How to recognise Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is recognised by pointed arches, rib vaults and flying buttresses, which together made it possible to build tall, light churches with thin walls and large stained-glass windows. The style arose in France in the 1140s and dominated church building in Europe until around 1500.

Facts

Where it all began: Saint-Denis

Abbot Suger of the abbey church of Saint-Denis north of Paris had the choir rebuilt in the 1140s, and when it was consecrated in 1144 it was something new: a light space with slender columns, pointed vaults and a ring of chapels with large windows. Suger saw light as an image of God, and the coloured windows were meant to lift the mind upwards.

The forms had existed separately before, but at Saint-Denis they were combined into a system. Over the following hundred years cathedrals were built in the new style throughout northern France. Read more about the style on the page on Gothic.

The pointed arch and the rib vault

The clearest sign is the pointed arch. A round arch must always be half as high as it is wide, but a pointed arch can be made higher or lower as needed, and it pushes more downwards and less outwards than a round arch. This gave the builders great freedom. Compare with the round arches of the Romanesque style.

The vaults were built as rib vaults: stone ribs were set crosswise between the piers and then filled with lighter webbing. The ribs carry the weight down to the piers instead of to the wall. More about the technique can be found in the section on arches and vaults.

Flying buttresses and light

A high vault pushes outwards, and that thrust must be taken up. The Gothic solution was the flying buttress: an arch that, outside the church, springs from the foot of the vault over the roofs of the aisles to a massive buttress pier. From outside it looks like a skeleton of stone arms around the building, often crowned by spiky, tower-like pinnacles.

When the wall no longer had to carry the load, it could almost dissolve into glass. In Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, consecrated in 1248, the upper level consists mostly of windows. Chartres has one of the best-preserved collections of medieval stained glass. Rose windows, round windows with radiating tracery, are often set in the façade and the transepts.

Gothic in different countries

In France one usually speaks of Early Gothic, High Gothic with cathedrals such as Chartres, Reims and Amiens, and a late, flamboyant style with flame-like forms. Notre-Dame in Paris was begun in 1163. In England long, low cathedrals such as Salisbury were built, and late English Gothic acquired fan vaults, as in King's College Chapel.

In Germany Cologne Cathedral was begun in 1248 but finished only in 1880. In Italy Gothic remained broader and more horizontal, with the exception of Milan Cathedral. Around the Baltic, churches were built of brick in what is called Brick Gothic, because good building stone was lacking.

Gothic in Sweden and Gothic Revival

Uppsala Cathedral, the largest church in the Nordic countries, was built in brick from the 1270s on French models, and a French master builder, Étienne de Bonneuil, was called there. Vadstena Abbey Church was built for the Bridgettine Order in the first half of the 15th century. Gotland has some ninety medieval churches, many with Gothic portals and choirs.

Watch out for Gothic Revival. During the 19th century many churches and public buildings were built in Gothic forms, such as the Palace of Westminster in London. They are often more regular and mechanically perfect than their medieval models, and they have modern materials such as cast iron behind the façades.

How to recognise it

Exercise

Which element made it possible for Gothic churches to have thin walls and large windows?