Gothic architecture

The west door of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, France is a fine example of Early Gothic architecture (begun 1160). The period saw the introduction of Islamic influence in Christian church architecture, such as the ogival (pointed) arch.

Detail of lattice-work and buttress in the Chapter House of the Monastery of Batalha, Portugal. The Dominican monastery - built to commemorate the victory of the Portuguese over the Castilians in the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385 - represents the founding of Portuguese Gothic architecture typical of the 13th-15th centuries, with the new, more flamboyant trends of 15th-century architecture prevailing over the English influence. The monastery was designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1983.

Detail of lattice-work in the Royal Cloister of the Monastery of Batalha, Portugal. The monastery is one of the finest examples of Portuguese Gothic architecture of the 14th-15th centuries.

These buildings are built in the Venetian Gothic style, but are in fact in Slovenia. Italy's Friuli-Venezia Giulia region is on the western border of Slovenia, and in the southwest part of its coastline lies along the Gulf of Venice. In Venice itself the Santa Maria dei Frari is a good example of Venetian Gothic architecture, having been rebuilt in the Gothic style during the 15th century.

A cutaway of a Gothic cathedral.

Chartres Cathedral, France. Built in the 12th and 13th centuries, the cathedral is often regarded as the epitome of the Gothic style among France's cathedrals. Its original stained-glass windows are almost perfectly preserved.

St Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna. One of the most important Gothic buildings of Europe, the cathedral was built largely in the 14th and 15th centuries, with its Renaissance dome being added between 1556 and 1587. The cathedral was partly destroyed in World War II and was subsequently restored.

Style of architecture that flourished in Europe from the mid-12th century to the end of the 15th century. It is characterized by the vertical lines of tall pillars and spires, greater height in interior spaces, the pointed arch, rib vaulting, and the flying buttress.

Gothic architecture originated in Normandy and Burgundy in the 12th century. It was essentially the style of the Catholic countries of Europe, including Hungary and Poland, and attained its highest excellence in France and England. It developed forms on a regional basis, often of great complexity and beauty, and was used for non-religious buildings as well as for cathedrals, churches, and monasteries. The style was common in Western Europe until the 16th century when classic architecture was revived.

France Gothic architecture in France may be divided into four periods: Early Gothic, lancet Gothic, Rayonnet Gothic, and Late, or Flamboyant, Gothic.

Early Gothic (1130-90) saw the introduction of ogival (pointed) vaults, for example Notre Dame, Paris (begun 1160). In lancet Gothic (1190-1240) pointed arches were tall and narrow, as in Chartres Cathedral (begun 1194), and Bourges Cathedral (begun 1209). Rayonnant Gothic (1240-1350) takes its name from the series of chapels that branch out from the cathedral apse, as in Sainte Chapelle, Paris (1226-30). Late Gothic or the Flamboyant style (1350-1520) is exemplified in St Gervais, Paris.

Italy The Gothic architecture of Italy had a classical basis, characterized by vast spans with simple arches on a basilican plan. A notable example of Italian Gothic is Milan Cathedral.

Germany

England Gothic architecture in England is divided into three styles: Early English (1200-75), for example Salisbury Cathedral; Decorated (1300-75), for example York Minster; and Perpendicular (1400-1575), for example Winchester Cathedral.

The term Gothic was at first used as insulting criticism of medieval art by Renaissance architects. This may have derived from the work of the 16th-century critic Vasari, who attributed medieval artistic styles to the barbarian Goths, who invaded the Roman Empire between the 3rd and 5th centuries and destroyed ‘classicism’.