1/10/07 - Architectural History - French Gothic 1134-1300 AD

There are different phases of Gothic architecture in France, which are not definitive but will be used for the purposes of this lecture. These are Early Gothic (c. 1140-1195) with buildings such as St Denis, Sens, Noyon, Laon and Notre Dame de Paris; High Gothic (c. 1195-1240) such as Chartres, Rheims and Amiens; and The Rayonnant or Flamboyant Gothic (c. 1240-1300) such as Sainte-Chapelle.

Gothic architecture did not appear out of nowhere. The pointed arch, ribbed vault and flying buttress, for example, were not all new features. Gothic architecture first appeared in the Ile-de-France, the area around Paris. Its emphasis was on horizontal thrust, pointing towards heaven and giving a lighter and less cumbersome impression than had the Romanesque.

Abbot Suger, designer of St Denis, was the first to use the distinctly Gothic style, involving new spatial fluidity. Compared to Romanesque churches such as St Sernin, the new church was more open and elegant, with more spatial continuity, and s synthesis between space and form.

The pointed arch was used as a much more effective way of distributing weight than the round arch. The angle of weight distribution is blended into the wall, allowing for thinner walls and wider spans.

The pointed arches combined to form a groin vault, another advanced way of bearing more weight than was previously allowed, although at first used merely for decoration.

The flying buttress takes its principal idea from the pointed arch. It counteracts deadweight from place to place and stabilizes it.

The changes in architecture allowed for larger windows and so the interiors of buildings became lighter. Light symbolized the radiance of God, and sometimes stained glass windows were used to colour the light in the interior to give a more ethereal glow. The large windows also allowed beautiful pictures to be designed upon them, and so they became the object of religious reflection. Gothic windows were designed in the lancet or rose shape.

St Denis was a shrine to the saint after which it was named, but also to nascent French nationalism. For example, the church contains the tombs of the French royal family.

Within a few decades of St Denis' completion, the Gothc style had been adopted elsewhere, e.g. Sens Cathedral, which was one of the first to follow Suger's example.

Noyon Cathedral (designed c. 1150) came soon after, and while it retains some Romanesque influence, the overall effect is Gothic.

Laon Cathedral adopted the Gothic traits, and emphasised them with the use of narrower columns and wider arches, creating a more dynamic effect.

Notre Dame de Paris wiped out all inconsistencies: it is more symmetrical, with three shafts around the nave. It uses sleeker forms; it has an arcade, gallery, triforium consisting of rose windows and clerestory; it has a double-aisle like St Peter's in Rome and as a result has shorter transepts. The transepts have moved nearer to the centre of the aisle.

Chartres Cathedral was the first of the great 'High Gothic' cathedrals. It was built to replace a cathedral that had been destroyed in a fire. The cathedral was completed in an astonishing twenty-six years, particularly amazing for a building so large, complex and decorative. It has quadripartite rather than sexpartite vaulting, illustrating the transition from Early to High Gothic. The characteristic sexpartite vaulting creates a quicker, more dynamic aesthetic rhythm up the aisle. The main vaulting shafts run the height of the building and the gallery space is enlarged.

The interior of Amiens shows the aspiration of height which became the aim of Gothic architecture, both aesthetically and technically. Later buildings, such as Beauvais, perfected the style, for they grew higher and higher. The length of the cathedral became relatively much longer than its width.

The external appearance of the cathedrals also changed. For example, the west front of Laon Cathedral is more articulated, decorative and deep, and it is full of movement, drama and religious themes in sculpture and windows. Notre Dame and Amiens also integrated these elements to a great extent. Emphasis came on coherent ensemble, and the relation of height (verticality) to length (horizontality).

Compared to the Romanesque style that preceded it, the Gothic was lighter and more uplifting.

The Rayonnant style is embodied by Ste-Chapelle, Royal Palace, Paris, (1243-8). It has a skeleton of stone, filled in with large expanses of glass. The window tracery is more refined, complex and elegant. There is a greater degree of detail, previously unequalled.

But Gothic architecture was not just about enclosing the largest possible space with the least possible material; it symbolised religious concepts as well. Examples of scholastic philosophy and the intricacy of religious thought was included on exterior sculptures, such as the west front of Chartres Cathedral, and in stained glass depictions. These communicated the greatness of God and the importance of secular figures. The immense cost of building these cathedrals was borne by donations from all over the country, particularly from pilgrims. And the Gothic style was transported across the channel ...