As a worshipper of the 13th century approached Basilica St Denis, a gothic style cathedral, they would find various architectural updates that Abbott Suger hoped would inspire enhanced divinity.
First a visitor arriving would take in the exterior of the church where their focus would be drawn to the heavens by the awe inspiring height achieved in the design. This height was made possible by the inclusion of the byzantine style flying buttresses. The flying buttress is support that looks like a pier or bridge which attach the arch to the exterior of the wall and the buttress or masonry block on the exterior of the building. These support could be stacked in ever more delicate lace like layers that would draw the eyes of worshippers to the …show more content…
The Abbott like many in the church hierarchy believed that the church was the earthly embodiments of heaven. Like many of this era he thought that the more ostentatious the design the closer it would be to heaven. The Abbotts own documents show that he had a love of precious gems and metals, and that he thought that by adding these to the design of the Cathedral he would provide the “lead the worshippers to a heightened spiritual awareness. The Cathedral which was original built around 754 c.e. was update by the Abbott beginning in 1135. The Abbott cited the need for the update to provide additional space in the Nave during feast days as the current facility was exceptionally overcrowded and caused distress to the worshippers who became overheated inside or were forced to remain outside. The timing of the update was because of the fortuitous discovery of a quarry of strong stone and the abundance of skilled workers in the area. The updates to the cathedral which add the addition support also allowed for the inclusion of the extra and larger stained glass windows which he belied would educate the “simple folk” so they would know what the church thought they should believe. His view was that the more opulent and grandiose the design, brought about by the verticality and preponderance of light though the multitude of stained glass would draw additional worshippers whose soul would be elevated “to the spiritual
First a visitor arriving would take in the exterior of the church where their focus would be drawn to the heavens by the awe inspiring height achieved in the design. This height was made possible by the inclusion of the byzantine style flying buttresses. The flying buttress is support that looks like a pier or bridge which attach the arch to the exterior of the wall and the buttress or masonry block on the exterior of the building. These support could be stacked in ever more delicate lace like layers that would draw the eyes of worshippers to the …show more content…
The Abbott like many in the church hierarchy believed that the church was the earthly embodiments of heaven. Like many of this era he thought that the more ostentatious the design the closer it would be to heaven. The Abbotts own documents show that he had a love of precious gems and metals, and that he thought that by adding these to the design of the Cathedral he would provide the “lead the worshippers to a heightened spiritual awareness. The Cathedral which was original built around 754 c.e. was update by the Abbott beginning in 1135. The Abbott cited the need for the update to provide additional space in the Nave during feast days as the current facility was exceptionally overcrowded and caused distress to the worshippers who became overheated inside or were forced to remain outside. The timing of the update was because of the fortuitous discovery of a quarry of strong stone and the abundance of skilled workers in the area. The updates to the cathedral which add the addition support also allowed for the inclusion of the extra and larger stained glass windows which he belied would educate the “simple folk” so they would know what the church thought they should believe. His view was that the more opulent and grandiose the design, brought about by the verticality and preponderance of light though the multitude of stained glass would draw additional worshippers whose soul would be elevated “to the spiritual