Gothic
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture which 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 "the French Style" (Opus Francigenum), with the term Gothic first appearing during the latter part of the Renaissance. Its characteristic features include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress.
Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the great cathedrals, abbeys and parish 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.
It is in the great churches and cathedrals and in a number of civic buildings that the Gothic style was expressed most powerfully, its characteristics lending themselves to appeal to the emotions. A great number of ecclesiastical buildings remain from this period, of which even the smallest are often structures of architectural distinction while many of the larger churches are considered priceless works of art and are listed with UNESCO as World Heritage Sites. For this reason a study of Gothic architecture is largely a study of cathedrals and churches.
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Early Gothic
Decorated Gothic
The Decorated Period in architecture (also known as the Decorated Gothic, or simply "Decorated") is a name given specifically to a division of English Gothic architecture. Traditionally, this period is broken into two periods: the "Geometric" style (1250–90) and the "Curvilinear" style (1290–1350).
The Decorated style was in use between c. 1250 and c. 1350, according to Sir Nikolaus Pevsner. It was a development of the Early English style of the 13th century, and would itself develop into the Perpendicular style, which lasted until the middle of the 16th century. These terms were originally coined by Thomas Rickman in his Attempt to Discriminate the Style of Architecture in England (1812–1815) and are still widely used. Rickman dated the Decorated period to 1307–1377.
Perpendicular Gothic
The Perpendicular Gothic period (or simply Perpendicular) is the third historical division of English Gothic architecture, and is so-called because it is characterised by an emphasis on vertical lines; it is also known as International Gothic, the Rectilinear style, or Late Gothic.
The Perpendicular style began to emerge c. 1350. Harvey (1978) puts the earliest example of a fully formed Perpendicular style at the chapter house of Old St Paul's Cathedral, built by William Ramsey in 1332[1]. It was a development of the Decorated style of the late 13th century and early 14th century, and lasted into the mid 16th century. It began under the royal architects William Ramsey and John Sponlee, and fully developed in the prolific works of Henry Yevele and William Wynford[1].
In the later examples of the Decorated Period the omission of the circles in the tracery of windows had led to the employment of curves of double curvature which developed into flamboyant tracery: the introduction of the perpendicular lines was a reaction in the contrary direction.
[edit] Features of the styleThis perpendicular linearity is particularly obvious in the design of windows, which became very large, sometimes of immense size, with slimmer stone mullions than in earlier periods, allowing greater scope for stained glass craftsmen. The mullions of the windows are carried vertically up into the arch moulding of the windows, and the upper portion is subdivided by additional mullions (supermullions) and transoms, forming rectangular compartments, known as panel tracery. Buttresses and wall surfaces are likewise divided up into vertical panels. The technological development and artistic elaboration of the vault reached its pinnacle, producing intricate multipartite lierne vaults and culminating in the fan vault.
Doorways are frequently enclosed within a square head over the arch mouldings, the spandrels being filled with quatrefoils or tracery. Pointed arches were still used throughout the period, but ogee and four-centred Tudor arches were also introduced.
Inside the church the triforium disappears, or its place is filled with panelling, and greater importance is given to the clerestory windows, which are often the finest features in the churches of this period. The mouldings are flatter than those of the earlier periods, and one of the chief characteristics is the introduction of large elliptical hollows.
Commentary
Differences between Gothic and Romanesque
A good way of visualising the distinction between Romanesque and Gothic is to imagine what would happen to the parent building if you were to remove the support in question. Generally speaking, removing a pillar or column would result in only part of the structure collapsing (an arch, perhaps, or a lintel); whereas, if you remove a support member as massive as a pier, a major part of the building would give way - such as an arcade bay or a crossing tower...
Continuity from Romanesque to Gothic
Through Sutton, we see some of the unique features of this "inherited" design process: • The opportunity for successive generations of architects to make divergent stylistic choices from their predecessors. • A formalized system of proportion passed down to ensure relative uniformity. • The occasional aesthetic disharmony resulting from the shifts in personal taste or the prevailing fashions of a given era. I keep returning to the idea that above all, this drawn-out form of construction provides an opportunity for a greater intricacy of design and (by virtue of such a long construction process) financial expenditure on any given project.
Today a number of ongoing construction projects have spanned generations and may continue long into the future. The Sagrada Familia and St. John's the Divine in New York come to mind.
It was undoubtedly the case that, given the considerable timescales over which medieval cathederals were constructed, successive generations of masons would have worked on a single site - each introducing their own stylistic innovations and nuances (and responding to the demands of fashion-conscious patrons!). However this was very much a craft-based enterprise, so that the overall technical and aesthetic frameworks within which masons operated would have remained broadly consistent. Indeed the link below shows us a wooden mason's mallet from ancient Egypt which is almost identical with the type of tool which the mediaval masons would have used - and almost identical with a mason's mallet as used today!
A New Aesthetic, an Aesthetic of Line Rather Than Mass
1.Sutton attributes the change from Romanesque to Gothic to the interpretation by architects of the structural opportunities opened up by the combination of the pointed arch, rib vault and the flying buttress. This, he says, led to a new aesthetic. There are some ways in which the structural advances contributed, almost inevitably, to the predominance of line, rather than mass. (a) The pointed arch, of itself, offered directional line. (b) Channelling thrust differently meant that architects could lighten walls and buttresses. (c) An arcade of slender columns presented, more readily than did heavier columns, a pattern of vertical lines. (d) Rib vaulting introduces transverse and diagonal line which can be linked to piers and pillars to run the entire internal height of the building (such as at Bourges – Sutton p.74). (e) With the previous need for massive supports, the ability to create linked vistas, linear or otherwise, was limited. But as mass reduced, the framework predominated, views of the interior widened and decorative schemes were able further to develop the sense of purposeful line. (f) Not just structure and decoration, but also varied building materials were used to emphasise further the linear style of buildings (black marble columns at Canterbury – Sutton p.89)
Structural advances therefore led to the design of buildings in which their frameworks were, or appeared to be, revealed, and in which the lines created by structure or design led upwards to the lofty interior, and, by doctrinal association, beyond.
2. While it is more limited and less arresting, and could not be said to amount to an aesthetic, the concept of linking architectural elements through vertical lines is evident in some Romanesque architecture. Where compound piers are used in Durham, shafts link arcade, gallery and roof (Sutton. p.60). Also, in a very different way, line is effectively employed decoratively in Pisan Romanesque (Sutton p.67).
3.Not every Gothic structure aimed to stress vertical line. At Wells (Sutton, p. 90) and Lincoln (Sutton p. 91) the designs feature horizontal lines.
4. It could also be said that the Gothic aesthetic was one of light and space. (a) Sutton says of St. Denis (p.79) that “the way the spaces are unified, flowing into each other without partition or division has no precedent in Romanesque architecture”. (b) The internal height of some of the Gothic cathedrals created vast spaces, and in German Gothic design, the hall church plan led to “unprecedented effects of width and spaciousness” (Sutton p.99). ( Vast height and space was not, however, the exclusive preserve of the Gothic , as Hagia Sophia demonstrates.) (c) Structural advances created space inside buildings, and allowed the extensive use of glazing in their outer walls (eg, the choirs at Gloucester and Cologne) which bought light to the interior.
5. While some elements of Gothic style contributed to an aesthetic of line rather than mass (the Perpendicular style in general, rib vaulting such as that at Cologne and the Ely octagon and the use of spires), others did not. Elaborate gables and statuary in the French Gothic style could be said to have created a very involved external appearance without an overall linear dimension, in contrast with the relative simplicity and clarity of the internal schemes. Similarly, vaulting can become ornate and lose the directional impact of the vault by the nature of the pattern created, such as the petal vaulting at Annaberg (Sutton p.102), “cellular” vaults at Danzig (Sutton p.103) or even English fan vaulting, where the intricate half-cones diffuse the directional effect of the ribs.
I had been thinking about whether the Gothic style was a result of a more economic use of scarce materials, or an innovative approach to building taller churches that would not collapse under their own weight or ecclesiatical pride or just wealthy excess.
Certainly the churches in France were rich and powerful enough to employ master masons and purchase and transport the materials from limestone and sandstone quarries. Where Gothic architecture did take longer to emerge such as Germany, the Gothic churches tended to be built in brick, and in Italy it was marble, which may have played a role in its later adoption. However, new carving techniques and tools would have help transform the roughly hewn stone into some thing more ornate and slender and therefore something more elegant than mere mass.
Ultimately, I think it was less to do with the availability or cost of stone but an emotional appeal that reflected the independence and power of the Churches and a desire to build something that was more indicative of heavan than earth and in sharp relief to the poverty and disease that puctuated the lives of most of the congregations.
We should also bear in mind that there were powerful theological impulses at work as well. Many medieval theologians (not least Abbot Suger of St Denis - the patron who first introduced the mature Gothic style to Europe) wrote eloquently of the transports of spiritual elevation which they experienced as a result of worshipping in these new Gothic interiors which were so flooded with brilliantly coloured light as a result of the inclusion of vast stained-glass windows. To the medieval mindset, physical light was a direct expression of spiritual illumination: hence the more light one could introduce into a church interior, the closer the worshipper could come to divine revelation.
Gothic Churches
The medieval age was the golden age of church building. The interiors were invoking heaven on earth. Onre sometimes forget that the interiors were much more colourfully painted, which now dulled over time. Few things were more important in a church than the font. Font covers became works of art in their own right.
The decoration on the outside of the church could often be scary. Were they warding off evil. Gargoyles for instance were architectural instruments that carried water away from the church but mason crafted ever more grotesque figures. Contrast with Grotesques which are grosteque figures for effect only not for spouting water.
Misericords are elaorately carved wooden shelves found in Choir Stalls. They are examples like wall paintings that were morality stories but were often full of humor.
Church Houses were often houses used for recreation on consecrated grounds. Concerns were raised over the appropriateness of drinking ale on church grounds. So began a history of Ale Houses built next to churches off consecreated grounds.
