Gothic Architecture

Gothic Architecture, the style of architecture which prevailed in Western Europe during the latter part of the Middle Ages. The term "Gothic," originally applied in contempt by the admirers of classical architecture, has survived the notion of rudeness and savagery which was formerly attached to everything mediaeval, and is not likely to be displaced by "Pointed" or other substitutes which have been proposed. Gothic architecture is the highest type of the arcuated as distinguished from the trabeated method of building. [Architecture.] After the irruption of the northern barbarians Roman architecture gradually declined, and various "Romanesque" styles, in which the Roman buildings were imitated, grew up in its place. The Romanesque styles of Western Europe were very inferior to the Byzantine (q.v.), but early in the 11th century there was a marked improvement. The increased skill of builders in the

Romanesque styles during the next century and a half led to the discovery of the principles of Gothic architecture. It arose almost simultaneously in England and France, and Early English and French Gothic are so much alike that they may be regarded as varieties of the same style. The general character of Decorated architecture is likewise the same in England, France (though the Hundred Years' War interfered with its development in that country), and Germany. It was only in its third stage, when it had begun to decay, that Gothic architecture followed a different course in England and on the Continent, diverging into the Perpendicular style in the one case and the Flamboyant (q.v.) in the other.

The history of Gothic architecture in England may, therefore, be regarded as typical of its normal development. Here, as elsewhere, it was of two kinds - ecclesiastical and domestic; but all its main characteristics were displayed on a more ample scale in the former than in the latter. Before proceeding to discuss the progress of English ecclesiastical architecture in detail, it may be well to point out the peculiarities of the English cathedral. It must be remembered that the form of the cathedral was determined bj that of the Roman basilica (q.v.), which was afterwards modified by the addition of the transept (q.v.), while its upper stages became the clerestory (q.v.) and the triforium (q.v.). The English cathedrals became more strictly cruciform, owing to the rejection of the apse and the elongation of the choir and the wings which formed the transept. Some English cathedrals have two transepts. The cathedrals in this country also differ from those abroad in their greater length in proportion to their height.

The Anglo-Norman style, the English type of Romanesque [Norman Architecture], gave way to the Early English - the first type of pure Gothic - through a process of gradual transition. Norman masonry was clumsy and wasteful, and, as the number of churches increased, it became necessary for builders to economise their materials. The introduction of the pointed arch - one of the chief features of Gothic architecture - must be in great measure ascribed to the requirements of vaulting. Vaults were now used over larger areas, and a new method was devised for vaulting over spaces of unequal span. Where the breadth of the space to be vaulted exceeded the portion of the length included in the bay or compartment, instead of the Norman expedients for equalising the height of the transverse semicircular arches and those at the sides, pointed arches were adopted in the latter position. This method is employed not only in the transitional triforium-arcade of Canterbury cathedral, but in the aisles of Fountains Abbey, which is still purely Norman in character. The use of the pointed arch in this and other Norman buildings of about the same date shows that it is not necessarily a mark of Gothic architecture. When the pointed arch came into general use in all parts of the building it was found that ii could be more easily adapted to the purposes of vaulting than the semicircular. Other causes may have contributed to bring it into use. In St. Cross church, near Winchester, and on the wall of Anselm's tower at Canterbury, the pointed form is produced by means of intersecting arcades. Some authorities maintain that it was introduced from the East by the Crusaders.

The Early English (or First Pointed) Style began at the close of the 12th and continued till the latter part of the 13th century. St. Hugh's choir at Lincoln (1192-1200) is the earliest example of pure Gothic. It has been asserted that the remains of the cathedral of St. Denis (about 1140) prove that the style originated in France; but St. Denis is transitional in character, and Dijon cathedral (consecrated in 1230) is the first French building which shows a complete emancipation from Romanesque traditions. Long narrow lancet-shaped windows and slender lofty pillars are the most striking features of Early English architecture. But the leading characteristic of the style is the bold outline of the mouldings, which consist of deeply-cut hollows alternating with firmly-carved rounds, and produce a strong effect of light and shade. The fillet is sparingly used at first, but becomes more common towards the close of the style. The windows are either single or are arranged in suites of two, three, five, or seven, which are sometimes placed so near one another that they resemble the lights of a single window, divided by mullions. The commonest forms of arch are the lancet and the equilateral. Trefoil arches are much used in doorways and other small openings. Small shafts are often placed in the jambs of doorways and windows, and form a mark of the style. The most characteristic form of pillar consists of small detached shafts surrounding a circular pier. The capitals have the shape of a reversed bell, and are often ornamented with the beautiful foliage peculiar to the style. It is termed "stiff-leaf foliage," owing to the stiffness of the stems, but the foliage itself is often free and luxuriant, and is deeply undercut, so that it stands out in bold relief. Early English towers are generally higher than Norman towers, and most of them have or had lofty octagonal spires. The brooch spire, which rises immediately from the outer surface of the wall without the intervention of a parapet, is a very common form, The roofs have a more acute pitch than the Norman, and the buttresses project more boldly. Flying buttresses spanning over the roof of the aisle, and conveying the thrust of the centre vault to the side buttresses, and so to the ground, now became common. The vaults are invariably pointed and groined. They seldom have any ribs except the diagonal or groin ribs, the cross-springers or transverse ribs, and occasionally longitudinal and transverse ribs along the ridge of the main and cross vaults. Several kinds of decoration, highly characteristic of Gothic architecture, appear for the first time during this period. It became common to ornament the outside of the building with figures of saints, which were placed in niches, carved on the surface of the wall, and were often arranged in rows, as on the west front of Wells cathedral. The characteristic ornament of this style is the tooth ornament, which is much used in hollow mouldings. The most beautiful examples of the Early English style are Salisbury cathedral and the choir and transept of Westminster Abbey.

The Decorated (or Middle Pointed) Style may be roughly said to cover the reigns of the three Edwards (1272-1377). It receives its name not from any superabundance of ornament - the Perpendicular style is far more ornate - but because in this style the decoration forms an essential part of the construction, and is not added afterwards to heighten the effect. This is especially true of the tracery in the windows. These are larger than in the Early English style, and consist of several lights, divided by mullions. The arches are usually two-centred. At first the tracery is always of the kind called "geometrical," consisting of circles, trefoils, and other geometrical forms. Subsequently "flowing" tracery was introduced, so called because the stonework branches out into a variety of graceful curves. The finest windows which exhibit this form of tracery are those at the west end of York Minster and at the east end 'of Carlisle cathedral. Another kind of tracery common in the Decorated period is the "reticulated," in which the lines intersect like the threads of a net. There is a beautiful circular window with flowing tracery in the south transept at Lincoln. In cathedrals and large churches the pillars usually consist of four, six, or more shafts clustered closely together, instead of a central pier surrounded by detached shafts, as in the Early English style; and the prevailing outline of the cluster is that of a lozenge, instead of circular. The capitals are either plain or enriched with foliage. Real leaves, such as those of the oak, ivy, and vine, take the place of the conventional trefoil, and are often imitated with great fidelity to nature. They are sometimes represented as growing from a common stalk, which runs round the bell; in other cases each leaf is carved separately. The mouldings are less bold than in the preceding style, but are usually extremely well carved, especially in early work. The roll, scroll, and quarter-round are the commonest forms. The larger members are generally filleted. Among the minor characteristics which distinguish this style from the Early English may be mentioned the embattled parapets; the niches in the buttresses; the more general use of pinnacles, especially as a termination to buttresses; and the greater abundance of crockets and finials, which are the usual form of enrichment employed in the canopies over niches, the dripstones in the form of a triangle or an ogee which surmount doorways, and other situations of the same kind. The characteristic ornaments of the style are the ball-flower and the four-leaved flower, especially the former. Lichfield cathedral is a small but perfect specimen of purely Decorated architecture.

The Perpendicular (or Third Pointed) Style. Amongst the earliest examples of Perpendicular work are the choir and transept of Gloucester cathedral, begun about 1350, and the west front of Winchester (1360-66). The chief characteristic of the new style is the prevalence of perpendicular lines, which is most conspicuous in the tracery of windows. Horizontal lines are almost as striking a feature as perpendicular; for example, transoms or crossbars dividing the lights of a window into stages now become very common, and are often introduced several times in the height of the window. The doorways are commonly square-headed, and the spandrils between the arch and the outer mouldings are often richly carved. The general tendency of the style to adopt a rectilinear arrangement is very noticeable in the ornamentation; bands of trefoils and similar patterns are freely used to decorate the surface of walls, and sometimes walls and ceiling are almost completely covered with panelling. The outline of the four-centred arch, which was now much used, was at first bold and impressive, but, as the style advanced, it became more and more depressed. The mouldings consist for the most part of broad, shallow hollows, and the round members have a very slight projection. On the other hand, the style has some characteristic beauties of its own. Among these must be reckoned the lofty and richly-ornamented towers: such as those of Magdalen College, Oxford, and many churches in Somersetshire; the open timber roofs which remain at St. Stephen's church, Norwich, and elsewhere in the eastern counties; and the beautiful fan-tracery vaulting in Henry VII.'s Chapel, Westminster, and St. George's Chapel, Windsor. In Henry VII.'s Chapel, pendants - a common feature of Perpendicular vaulting - are used with striking effect. Early in the 16th century the Perpendicular style was further debased by the admixture of elements derived from the classic styles, which gradually supplanted Gothic architecture, though it lingered on in the Oxford colleges as late as the 17th century.