The term "Gothic" has a different connotation for today's teenager than it does for the typical art historian.

Italian Renaissance writers originally used the word Gothic as a disparaging term for art and architecture of the Middle Ages. They were comparing it to art created by the Visigoths (or Goths), the Barbarians who had made Roman lives so miserable a few centuries earlier. But it later became evident that the Gothic Age of art and architecture was one of extraordinary majesty.

The period, the first named for an art style rather than a place or an emperor, is called Romanesque, which means "Romanlike." It lasted approximately 150 years, from 1050 to 1200, when buildings incorporated architectural elements that resemble ancient Roman architecture. In addition to architecture, there was a resurgence of monumental stone sculpture.

Now the term Gothic is used to identify that period immediately following the Romanesque and preceding the Renaissance, a time of outstanding artistic creations.

OBJECTIVES

• Discuss the twelfth through fourteenth centuries in France.

• Describe the evolution of French Gothic architecture.

• Identify the characteristics of French Gothic architecture.

• Discuss the sculpture of the French Gothic period.

VOCABULARY

OVERVIEW OF MEDIEVAL FRANCE

By the end of the eleventh century, Western Europe had undergone many changes in religious, political, cultural, and economic attitudes. There was a new openness to ideas; intellectual, technological, and especially educational advances improved life overall for many of the people who inhabited Western Europe.

Rome was the religious center of Europe, but Paris was its intellectual center. Scholars traveled from across the continent to congregate, study, and learn at the University of Paris. In addition, King Louis VI moved his official residence to Paris, creating a boom in new building.

But not everyone was open to new ideas. One of those scholars who lived in Paris at the time was a philosopher named Abelard. Abelard actually invented the word "theology," which today means the study of religion, but actually means "God logic" at its roots. Abelard went very much against the grain of the religious leaders by declaring that one needed to use logic in order to understand the truth of religion. This is not why Abelard is famous, however; he is famous because he fell in love with a woman named Heloise.It was a doomed love affair that ended with Abelard becoming a monk and Heloise a nun.

French Gothic art consists of decorative arts that include religious and secular buildings, sculpture, stained glass, and illuminated manuscripts.

First, let's examine Gothic architecture, the most important expression of the Gothic Age.

Although there were some secular buildings designed and built in the Gothic style, the church — a political body as powerful or more powerful than any kingdom — had the means and the motivation to turn this new style to suit its purposes. Have you ever been inside a church with stained glass windows? If so, then you already know the grandeur and sense of otherworldliness the light creates. The Gothic churches created a sense of awe that the plainer Romanesque churches could not.

Stained-glass windows were just one of the many features of Gothic architecture.

Other features of Gothic architecture include:

• pointed arches

• flying buttresses (see description below)

• the altar at the far east end (cut off from the laity)

• rood screen and long choir

• pointed transverse arches

• thin intersecting arches

• light masonry cells

Flying Buttress 

A buttress is something that is used for support. Notice the drawing of flying buttresses. You can see that they are external, tilted arches.

The first truly Gothic church was a rebuilt Benedictine church (named after the Benedictine monks) a few miles north of Paris. The church housed the tomb of Saint Dionysius and served as France's royal church where the king himself went to worship. But it was centuries old, small, and not very grand. So the abbot decided to have it rebuilt. In 1135, a new western façade was built featuring sculpted portals. Saint-Denis demonstrated the first use of large areas of stained glass as well. Within ten years, a radical new building with innovative architecture had been built.

Rib vaults resting on pointed arches proved to be a major innovation in Gothic architecture. Look at an example of rib vaults in the photo above at left.

Now look at the exterior of the finished church, above right, Saint-Denis, France, built from 1140 to 1144.

With the new Gothic vault, the architects discovered there was added support. Because of this new design innovation, the thick Romanesque walls could be replaced by glass and span greater heights. These became distinguishing features of gothic architecture.

Now let's look at another famous cathedral that demonstrates the High Gothic phase of architecture, the Cathedral of Chartres, begun after 1194. Cathedrals built during this phase reached even greater heights. 

THE RAYONNANT STYLE AND STAINED GLASS

Around the mid-thirteenth century, a new Gothic style emerged called the Rayonnant style, named after the radiating patterns of the rose windows. Opaque wall surfaces were replaced by elaborate stone tracery and glass, and the skeletal structure became thinner and lighter. With less weight to support, the structures continued to soar ever higher.

One of the best examples of the Rayonnant style is Sainte Chapelle, Paris, (1243-1248), built by King Louis IX to house the relics he had bought from the Byzantine Emperor: the Crown of Thorns and fragment of the True Cross.

Here's an example of the Rayonnant or Court Style of French Gothic architecture: curvilinear tracery

Late Gothic architecture in France focused its ornamentation on the external features of the structures. Inside the churches, things were simplified, with the exception of the vaults, where a more flamboyant style was exercised.

Stained glass 

One of the innovations that allowed Gothic cathedrals to soar to such great heights was the replacement of thick walls with much lighter glass. Stained glass consists of colored glass panels that are held in place by cast lead and framed in metal. Because light comes through it lands, the art of stained glass is often referred to as painting with light. This was especially appealing to the religious sensibility of the Middle Ages.

Several types of stained glass windows were prominent in Gothic cathedrals including:

• rose windows — large medallion, located high in the west end and the transept.

• storytelling windows — subject matter includes Biblical stories as well as stories from the lives of Christ and the saints.

• monochromatic panes of white glass — admitted more light and were less expensive.

• illustrations of guild craftsmen at their work. The stained glass "light painting" in the cathedral at Chartres, above, is believed to be the masterpiece of the 13th century. With 176 windows shooting beams of colored light into the interior, the cathedral attains a jewel-like quality.

ARCHITECTURAL SCULPTURE

LET'S REVIEW!

In this lesson, you have covered the following topics:

• the towering cathedrals of the Gothic age

• the use of innovations like flying buttresses, pointed arches, and ribbed vaults in cathedrals

• the elaborate stone work used to adorn cathedral façade

• the careful use of stained glass in strategic locations around cathedrals

• the naturalistic sculptures that decorated the interior and exteriors of cathedrals

Complete the quiz before moving on.