Gothic Architecture in Chartres Cathederal essays

Gothic Architecture in Chartres Cathederal essays In the early 1100s, the French Arch Bishop thought it was time for a new place to worship god. The architects of the time figured out that if you use a new type of arch-like structures on the outsides of the walls calles flying buttresses then you can cut the thickness of the walls into the fraction of the size that it would need to be with the walls of Chartres Cathederal being as tall as they were. This would inturn make the walls open for more windows and were filled with colored glass that are called stained glass. This let people worship god in the light that he was meant to be worshipped in. The Gothic style was one rooted in architecture and any other forms of art were basically created to help embellish the houses of the Lord. Gothic churches were - in contrast to the Romanesque churches - very "light". The belief in divine light and the powers it contained had a great deal to do with how Gothic cathedrals were constructed. Gothic architects solved the problem of very little light coming through the windows, by conceiving of a superior form of building. How'd they do that? Well, instead of having large walls with large interior support - as in Romanesque style - the Gothic churches were made of "exoskeletons". In other words, the church itself was like a skeleton with the walls and windows hanging as skin, off of this skeleton. Also, the weight of the construction was transferred from the interior to the exterior by way of what is known as the "flying buttress" system - massive piers on the outside of the church. With heavy walls no longer needed, walls were freed up for large, light colored stained glass windows. And like God said Let there be light was able to happen in he churches. In todays society not many people know about the Gothic style of architecture. Back in the 1100s the new Gothic style of architecture was able to show many new architectural features including flying butresses,...