 and 1144, the church became a model for most of the late 12th-century French cathedrals.

* By the 1400s, the Gothic style was so predominant that builders routinely used Gothic details for all types of Structures.

* Secular buildings such as town halls, royal palaces, courthouses, hospitals, castles, bridges, and fortresses reflected Gothic ideas.

Gothic Architecture Features Originated in 12th-century

France and lasted into the

16th century.

Gothic architecture was

known during the period as

"the French Style".

It’s characteristic features

include:

a) the pointed arch, Ogee arch

b) the ribbed vault,

c) the flying buttress.

d) Stained glass

e) Gargoyles

f) pinnacles

Architecture Features

Pointed Arch

* During the Gothic era, builders

discovered that pointed arched

would give structures amazing

strength and stability.

* In Gothic buildings, the weight

of the roof was supported by the

arches rather than the walls.

This meant that the walls could

be thinner.

Architecture Features

Pointed Arch

• OGEE ARCH

• Ogee is a shape consisting of a concave arc flowing into a convex arc, so forming an S-shaped curve with vertical ends.

• The ogee shape is one of the characteristics of the Gothic style of architecture. Ogee windows and arches were introduced to European cities from the Middle East.

• An ogee molding may be run in plaster or wood, or cut in stone or brickwork.

Architecture Features

Architecture FeaturesRibbed Vault

Earlier Romanesque

churches relied on barrel

vaulting.

Gothic builders introduced

the dramatic technique of

ribbed vaulting.

• The intersection of two or three barrel vaults produces a rib vault or ribbed vault when they are edged with a piped masonry often carved in decorative patterns

Fan Vaulting

Architecture FeaturesFlying Buttress

* In order to prevent the

outward collapse of the

arches, Gothic architects

began using a revolutionary

"flying buttress" system.

* Freestanding brick or stone

supports were attached to

the exterior walls by an arch

or a half-arch.

Role of Flying Buttresses• These allowed for builders to go

higher with their walls because they supported the extra weight that pushed inward that would otherwise make the walls fall in.

• They direct the force of the wall out and toward the ground and they allow the church to look more delicate and better honor God.

• The Flying Buttresses also allowed for more and bigger stained glass windows.

Architecture FeaturesStained Glass

Since the walls themselves

were no longer the primary

supports, Gothic buildings

could include large areas of

glass.

Huge stained glass

windows and a profusion of

smaller windows created the

effect of lightness and space.

• rose window: a circular window composed of patterned tracery arranged in petal-like formation

• The most common design used in stained glasses were:

trefoil, quatrefoil -member composed of three or four foils and cusps, accordingly.

• trefoil: an ornamental shape that has three foils or lobes

• quatrefoil : An ornamental form which has four lobes or foils. It may resemble a four-petaled flower.

LANCET WINDOW

• A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top.

• It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance.

• Instances of this architectural motif are typical of Gothic ecclesiastical structures of the earliest period.

• Lancet windows may occur singly, or paired under a single moulding, or grouped in an odd number with the tallest window at the centre

PINNACLE• A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or

crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations.

• The pinnacle looks like a small spire.

• It was mainly used in Gothic architecture.

PINNACLE

• The pinnacle had two purposes:

• Ornamental – adding to the loftiness and verticality of the structure. They sometimes ended with statues, such as in Milan Cathedral.

• Structural – the pinnacles were very heavy and often rectified with lead, in order to enable the flying buttresses to contain the stress of the structure vaults and roof.

Architecture Features Gargoyles

Many gothic cathedrals are

heavily ornamented with

strange, leering creatures.

These gargoyles are not

merely decorative. Originally,

the sculptures were

waterspouts to protect the

foundation from rain.

Gargoyles were originally intended as waterspouts and drains to keep rain water from damaging the foundation of buildings.

Superstition held that gargoyles frightened away evil spirits while serving their practical function.

Some gargoyles were depicted as monks, combinations of real animals and people, many of which were humorous and scary.

They serve more as ornamentation

Gothic Architecture:Gothic Architecture in France

• Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Paris

• Bishop of Paris began construction in 1163

• A very tall church, reaching some 108 feet from the floor to the crown of the vaults

• The clerestories were enlarged around 1225 to bring in additional light

Notre Dame Cathedral

YORK MINSTER CATHEDRAL, YORK, ENGLAND

• York Minster is the cathedral of York, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe.

• The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York.

• York Minster is the second largest Gothic cathedral of Northern Europe

• The present building was begun in about 1230 and completed in 1472.

• It has cruciform plan with an octagonal chapter house attached to the north transept, a central tower and two towers at the west front

• In 741 the church was destroyed in a fire. It was rebuilt as a more impressive structure

INTERIOR – YORK MINSTER

• The north and south transepts were the first parts of the new church to be built.

• They have simple lancet windows, the most famous being the Five Sisters in the north transept.

• In the south transept is a famous rose window whose glass dates from about 1500 and commemorates the union of the royal houses of York and Lancaster

• Other windows in the minster include an ornate rose window and the 15 m tall Five Sisters window

• York as a whole, and particularly the minster, have a long tradition of creating beautiful stained glass

• The Minster's records show that much of the glass (white or coloured) came from Germany

• Upon arrival at York, it was intricately painted, fired, then glazed together with lead strips into the windows

• Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic, church in the City of Westminster, London, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster.

• It is one of the most notable religious buildings in the United Kingdom and is the burial site for English and British monarchs.

Gothic Style Summary • Old, ornate churches, pointed

Arches

• Stained glass in complex trefoil

or rose designs were predominant

• Exposed wooden beams, large,

imposing fireplaces, and emulated

candle lighting completed the

style.

• There was a strong vertical

influence, supported by the high

arches.

* Light was also important, as windows grew more and more expansive and light and air flooded into the once gloomy churches.

Gothic Furniture

Furniture was massive and

adorned with Gothic

motifs.

Chairs, bed frames, cabinets

were sturdy and featured

arches, spiral-turned legs

and rich upholstery in dark

colors.