Gothic

The Gothic period was presented from 1140- 1500 and was inspired by the Romanesque Period. There were many historical events that began during this period such as the construction of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Also, starting in 1337 the one hundred years war began between the French and the English. While this was all going on, design and architecture was still evolving. Gothic architecture was all about height and light. This is where stained glass played a key element for the Gothic Period. Pointed arches were introduced as you can see below in the Saint-Denis.


 The Notre Dame of Paris is one of the most symbolic cathedrals of this time period. It consisted of the facade which is a thick, heavy wall with windows cut into it's depth. It also had two towers, three portals, arcading, voussoirs, found windows, and tympana. The portals were extravagant, arch entryways.



 Another very important element to Gothic architecture was the flying buttress. The flying buttress was an all-glass or nearly all-glass curtain wall. They created a pier or support to prop the glass wall and to keep it from falling over time. This defined the creation of separating wall from structure.


 As we might have all seen the movie the Hunchback of Notre Dame, gargoyles appeared in the era as well.

Current Applications

Others student's Blog

Looking at Emily N's blog I really like how she focused in on the arches of the cathedrals. They were very significant to this time period and were amazing to look at. I also liked her current applications she did a fantastic job. 

In Flor's blog I liked how she talked about houses and furniture the Gothic Period instead of just talking about the cathedrals. The tapestries and canopies were a very good  topic to point out. I also liked how she showed the different types of furniture that were inspired by the Gothic Period.