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The Romanesque and Gothic styles were the two great architectural traditions of the High Middle Ages. Romanesque architecture, which dominated Western Europe from the mid-tenth century to the mid-twelfth, was characterized by its massive walls, its rounded arches, its barrel vaults, and its fortress-like appearance. Gothic architecture, which emerged in the mid-twelfth century in the Ile-de-France and gradually spread across Europe over the following centuries, was characterized by its soaring vaults, its pointed arches, its ribbed vaults, its flying buttresses, and its vast stained-glass windows. The two styles together represent the supreme architectural achievement of the medieval world, and the great cathedrals of the period — Notre-Dame de Paris, Chartres, Reims, Canterbury, Cologne, and Milan — are among the most impressive buildings ever constructed.
This cluster explores Romanesque and Gothic architecture in the High Middle Ages. The articles in the related long-tail pages provide deeper examinations of specific aspects of the topic.
Otto von Simson, “The Gothic Cathedral” (Princeton, 1956; 3rd ed. 1988), is the standard scholarly treatment. Kenneth J. Conant, “Carolingian and Romanesque Architecture, 800–1200” (Yale, 1959; repr. 1992), is the indispensable companion for the Romanesque side. The page below uses both, and the founding text of the Gothic art theory — Abbot Suger’s De administratione (c. 1147), in Erwin Panofsky’s edition and translation (Princeton, 1946; 2nd ed. 1979) — as primary material.
The Romanesque Style
The Romanesque style emerged in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, as Europe emerged from the disorders of the early Middle Ages and the great pilgrimage routes of the period stimulated the construction of new churches and monasteries. The name “Romanesque” was a later invention, applied by nineteenth-century scholars who saw the style as a continuation of the Roman tradition, and the medieval people who built these churches would not have recognized the term.
The Romanesque style was regional in character, with distinct local traditions in Lombard Italy, Norman England and Normandy, Rhenish Germany, Tuscan Italy, and other parts of Europe. Yet the style shared a number of common features: the use of the rounded arch (a feature borrowed from Roman architecture), the barrel vault, the thick walls, the small windows, the massive piers, the crenellated walls, the tribunes and ambulatories for the pilgrims who visited the churches.
The pilgrimage churches were among the most important Romanesque buildings. The cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, the destination of one of the major medieval pilgrimages, was rebuilt in the Romanesque style in the late eleventh century. The church of Sainte-Foy at Conques in southern France, with its remarkable tympanum depicting the Last Judgment, is one of the masterpieces of the period. The Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy, the head of the great Cluniac monastic order, was the largest church in Christendom before its destruction during the French Revolution.
The Romanesque churches were massive and imposing structures, with thick walls and small windows that gave them a fortress-like appearance. The walls were typically faced with stone or brick, and the roofs were typically covered with slate or tile. The interiors were often dark, with light admitted only through the small windows and the doors, and they were typically decorated with frescoes on the walls and sculpture on the capitals and the tympana. The decoration of the Romanesque churches was elaborate and symbolic, with biblical scenes, allegorical figures, and monstrous creatures all playing a role in the visual program.
The Gothic Style
The Gothic style emerged in the mid-twelfth century in the Ile-de-France, the region around Paris, and gradually spread across Europe over the following centuries. The name “Gothic” was a later invention, applied by Renaissance writers who considered the style barbaric; the medieval people who built the great Gothic cathedrals would not have recognized the term. The Gothic style was made possible by a series of engineering innovations that allowed builders to construct taller, lighter, and more flexible buildings than ever before.
The pointed arch was one of the key innovations of the Gothic style. Unlike the rounded arch, which directs its thrust outward and downward, the pointed arch directs its thrust more vertically, allowing the weight of the vault to be supported by the piers rather than the walls. The pointed arch also allowed builders to vary the proportions of the arch to suit the specific requirements of the building, giving the Gothic architects a flexibility that the Romanesque builders did not have.
The ribbed vault was another key innovation. Unlike the barrel vault, which distributes the weight of the ceiling over the entire wall, the ribbed vault concentrates the weight of the ceiling on a few points — the piers — and allows the spaces between the ribs to be filled with lighter materials. The ribbed vault allowed the Gothic builders to construct taller and lighter buildings, and it made it possible to use thinner walls and larger windows than the Romanesque builders had used.
The flying buttress was a third key innovation. The flying buttress is an external support that transfers the thrust of the vault from the wall to a pier outside the building, allowing the elimination of the heavy internal buttresses and the use of large windows. The flying buttress was first used at the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in the late twelfth century, and it became a standard feature of the Gothic style thereafter.
The result of these innovations was a new kind of building: the Gothic cathedral, with its soaring vaults, its vast stained-glass windows, its light-filled interior, and its symbolic and decorative program that proclaimed the glory of God and the power of the Church. The first great Gothic building was the choir of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, north of Paris, rebuilt under the direction of Abbot Suger in the 1140s. The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, begun in 1163, became the model for Gothic architecture across Europe. The cathedral of Chartres, rebuilt after a fire in 1194, was the masterpiece of the early Gothic; its sculptural program and its stained glass are among the supreme achievements of medieval art. The cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were crowned, and the cathedral of Amiens, the tallest of the French Gothic cathedrals, were the high points of the mature style.
The Building of the Cathedrals
The building of a Gothic cathedral was a major enterprise, involving hundreds of workers and lasting for decades or even centuries. The cathedral of Chartres was begun in 1194 and completed in 1252. The cathedral of Cologne was begun in 1248 and completed in 1880, with construction spanning more than six centuries. The cathedral of Milan was begun in 1386 and completed in 1965, with construction spanning nearly six centuries.
The workforce of a cathedral included masons, carpenters, smiths, glaziers, sculptors, painters, and laborers of various kinds. The masons were the key workers, and they were organized in lodges that traveled from one building site to another, transmitting technical knowledge and artistic styles across Europe. The lodges were headed by masters who designed the buildings and supervised the work, and they included journeymen and apprentices who performed the actual work. The masons’ guilds of the period were major economic and social institutions, and they played a major role in the transmission of architectural knowledge.
The funding of the cathedral building was a major financial enterprise. The cathedral was typically funded by a combination of donations from the faithful, bequests from the wealthy, tithes and offerings from the parishioners, and revenue from the bishop’s or chapter’s estates. The building campaign was often organized by a building committee, and the fundraising was often conducted through indulgences and other spiritual benefits. The records of the building campaigns — including the contracts with the masons, the accounts of the building committee, and the donations of the faithful — are major sources for the social and economic history of the medieval world.
Regional Variants of the Gothic
The Gothic style spread across Europe in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and it developed a wide variety of regional variants. The English Gothic of Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey was characterized by its rectangular east end, its elaborate decorative tracery, and its emphasis on horizontal lines. The German Gothic of Cologne Cathedral and Strasbourg Cathedral was characterized by its tall, narrow proportions and its elaborate sculptural decoration. The Italian Gothic of the cathedrals of Milan, Florence, and Siena was characterized by its colored marble facades, its painted interiors, and its integration with civic life.
The English Gothic had a number of distinctive features. The Decorated Gothic of the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries was characterized by its elaborate window tracery and its rich ornamentation. The Perpendicular Gothic of the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was characterized by its vertical lines and its fan vaults. The chapels and triforia of the English Gothic cathedrals were often elaborate structures in their own right, and the cathedral of Canterbury with its Trinity Chapel and Corona Chapel is a particularly fine example.
The German Gothic was characterized by its tall, narrow proportions, its elaborate sculptural decoration, and its emphasis on the vertical. The cathedrals of Cologne and Ulm are among the tallest buildings ever constructed, with steeples reaching over 150 meters. The cathedrals of Strasbourg and Freiburg are noted for their elaborate sculptural programs and their openwork spires.
The Italian Gothic was characterized by its colored marble facades, its painted interiors, and its integration with civic life. The cathedrals of Florence, Siena, and Orvieto are noted for their painted facades and their elaborate interior decorations. The cathedral of Milan is the largest Gothic cathedral in Italy, and it is noted for its forest of pinnacles and spires.
The Decoration of the Cathedrals
The decoration of the Gothic cathedrals was as important as the architecture itself, and it was a major expression of the religious and intellectual life of the period. The stained-glass windows of the Gothic cathedrals were among the most impressive artistic productions of the age, and they served both as decoration and as instruction. The windows depicted biblical scenes, the lives of the saints, and allegorical subjects, and they were arranged in a program that related to the liturgy and the devotions of the church. The stained glass of Chartres, Reims, and Sainte-Chapelle is among the finest ever produced, and it is a major source for the medieval imagination.
The sculpture of the Gothic cathedrals was also a major artistic achievement. The tympana of the Romanesque churches were the predecessors of the Gothic sculptural programs, but the Gothic sculptors developed a more naturalistic and more emotionally expressive style. The statues of the jambs of the Gothic cathedrals — the kings, queens, prophets, apostles, and saints that flanked the doorways — were often given individual portraits, and the smiling angels of Reims are among the most famous examples of Gothic sculpture. The sculpture of the Gothic cathedrals was often painted in bright colors, and the paint has been preserved in some cases despite the centuries that have passed.
Sources
Principal sources used in this article:
- Otto von Simson, The Gothic Cathedral (Princeton, 1956; 3rd ed. 1988).
Further reading:
- Kenneth J. Conant, Carolingian and Romanesque Architecture, 800–1200 (Yale, 1959; repr. 1992).
For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).