Smokestacks and Spires
A Brief Examination of Gothic Architecture and its Revival
The late European medieval period saw the development of what we refer to today as Gothic architecture. Through new technological and design innovations, Europeans built awe-inspiring buildings to house their most precious institutions: royal palaces, castles and cathedrals--many of which remain largely untouched by time’s flow centuries later. Drawing from ancient Roman technological advances, the Gothic tradition made heavy use of architectural features such as arches, vaults and buttresses to create buildings that were not only structurally sound, but beautiful as well. Many centuries later, these buildings became nostalgic symbols of a simpler and better time. Craftspeople …show more content…
It is important to be aware of European biases when reading twentieth century historical writing describing Gothic and Medieval architecture and its influences. Professor Banister Fletcher, writes of “Moorish” influences on Gothic architecture in his book, A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method, first published in 1905, but is only willing to grant Historical status to Western movements and styles. As Theodore Drab and Khosrow Bozorgi point out, Fletcher’s “pronouncement defined architecture outside Europe as ‘Non- Historical’” intimating that “Islamic productions are non-architecture.” Lisle March Phillipps, an English catholic reconciler, was blatantly racist in his writings. Believing Arabic influence throughout Europe to be “destructive”, he maintains that “Gothic buildings [...] denote the essentially constructive genius of the races of the North.” Although it does not seem entirely possible to prove that Gothic architecture borrowed forms from the East, Fletcher does attest to the many hundreds of years of “Moorish” occupation in Spain and the potential for cross pollination between cultures and
A Brief Examination of Gothic Architecture and its Revival
The late European medieval period saw the development of what we refer to today as Gothic architecture. Through new technological and design innovations, Europeans built awe-inspiring buildings to house their most precious institutions: royal palaces, castles and cathedrals--many of which remain largely untouched by time’s flow centuries later. Drawing from ancient Roman technological advances, the Gothic tradition made heavy use of architectural features such as arches, vaults and buttresses to create buildings that were not only structurally sound, but beautiful as well. Many centuries later, these buildings became nostalgic symbols of a simpler and better time. Craftspeople …show more content…
It is important to be aware of European biases when reading twentieth century historical writing describing Gothic and Medieval architecture and its influences. Professor Banister Fletcher, writes of “Moorish” influences on Gothic architecture in his book, A History of Architecture on the Comparative Method, first published in 1905, but is only willing to grant Historical status to Western movements and styles. As Theodore Drab and Khosrow Bozorgi point out, Fletcher’s “pronouncement defined architecture outside Europe as ‘Non- Historical’” intimating that “Islamic productions are non-architecture.” Lisle March Phillipps, an English catholic reconciler, was blatantly racist in his writings. Believing Arabic influence throughout Europe to be “destructive”, he maintains that “Gothic buildings [...] denote the essentially constructive genius of the races of the North.” Although it does not seem entirely possible to prove that Gothic architecture borrowed forms from the East, Fletcher does attest to the many hundreds of years of “Moorish” occupation in Spain and the potential for cross pollination between cultures and