Gothic Architecture Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core architectural terms, structural elements, historical figures, and major monuments of French Gothic architecture.

Île-de-France

The region in northern France, just outside Paris, where the Gothic architectural style originated around the middle of the 12th century.

Giorgio Vasari

The Renaissance figure who coined the term 'Gothic' to negatively describe pre-15th-century art as 'barbaric art' lacking classical harmony and proportion.

Cistercian Monks

A French religious order derived from the Benedictines who introduced the Gothic style into Italy during the 13th century.

Pointed Arch (Arco a sesto acuto)

An arch whose intrados curve consists of two arcs of a circle intersecting at the top to form a point at the apex.

Rib Vault (Volta a ogiva costolonata)

A type of groin vault where exposed stone ribs (costoloni) are constructed first to support the infill webs (vele).

Webs (Vele)

The four triangular masonry sections of a groin vault that serve a non-structural filling function.

Ribs (Costoloni / Nervature)

Exposed stone arches (perimetral and diagonal) built first in a vault to support the structure and transfer weight to the piers.

Flying Buttress (Arco rampante)

An exterior asymmetrical arch (arco zoppo) that receives oblique thrusts from upper vault walls and transfers them down to a vertical buttress.

Pinnacle (Pinnacolo)

A vertical masonry element placed on top of a buttress that adds weight to stabilize and redirect outward diagonal vault thrusts downward.

Clustered Pier (Pilastro a fascio)

A compound pier composed of multiple bundled shafts or columns that support the arches and vault ribs of a Gothic church.

Clerestory (Claristorio)

The highest level of nave walls in a Gothic cathedral containing large stained-glass windows that bring direct light into the central space.

Triforium (Triforio)

A narrow, shallow gallery level positioned above the nave arcade and below the clerestory.

Abbot Suger

The abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Denis who initiated its Gothic reconstruction around 1137–1140.

Basilica of Saint-Denis

A church near Paris considered the earliest full manifestation of Gothic architecture, featuring an early rose window, pointed arches, ogival ribbed vaults, and a bright choir.

Pierre de Montreuil

The architect of Notre-Dame de Paris and Sainte-Chapelle who designed two large stained-glass rose windows in the transept of the Basilica of Saint-Denis.

Maurice de Sully

The Bishop of Paris who commissioned and directed the construction of Notre-Dame de Paris starting in 1163.

Gallery of Kings

A horizontal architectural band above the portals on the facade of Notre-Dame de Paris featuring statues of the Kings of Judea and Israel.

Notre-Dame de Chartres

A cathedral built between 1194 and 1220–24, known as the 'cathedral of cathedrals' and considered a classic example of High Gothic architecture.

Portal of the Alliance (Portale dell'Alleanza)

The north portal of Chartres Cathedral featuring carved statues depicting Old Testament scenes and the life of the Virgin Mary.

Chartres Floor Labyrinth

A pavement design inside Chartres Cathedral symbolizing an earthly pilgrimage toward the Heavenly Jerusalem.

Notre-Dame de Reims

A Gothic cathedral started in 1211, celebrated for its exceptional stylistic unity and historically used as the coronation site for the Kings of France.

Jean d'Orbais

The master builder who designed and constructed the choir and transept of Reims Cathedral between 1211 and 1231.

Bernard de Soissons

The master builder responsible for constructing the nave and the main portal rose window of Reims Cathedral between 1255 and 1290.

Sainte-Chapelle

A royal chapel in Paris built between 1243 and 1248, representing an 'architecture of light' where structural walls are minimized to maximize stained-glass windows.

Upper Chapel of Sainte-Chapelle

The upper level of Sainte-Chapelle reaching a height of $15\,\text{m}$, designed to create the illusion that the entire space is made of stained glass.