Marvin Trachtenberg, “Suger’s Miracles, Branner’s Bourges: Reflections on “Gothic Architecture” as Medieval Modernism”, Gesta, 39.2 (2000)m 183-205.
In his article, Marvin Trachtenberg aims to redefine our understanding of words like “modern” and “historicism” in regards to Gothic architecture. To prove his point, he uses Suger’s St. Denis along with Bourges Cathedral as examples, but he begins with a lengthy investigation into the language we use to describe Gothic architecture, including the word itself. Trachtenberg proposes the elimination of the “Gothic architecture,” as a label and instead adopting the term “medieval modernism” to describe the architecture we see from the time period.…