Gothic Cathedral Research Paper

Surprisingly the original Gothic style back in the day was actually developed to bring sunshine and joy into people's lives, and especially into the churches. To get past the acquired definitions of the centuries, it's best to go back to the very start of the word Gothic, and to the style that bears the name. The Goths were known as a barbaric tribe who held power in various regions of Europe. Between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire. They were not renowned for great achievements in architecture.

Gothic cathedrals are one of amazing architect in Western buildings. They are done so well that it feels more like sculpture art piece than just the buildings due to delicate stone spires and patterned colorful stained glass windows. In the documentary, Building The Great Cathedrals, broadcasted on PBS NOVA, it talks about how people in Middle age constructed and built the cathedrals without modern tools. Although they did not have modern technologies, they were able to make huge building by using stones to point arch and flying buttress. I think these are the most significant techniques they used to build the cathedrals.

The pillars were the tall stone that holds the cathedral together and makes it higher keeping near to God. The point arches were the essential pieces that made to imagery the gothic Design since it is such masterwork of workmanship. Nonetheless, the Gothic Design was on the most powerful of craftsmanship on the grounds that through the ages Florence and Siena single out the plans to manufacture holy places with the Gothic purpose of perspectives. Despite everything, the Gothic Design was attempting the most powerful timeframe.

In this excerpt, von Simson looks at how the writings of intellectuals influenced the development of Gothic architecture. He begins by looking at the writings of St. Augustine and his love for music and how the importance of measurement found in music also applies to architecture. He then goes on to address two important schools of thought that influenced the formation of the Gothic style: The Platonists with their focus on cosmology, and the monks at Clairvaux, including St. Bernard, who focused on spirituality. In this section, von Simson focuses on the former and the connection between the cosmos and the Gothic cathedral. He argues that these medieval scholars saw God as an architect and the cosmos as his cathedral. In his study of both St. Augustine and the Plantonists, von Simson works to identify the ways in which these intellectual schools of thought influenced Gothic architecture.

Ziggy Marley once said, “God is like the sun. When the sun shines, it shines for everyone. God is for everyone.” In the same way, Abbot Suger built the Basilica of St. Denis so that sunlight would flood throughout the building and symbolize the power of God inviting visitors into the cathedral. The Basilica of St. Denis was an artistic response to the rise of the Catholic Church’s power for it was modeled to be a physical representation of heaven, which the church heavily preached upon. (Thesis) As the basilica represented the shift from Romanesque architecture to Gothic, Abbot Suger introduced new techniques that transformed cathedrals to look more spacious and “heavenly”. (Map Statement #1-Art History) By allowing sunlight to come

Chartres Cathedral is one of the most significant achievements of all the historical architecture. Additionally, it is entirely preserved with its original details. The unique features of the cathedral are intact, and thus when one visits the place, he or she is likely to encounter the authentic architecture work as it was done many years ago. Chartres Cathedral symbolizes an atmosphere of awe and holiness (Katzenellenbogen, 2). As such, it was built for religious purposes. However, it attracts the nonbelievers as well. As a holy building, it has many glass windows to light the building. Due to its height, a double flying buttresses is used to support the high nave. The cathedral was the first building in history that used buttresses since it was considered as necessary for the peoples’ culture and as a sign of authority. It was built to reflect a symbol of power since the religious leaders engaged in politics too. The cathedral has many statuses that represent the Biblical aspects such as Elijah, Isaiah, John the Baptist, Jeremiah, and Simeon (Katzenellenbogen, 9). The standings portray the Christian faith that was used by the architectures while building the cathedral. The interior floor stands thirty-six meters high and is one hundred and twenty-eight meters wide. The sizes show how vital it is and it can host many peoples who visit for religious functions.

The Gothic style, dating between the 12th century and 16th century, began in France and eventually spread throughout the rest of Europe. An example of the first true Gothic church was St. Denis of Paris. Now, it is considered one of our finest artistic periods, but at the time, the term “gothic” did not exactly hold the same meaning it does today. The name came from the Goths and was used rather negatively when describing this style of architecture as they considered it to be similar to the works of the barbarians from which the name was derived.

There was no need for light to fill the churches because the public didn't use them only monks. This changed in the Gothic period and the public was finally allowed access to the churches. The architects then decided to open up the structures and allow divine light

To educate and enrich the lives of new Christians, the church needed to create art and architecture to help educate the people (Encyclopaedia Britannica, n.d.). Originally, the Christian church was nothing but a basic structure, similar to a simple domicile or house. With emperors building temples with respect to tradition and religious practices, Constantine wanted to honour Christianity. But what type of structure was important enough for a church? The temple style could not be used as it was pagan symbol.

The Gothic style was an over exaggerated, awe-inspiring attempt to become closer to God. The worshipper was not only drawn to the altar, but experienced an ascent to heaven at the same time.1 These artistic gems are a grand testament to historical technology and the imaginative approach and vision of skilled craftsmen. The gothic style is one of the most

These buildings would be the largest buildings that humans would admire for a long period. Gothic Architecture is mainly relating to cathedrals and churches from that time. The majestic building is very powerful when it comes to feelings and emotions.

When Abbot Suger created the Gothic style he had in mind to create a church to pay respects to God by illuminating light with stained glass.

This majestic cathedral decorated the land of Paris, dominating both the history of architecture as well as religion history. The cathedral still stands proudly after enduring an eventful history over many centuries. Truly a fascinating historic building to behold, ‘Our Lady of Paris’, another term for Notre-Dame of Paris, portrays many diversified characteristics which will help identify a structure as Gothic. One may lay eyes upon this building and refer it to one of Gothic’s grand structure. For many, their first concept of Gothic architecture derives from some reference to this majestic construction. In this research, I shall consider the following questions as an approach to appreciate and comprehend Notre Dame de Paris’s architectural aesthetic and value better:

With these great gothic style building appearing in Europe, there had to be architects behind the projects. Some of the most famous architects of the early gothic (1140-1194), high gothic (1194-1300), and late gothic (1300-1500) are, Jean D’Orbais, Jean Le Loup, Gaucher De Reims, Bernard De Soissons, and Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis. The patron, and client, for the first Gothic style building - Abbot Suger, wrote his views on the symbolism, at St. Denis, built between (1140-1144), but did not record the architect’s name. Jean D’Orbais' designed the first tracery rose window, and was a major milestone in church construction. Considering we don't

walls, there are paintings of the Life of the Virgin. On the bottom of the walls there are images of the seven ecumenical councils. The song “The Last Judgement” is painted on the west wall. Numerous figures of martyrs are painted on the pillars, and there are also many icons. There used to be an icon of “Our Lady of Vladimir,” but later on the icon was moved to St. Basil’s Cathedral so it wouldn’t be stolen because it was so expensive. There are icons of the Virgin Hodegetria, Saint George, Trinity. There is a large iconostasis, which is a screen bearing icon that separates the sanctuary from the nave, that occupies the whole wide wall of the cathedral.