Gothic Cathedrals

Kathryn Naggie

Gothic Cathedrals

August 11, 2013

AIU Online

Professor Saczynski

The two Gothic Cathedrals that I chose to use were Notre Dame de Chartres and Salisbury Cathedral.

Notre Dame de Chartres or Our Lady of Chartres is a Gothic cathedral that was said to center around community life. These cathedrals were considered to be the only space inside that held all the people in the town at one time. It was used for concerts, meetings, religious plays and the main thing it was used for was worship. It rises above the town of Chartres and the pinnacles are able to be seen for miles around. The whole community was involved in building the Notre Dame de Chartres but most never saw it finished.

The Notre Dame de Chartres grew and grew and continued to have changes made to it for over 300 years. The basic architecture of the cathedral is symmetrical and logically organized. It also has a rich, mysterious intricacy that is very different from the architecture of the classical Parthenon. Notre Dame de Chartres was one of the very first cathedrals centered on the Gothic system and also helped to set the norm for European Gothic architecture.

The cathedrals West Front reveals the changes that were made between the early and late phases of Gothic architecture. The colossal lower walls and round arch entranceways were built during the 12th century. The North Tower was rebuilt with sophisticated extravagant curves of late Gothic style in the 16th century, after the first one burned down in 1506. The main reason changes were made were so that the churches could have more windows. It was believed that the more light in the church, made the presence of God richer and stronger. There are many stained glass...