The Gothic style originated in the 12th century at the Abbey Church of St. Denis in France. Abbot Suger rebuilt the choir and added a new west front, flooding the church with light from large stained glass windows. This inspired the Gothic architectural innovations of pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses which allowed buildings to be constructed much taller, with huge walls of glass. Gothic cathedrals like Notre Dame and Chartres featured immense rose windows and narratives in stained glass that served as "bibles for the poor." Wealthy patrons and trade guilds donated windows to enhance their prestige and commemorate their patron saints.

1. Gothic Architecture

2. Early Christian Church:
Based on Roman Basilica

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Early Christian Church:
Flat timber roof

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Romanesque Pilgrimage
Church

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Ambulatory:
guides pilgrims around the
choir
Radiating
Chapels:
where relics were placed on
display

7. Romanesque interior:
1. Stone barrel vaults
2. Thick walls/piers
3. Small windows
Nave, Saint Sernin, Toulouse,
France, c. 1070-1120

8. The Gothic style of architecture originated at the Abbey Church of St.
Denis, in a suburb of Paris
Abbey Church of Saint Denis, 1140-1144

9. Royal burial place for the French monarchy since Carolingian times

10. Tomb Effigy of Jean d'Alluye, mid-13th century
Metropolitan Museum
Tomb effigies (“gisants”) recall the mummy coffins of Roman Egypt

11. Hypothetical reconstruction of the Carolingian basilica, with the addition of a west front and the chevet with radiating chapels. © Ministère de la culture / M. Wyss, A.-B.
Pimpaud, M.-O. Agnes.
Source: http://www.culture.gouv.fr/fr/arcnat/saint-denis/en/1_4a4_3d.htm
Suger added a west front to the old Carolingian church, and rebuilt the choir (or
chevet)

12. Abbot Suger presenting
Tree of Jesse Window, c.
1081-1151
Abbey Church of St. Denis
Inspired by the mystical significance of light
Lux nova - “new light”

13. Romanesque interior:
1. Stone barrel vaults
2. Thick walls/piers
3. Small windows
Nave, Saint Sernin, Toulouse,
France, c. 1070-1120

14. Suger’s new church was flooded with light, filtered through colored glass

16. “Stained glass windows are the Holy Scriptures . . . And since their brilliance lets the
splendor of the True Light pass into the church, they enlighten those inside.”
Hugh of Saint-Victor
“The glass windows in a church are Holy Scripture, which expel the wind and
rain, that is, all things hurtful, but transmit the light of the True sun, that is, God,
into the hearts of the faithful.”
William Durandus, Bishop of Medes

17. The problem: how to support huge walls made of nothing but glass

18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrdkL7Y8Who

19. 1. The pointed arch

20. 2. Ribbed vaults

21. 2. Rib vault

26. 3. Flying buttresses

31. Gothic style soon spread throughout France

32. It was called the opus modernum, or the “new style”

33. Towns competed with one another:
1. To have the tallest cathedral
2. To have the most windows

34. Nave, Cathedral of Notre Dame de Laon, 1155-1205 80 feet

35. Nave, Cathedral of Notre Dame de
Laon, 1155-1205 80 feet
Notre Dame de Paris, 1163-1200
107 feet

36. Notre Dame de Paris, 1163-1200
107 feet

37. Chartres Cathedral,
1194-1220
118 feet

38. Reims Cathedral, begun 1210
127 feet

39. Amiens Cathedral, 1220-1288
144 feet

40. Beauvais Cathedral
158 feet

41. Beauvais would have been the tallest of them all,
but the nave collapsed

43. Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Ave NYC
(between 110th and 113th St) 1892-?????

45. Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, 5th Ave between 50-51st Street, NYC
1858-1878

46. Lux Nova
The quest for height was connected
to the quest for light
More height meant more stained
glass windows, and the heavenly
light of god
Abbot Suger presenting Tree of Jesse Window, c. 1081-1151
Abbey Church of St. Denis

49. Notre Dame De La Belle Verriere,
Stained-glass window 12th century
Chartres Cathedral, Chartres,
France
Like many Gothic cathedrals, Chartres was dedicated to “Notre Dame” - “Our Lady”

50. The tunic of the virgin was the most prized relic at Chartres

51. Byzantine influence:
Frontal
Flat
Linear

52. Bibles for the Poor
Stained glass windows and
sculptural decorations served as a
“bible for the poor”

53. Bibles for the Poor
They provided visual narrations of
the life of Mary and Christ for a
largely illiterate population
South Side of Choir Window: Life of the Virgin, 12th century
Chartres Cathedral, Chartres, France

57. Annunciation and Visitation, Royal Portal, Chartres

58. The North transept Rose Window at
Chartres is dedicated to the Virgin

59. It is called a “Rose Window” because the
shape resembles a flower

60. The “Throne of Wisdom” occupies the
center of the composition

61. Mary’s mother, Saint Ann, is flanked by the royal ancestors of Christ

62. The North Transept Rose window was
donated by Blanche of Castille, the
Queen of France

63. Her Royal emblem appears
everywhere

64. The French monarchy claimed to be descended from the biblical kings depicted on the
window

65. The Rose Window at Chartres
functioned as a form of “corporate
sponsorship”
It enhanced the power of the
monarchy by claiming kinship with
the kings in the bible
Rose Window and Lancets, North transept, Chartres
Cathedral, c. 1220

66. Trade Windows
Trade guilds also donated windows
•Furriers
•Drapers
•Vintners
•Shoemakers
Furriers, Story of Noah, Chartres Cathedral, c. 1220
Image sources:
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/France/Chartres/Chartres_Window_Donors/Chartr
es_Window_Donors.htm

67. Trade Windows
There are 43 building trades
represented on the windows at
Chartres
Masons, Stonecutters, and Sculptors, The St. Chevron Window, Chartres Cathedral, c. 1220
Image sources:
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/France/Chartres/Chartres_Window_Donors/Chartr
es_Window_Donors.htm

68. Trade Windows
The trade windows reflect the
importance of the cathedral to the
economic life of the city
Wheelwright, Story of Noah, Chartres Cathedral, c. 1220
Image sources:
http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/France/Chartres/Chartres_Window_Donors/Chartr
es_Window_Donors.htm

69. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=31&v=9STNg
MoRXHM