gothic cathedral
TRANSCRIPT
THE GOTHIC CATHEDRALOBJECTIVES
• Understand the key structural components of the Gothic cathedral
• Explain the origins of the Gothic style
• Analyze the cathedral as an interactive environment
• Explain the symbolic properties of light and height in the Gothic cathedral
Gothic CathedralArchitectural Style
• Began in France in the 12c.
• Pointed arches.
• Flying buttresses.
• Stained glass windows.
• Elaborate, ornate interior.
• Taller, more airy lots of light.
• Lavish sculpture larger-than-life.
Development of Gothic Cathedrals
1. Urban revolution: civic pride, rising wealth, intense urban piety
2. Mirrors shift in piety, literature, and the lifestyle of the nobility towards emotional intensity and refinement
3. Structural engineering advances allowed for greater height and took the weight off the walls allowing for the installation of large windows
Interactive Elements
•Educational program
•Inspiring mystical, emotional experience using light and height
Abbot Suger: creates the Gothic style at St. Denis
Choir, St. Denis, 1140s
**First church space to focus on making the ceiling higher and the interior more filled with light
**Beginning of new style of church design in France
The Gothic Style Emerges
Tree of Jesse, window at St. Denis
**educational
**symbolic of God’s light in your life
The good, of course, is always beautiful, and the beautiful never lacks proportion. --- Plato
Rose Window Chartres Cathedral, Paris
Notre Dame Cathedral
**Exterior of cathedrals are also part of the educational program **Numerous relief and partially free-standing sculptures cover the front and sides of the structure—all carefully planned to be part of an overall religious program
Flying Buttress: a free-standing support attached to the outer walls to resist the lateral thrust of a vault
Amiens Cathedral
Nave cross section
Basilican Floor Plan (Latin Cross)
• Cathedrals were usually oriented along an east-west axis. The main entrance was on the west end while the liturgical stuff (altar, bishop’s throne, etc.) was located in the east end. They had the shape of a Latin cross.
AISLE: the space between the columns of the nave and the side wall Nartex
NARTHEX: A vestibule leading to the nave of a church, originally separated by a screen
apse
Crossing: area of a church where the nave, choir, and transept intersect Choir: area of the church where the priest performs the mass
Apse: vaulted, circular extension or projection at the eastern end of a church