After the 11th century came an architectural style of innovation that would change everything. Adapting out of the Romanesque styles, the Gothic style would use the stone vaulting techniques developed in Romanesque architecture as well as the arches but would introduce some subtle but mostly revolutionary changes to the design including vault ribs of stone that crisscrossed the vaulted ceilings, pointed arches that permitted greater height in the vaults and arcades as well as the development of the new art of stained glass.
The Church of St. Denis near Paris has been widely regarded as the first
true Gothic church as it implemented the pointed arches and vault ribs
while introducing massive pains of stained glass. The schematic provided helps to illustrate the infrastructure of the pointed arches and you can even see the horizontal ribs that would assist weight distribution allowing for thinner walls without compromising the infrastructure.
The next image illuminates for us the vault ribs as well as the massive stained glass window pains. Because of the new bracing techniques and vaulted ribs, the big and bulky walls necessary for the Romanesque style became obsolete giving way to the mere screens that the Gothic walls would become allowing the inclusion of walls of windows. Something never done before. Unlike the Romanesque style, the Gothic style would have the highest value of introducing both height and light to the buildings and the insignificance to the size or thickness of the walls.
Resources
Bennett, Judith, et al. “Medieval Europe A Short History.” AbeBooks, McGraw-Hill Companies, The, 1 Jan. 1970, www.abebooks.com/book-search/isbn/9780073385501/.
Interesting how open and airy the new style of architecture is, compared to the romanesque. It must have been mind-blowing for those who walked in for the first time.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your information on the way bracing techniques enabled them to do different things with glass. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is interesting how in Gothic is associated with darkness in pop culture when in reality it is exactly the opposite. Today's people do not realize that the Gothic style was very open and full of light. The people of the Middle Ages probably felt more open and amazed by the amount of room and light that flooded into the room, which is totally opposite of people's views of today would be if they heard "Gothic".
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