Gothic Architecture: Key Elements

Gothic Church Architecture

• The pointed arch is a key element of Gothic architecture, allowing architects to build larger and brighter churches.
• The use of pointed arches redirects the weight of the vaulted ceiling more directly downward, enabling the use of thinner and more delicate supports.
• This innovation allowed for less wall and more window, creating a sense of openness and brightness in the church.

Vaults and Supports

• The weight of the vaulted ceiling did not need to come down onto continuous walls, but instead onto four columns, opening up the space of the church.
• Piers, often ornamented with delicate colonnets, are major structural elements that support the stone vaulting above.
• The flying buttress is a bracing system between the windows on the outside of the church, containing the lateral thrust of the vaulting and allowing light to enter the windows.

Church Design

• The Gothic church is designed to create a sense of the Heavenly on Earth, with a focus on light and upward movement.
• The layering of arches, including the knave arcade, triforium, and clear story, creates a sense of depth and emphasizes the Heavenly.
• The use of trefoil-shaped arches, quattrofoil, and short pointed arches separated by columns adds to the layering and sense of depth.

Historical Context

• Gothic churches were a significant improvement over the dark and windowless Romanesque churches that came before them.
• The construction of Gothic churches required decades of labor, enormous costs, and great workmanship.
• The experience of entering a Gothic church would have been truly miraculous for people in the 13th century, and still has a profound impact on people today.