Gothic Architecture

 Much of the Gothic style which began in the 1100s was undrawn and was extremely trial and error, from this many deaths were causes and things would fall and be rebuilt. The term gothic was introduced by Italian writers of the Renaissance given to nonclassical ugliness. At the centre of Gothic Architecture was the Gothic Vault, through the work of medieval masons finding ways to support heavy ceilings much more space was created.

Another challenge that this era faced regarding significant heavy loads, was that the external walls had to be very thick which made labour more expensive and difficult. This was resolved by the invention of the buttress as it shares the load is is carried down the buttress, overtime these became increasingly light and were developed to become more aesthetic. I in particular found this interesting as it gave me a greater insight as to why Gothic designs had these great bridge like pieces, upon listening to this it shows that the masons found a way to not only improve the functionality of the supports, but also increases their aesthetic by keeping it in replicated to the rest of the design. 

There are three ages of Gothic design:

• Early Gothic (1120-1200)
• High Gothic 

Europe (1200-1280)

England (1300-1375)

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  Late Gothic

Europe (1280-1500)

England (1375-1500)

Early Gothic shows distinct features of numerous windows, arches, large doorways and huge towers, particularly shown through Notre Dame, as well as Lincoln Cathedral which were Commenced during this early gothic period. High Gothic was defined as increasingly elaborate geometrical decoration, this became a much more complex and flamboyant style when compared to the earlier gothic styles, with statue decoration as well as a decorated interior, examples of this are such as the Chartres Cathedral which was completed in 1220. In England the high gothic style had a much more perpendicular design rather so than such a flamboyant style that was found in France and the rest of Europe. Late Gothic saw an advancement in techniques and construction which went back to a decorative style, and saw an end of the more flamboyant style that had been developed in Europe.

This period was an extremely important period particularly in Europe, through the creation of gothic Architecture it changed the way Churches and Cathedrals were designed. Despite the period beginning almost a millennium ago, it is still regarded as one of the most aesthetic design eras with many structures being seen as the most influential in Architectural history.