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Chapter Nine: Gothic Architecture
The document summarizes key aspects of Gothic architecture from its origins in 12th century France through its evolution and spread across Europe. It highlights characteristic Gothic elements like pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses. Examples of notable Gothic cathedrals are discussed, including Notre Dame in Paris and Chartres, as well as the development of Gothic styles in England with Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular periods. Construction techniques are explored through Villard de Honnecourt's notebook from the 13th century.
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Chapter Nine: Gothic Architecture
- 1. Buildings across Time,4th Edition Chapter Nine: Gothic Architecture Introduction Gothic originated in the first half of the twelfth century in the region around Paris and spread to the rest of Europe, where the style was modified to suit local conditions and aesthetic preferences. The key elements of the French Gothic are: • the pointed arch • the ribbed vault • the flying buttress • large windows with tracery • piers composed of shafts bundled around a core Unlike Romanesque buildings, in which a continuous mass of wall is necessary to sustain the load, the Gothic structure is a skeletal system, that transfers overhead loads down to the ground at discrete points, thus freeing large expanses of wall to be opened for windows.
- 2. Introduction Gothic Anatomy Section showingGothic structure in a major church. Arrows indicate how dead loads from the vaults are transferred to the piers of the arcade and also, through the buttress flyers, to the buttress piers outside the building. The buttress flyers additionally help to resist lateral or side loads caused by the wind blowing against the tall building. Buttress Pier Buttress Flyers Arcade Pier Clerestory Triforium Arcade Vaults
- 3. Early Gothic inFrance The Abbey Church of St. Denis, 1137 - 1144 Generally recognized as the first Gothic building, Abbot Suger’s architects combined Norman composition with the sculptural detail associated with central and southern France in their re-building of the Abbey Church of St. Denis. This plan of the abbey church of St. Denis shows the plan of the original eight-century basilica. Abbot Suger rebuilt the west front between 1137 and 1140, and the design was so well-received, he oversaw construction of a new, enlarged choir for the church between 1140 and 1144. This new choir is considered to reflect advances in the early Gothic style. Enlarged West Front Enlarged Choir Original Basilica
- 4. Early Gothic inFrance The Abbey Church of St. Denis, 1137 - 1144
- 5. Early Gothic inFrance The Abbey Church of St. Denis, 1137 - 1144
- 6. Early Gothic inFrance The Abbey Church of St. Denis, 1137 - 1144 Note the window tracery, the decorative intersecting stonework in the upper sections of the windows in a Gothic church.
- 7. Early Gothic inFrance Notre-Dame Cathedral, Laon, 1155-1205 Many of the great cathedrals in France were dedicated to the Virgin Mary and have the name “Notre Dame” (“Our Lady” in English.) This façade has a greater feeling of depth and openness than was seen at St. Denis. Deep hoods protect the entrance portals, and the upper stages of the twin towers become octagonal in plan. St. Denis facade
- 8. Early Gothic inFrance Notre-Dame Cathedral, Laon, 1155-1205 The nave has a four-story elevation: aisle arcade, gallery, triforium (where the roof over the aisle connects to the exterior wall of the nave), and clerestory. Clerestory Gallery Aisle Arcade Triforium
- 9. Early Gothic inFrance Notre-Dame Cathedral, Laon, 1155-1205 Bundled wall shafts correspond to the ribs of the sexpartite vaults (bays or vaults divided into six triangular parts) overhead.
- 10. Early Gothic inFrance Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1150-1250
- 11. Early Gothic inFrance Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1150-1250 Changes in the cathedral design were implemented as the church was being built. Construction on the cathedral began between 1150 and 1155. To bring more light into the church, the clerestories around the newly- constructed nave were enlarged around 1225 and the original nave buttresses were rebuilt. This change is reflected in the nave elevations. Enlarged Clerestory Rebuilt Design Original Design
- 12. Early Gothic inFrance Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1150-1250 Changes in the cathedral design were implemented as the church was being built. Construction on the cathedral began between 1150 and 1155. To bring more light into the church, the clerestories around the newly- constructed nave were enlarged around 1225 and the original nave buttresses were rebuilt. This change is reflected in the nave elevations. Enlarged Clerestory
- 13. Early Gothic inFrance Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1150-1250 The ceiling is constructed as a series of sexpartite vaults. Notice how there is a continuity of line from the vaulting ribs to the wall shafts, giving the interior a vertical sweep. While the clerestory windows were enlarged in the 13th century, later Gothic cathedrals featured much larger windows.
- 14. Early Gothic inFrance Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, 1150-1250 West front: what seems to be an obvious symmetrical composition turns out to be not entirely so. These small variations and details make this a highly individual building. The decorative, bud-like protrusions on the angles of Gothic stonework, especially on spires and towers, are known as crockets. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtR khL_yeu8
- 15. High Gothic inFrance Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres, 1194-1230 Plans of cathedrals at Chartres and Bourges. These buildings, begun within two years of one another, show different approaches to Gothic design. Chartres continues the tradition of pronounced transepts seen at Notre Dame, Laon, while Bourges has a double ambulatory rather like Notre Dame, Paris. Notre Dame, Chartres Bourges Cathedral
- 16. High Gothic inFrance Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres, 1194-1230 The first monument of the High Gothic was the Cathedral of Notre Dame at Chartres, built after a fire damaged the old Romanesque church. Flying buttresses were planned from the start, simplifying the design and eliminating the galleries. Notice the changes from early to high Gothic, as well as the greatly increased height of the arcade and clerestory at Chartres.Notre Dame, ChartresNotre Dame, Laon Clerestory Triforium Arcade Gallery Triforium Clerestory Aisle
- 17. High Gothic inFrance Notre Dame Cathedral, Chartres, 1194-1230 Notre Dame at Chartres was built between 1194 and 1230, but the north tower was not completed until 1513.
- 18. High Gothic inFrance Bourges Cathedral, 1195-1250 Section through the cathedral of St. Etienne at Bourges, which shows the buttresses and paired aisles that provide bracing for the high vaults of the nave and choir. This is a more structurally-efficient Gothic cathedral than seen elsewhere, in that it achieves a comparable height and area to Chartres but requires significantly less stone. The model established here, however, was seldom used in later churches. One suspects the building patrons preferred the dramatic luminosity provided by the tall clerestory windows of the single-aisle design more than structural efficiency, since Gothic ideas tended to be about light and space rather than construction technique. Aisle Aisle Nave
- 19. High Gothic inFrance Bourges Cathedral, 1195-1250 Due to the double aisles, the clerestory windows at Bourges tend to be smaller than those seen in other Gothic cathedrals, but the nave piers are exceptionally tall.
- 20. High Gothic inFrance The Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, 1243-1248 Built as a palace chapel by King Louis IX to house relics he had acquired from Constantinople, this small two-story jewel of High Gothic design is a virtual glass-walled structure, with stone cross-sections reduced to a minimum. The relatively small scale and internal metal tie-rods that resist outward thrust on the building make flying buttresses unnecessary.
- 21. High Gothic inFrance The Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, 1243-1248 The upper floor chapel, for use by the royal family, is surrounded by stained glass windows with bar tracery in the new rayonnant style or characterized by radiating lines.
- 22. High Gothic inFrance The Sainte-Chapelle, Paris, 1243-1248 The upper floor chapel, for use by the royal family, is surrounded by stained glass windows with bar tracery in the new rayonnant style or characterized by radiating lines.
- 23. English Gothic English GothicTracery Examples of English Gothic window tracery. From left to right, these windows are from the Early English, Decorated, and Perpendicular periods. Early English Decorated Perpendicular
- 24. English Gothic Early EnglishGothic style The Early English Style existed in England from around 1175 to about 1265. Vaulting is straightforward, usually quadripartite, and windows have lancet-shaped heads.
- 25. English Gothic Decorated Gothicstyle The Decorated Style existed in England from around 1250 to about 1370. It used vaulting with extra ribs, included ribs that do not rise out of a pier colonnette and are not ridge ribs, and includes trefoil (three-part) and quatrefoil (four-part) cusped tracery shapes. TREFOIL QUATREFOIL
- 26. English Gothic Perpendicular Gothicstyle The Perpendicular Style, the most decidedly English Gothic style, was in fashion in England from around 1330 to about 1540. It is distinguished by panel tracery and vaulting in elaborate fan shapes.
- 27. English Gothic Canterbury, 1175-1184 Plansof the cathedral at Canterbury, showing the original Norman church and its Gothic replacement, which made use of the foundations from the earlier church. In the chapel behind the choir, Canterbury incorporates the shrine of St. Thomas Becket, who is venerated as a saint and martyr by both the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion and was murdered here by agents of King Henry II in 1170. The shrine provides extensive accommodation for religious pilgrims.
- 28. English Gothic Salisbury, 1220-1258 Plansof Salisbury Cathedral (1220-1258), King’s College Chapel in Cambridge (1446- 1515), and Lincoln Cathedral (1192-1280). Both Salisbury and Lincoln have plans that reflect Cistercian monastic church architecture with rectangular chapels and double transepts inspired by Cluny III. Note the polygonal chapter houses, elegant centrally plan buildings where the cathedral canons could meet. The rectangular plan of King’s College Chapel was designed for preaching. Vast resonant spaces work well for chants, while the spoken word benefits from a smaller, less reverberant hall. SALISBURY KING’S COLLEGE LINCOLN
- 29. English Gothic Salisbury, 1220-1258 Salisbury Cathedralwas unique in that it was built almost entirely in one style, Early English Gothic.
- 30. English Gothic Salisbury, 1220-1258 Noticehow the vaulting ribs do not extend as wall ribs down to grouped piers, but spring instead for corbels set between the clerestory windows. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=MHOTA hHjtww
- 31. English Gothic Lincoln Cathedral,1192-1280 Lincoln Cathedral provides a wonderful sampler of vaulting. The transepts are sexpartite, while the nave features vaults of the decorated period. Most unusual of all are the choir vaults, known as ‘crazy’ vaults because their rib pattern is asymmetrical.
- 32. English Gothic Lincoln Cathedral,1192-1280 Lincoln Cathedral provides a wonderful sampler of vaulting. The transepts are sexpartite, while the nave features vaults of the decorated period. Most unusual of all are the choir vaults, known as ‘crazy’ vaults because their rib pattern is asymmetrical.
- 33. English Gothic Ely CathedralLantern, 1322-1336 View into the unusual, wooden lantern at Ely Cathedral, seen from below. The octagon is rotated 22.5 degrees from the long axis of the nave. The lantern is made of wood, because the foundations were insufficient for rebuilding in a heavier material, like stone.
- 34. English Gothic Hammerbeam Truss,Westminster Hall, London, 1394-1402 A hammerbeam is a short, horizontal structural member attached to the foot of a principal rafter. Notice how the wooden members come to rest on the masonry wall, with the hammerbeam partially supported by the hammer brace. The hammerbeam truss at Westminster Hall rests on Norman walls. It was constructed to replace a wooden roof that required intermediate supports, but the span was too great for continuous beams. Principal Rafter Hammerbeam Hammerbeam Brace
- 35. German and ItalianGothic St. George Church, Nördlingen, Germany, 1427-1500 This is a hall church, where the nave and aisle vaults are virtually the same height. Gray stone ribs form intricate geometric patterns on the plastered surface of the vaults.
- 36. German and ItalianGothic St. Barbara Church, Kutná Hora, Czech Republic, 1388-1512 At the nave vaults, the supporting piers rise as unbraced shafts above the inner aisles to vaults that match the height of the nave. Large gallery windows flood the interior with light, illuminating the flower-like ribs that flow gracefully across the vaulting shell.
- 37. German and ItalianGothic Milan Cathedral, 1387-1572; 19th century This is the largest Gothic church in Italy, and its structure is based on the cross- section of Bourges Cathedral, where pairs of aisles help to brace the high nave vaults. Master builders from France, Germany, and Italy were consulted concerning its design and construction.
- 38. Medieval Construction Villard deHonnecourt, ca. 1225-1250 Pages from the Notebook of Villard de Honnecourt, who lived around 1225. Villard collected drawings from various places, intending to pass his work on to others. This page shows methods for obtaining the solution to geometric problems, important skills for medieval builders.
- 39. Medieval Construction Villard deHonnecourt, ca. 1225-1250 Page from the Notebook of Villard de Honnecourt, showing a sketch of wrestling men along with the scheme for a Cistercian church and a plan for the choir at Reims cathedral. Villard’s drawings are the earliest record we have of a medieval builder’s graphic representation of buildings.
- 40. Medieval Construction Villard deHonnecourt, ca. 1225-1250 Page from the Notebook of Villard de Honnecourt, showing plans for two Cistercian church choirs. Some scholars think that Villard was involved in rebuilding the choirs of Cistercian churches to more elaborate designs. Notice that these plans show vaulting ribs and (unlike the Plan of St. Gall) wall thicknesses.
- 41. Medieval Houses andCastles Long House Reconstruction view of an early medieval long house from Bremerhaven, Germany. Entrances set on opposite sides of the long wall divide the building into two parts, one with a hearth for cooking and warmth, and the other with stalls for animals. Regularly spaced wooden posts support the roof frame, which is weatherproofed in thatch.
- 42. Medieval Houses andCastles Hall Interior Interior of the hall in a medieval manor house. This was the main living space, provided with a central hearth for warmth. Meals would be taken here in common with household servants and retainers. It is ironic that the hall in modern houses has dwindled down to an entryway or connecting passage, when once it was the major living space.
- 43. Medieval Houses andCastles Half-timbering Diagram showing the braced heavy timber frame (half timbering) used in medieval construction. Sections between the wooden members could be filled with wattle and daub, brick, or other material that then might be plastered over inside and out, creating a solid wall. Notice the slight cantilevers or jetties that extend the floor space on the upper levels. Along narrow medieval streets, these overhangs would reduce available light.
- 44. Medieval Houses andCastles Half-timbering View of a half-timbered medieval house. Note the diagonal braces used to strengthen the corners. Even with these braces, many surviving medieval houses are amazingly out of plumb. England and Germany tend to preserve substantial numbers of urban buildings constructed in this manner. In Germany, half-timbering is known as Fachwerk.
- 45. Medieval Houses andCastles Cluny House Twelfth-century house at Cluny. This townhouse is typical of many medieval urban residencies, combining workshop or commercial space on the ground floor with the owner’s living quarters on the floors above. To obtain light and air, there is a small courtyard at the back, beyond which is the kitchen. The upstairs hall served as the multipurpose living space.
- 46. Medieval Houses andCastles San Gimignano Tower houses at San Gimignano. In many northern Italian towns where masonry construction was the norm, medieval families constructed towers on houses out of a sense of competition or perhaps for defense. At San Gimignano, house towers were apparently also used to hang lengths of dyed cloth.
- 47. Medieval Houses andCastles Tower of London, 1078-1080 William the Conqueror built this castle at the eastern edge of London to signal his dominion over the most important city in England. Its three floors are vaulted, and the roof served as a fighting platform. In the rounded section at the second floor is a Norman chapel.
- 48. Medieval Houses andCastles Tower of London, 1078-1080 Plan of the Tower of London, showing the ancillary walls constructed since William’s time. When first built, the Tower sat just inside the Roman wall around London, shown here as the solid black line. Roman Wall Tower
- 49. Medieval Cities Bastide towns,southern France, 1220-1375 A Cité was an old medieval fortified settlement that was eventually built up into a fortified stronghold. A bastide was a medieval town built near a fortified Cité for defensive purposes and generally laid-out with a geometric plan. These were built to encourage economic growth in a devastated region. Bastides were commonly located in France, built between 1220 and 1375. Bastides often posses an orthogonal street layout, a central market square, a town hall, and uniform lot sizes for houses. The church is usually relegated to a side location.
- 50. Medieval Cities Carcassonne, built800-1300 The Cité at Carcassonne, a medieval French city with fortifications dating back to the seventh century. Plan of Carcassonne, showing the fortified Cité (lower right) and the later grid-plan bastide, that was established in 1248 across the river Aude. When the second set of walls was planned for the Cité, the hilltop became essentially a military camp. The civilian population was resettled in the valley, where there was room for commerce to thrive under the protection of the fortified stronghold. Bastide Cité
- 51. Medieval Cities Kraków, Poland,1257 Plan of Kraków, Poland, generated by a Great Charter in 1257. The orderly town plan (shown in dark hatching) includes a large market square, 600 feet on a side. Building lots were laid out to maximize frontage on important streets and around the square. Exceptions to the grid were made for existing buildings, notably St. Mary’s Church and sections of town that had grown up around the castle. St. Mary’s Church Market Square City Hall Cloth Hall
- 52. Medieval Cities Kraków, Poland,1257 View of the market square at Kraków, showing St. Mary’s Church (left) and the Cloth Hall in its center. Textile merchants were very important. Their trading hall had stalls on the ground floor and rooms for the cloth guild upstairs.
- 53. Medieval Cities Ca’d’Oro, Venice,begun 1421 The Ca’d’Oro (House of Gold) in Venice, begun in 1421. This is an exceptionally fine merchant house facing on the Grand Canal. Its name came from the gilding that was once applied to its exterior detailing. Even without the gold, its lace-like arch tracery and marble walls shimmer in light reflected off the water.
- 54. Medieval Cities Venice Section througha typical Venetian palazzo, showing how the deep grand salon extends from front to back to encourage circulation of air through the house. As in other medieval cities, the ground floor of houses was typically used for commerce, with the residential quarters on the upper levels where the outlook was pleasant. The upper level used for receiving guests is known as the piano nobile. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=vigjJih8Pn4