Welcome to my blog about Gothic Era Architecture. Architecture in itself has always interested me, but the massive cathedrals from this time period just hold me in awe. They absolutely amaze me with their elaborate designs and grandeur. The term Gothic is used to describe some of the art and architecture of the later Middle Ages. The term however has nothing to do with Goth people themselves. Goth people were barbaric people and came from a Germanic descent. They took over and settled in the Roman Empire between the third and fifth centuries (Webster’s New World Dictionary).
Gothic architecture first started to appear after the Romanesque Era and had a time span that ran from about the mid 12th through the 16th centuries and it became the governing structural approach throughout Europe for a period of about 400 years. Architecture was the most significant and innovative art form during the Gothic era (Martindale). It showed spiritual passion and evolved for the most part around cathedrals and churches. Unlike the Romanesque Era, Gothic architecture, especially in the latter part, was characterized by its perfectionism, vastness and open space.
New style building techniques such as ribbed-vaults, flying buttresses, and pointed instead of rounded arches gave cathedrals and churches a sense of stretching out into the universe and reaching to the heavens. Throughout my next few posts, I will explain these new style building techniques, the origin of the Gargoyle and about the oldest example in existence that portrays this New Gothic Style.
Sources:
"Goth." Webster's New World Dictionary. Third College Ed. 1991. Print
Martindale, Andrew Henry Robert. "Gothic Art and Architecture." Professor of Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, 1974-95. 10 August 2010.
Picture Source:
http://www.celebutopia.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/gloucester_cathedral.jpg
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