Week 11 - Gothic Europe

Master Builder

head of construction (and often design) in medieval system of building. Architectural knowledge controlled by guilds (trade unions).

Great Chain of Being

a hierarchical structure of all matter and life, thought by medieval Christianity to have been decreed by God. Everything ranked, with God at the top.

Choir of the Basilica of Saint-Denis

Paris, France, 1144: widely considered the first structure to employ all of the elements of Gothic architecture

Chartres Cathedral

France, 1220: one of the best-known and most influential examples of High Gothic

Sainte-Chapelle

Paris, France, 1248: stained-glass everywhere

Notre Dame

Paris, France, 1260: iconic Gothic church

Flying Buttress

a supporting arch for a large stone wall

Aedicule

a small structure or niche used as a shrine; a small building

Pendentive

a curved triangle of vaulting formed by the intersection of a dome with its supporting arches

Wheel Window/Rose Window

a large colored-glass window in a Gothic church