{"id":194,"date":"2020-05-18T13:16:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-18T13:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-hum140\/?post_type=chapter&p=194"},"modified":"2021-05-15T14:07:35","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T14:07:35","slug":"4-42-medieval-church-architecture","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-hum140\/chapter\/4-42-medieval-church-architecture\/","title":{"raw":"2.4: Medieval Architecture","rendered":"2.4: Medieval Architecture"},"content":{"raw":"Many of Europe\u2019s medieval cathedrals are museums in their own right, housing fantastic examples of craftsmanship and works of art. Additionally, the buildings themselves are impressive. Although architectural styles varied from place to place, building to building, there are some basic features that were fairly universal in monumental churches built in the Middle Ages, and the prototype for that type of building was the Roman basilica.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n

\"Diagram<\/h2>\r\n<\/td>\r\n

<\/td>\r\n\u00a0\"\"<\/span><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

Prototype: The Ancient Roman Basilica<\/h2>\r\nIn ancient Rome, the basilica was created as a place for tribunals and other types of business. The building was rectangular in shape, with the long, central portion of the hall made up of the\u00a0nave<\/em>. Here the interior reached its fullest height. The nave was flanked on either side by a colonnade that delineated the side aisles, which were of a lower height than the nave. Because the side aisles were lower, the roof over this section\u00a0was below the roofline of the nave, allowing for windows near the ceiling of the nave. This band of windows was called the\u00a0clerestory<\/em>.\u00a0At the far end of the nave, away from the main door, was a semi-circular extension, usually with a half-dome roof. This area was the\u00a0apse<\/em>, and is where the magistrate or other senior officials would hold court.\r\n\r\nBecause this plan allowed for many people to circulate within a large, and awesome, space, the general plan became an obvious choice for early Christian buildings. The religious rituals, masses, and pilgrimages that became commonplace by the Middle Ages were very different from today\u2019s services, and to understand the architecture it is necessary to understand how the buildings were used and the components that made up these massive edifices.\r\n

The Medieval Church<\/h2>\r\nAlthough medieval churches are usually oriented east to west, they all vary slightly. When a new church was to be built, the patron saint was selected and the altar location laid out. On the saint\u2019s day, a line would be surveyed from the position of the rising sun through the altar site and extending in a westerly direction. This was the orientation of the new building.\r\n
\"Basilica<\/div>\r\nThe entrance foyer is called the\u00a0narthex<\/i>, but this is not found in all medieval churches. Daily access may be through a door on the north or south side. The largest, central, western door may have been reserved for ceremonial purposes.\r\n

The Church Plan<\/h2>\r\nInside, you should imagine the interior space without the chairs or pews that we are used to seeing today. Unlike in a Roman basilica, the side aisles run behind a series of arches rather than columns. In very extensive buildings there may be two side aisles, with the ceiling of the outer one lower than the one next to the nave. This hierarchy of size and proportion extended to the major units of the plan \u2013 the\u00a0bays<\/i>. A bay is the square unit in the arcade defined by a vault, the section supported by consecutive pillars. Typically, the width of the nave was equal to two bays. The\u00a0vault\u00a0<\/i>is the arched roof or ceiling, or a section of it.\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"452\"]\"Gallery Salisbury Cathedral, view of the top of the nave arcade, above that the gallery, and above that, the windows of the clerestory.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe major arcade at the ground floor is topped by a second arcade, called the\u00a0gallery<\/i>, which is topped by the clerestory or a third arcade level. The arcade just below the clerestory is called the\u00a0triforium<\/i>. The nave was used for the procession of the clergy to the altar. The main altar was basically in the position of the basilican apse, although in some designs it is further forward. The area around the altar \u2013 the\u00a0choir<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0chancel<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 was reserved for the clergy or monks, who performed services throughout the day.\r\n\r\nThe cathedrals and former monastery churches are much larger than needed for the local population. They expected and received numerous pilgrims who came to various shrines and altars within the church where they might pray to a supposed piece of the true cross, or a bone of a martyr, or the tomb of a king. The pilgrims entered the church and found their way to the chapel or altar of their desire\u2014therefore, the side aisles made an efficient path for pilgrims to come and go without disrupting the daily services.\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"451\"]\"Transept, Transept Salisbury Cathedral[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nDevelopment of this plan over time shows that very soon the apse was elongated, adding more room to the choir. Additionally, the termini of the aisles developed into small wings themselves, known as\u00a0transepts<\/i>. These were also extended, providing room for more tombs, more shrines, and more pilgrims.\r\n\r\nThe area where the axes of the nave and transepts meet is called, logically, the\u00a0crossing<\/i>.\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"449\"]\"Ambulatory, Ambulatory, Gloucester Cathedral[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nAn aisle often surrounds the apse, running behind the altar. Called the\u00a0ambulatory<\/i>, this aisle accessed additional small chapels, called\u00a0radiating chapels<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0chevets<\/i>.\u00a0Of course, there are many variations on these typical building blocks of medieval church design. Different regions had different tastes, greater or lesser financial power, more or less experienced architects and masons, which created the diversity of medieval buildings still standing today.<\/span>\r\n

Romanesque Architecture<\/h2>\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_399\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"451\"]\"Romanesque-arcade-southwell\"<\/a> Arches in arcade of Southwell Minster.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe name gives it away\u2013Romanesque architecture is based on Roman architectural elements. It is the rounded Roman arch that is the literal basis for structures built in this style.\r\n\r\nAll through the regions that were part of the ancient Roman Empire are ruins of Roman aqueducts and buildings, most of them exhibiting arches as part of the architecture. (You may make the etymological leap that the two words are related, but the Oxford English Dictionary shows arch as coming from Latin\u00a0arcus<\/i>, which defines the shape, while\u00a0arch<\/i>-as in architect, archbishop and archenemy-comes from Greek\u00a0arkhos,<\/i>\u00a0meaning chief.\u00a0Tekton<\/i>\u00a0means builder.)\r\n\r\nWhen Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 C.E., Europe began to take its first steps out of the \u201cDark Ages\u201d since the fall of Rome in the fifth century. The remains of Roman civilization were seen all over the continent, and legends of the great empire would have been passed down through generations. So when Charlemagne wanted to unite his empire and validate his reign, he began building churches in the Roman style\u2013particularly the style of Christian Rome in the days of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor.\r\n\r\nAfter a gap of around two hundred years with no large building projects, the architects of Charlemagne\u2019s day looked to the arched, or arcaded, system seen in Christian Roman edifices as a model. It is a logical system of stresses and buttressing, which was fairly easily engineered for large structures, and it began to be used in gatehouses, chapels, and churches in Europe. These early examples may be referred to as pre-Romanesque because, after a brief spurt of growth, the development of architecture again lapsed. As a body of knowledge was eventually re-developed, buildings became larger and more imposing. Examples of Romanesque cathedrals from the early Middle Ages (roughly 1000-1200) are solid, massive, impressive churches that are often still the largest structure in many towns.\r\n\r\nIn Britain, the Romanesque style became known as \u201cNorman\u201d because the major building scheme in the 11th and 12th centuries was instigated by William the Conqueror, who invaded Britain in 1066 from Normandy in northern France. (The Normans were the descendants of Vikings \u2013 Norse, or north men \u2013 who had invaded this area over a century earlier.) Durham and Gloucester Cathedrals and Southwell Minster are excellent examples of churches in the Norman, or Romanesque style.\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"452\"]\"\" Ornate moulding in arcade arches in Southwell Minster.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe arches that define the naves\u00a0of these churches are well modulated and geometrically logical \u2013 with one look you can see the repeating shapes, and proportions that make sense for an immense and weighty structure. There is a large arcade on the ground level made up of bulky piers or columns. The piers may have been filled with rubble rather than being solid, carved stone. Above this arcade is a second level of smaller arches, often in pairs with a column between the two. The next higher level was again proportionately smaller, creating a rational diminution of structural elements as the mass of the building\u00a0<\/span>is reduced.<\/span>\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"450\"]\"Romanesque Roof of arcade in Gloucester Cathedral[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe decoration is often quite simple, using geometric shapes rather than floral or curvilinear patterns. Common shapes used include diapers \u2013 squares or lozenges \u2013 and chevrons, which were zigzag patterns and shapes. Plain circles were also used, which echoed the half-circle shape of the ubiquitous arches.\r\n\r\nEarly Romanesque ceilings and roofs were often made of wood, as if the architects had not quite understood how to span the two sides of the building using stone, which created outward thrust and stresses on the side walls. This development, of course, didn\u2019t take long to manifest, and led from barrel vaulting (simple, semicircular roof vaults) to cross vaulting, which became ever more adventurous and ornate in the Gothic.\r\n
\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"452\"]\"Wooden Vaulting in wooden roof, Gloucester Cathedral[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nGothic Architecture<\/span>\r\n
\r\n
\r\n\r\nForget the association of the word \u201cGothic\u201d to dark, haunted houses,\u00a0Wuthering Heights<\/i>, or ghostly pale people wearing black nail polish and ripped fishnets. The original Gothic style was actually developed to bring sunshine into people\u2019s lives and especially into their churches. To get past the accrued definitions of the centuries, it\u2019s best to go back to the very start of the word Gothic, and to the style that bears the name.\r\n\r\nThe Goths were a so-called barbaric tribe who held power in various regions of Europe, between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire (so, from roughly the fifth to the eighth century). They were not renowned for great achievements in architecture. As with many art historical terms, \u201cGothic\u201d came to be applied to a certain architectural style after the fact.\r\n\r\nThe style represented giant steps away from the previous, relatively basic building systems that had prevailed. The Gothic grew out of the Romanesque architectural style, when both prosperity and peace allowed for several centuries of cultural development and great building schemes. From roughly 1000 to 1400, several significant cathedrals and churches were built, particularly in Britain and France, offering architects and masons a chance to work out ever more complex problems and daring designs.\r\n
\"Gothic<\/div>\r\nThe most fundamental element of the Gothic style of architecture is the pointed arch, which was likely borrowed from Islamic architecture that would have been seen in Spain at this time. The pointed arch relieved some of the thrust, and therefore, the stress on other structural elements. It then became possible to reduce the size of the columns or piers that supported the arch.\r\n\r\nSo, rather than having massive, drum-like columns as in the Romanesque churches, the new columns could be more slender. This slimness was repeated in the upper levels of the nave, so that the gallery and clerestory would not seem to overpower the lower arcade. In fact, the column basically continued all the way to the roof, and became part of the vault.\r\n
\"Gothic<\/div>\r\nIn the vault, the pointed arch could be seen in three dimensions where the ribbed vaulting met in the center of the ceiling of each bay. This ribbed vaulting is another distinguishing feature of Gothic architecture. However, it should be noted that prototypes for the pointed arches and ribbed vaulting were seen first in late-Romanesque buildings.\r\n\r\n\"Decorated<\/b>\r\nThe new understanding of architecture and design led to more fantastic examples of vaulting and ornamentation, and the Early Gothic or Lancet style (from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries) developed into the Decorated or Rayonnant Gothic (roughly fourteenth century). The ornate stonework that held the windows\u2013called\u00a0tracery<\/i>\u2013became more florid, and other stonework even more exuberant.\r\n\r\nThe ribbed vaulting became more complicated and was crossed with\u00a0lierne\u00a0<\/i>ribs into complex webs, or the addition of cross ribs, called\u00a0tierceron<\/i>. As the decoration developed further, the Perpendicular or International Gothic took over (fifteenth century). Fan vaulting decorated half-conoid shapes extending from the tops of the columnar ribs.\r\n
\"Lierne<\/div>\r\nThe slender columns and lighter systems of thrust allowed for larger windows and more light. The windows, tracery, carvings, and ribs make up a dizzying display of decoration that one encounters in a Gothic church. In late Gothic buildings, almost every surface is decorated. Although such a building as a whole is ordered and coherent, the profusion of shapes and patterns can make a sense of order difficult to discern at first glance.\r\n
\"Gothic<\/div>\r\nAfter the great flowering of Gothic style, tastes again shifted back to the neat, straight lines and rational geometry of the Classical era. It was in the Renaissance that the name Gothic came to be applied to this medieval style that seemed vulgar to Renaissance sensibilities. It is still the term we use today, though hopefully without the implied insult, which negates the amazing leaps of imagination and engineering that were required to build such edifices.\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/w8QRG-Xc6oU\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/dN5XRW7T0cc\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

Many of Europe\u2019s medieval cathedrals are museums in their own right, housing fantastic examples of craftsmanship and works of art. Additionally, the buildings themselves are impressive. Although architectural styles varied from place to place, building to building, there are some basic features that were fairly universal in monumental churches built in the Middle Ages, and the prototype for that type of building was the Roman basilica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n

\"Diagram<\/h2>\n<\/td>\n

<\/td>\n\u00a0\"\"<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Prototype: The Ancient Roman Basilica<\/h2>\n

In ancient Rome, the basilica was created as a place for tribunals and other types of business. The building was rectangular in shape, with the long, central portion of the hall made up of the\u00a0nave<\/em>. Here the interior reached its fullest height. The nave was flanked on either side by a colonnade that delineated the side aisles, which were of a lower height than the nave. Because the side aisles were lower, the roof over this section\u00a0was below the roofline of the nave, allowing for windows near the ceiling of the nave. This band of windows was called the\u00a0clerestory<\/em>.\u00a0At the far end of the nave, away from the main door, was a semi-circular extension, usually with a half-dome roof. This area was the\u00a0apse<\/em>, and is where the magistrate or other senior officials would hold court.<\/p>\n

Because this plan allowed for many people to circulate within a large, and awesome, space, the general plan became an obvious choice for early Christian buildings. The religious rituals, masses, and pilgrimages that became commonplace by the Middle Ages were very different from today\u2019s services, and to understand the architecture it is necessary to understand how the buildings were used and the components that made up these massive edifices.<\/p>\n

The Medieval Church<\/h2>\n

Although medieval churches are usually oriented east to west, they all vary slightly. When a new church was to be built, the patron saint was selected and the altar location laid out. On the saint\u2019s day, a line would be surveyed from the position of the rising sun through the altar site and extending in a westerly direction. This was the orientation of the new building.<\/p>\n

\"Basilica<\/div>\n

The entrance foyer is called the\u00a0narthex<\/i>, but this is not found in all medieval churches. Daily access may be through a door on the north or south side. The largest, central, western door may have been reserved for ceremonial purposes.<\/p>\n

The Church Plan<\/h2>\n

Inside, you should imagine the interior space without the chairs or pews that we are used to seeing today. Unlike in a Roman basilica, the side aisles run behind a series of arches rather than columns. In very extensive buildings there may be two side aisles, with the ceiling of the outer one lower than the one next to the nave. This hierarchy of size and proportion extended to the major units of the plan \u2013 the\u00a0bays<\/i>. A bay is the square unit in the arcade defined by a vault, the section supported by consecutive pillars. Typically, the width of the nave was equal to two bays. The\u00a0vault\u00a0<\/i>is the arched roof or ceiling, or a section of it.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Gallery<\/p>\n

Salisbury Cathedral, view of the top of the nave arcade, above that the gallery, and above that, the windows of the clerestory.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The major arcade at the ground floor is topped by a second arcade, called the\u00a0gallery<\/i>, which is topped by the clerestory or a third arcade level. The arcade just below the clerestory is called the\u00a0triforium<\/i>. The nave was used for the procession of the clergy to the altar. The main altar was basically in the position of the basilican apse, although in some designs it is further forward. The area around the altar \u2013 the\u00a0choir<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0chancel<\/i>\u00a0\u2013 was reserved for the clergy or monks, who performed services throughout the day.<\/p>\n

The cathedrals and former monastery churches are much larger than needed for the local population. They expected and received numerous pilgrims who came to various shrines and altars within the church where they might pray to a supposed piece of the true cross, or a bone of a martyr, or the tomb of a king. The pilgrims entered the church and found their way to the chapel or altar of their desire\u2014therefore, the side aisles made an efficient path for pilgrims to come and go without disrupting the daily services.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Transept,<\/p>\n

Transept Salisbury Cathedral<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Development of this plan over time shows that very soon the apse was elongated, adding more room to the choir. Additionally, the termini of the aisles developed into small wings themselves, known as\u00a0transepts<\/i>. These were also extended, providing room for more tombs, more shrines, and more pilgrims.<\/p>\n

The area where the axes of the nave and transepts meet is called, logically, the\u00a0crossing<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Ambulatory,<\/p>\n

Ambulatory, Gloucester Cathedral<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

An aisle often surrounds the apse, running behind the altar. Called the\u00a0ambulatory<\/i>, this aisle accessed additional small chapels, called\u00a0radiating chapels<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0chevets<\/i>.\u00a0Of course, there are many variations on these typical building blocks of medieval church design. Different regions had different tastes, greater or lesser financial power, more or less experienced architects and masons, which created the diversity of medieval buildings still standing today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Romanesque Architecture<\/h2>\n
\n
\"Romanesque-arcade-southwell\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Arches in arcade of Southwell Minster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The name gives it away\u2013Romanesque architecture is based on Roman architectural elements. It is the rounded Roman arch that is the literal basis for structures built in this style.<\/p>\n

All through the regions that were part of the ancient Roman Empire are ruins of Roman aqueducts and buildings, most of them exhibiting arches as part of the architecture. (You may make the etymological leap that the two words are related, but the Oxford English Dictionary shows arch as coming from Latin\u00a0arcus<\/i>, which defines the shape, while\u00a0arch<\/i>-as in architect, archbishop and archenemy-comes from Greek\u00a0arkhos,<\/i>\u00a0meaning chief.\u00a0Tekton<\/i>\u00a0means builder.)<\/p>\n

When Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 C.E., Europe began to take its first steps out of the \u201cDark Ages\u201d since the fall of Rome in the fifth century. The remains of Roman civilization were seen all over the continent, and legends of the great empire would have been passed down through generations. So when Charlemagne wanted to unite his empire and validate his reign, he began building churches in the Roman style\u2013particularly the style of Christian Rome in the days of Constantine, the first Christian Roman emperor.<\/p>\n

After a gap of around two hundred years with no large building projects, the architects of Charlemagne\u2019s day looked to the arched, or arcaded, system seen in Christian Roman edifices as a model. It is a logical system of stresses and buttressing, which was fairly easily engineered for large structures, and it began to be used in gatehouses, chapels, and churches in Europe. These early examples may be referred to as pre-Romanesque because, after a brief spurt of growth, the development of architecture again lapsed. As a body of knowledge was eventually re-developed, buildings became larger and more imposing. Examples of Romanesque cathedrals from the early Middle Ages (roughly 1000-1200) are solid, massive, impressive churches that are often still the largest structure in many towns.<\/p>\n

In Britain, the Romanesque style became known as \u201cNorman\u201d because the major building scheme in the 11th and 12th centuries was instigated by William the Conqueror, who invaded Britain in 1066 from Normandy in northern France. (The Normans were the descendants of Vikings \u2013 Norse, or north men \u2013 who had invaded this area over a century earlier.) Durham and Gloucester Cathedrals and Southwell Minster are excellent examples of churches in the Norman, or Romanesque style.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/p>\n

Ornate moulding in arcade arches in Southwell Minster.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The arches that define the naves\u00a0of these churches are well modulated and geometrically logical \u2013 with one look you can see the repeating shapes, and proportions that make sense for an immense and weighty structure. There is a large arcade on the ground level made up of bulky piers or columns. The piers may have been filled with rubble rather than being solid, carved stone. Above this arcade is a second level of smaller arches, often in pairs with a column between the two. The next higher level was again proportionately smaller, creating a rational diminution of structural elements as the mass of the building\u00a0<\/span>is reduced.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\"Romanesque<\/p>\n

Roof of arcade in Gloucester Cathedral<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The decoration is often quite simple, using geometric shapes rather than floral or curvilinear patterns. Common shapes used include diapers \u2013 squares or lozenges \u2013 and chevrons, which were zigzag patterns and shapes. Plain circles were also used, which echoed the half-circle shape of the ubiquitous arches.<\/p>\n

Early Romanesque ceilings and roofs were often made of wood, as if the architects had not quite understood how to span the two sides of the building using stone, which created outward thrust and stresses on the side walls. This development, of course, didn\u2019t take long to manifest, and led from barrel vaulting (simple, semicircular roof vaults) to cross vaulting, which became ever more adventurous and ornate in the Gothic.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Wooden<\/p>\n

Vaulting in wooden roof, Gloucester Cathedral<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Gothic Architecture<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Forget the association of the word \u201cGothic\u201d to dark, haunted houses,\u00a0Wuthering Heights<\/i>, or ghostly pale people wearing black nail polish and ripped fishnets. The original Gothic style was actually developed to bring sunshine into people\u2019s lives and especially into their churches. To get past the accrued definitions of the centuries, it\u2019s best to go back to the very start of the word Gothic, and to the style that bears the name.<\/p>\n

The Goths were a so-called barbaric tribe who held power in various regions of Europe, between the collapse of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire (so, from roughly the fifth to the eighth century). They were not renowned for great achievements in architecture. As with many art historical terms, \u201cGothic\u201d came to be applied to a certain architectural style after the fact.<\/p>\n

The style represented giant steps away from the previous, relatively basic building systems that had prevailed. The Gothic grew out of the Romanesque architectural style, when both prosperity and peace allowed for several centuries of cultural development and great building schemes. From roughly 1000 to 1400, several significant cathedrals and churches were built, particularly in Britain and France, offering architects and masons a chance to work out ever more complex problems and daring designs.<\/p>\n

\"Gothic<\/div>\n

The most fundamental element of the Gothic style of architecture is the pointed arch, which was likely borrowed from Islamic architecture that would have been seen in Spain at this time. The pointed arch relieved some of the thrust, and therefore, the stress on other structural elements. It then became possible to reduce the size of the columns or piers that supported the arch.<\/p>\n

So, rather than having massive, drum-like columns as in the Romanesque churches, the new columns could be more slender. This slimness was repeated in the upper levels of the nave, so that the gallery and clerestory would not seem to overpower the lower arcade. In fact, the column basically continued all the way to the roof, and became part of the vault.<\/p>\n

\"Gothic<\/div>\n

In the vault, the pointed arch could be seen in three dimensions where the ribbed vaulting met in the center of the ceiling of each bay. This ribbed vaulting is another distinguishing feature of Gothic architecture. However, it should be noted that prototypes for the pointed arches and ribbed vaulting were seen first in late-Romanesque buildings.<\/p>\n

\"Decorated<\/b>
\nThe new understanding of architecture and design led to more fantastic examples of vaulting and ornamentation, and the Early Gothic or Lancet style (from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries) developed into the Decorated or Rayonnant Gothic (roughly fourteenth century). The ornate stonework that held the windows\u2013called\u00a0tracery<\/i>\u2013became more florid, and other stonework even more exuberant.<\/p>\n

The ribbed vaulting became more complicated and was crossed with\u00a0lierne\u00a0<\/i>ribs into complex webs, or the addition of cross ribs, called\u00a0tierceron<\/i>. As the decoration developed further, the Perpendicular or International Gothic took over (fifteenth century). Fan vaulting decorated half-conoid shapes extending from the tops of the columnar ribs.<\/p>\n

\"Lierne<\/div>\n

The slender columns and lighter systems of thrust allowed for larger windows and more light. The windows, tracery, carvings, and ribs make up a dizzying display of decoration that one encounters in a Gothic church. In late Gothic buildings, almost every surface is decorated. Although such a building as a whole is ordered and coherent, the profusion of shapes and patterns can make a sense of order difficult to discern at first glance.<\/p>\n

\"Gothic<\/div>\n

After the great flowering of Gothic style, tastes again shifted back to the neat, straight lines and rational geometry of the Classical era. It was in the Renaissance that the name Gothic came to be applied to this medieval style that seemed vulgar to Renaissance sensibilities. It is still the term we use today, though hopefully without the implied insult, which negates the amazing leaps of imagination and engineering that were required to build such edifices.<\/p>\n