Part of History of Design, as Conducted during Monsoon Semester 2015 at CEPT University, Faculty of Design

2. The term "Gothic architecture" originated
as a derogatory description. Architect
Giorgio Vasari used the term "barbarous
German style" in his Lives of the Most
Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
to describe what is now considered the
Gothic style, and in the introduction to the
Lives he attributes various architectural
features to "the Goths" whom he holds
responsible for destroying the ancient
buildings after they conquered Rome, and
erecting new ones in this style.
At the time in which Vasari was writing,
Italy had experienced a century of building
in the Classical architectural vocabulary
revived in the Renaissance and seen as
evidence of a new Golden Age of learning
and refinement.
In English 17th-century usage, "Goth" was
an equivalent of "vandal", a savage
despoiler with a Germanic heritage, and
so came to be applied to the architectural
styles of northern Europe from before the
revival of classical types of architecture.
ORIGIN OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE

3. Gothic architecture is a style
of architecture that flourished
during the high and late
medieval period. It evolved
from Romanesque
architecture and was
succeeded by Renaissance
architecture. Originating in
12th-century France and
lasting into the 16th century.
Gothic architecture was
known during the period as
Opus Francigenum ("French
work"). Gothic architecture is
most familiar as the
architecture of many of the
great cathedrals, abbeys and
churches of Europe.
It is also the architecture of
many castles, palaces, town
halls, guild halls, universities
and to a less prominent extent,
private dwellings, such as
dorms and rooms.
A series of Gothic revivals
began in mid-18th-century
England, spread through 19th-
century Europe and continued,
largely for ecclesiastical and
university structures, into
the 20th century.

4. GOTHIC STYLE
Gothic architecture is the architecture of the late medieval period,
characterised by use of the pointed arch, rib vault, buttresses, including flying
buttresses; large windows which are often grouped, or have tracery; rose
windows, towers, spires and pinnacles; and ornate façades.
As an architectural style, Gothic developed primarily in ecclesiastical
architecture, and its principles and characteristic forms were applied to other
types of buildings. Buildings of every type were constructed in the Gothic style,
with evidence remaining of simple domestic buildings, elegant town houses,
grand palaces, commercial premises, civic buildings, castles, city walls,
bridges, village churches, abbey churches, abbey complexes and large
cathedrals.

5. RIB VAULTS, POINTED ARCHES AND DECORATIVE ELEMENTS

6. ROOFS

8. ROSE WINDOWS AND TRACERY

14. Nave of Lincoln Cathedral EnglandChoir of Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester, England York Minster, England
The greatest number of surviving Gothic buildings are churches. The Gothic style is
most particularly associated with the great cathedrals of Northern France, England
and Germany, with other fine examples occurring across Europe.

15. By the 12th century, Romanesque architecture, was established
throughout Europe and provided the basic architectural forms and units
that were to remain in evolution throughout the Medieval period.
The important categories of building: the cathedral church, the parish
church, the monastery, the castle, the palace, the great hall, the
gatehouse, the civic building, had been established in the Romanesque
period.
Many architectural features that are associated with Gothic
architecture had been developed and used by the architects of
Romanesque buildings. These include ribbed vaults, buttresses,
clustered columns, ambulatories, wheel windows, spires and richly
carved door tympana.
These were already features of ecclesiastical architecture before the
development of the Gothic style, and all were to develop in
increasingly elaborate ways.
It was principally the widespread introduction of a single feature, the
pointed arch, which was to bring about the change that separates
Gothic from Romanesque. The technological change permitted a
stylistic change which broke the tradition of massive masonry and solid
walls penetrated by small openings, replacing it with a style where
light appears to triumph over substance.
With its use came the development of many other architectural devices,
previously put to the test in scattered buildings and then called into
service to meet the structural, aesthetic and ideological needs of the
new style. These include the flying buttresses, pinnacles and
traceried windows which typify Gothic ecclesiastical architecture.
DIFFERENCE FROM THE ROMANESQUE STYLE
Verticality of the Gothic architecture achieved through flying
buttresses compared to Romanesque
Romanesque
Gothic

16. Romanesque vs. Gothic Architecture
Romanesque Gothic
Chapels and apse: Separate compartments. Unified, unbroken space.
Vault
Mostly barrel-vaults, some
groin-vaults.
Groin-vaulted cathedrals.
Arch type Rounded arches. Pointed arches.
Main vault support Thick walls, buttresses. Exterior flying buttresses.
Clerestory Small windows. Large stained-glass windows.
Elevation Horizontal, modest height. Vertical, soaring.
Exterior Plain, little decoration, solid.
Ornate, delicate, lots of
sculpture.
Sculptural decoration
Thin, elongated, abstract
figures.
More realistic proportions and
individualized features.
Mood Dark, gloomy. Tall, light-filled.
Example St. Sernin, Toulouse, France. Chartres Cathedral, France.

18. Romanesque - Vaults Gothic – Rib Vaults with decorations
Small windows in Romanesque vs large stained glass windows with
elaborate tracery

19. Characteristics of Gothic cathedrals
A Gothic cathedral or abbey was, prior to the
20th century, generally the landmark building in
its town, rising high above all the domestic
structures and often surmounted by one or more
towers and pinnacles and perhaps tall spires.
These cathedrals were the skyscrapers of that
day and would have been the largest buildings by
far that Europeans would ever have seen. It is in
the architecture of these Gothic churches that a
unique combination of existing technologies
established the emergence of a new building
style. Those technologies were the pointed arch,
the ribbed vault, and the buttress.
The Gothic style, when applied to a religious
building, emphasizes verticality and light. This
appearance was achieved by the development of
certain architectural features, which together
provided an engineering solution. The structural
parts of the building ceased to be its solid walls,
and became a stone skeleton comprising
clustered columns, pointed ribbed vaults and
flying buttresses.

20. Facade

21. Height
A characteristic of Gothic church architecture is its height,
both absolute and in proportion to its width, the verticality
suggesting an aspiration to Heaven. A section of the main
body of a Gothic church usually shows the nave as
considerably taller than it is wide. In England the
proportion is sometimes greater than 2:1, while the greatest
proportional difference achieved is at Cologne Cathedral
with a ratio of 3.6:1.
Externally, towers and spires are characteristic of Gothic
churches, the number and positioning being one of the
greatest variables in Gothic architecture.
In Italy, the tower, if present, is almost always detached from
the building, as at Florence Cathedral, and is often from an
earlier structure. In France and Spain, two towers on the
front is the norm. In England, Germany and Scandinavia this
is often the arrangement.
Verticality
The pointed arch lends itself to a suggestion of height. This
appearance is characteristically further enhanced by both
the architectural features and the decoration of the building.
On the exterior, the verticality is emphasised in a major
way by the towers and spires and in a lesser way by
strongly projecting vertical buttresses, by narrow half-
columns called attached shafts which often pass through
several storeys of the building, by long narrow windows,
vertical mouldings around doors and figurative sculpture
which emphasises the vertical and is often attenuated. The
roofline, gable ends, buttresses and other parts of the
building are often terminated by small pinnacles.
On the interior of the building attached shafts often sweep
unbroken from floor to ceiling and meet the ribs of the
vault, like a tall tree spreading into branches. In many
Gothic churches, the treatment of vertical elements in
gallery and window tracery creates a strongly unifying
feature that counteracts the horizontal divisions of the
interior structure.

22. Light
Expansive interior light has been a feature of Gothic
cathedrals. The metaphysics of light in the Middle Ages
led to clerical belief in its divinity and the importance of
its display in holy settings. The Celestial Hierarchy,
was popular among monks in France. Pseudo-
Dionysius held that all light, even light reflected
from metals or streamed through windows, was
divine.
Gothic architecture has featured expansive windows.
The increase in size between windows of the
Romanesque and Gothic periods is related to the use of
the ribbed vault, and in particular, the pointed ribbed
vault which channelled the weight to a supporting shaft
with less outward thrust than a semi-circular vault.
Walls did not need to be so weighty.
A further development was the flying buttress which
arched externally from the springing of the vault across
the roof of the aisle to a large buttress pier projecting
well beyond the line of the external wall.
The internal columns of the arcade with their attached
shafts, the ribs of the vault and the flying buttresses,
with their associated vertical buttresses jutting at right-
angles to the building, created a stone skeleton.
Between these parts, the walls and the infill of the
vaults could be of lighter construction. Between the
narrow buttresses, the walls could be opened up into
large windows.
Through the Gothic period, thanks to the versatility of
the pointed arch, the structure of Gothic windows
developed from simple openings to immensely rich and
decorative sculptural designs.

23. Majesty
The façade of a large church or
cathedral, often referred to as the West
Front, is generally designed to create a
powerful impression on the
approaching worshipper,
demonstrating both the might of God
and the might of the institution that it
represents.
Central to the façade is the main
portal, often flanked by additional
doors. There may be much other
carving, often of figures in niches set
into the mouldings around the portals,
or in sculptural screens extending
across the façade.
The West Front of a French cathedral
and many English, Spanish and
German cathedrals generally have two
towers, which, particularly in France,
express an enormous diversity of form
and decoration.

24. Lancet arch
The simplest shape is the long opening with a
pointed arch known in England as the lancet. Lancet
openings are often grouped, usually as a cluster of
three or five. Lancet openings may be very narrow
and steeply pointed. Lancet arches are typically
defined as two-centred arches whose radii are larger
than the arch's span.
Salisbury Cathedral is famous for the beauty and
simplicity of its Lancet Gothic.
Equilateral arch
Many Gothic openings are based upon the
equilateral form. In other words, when the arch is
drafted, the radius is exactly the width of the
opening and the centre of each arch coincides with
the point from which the opposite arch springs. This
makes the arch higher in relation to its width than a
semi-circular arch which is exactly half as high as it
is wide.
The Equilateral Arch gives a wide opening of
satisfying proportion useful for doorways,
decorative arcades and large windows.
The structural beauty of the Gothic arch means,
however, that no set proportion had to be rigidly
maintained. The Equilateral Arch was employed as a
useful tool, not as a Principle of Design.

25. Flamboyant arch
The Flamboyant Arch is one that is drafted from four
points, the upper part of each main arc turning upwards
into a smaller arc and meeting at a sharp, flame-like point.
These arches create a rich and lively effect when used for
window tracery and surface decoration. The form is
structurally weak and has very rarely been used for large
openings except when contained within a larger and more
stable arch. It is not employed at all for vaulting.
The style was much used in England for wall arcading and
niches. In German and Spanish Gothic architecture it often
appears as openwork screens on the exterior of buildings.
Depressed arch
The Depressed or four-centred arch is much wider than its
height and gives the visual effect of having been flattened
under pressure. Its structure is achieved by drafting two
arcs which rise steeply from each springing point on a
small radius and then turn into two arches with a wide
radius and much lower springing point.
This type of arch, when employed as a window opening,
lends itself to very wide spaces, provided it is adequately
supported by many narrow vertical shafts. These are often
further braced by horizontal transoms. The overall effect
produces a grid-like appearance of regular, delicate,
rectangular forms with an emphasis on the perpendicular.
It is also employed as a wall decoration in which arcade
and window openings form part of the whole decorative
surface.
The style, known as Perpendicular, that evolved from this
treatment is specific to England.

27. Fan Vault
A fan vault is a
form of vault
used in the
Gothic style, in
which the ribs
are all of the
same curve
and spaced
equidistantly,
in a manner
resembling a
fan.
The earliest
example,
dating from
about the year
1351, may be
seen in the
cloisters of
Gloucester
Cathedral. The
largest fan
vault in the
world can be
found in the
chapel of
King's College,
Cambridge.
The fan vault is
peculiar to
England.

28. Ely Cathedral, England

30. Evolution from Romanesque to Gothic in
England
NORMAN Style
Ely cathedral Exterior and Interior Elevations
The walls of a Norman building are usually strong and massive, and built of small
stones.
The compartments are divided by a shallow Buttress.
The Windows are low and broad, and have usually a single shaft set in an angular
recess, carrying a cubical capital and a single roll.
The Clerestory Windows, in the larger and richer buildings, are usually placed in an
arcade, consisting of three or more arches, of which the centre one, filled by the
window, is the largest.
The proportions of the interior are invariably heavy and massive.
The Piers consist either of a stout cylindrical column, or of a rectangular mass, having
semi-circular shafts attached to its different faces.
The Vaulting or Roof-shaft is usually a semi-circular shaft rising from the floor on the
face of every alternate Pier to the springing of the vault or roof.
The side-aisles are usually covered with a plain circular quadripartite Vault, having
sometimes a diagonal rib, as well as a transverse band, moulded with single roll
mouldings.

32. Peterborough Cathedral - The Complete Geometry 1100 - 1500

33. Peterborough Cathedral - The Complete Geometry 1100 - 1500

34. Peterborough Cathedral - The
Complete Geometry 1100 - 1500

35. Peterborough Cathedral - The
Complete Geometry 1100 - 1500

36. Peterborough Cathedral - The Complete
Geometry 1100 - 1500

37. Peterborough Cathedral - The Complete Geometry 1100 - 1500

38. Evolution from Romanesque to Gothic in
England
NORMAN Style
Peterborough cathedral Exterior and Interior
Elevations
The walls of a Norman building are usually strong and massive, and built of
small stones.
The compartments are divided by a shallow Buttress.
The Windows are low and broad, and have usually a single shaft set in an
angular recess, carrying a cubical capital and a single roll.
The Clerestory Windows, in the larger and richer buildings, are usually placed in
an arcade, consisting of three or more arches, of which the centre one, filled by
the window, is the largest.
The proportions of the interior are invariably heavy and massive.
The Piers consist either of a stout cylindrical column, or of a rectangular mass,
having semi-circular shafts attached to its different faces.
The side-aisles are usually covered with a plain circular quadripartite Vault,
having sometimes a diagonal rib, as well as a transverse band, moulded with
single roll mouldings.
In the earlier buildings the Triforium is generally occupied by one large arch, of
somewhat less span and height than the pier-arch: but in the later examples, this
arch is generally subdivided into two, and later still, into four small arches,
carried on single shafts; the capitals, arch-mouldings, and other details, being all
on a smaller scale, but of similar character, to those of the Ground-story.
The Seven Periods of English Architecture, by Edmund Sharpe

39. Lancet Style
RIPON cathedral Exterior and Interior Elevations
On the outside the usual prevalence of the circular arch in the
Windows and Doorways, gives still a Norman character to the
building; but the Base-course and Buttresses begin to show greater
projection, and the walls are lightened in proportion.
The Windows are more elongated in form, and have lighter shafts.
The circular Corbel-table gives place to a regularly moulded Cornice,
carried on a series of blocks of uniform profile; and a sloped Coping
covers the Parapet.
In some of the latest examples indeed, the Buttresses have Set-offs,
and, rising above the parapet, have also a pyramidal Capping. An
increasing lightness of proportion is perceptible in all parts of the
buildings of this Period.
The Seven Periods of English Architecture, by Edmund Sharpe

40. Lancet Style
Ely cathedral Exterior and Interior Elevations
The Seven Periods of English Architecture, by Edmund Sharpe

41. Lancet Style
LINCOLN cathedral Exterior
and Interior Elevations
The Seven Periods of English Architecture, by Edmund Sharpe

42. GEOMETRICAL Style
LINCOLN cathedral Exterior and
Interior Elevations
The Seven Periods of English Architecture, by Edmund Sharpe

43. GEOMETRICAL Style
LINCOLN cathedral Exterior and
Interior Elevations
The Seven Periods of English Architecture, by Edmund Sharpe

44. CURVILINEAR Style
Lichfield Cathedral And Ely Cathedral Interior
And Exterior Elevations
The Seven Periods of English Architecture, by Edmund Sharpe

45. RECTILINEAR Style
Winchester Cathedral Interior
And Exterior Elevations
The Seven Periods of English Architecture, by Edmund Sharpe

46. Embellishment and
Expressions during
the Gothic era

47. Gargoyles & Grotesques
In architecture, a gargoyle is a carved stone grotesque
with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and
away from the side of a building. Preventing rainwater
from running down masonry walls is important
because running water erodes the mortar between the
stone blocks.
Architects often used multiple gargoyles on buildings to
divide the flow of rainwater off the roof to minimize the
potential damage from a rainstorm. Gargoyles are
usually an elongated fantastic animal because the
length of the gargoyle determines how far water is
thrown from the wall. When Gothic flying buttresses
were used, aqueducts were sometimes cut into the
buttress to divert water over the aisle walls.
The term originates from the French gargouille,
originally "throat" or "gullet"; It is also connected to the
French verb gargariser, which means "to gargle." an
architecturally precise phrase which means "protruding
gutter.“
Gargoyles are said to scare off and protect from any evil
or harmful spirits. A grotesque figure is a sculpture that
does not work as a waterspout and serves only an
ornamental or artistic function. These are also usually
called gargoyles in layman's terminology.

48. Reims Cathedral
Use of sculpture

50. Notable Examples of Gothic
Architecture
France:
Notre Dame, Paris
Reims
Amiens
Orleans
Strasbourg
Laon Cathedral
Tours Cathedral
Sens Cathedral
Lyon Cathedral
Toul Cathedral
Dijon Cathedral
Metz Cathedral
Sainte-Chappelle
Chartres Cathedral
UK:
Peterborough
Wells
Ely
Westminster
Glasgow
Salisbury
Lincoln
Canterbury
Exeter
Chichester
Winchester
York
Rosslyn Chapel
St Giles' Cathedral
Ripon Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral
King’s College Chapel
Germany:
Aachen Cathedral
Bamberg Cathedral
Cologne Cathedral
Frankfurt Cathedral
Freiburg Minster
Magdeburg Cathedral
Ulm Minster
Italy:
Milan Cathedral
Orvieto Cathedral
Siena Cathedral
Florence Cathedral
Other:
St Vitus, Prague Czech Republic
León Cathedral, Spain
Toledo Cathedral, Spain
Oviedo Cathedral, Spain

51. TAPESTRIES IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE
Tapestry, woven decorative fabric, the design of which is built up
in the course of weaving. Broadly, the name has been used for
almost any heavy material, handwoven, machine woven, or even
embroidered, used to cover furniture, walls, or floors or for the
decoration of clothing.
Since the 18th and 19th centuries, however, the technical
definition of tapestry has been narrowed to include only heavy,
reversible, patterned or figured handwoven textiles, usually in
the form of hangings or upholstery fabric.

52. In the middle Ages, tapestries had a purely utilitarian function. They were originally designed to protect medieval
rooms from damp and cold weather, to cover austere walls of big castles, or to insulate big rooms into more
comfortable quarters.
Tapestries used for furnishing big stone castles were very big in size and they required big looms, many workers
and high capital investments. Thus, manufactories of this type arose in prosperous localities, usually weaving
centers.
They were found everywhere in the castles and churches of the late medieval and Renaissance eras.
Because tapestries are made of pliable fiber, they can be rolled up and
are thus far more easily transportable than framed paintings. This
flexibility permitted royalty, nobility, church dignitaries, and other
wealthy tapestry owners to bring pieces with them on their travels.
Tapestries carried in this manner included relatively small hangings with
biblical images that were used as votive images for daily prayer and
moments of personal reflection. In contrast, larger tapestries were hung
in castles, abbeys, and mansions for decoration and to line drafty halls
and rooms in an era before central heating. For major state and religious
ceremonies, tapestries were also hung on the outside of buildings,
suspended from balconies or attached directly to exterior walls, lining
the streets.

53. Evolution in design
In these early tapestries, isolated
figures or compact groups stood out
against a background that was
generally plain or embellished with
plant motifs or flowers, those are
called “mille fleurs” tapestries
meaning, thousand flowers. Tapestry
became beside painting, sculpture and
architectures one of the major visual
art forms.
They were used by powerful secular
and religious rulers to broadcast their
wealth and might.
Eventually, tapestry became as well
more complex, depicting crowded
battle scenes or large groups of
figures arranged in tiers under
architectural constructions.

54. Bayeux tapestry
The 11th-century so-called
Bayeux Tapestry depicting the
Norman Conquest of England is
not a woven tapestry at all but is
a crewel-embroidered hanging.
When first referred to (1476),
the tapestry was used once a
year to decorate the nave of the
cathedral in Bayeux, France.
The tapestry has affinities with
other English works of the 11th
century.

56. The success of decorative tapestry can be partially explained by its
portability.
Le Corbusier once called tapestries "nomadic murals".
Kings and noblemen could roll up and transport tapestries from one
residence to another. In churches, they were displayed on special
occasions. Tapestries were also draped on the walls of castles for
insulation during winter, as well as for decorative display.
In the Middle Ages and renaissance, a rich tapestry panel woven with
symbolic emblems, mottoes, or coats of arms called a baldachin, canopy of
state or cloth of state was hung behind and over a throne as a symbol of
authority. The seat under such a canopy of state would normally be raised
on a dais.

57. By the 16th century, patrons chose to
depict one or another of their favorite
pastimes: the hunt, peasants at work
and play (often themselves in
disguise).
Then came fashionable verdure’s,
pastoral landscapes in which their
estates were often depicted.
The designers have always had an
enormous role in making truly fine
tapestry. Francois Boucher, designer
for Beauvais since 1736. During 30
years, he designed at least 400
tapestries were woven after his
cartons, splendid masterpieces of the
Rococo style.
By the end of the eighteenth century,
wallpaper replaced wall coverings of
wool and silk.
Designed in 1763, the room from
Croome Court portrays scenes from
classical myths symbolizing the
elements, the medallions are based on
designs by François Boucher.

58. Gothic furniture:
Gothic style chests and
armoires
Early chests were of simple,
robust construction, decorated
only with ornamental hinges.
Initially, they were used
exclusively for travel.
Later in the period, as the chests
grew larger and heavier, they
became static, elaborately carved
pieces of furniture, and main
components of the Gothic
interior decor.
The armoire became the main
piece of the domestic Gothic
interior. It was more luxurious
than any other piece in
residences of all classes.
Variations like cupboards,
cabinets, French armoires and
buffets, all were in use during the
Gothic period.

59. Gothic furniture:
Gothic chairs: Cathedra
Chairs were scarce, and were associated with a
sense of state majesty, being used only by the
masters. In each room of the residences of the
period, there was only a chair, that of the feudal
lord, while persons of lower ranks were using
benches, or chests.
In the 12th century, chairs could be rectangular or
circular, with low backs. In the 13th century, the
seats of the lords’ chairs of honor had a polygonal
shape. Chairs became heavier and larger, and in the
14th century they were built with canopies,
becoming similar to the royal thrones.
It should be noted that, outside the castles, the
chairs, although still richly carved, were lighter,
and more closely resembling the modern furniture.

60. Gothic furniture:
Gothic furniture beds and
tables
Starting with the 12th century,
the beds became more
luxurious. They evolved to
massive, richly carved four
posted pieces, decorated with
expensive embroidered fabrics.
They had refined ornaments,
carved or painted, and were
draped by hangings, with or
without a canopy.
In the 14th century, more
attention was given to the
precious fabrics adorning the
beds, with the wooden parts
being partly hidden from view,
except the carved bed head,
which became higher.
The early Gothic furniture
tables were simple, rectangular
trestle-tables, usually long and
narrow. Latter, they were
replaced by more elaborated,
ornamented pieces. In the great
hall of the castles, there were
also monumental stone or
marble tables.

61. Gothic church pew

62. The Age of Revivals: Gothic Revival
Furniture
Between 1840 and 1900, Victorian
designers started looking up to older
classical styles for design inspirations.
These revival styles are broadly put
into two categories, The Classical
Revival and the Gothic revival. The
Gothic revival is the revival of the
Gothic style which was popular in the
12th century. The gothic revival also
known as Victorian Gothic or Neo-
Gothic is an architectural movement
which began England.
Gothic Revival was not the most
lovable architecture and furniture
style in Europe and United States in
the 19th century. It is uncomfortable,
ornate and pretentious. Its chairs look
like thrones, and its tables and
sideboards have a massive presence
that can at best be called dignified. Yet
in its higher manifestations, the style
with its tracery, pointed arches and
heavily carved finials was popular
with wealthy cognoscenti in the United
States. It spoke of class and intellectual
respectability, while evoking the piety
of medieval Christianity.