Style and Characteristics of Gothic Architecture

History: Gothic architecture

It is very important, prior to conducting research on Gothic architecture, to note that 'Gothic' has nothing to do with the Goths. It is a term that was commonly used in the 1530s, to be precise, by Giorgio Vasari, to refer to architecture that flaunted the 'rude and barbaric' fashion. This style of architecture is common to pointed styles that are an inseparable part of ecclesiastical structures. The remains of the old medieval style flaunts bowed and cusped arches and centerpieces and columns that symbolize wealth and pride.

Gothic Style of Architecture

Authentic Gothic revival during the mid-18th century brought to the forefront many European ecclesiastical and university structures. The style displays overtones of spiral work and steeples, columns and extravagant ceilings and pointed roof designs. Gothic architecture is common to most surviving cathedrals, churches and abbeys of Europe.

It is also seen when touring castles, town halls, palaces, guild offices and a number of universities. Gothic style of architecture is most expressed by its emotional appeal. The structures built in this style display architectural distinction and are considered works of art. Most of them are listed as the World Heritage Sites with UNESCO.

It is interesting to note that architects of the modern world believe that the 'pointed arch' was actually the result of an attempt to hide technical flaws! In Gothic architecture, the style preferred was 'vertical and light'. All attempts were made to develop architectural features that provided engineering solutions to design the same. Most Gothic plans display transverse arms or transepts and clerestory windows.

Characteristics of Gothic Architecture

Gothic architecture is unique in its use of materials. The structures took on different styles across Europe. Regional influence played a major role in the design variations and preference for building material. While in France, limestone was used extensively, England witnessed extensive use of red sandstone and coarse limestone with Purbeck marble architectural features. Similarly, while in Northern Germany and the Baltic nations, the tradition was of using brick, in Italy, marble was the preferred material.

This form of architecture also accommodated timber, which is seen to this day in the splendid hammer-beam ceilings and rafters. The style has also been vastly influenced by the preferences of the different monasteries across Europe, like the Benedictines, Cistercians, Cluniac, Franciscans and Dominicans. Gothic architecture is the developed form of Romanesque architecture. It is a blend of the Renaissance styles and Brunelleschi's Classical style.

Ribbed vaults and buttresses, ambulatories, wheel windows, clustered columns and spires are all special features of this form of ecclesiastical architecture. The Gothic vaults were designed to hold up irregularly shaped trapezoids. They also offered support to the pointed arch channels and enabled architects to raise the vaults to desired heights. While the pointed arch offered flexibility to the structure, the vaulted shape offered to interiors and exteriors, structural decoration.

The other features include:

• Ornate door tympanums.
• Solid masonry penetrated by small vents.
• Features that enable light to triumph over substance.
• Pointed arches, part of internal features and the external structure.
• Resurfacing of structures to meet the preferences of aesthetic and ideological appeal.
• Pinnacles and traceries, rose windows.

Examples of Gothic Architecture

The following are some popular examples of authentic Gothic Architecture:

• Batalha Monastery, Portugal.
• Church of the Batalha Monastery, Portugal.
• Salamanca Cathedral, Spain.
• St. Stephen's Church, Vienna.
• Autun Cathedral, France.
• Notre Dame, Paris.
• Palace of Westminster, London.
• Salisbury Cathedral, England.
• King's College Chapel, England.
• Basilica of Mary Magdalene in Saint-Maximin, Provence.
• Old New Synagogue, Prague.
• Palais des Papes, Avignon.
• House of Jacques Coeur, Bourges.
• Malbork Castle of the Teutonic Knights, Poland.
• Gasson Hall, Boston College, Massachusetts.