French Gothic Architecture

• The term "Gothic" is used in relation to the Macabre or Darker Elements.
• Giorgio Vasari coined the term "Gothic" after the Visigoths and Ostrogoths came into power after the fall of the Roman Empire, the term is meant as an insult to the style that went against classical traditions.
• Gothic Architecture is a detailed and elaborate visual telling of the bible to attract the attention of illiterate civilians.
• Goths were the first Germanic tribes that sacked Rome.
• Gothic Architecture is a reaction against the classical styles, it was a style that was called "barbaric".
• Why is Gothic Architecture Remarkable?

  • It is a complete break from classical styles
  • It's prime movers were not architects, but rather patrons
  • It needed to impress the congregation with technical progress and a change of taste
  • It reflected a change in consciousness
• Characteristics of Gothic Architecture:

  • Ribbed Vaults
  • Pointed Arches
  • Thin Walls
  • Large Openings
  • Light and Airy
  • Heavenly Feeling
  • Well Decorated
• Plans were arranged for convenience rather than symmetry.
• Walls were made of rubble masonry, and were not laid in horizontal courses but instead done in small areas of work.
• Doors and windows were recessed and spanned with pointed arches.
• Windows were divided by vertical mullions and horizontal transoms.
• Known as the "Architecture of Light" this style used light as a symbol of divinity.
• Tracery windows are windows with ornamental stonework at the top portion of the windows.
• Two types of window tracery:

  • Plate Tracery
  • Bar Tracery
• Plate tracery is more geometric and has a stone > glass ratio.
• Bar tracery has more delicate stonework that allowed more light to enter.
• Towers were crowned with spires that had finials, crockets, and pinnacles.
• Finials are decorative upper terminations on spires.
• Crockets are foliage decoration on the racking of spires.
• Pinnacles are smaller, primarily decorative spires.
• Roofs were often done as open timber roofs.
• Vaulting developed by means of pointed arches with ribs.
• Columns were used structurally without classical proportions.
• Flying buttresses abut the walls and support the weight of the upper portions.
• "Ogivale" means pointed arches
• The Ogival System was the primary system used for construction
• Fleche is a slender spire rising over the intersection
• Chevet is an apse that has a surrounding ambulatory of chapels
• Types of chapels in a Chevet:

  • Lady Chapel
  • Chantry Chapel
• Lady Chapels are dedicated to the Virgin Mary
• Chantry chapels are for families or people and were rented or sponsored
• The three periods of French Gothic Architecture are:

  • Lancette / Primiere (Early)
  • Rayonnant / Secondaire (High)
  • Flamboyant / Tertiare (Late)
• Lancette is characterized by pointed arches with geometric tracery
• Rayonnant is characterized by circular windows with wheel tracery
• Flamboyant is characterized by florette and flame-like tracery, commonly in "S" shapes
• Abbot Suger was one of the first patrons who contributed to the rise of the gothic style
• The Abbey Church of St. Denis is the burial place of French Kings, it initially had mosaic walls and was designed by Pierre de Monreuil.
• Pierre de Montreuil was the Master Mason— responsible for the belief that light had a connection to divinity.
• The Cathedral of Sens is one of the earliest French Gothic churches, it has a wider nave and is generally larger in scale compared to St. Denis— it also has a relic of St. John the Baptist.
• The Albi Cathedral or the Basilica of St. Cecilia is the largest brick building in the world— it is a southern french gothic fortress church that is famous for its Rood Screen.