Denis in France. As discussed by Soltes (2011), although the origins of Romanesque architecture are vague; the Gothic style that followed specifically came about upon the completion of the Chartres Cathedral outside of Paris in 1250. This is the first of the Gothic style buildings in which buttresses were used as a structural element that categorized the overall external appearance of the building. Rather than Romanesque buttresses pushed against very thick walls, they fly out in beautiful patterns, (ergo flying buttresses). The buttresses were structurally necessitated by the height of the nave and the unprecedented size of the windows. The height represents a closer proximity to the heavens thereby becoming closer to the …show more content…
The stained glass windows are extremely large and colorful with dark edge lead framing another indication of the Gothic style which allows more light to enter than the previous Romanesque churches which had relatively small windows and the interiors were dark. While Romanesque structures were built with five doorways, Gothic structures had three, suggesting the symbolic triune nature of God. Both numerical values represent holy references to the divine. Gothic style architecture was also adopted by Judaism around the same time in the construction of Altneu synagogue in