Gothic Cathedrals

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“He therefore turned to mankind only with regret. His cathedral was enough for him. It was peopled with marble figures of kings, saints and bishops who at least did not laugh in his face and looked at him with only tranquillity and benevolence. The other statues, those of monsters and demons, had no hatred for him – he resembled them too closely for that. It was rather the rest of mankind that they jeered at. The saints were his friends and blessed him; the monsters were his friends and kept watch over him. He would sometimes spend whole hours crouched before one of the statues in solitary conversation with it. If anyone came upon him then he would run away like a lover surprised during a serenade” quote from The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by …show more content…

While having a book to illustrate the grandeur of Gothic cathedrals is advantageous one only has to look at them to see that they have impressive designs throughout and an imperious presence. The quote above does well to describe some of the artwork found in cathedrals, all the biblical and royal effigies as well as the gargoyles that are housed within the cathedral. There are many different types of art interwoven within Gothic cathedrals, all of which have a way of moving the viewer to feel as if they are escaping to a spiritual plane. A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. Gothic cathedrals first flourished in Europe during the Middle Ages, specifically in France. The name Gothic is derived from the name of the people who invaded Europe in the fourth and fifth century, they were known for their cruelty and …show more content…

The new features that were introduced in the Gothic cathedrals allowed for the walls to soar to new heights and coupled with all the added stained glass windows creating a completely awe inspiring space. Gothic architecture has ribbed vaulting, these are thin intersecting ribs that were developed after the Romanesque barrel vault. In combination with the ribbed vaults pointed arches were used with the intention of the materials exerting less pressure. “The thin vaulting and pointed arches contribute to those unique soaring effects that constitute Gothic architecture’s most dynamic expression.” To counteract the remaining pressure flying buttress was used, these are thin half arches that intersect two different walls to provide support. With a change in the vaults the supports also had to change, piers, columnar supports designed to hold vertical pressure were the supports used. These piers created a vertical unity that lead the observer’s eyes to the clerestory windows and upward sweeping arches.Unlike the Romanesque architecture that was meant to conceal the piers, the Gothic architecture exposed those structures. The style was essentially turned inside out, the roof was not supported by walls, but by piers, arches and buttresses that kept all the pressure so that stained glass could be

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