

The period also saw the founding of the University of Paris or Sorbonne. Over the later course of the Capetian dynasty (1180 to 1328), three Kings: Philip Augustus (1180–1223), Louis IX of France (1226–1270), and Philip le Bel (1285–1314), established France as the major economic and political power on the Continent. The first complete Gothic cathedral, Sens Cathedral, was finished shortly afterwards. He oversaw the reconstruction of the ambulatory of Saint-Denis, making it the first and most influential example of Gothic architecture in France. The Abbot of Saint-Denis, Suger, was a counselor of Louis VI and Louis VII, as well as a historian. During the reign of Louis VI of France (1081–1137), Paris was the principal residence of the Kings of France, Reims the place of coronation, and the Abbey of Saint-Denis became their ceremonial burial place. Origins įrench Gothic architecture was the result of the emergence in the 12th century of a powerful French state centered in the Île-de-France. It was gradually supplanted as the dominant French style in the mid-16th century by French Renaissance architecture.

The French style was widely copied in other parts of northern Europe, particularly Germany and England.

Gothique flamboyant (Flaming Gothic), since mid 14th century, marked by swinging and flaming (that makes the term) forms of tracery.It forms the greater portion of High Gothic.
#Medieval gothic font windows

The new techniques also permitted the addition of larger windows, including enormous stained glass windows, which fill the cathedrals with light.įrench scholars divide the Gothic of their country into four phases: Its main characteristics are verticality, or height, and the innovative use of the rib vault and flying buttresses and other architectural innovations to distribute the weight of the stone structures to supports on the outside, allowing unprecedented height and volume. The most notable examples are the great Gothic cathedrals of France, including Notre-Dame Cathedral, Reims Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral, and Amiens Cathedral. Top left: Notre-Dame de Paris top right: rose window, Notre-Dame de Paris center left: interior of Chartres Cathedral center right: Reims Cathedral bottom: Sainte-Chapelle, Parisįrench Gothic architecture is an architectural style which emerged in France in 1140, and was dominant until the mid-16th century.
