Gothic Architecture History, Characteristics and Examples

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Gothic architecture, a pan-European style, came about between the mid 12th century
and the 16th century and is characterized mainly by masonry building style that
uses cavernous spaces and walls broken by overlaid tracery. The Gothic style and
architecture are rooted in French architecture, but you can also find it in Europe
and other continents. Initially, the style of architecture from Europe was referred
to as Opus Francigenum (“French Work”) and was primarily used by religious bodies
like the Roman Catholic Church.

During the 12th century and the 13th century, engineering was advanced, enabling
architects to design and complete huge buildings. The gothic style of architecture
started in the Middle Ages and was from a Romanesque evolution symbolized by
vaulted ceilings, many arches, and smaller stained windows. The gothic architecture
features such as the rib vaulted pointed arch and the flying buttress were used for
tall buildings' support and allowing light inside. In contrast, stained windows,
standard in Gothic cathedrals, allowed colored or tinted light in the interiors.

The Basilica Church, founded as Abbey of Saint-Denis, was regarded as the first
gothic building, and it marks the evolution styles out of Romanesque. The Basilica
of Saint-Denis had two towers of similar height on the west front, and this is a
plan that was imitated in the plan for Notre-Dame de Paris. For the longest time,
these enormous Gothic cathedrals were the city's landmarks before modern tall
buildings. This article will try to explain more the characteristic of gothic
architecture and style with some examples.

Table of Contents
Key Characteristics Of Gothic Architecture
1. Large Stained Glass Windows
Large Stained Windows
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Today stained glass windows are found in
initially in Gothic cathedrals, and they
either arched and tall lancet windows or
in churches today, which guaranteed they
clerestory windows often used tracery, a
detailed Biblical stories
Large Stained Windows
Image Source: unsplash.com
some worship places, but they were
featured cut-colored glass. They were
round rose windows larger than those found
brought in more light. The large
decorative type of stone support, and

Large Stained Window

Image Source: pixabay.com

2. Pointed Arches
Pointed Arches
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Pointed Arches were another critical feature of gothic architecture to be both

decorative and practical. The pointed arch was of a sturdy little design that had a
form that distributed the force of bulky walls and heavy ceilings, which could
offer more support than the formerly used pillars. The gothic arch was of aesthetic
value and beauty like a workhorse, and it influenced other gothic designs like the
vaulted ceilings.

Instead of the round arches, which were characteristic of the Romanesque buildings,
architects using the gothic style adapted the tall thin pointed arches found in
Islamic architecture. This profile highlighted each cathedral's height by pointing
towards the sky and accommodating a vaulting in a similar shape.

Pointed Arch
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3. Vaulted Ceilings
Vaulted Ceiling
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Ribbed vaulting is another art form during the Gothic period because the pointed
arch results involved barrel vaults-arches placed parallel to one another and
supported the rounded roof. These vaulted ceilings used the pointed arch technology
to spread and distribute the weight and force from the upper floors, and they
allowed ceilings to be taller than they were before, providing an impression of
height and elegance. As a result of the force distribution within the vaulting
ceilings, the vaults could be constructed in different sizes and shapes.

4. Flying Buttresses
Flying Buttresses
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The flying buttress is a gothic architecture feature that defines the external
characteristics and acts to spread the tall walls' weight. The architects' used the
flying buttresses to support the building's structure by transferring the force to
the ground. It was both a decorative and practical element of history and was
elaborately designed.

The flying buttresses gave a sense of movement and flight because they seemed to
sweep and dart around each building. Often, the flying buttress was decorated with
intricate carvings, giving it a sense of grandness and importance.

Flying Buttress
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5. The Gargoyles Of Gothic Architecture/ Ornate Decorations

Gargoyles
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As one of the most notable characteristics of gothic architecture and ornate

decorations, Gargoyles were decorative monstrous little creatures that sat along
the roof and battlements of gothic castles and buildings. Gargoyles have two
purposes, and one was to drain off rainwater off the roof, gushing through their
mouth then plummeting to the ground. Another purpose was to strike fear in the ill-
educated peasants and scare them into the gothic cathedral or church.

Gargoyles
Image Source: pixabay.com

Gargoyles were one of the critical characteristics of gothic architecture and had
evil features and threatening poses that were exaggerated and encouraged many to
seek safety and solace in a church or cathedral in the world marked with
superstition and fear. Other examples of ornate decorations included statues of
saints and historical figures, embellished colonnades and colonettes, pinnacles and
spires, and sculptural moldings.

Classic Gothic Style And Gothic Architecture, Examples

A). Gothic Cathedrals
1. Notre-Dame De Paris
Notre Dame
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Notre-Dame De Paris is one of the perfect examples of French Gothic architecture,

where construction began in 1163 and ended in 1345, and it is one of the famous and
most prominent churches in France. During the reign of Louis XIV and his son Louis
XV, Notre Dame went through massive alterations and also suffered some damage
during the Second World war with stray bullets damaging several glass windows,
which were later remade after the war.

Notre Dame
Image Source: pixabay.com

2. Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral
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This is one excellent example of French Gothic Architecture, and it is also the
best preserved in Europe, dating from the 12th century and the mid 13th centuries.
Today, it is a tourist attraction and pilgrimage listed as a UNESCO World Heritage
Site in 1979 and is assumed to house the Virgin Mary's tunic.

3. The Basilica Of Saint-Denis

Abbey of Saint-Denis
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Considered one of the first Gothic-style buildings, and it officially became a

cathedral in 1966. Basilica Church of Saint-Denis is located in a Paris suburb, and
the site it's built on was previously a Roman cemetery, and the remains are still
below the building. The Basilica of Saint-Denis is both a pilgrimage and houses the
tombs of most French Kings between the 10th and 18th centuries. Abbot Suger, a
friend, noted scholar, and advisor to King Louis VI and Louis VII, led to the
church's rebuilding.

4. The Cathedral Church Of Milan

Milan Cathedral
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Cathedral Church of Milan, another example of gothic architecture, took around 600
years to complete, with the construction beginning in 1386 and lasted until the
19th century in 1865. The building work had to stall during the Second World War
because of the allied bombing of Milan and lack of funds, and it was finally
completed in 1965.

The Cathedral Church of Milan is the third largest cathedral globally and is famous
for its forest of pinnacles and spires and the highly ornate facade. The forest of
spires and pinnacles design has purposes both for aesthetics and structure.