Gothic architecture explained

[@unknown81360]

Being in school made me dislike learning about art and many different things, now that I get a little bit older I absolutely love learning about as many different things as possible. Thank you for making these very interesting videos again and again, I really appreciate it!

[@BeforeThisNovember]

Same. Proof that kids going to school so young is stupid. But the parents have to work I guess.

[@marten6578]

Exactly the same. I paid no mind to history in school, now I'm fascinated by Gothic era and Baroque. Beautiful architecture and art.

[@HVLLOW99]

I love Gothic architecture especially in Spain where their is a beautiful blend of Arabic & Gothic Architecture not seen anywhere else.

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

Is there a specific name of that Hybrid architecture?

[@systemreactive4092]

​@@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886 perhaps it was called Andalusian architecture

[@ahmedshaharyarejaz9886]

@@systemreactive4092 Thanks.

[@KHAT-m8u]

It’s literally northern and southern Arabian architecture. And it was first transferred to Europe through the Romans which they brought a Syrian Arabian architect and engineer named Abu al-Durr al-Dimashqi known by Apollodore de Damas. Then again was introduced to Europe second time through Andalus. And there was no gothic “architecture” before that.

[@ranjodh6]

Arabic ? Are you high ?

[@javierpacheco8234]

Gothic architecture is my favorite kind of architecture. Every time I see a gothic cathedral, I feel like there is something mysterious that we don't know and probably our ancestors know since they built it.

[@EmaniBethley]

Yes the architecture looks and feels 4 dimensional and other worldly

[@christinebravomom5711]

This is so well done. Not dumbed down, yet so clear that I can use it for my homeschool art lesson with 6, 9, and 11 yo students. Thank you so much.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Say hi to your young scholars from us.

[@coffeecake8835]

I absolutely love this channel, and your soothing voices of narration. I have learned sooo much from you! ❤

[@Lea-ox7cy]

I will never thank you enough for posting your videos they are so interesting, well-made and helpful for my studies!

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Wonderful to hear. We wish you the best in your studies.

[@TheArtofArchitecture-0726]

Gothic Architecture is one of the most influential in the history, the details are amazing😊😊

[@tiodeniz]

Listening and watching you is a quick and a mere escape from my monotonous life to what I really like, art. The terminology you use and the way you describe it on screen enamors me a lot. Much love from Turkey

[@EleyReiHer]

I love your thorough explanations at @3:23! From a point of visual art, it looks so delicate - but architect back then knew what they were doing and it doubles up as a strong structural system. These buildings last a lifetime; well over centuries even

[@Jonpoo1]

Thank you for another great video! People may not realise how common these huge gothic beauties are in Western Europe. You find them all over the place.

[@catlvr-kg9ol]

Thank you smarthistory! I’m studying art history to become a conservationist and your videos always sum up the coolest facts❤

[@stuartmcleod8490]

Beautiful! I just finished some wainscoting in my hallway that incorporated a Gothic arch. I could only imagine building something as great as this.

[@AdrianaHernandez-zr9gd]

wow 👏 id love to see it! I just bought a home and looking for inspiration. I love goth and hope to be able to incorporate it

[@yidayin]

I read about Gothic style in a book this morning, but the description was not very in-depth. So glad I found your video! I love the conversation style, and all the visual cues you used in the video to guide our attention to the part you are describing, very informative and engaging! Thank you for making content like this to help us learn more about art! :)

[@coffeefrog]

Thank you! I've been wanting to learn about architecture history, but it's difficult to start when you don't know some of the basics. This helps!

[@xorlop]

these videos are just spectacular! these videos are so concise and the energy is just perfect. I can't wait to binge everything!

[@teukel1157]

I love Gothic architecture, especially in northern Europe where it reached it's zenith. Use of sacred geometry and the marvels of the day were/are unsurpassed in structure and aesthetics.

[@craigathonian]

One of the key elements that never gets discussed when talking about Gothic buildings is the key creation of the basic buttress, {wall support} Without the invention of these key wall supports, the flying buttress would never have been possible. Even some of today's modern buildings still incorporate this idea without ever realizing the origin simply because it's always overshadowed by the more gradiouse and obvious flying buttress.

[@ritahorvath8207]

The most beautiful gothic church you find in Kiedrich / Rheingau / Germany . 🇩🇪

[@JessmanChicken86]

love this channel so much, I get so much out of it, thanks for doing what you do.

[@lievenmoelants]

Very well done. Pointed arches were in use in romanesque churches but not so lightly. This is a superbly prototypical gothic church of course, but mostly you see buildings with mixed structures and mixed styles.

[@SalemHill]

Well presented.

[@Jumboo364]

Light as a perfect metaphor indeed

[@noahkidd3359]

Fantastic video!

[@virginiaensinck5828]

Thank you so much for this explanation! Amazing architecture! I remember reading about this in Ken Follet's The Pillars of Earth, where the building of cathedrals in the Middle Ages is described

[@curiousworld7912]

My favorite style of architecture. :) I think man hit his peak with this form of building. I've never set foot in another space that had the effect on me that these cathedrals have. It was a brilliant move from the Romanesque (which can be lovely and impressive), to actually using light and color as 'materials'. I'm sure these cathedrals knocked the socks off 13th cent. visitors, because they still have that effect on most 21st cent. visitors.

[@kentwang44]

What happened to the engineering achievements of the Gothic after that period such as the pointed arches, groin vaults, and buttresses? Did the Renaissance and Baroque forsake those features, or did they just hide them?

[@smarthistory-art-history]

These developments remain in use but are transformed and sometimes hidden, for example: St Paul's Cathedral in London hides its flying buttresses: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJ7Wlp2kqceLiNk

[@sta1055]

As a first time visitor, I was wondering why they are talking about pointed arches. The explanation that followed had me floored. I didn't know that there was so much depth to Gothic architecture and the thought process in general

[@glamdawling]

My home will feature gothic architectural elements like this one day

[@caveatemptor313]

I can't decide if y'all are ex-golf announcers or PBS hosts.

[@Thor-Orion]

You should show some of the Ostrogothic and Visigothic architectural elements that were heavily utilized in later gothic architecture.

[@paulharvey2396]

Thank you God bless you amen

[@Sagitario-gn5lf]

Muito bom o jeito de falar, se pode escutar muitas vezes

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Ficamos felizes que o vídeo tenha sido útil.

[@JohnDoe-ot7xi]

Just imagine the scaffolding to make these wonderful structures

[@alanisdepaz5379]

Not sure if anybody said it already but at 1:16 it should say "ribbed vault" under pointed arch, instead of groin vault (because that's what you get when you join 4 barrel vaults together, meaning it is actually a romanesque structure)

[@smarthistory-art-history]

@alanisdepaz5379 Your correction is not correct. A groin vault can result from the intersection of two rounded vaults, two pointed vaults, or even one pointed and one rounded vault.

[@tomdaoust]

Wonderful description and explanation. Very well done. I like your whispering…like we’re learning secrets and also being quiet inside a church. Ha ha.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Mostly the latter, we record onsite and made this audio inside the Minster.

[@joserojas1001]

How did they design and measure these perfectly

[@minardi028]

Liked the video as the music in the intro was playing.

[@Sasha0927]

I'm so mad about the "bigger windows, thinner walls" remix that popped into my head. I'm not mad about the "light has a magical quality" quote. Minor existential crisis there, it was very satisfying.

[@BorselinoThadchack]

just so good, you guys are fantastic

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Thank you!

[@xuehong7826]

It looks like exactly the same in the Darksouls one.Really love this style of architecture.😂😂

[@Hussein.Private]

fantastic tut!

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

My favorite memories of gothic churches were England when I visited the Salsbury Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

We have videos on both those churches and more.

[@michaeldeierhoi4096]

@@smarthistory-art-history I will have too check them out. Thanks!

[@josephmessner5312]

So schön gemacht !!

[@pedrorochadacunha8129]

Does Gothic architecture has Influence from moor Spain? Was it creates by templars?

[@heliedecastanet1882]

The first Gothic cathedrals are the basilica Saint-Denis and the cathedral of Sens, in France. They have nothing to do with the Templars though.

[@ReubenAStern]

As an ex videographer I can confirm traditional churches have A LOT of light. But because the walls are a dark grey people think they're dark.

[@HollyA52]

Lots of good points in this video.

[@angelicaroselina2609]

hey just so yall know my collage is using yalls video to teach an online class its very helpful!

[@smarthistory-art-history]

So glad to hear that. Please say hello from us to your teacher and to your fellow students.

[@churchtoursyt]

Great video. Thanks.

[@TheGetout04]

Unpopular opinion maybe but I like Gothic Architecture more than Neo-Classical

[@javierpacheco8234]

Gothic to me was always better than neo classical or Greek/ roman classical style. It follows the rules of classicism but with different patterns and more ornament.

[@bennewton]

Wonderful!

[@christpierre]

Thank you for this video

[@nni9310]

The pointed arch was borrowed from Islamic architecture.

[@2222Kai2222]

In less than 5 minutes, you covered what took a documentary 50. Thank you for these videos!

[@WabuhWabuh]

those pointed arches originated from india...

[@Markph7]

Great video essay! Explaining history and architecture as well as culture and the faith that drove people to build structures taking 100-200 years to complete to last 1000 years. What is missing from our cultures now? We throw up trashy buildings in 2-3 years to last 50 years only

[@mv11000]

Love your videos, thank you! Major criticism, though: why are they so short?! :D

[@utopiandweller]

They've laid their point across. No need for longer videos with bunch of nonsense embellishments. I personally like this short but full of important information types of videos. Plus, in this way, they can make more short videos than long boring ones.

[@amrghazy1119]

🌺🌻

[@jk_c02]

Im literally here bc im gonna build in bloxburg 😭

[@rossanomacchioni7746]

In Italy true gothic Style Not Exist Is ronanesque structure whit gothic element . The Milan duomo Is only church Who approaches , the only One beyond the alps. But don't to do 100% the facade have baroque elemnt...

[@sbadaro]

You mean that the pointed arch and the vaulting techniques and the fluing butress and gothic architecture weren't STOLEN, lock, stock, and barrel from Moslem "saracen" Spain and Sicily and the middle East? 🤔

[@starcapture3040]

why the islamic influence and middle eastern was omitted?

[@remilenoir1271]

Because the pointed arch in moorish/arabic art isn't structural but decorative. Gothic architecture (aka frankish art) on the other hand was reliant on the structural properties of the pointed arch, its aesthetic properties were only an afterthought. What was achieved in terms of height and space in 13th century european gothic buildings (vaults culminating to 45+ meters, gigantic walls of glass supported by extremely fine walls, absurdly tall structures such as the then spire of Lincoln's cathedral which culminated to 160+ meters) is simply unheard of in the Islamic world. The aims were simply different. Moorish builders were more interested in the horizontality of the space, while their frankish counterparts were interested in verticality. In the latter case the broken arch is capital, while only accessory in the former.

[@surfsands]

Pointed arches existed before Islam and were used in the Roman Empire before Islam as well

[@starcapture3040]

@@remilenoir1271 the pointed arch was especially a creation of style in the islamic period. the rose glass and other styles were inspired by the islamic architecture. aka the frankish art saw this rise only after the crusader period.

[@starcapture3040]

@@surfsands arches existed even before rome or greece but the pointed arch was especially created in the islamic period.

[@remilenoir1271]

@@starcapture3040To claim that gothic art appeared only after the crusades and use that fact to try to prove they are responsible for the rise of gothic architecture, while contact with the islamic world was already well established by that time since the 9th century; is egregious. The pointed arch existed before the arabs and the rose windows come from the occulus, a roman feature of the 5th century basilicae, way before islam was a thing. If I were daring I could even say that the pointed arch in Gothic architecture has absolutely nothing to do with the Arabs, but was in fact the result of the flat projection of two perpendiculary crossing full arches, which was a well understood technique by the first century AD romans and was greatly improved upon in the 11th century by Norman architects, leading to the gothic revolution. I know you're trying to claim the Arabs invented everything (I see you scouring the comment sections of this channel trying to bring the subject of islamic art under each video (even those about naturalistic sculpture,somehow)), perhaps owing to some superiority complex, but this will simply not do.

[@totalclima88]

It is coincidence, that this style is call " Gothic ", and old race, who ruled between [1700bc - 500 ad] in Europe were Goths?

[@smarthistory-art-history]

Not a coincidence, a misunderstanding. The term Gothic was applied to this form of design much later in time than the buildings themselves, in the 19th century-perhaps the late 18th. At that time it was seen as opposing the favored Classical Revival style. The name Gothic was a way to express that this style lacked all of the refinement and rational clarity of the classical. It took some time for the Gothic to be appreciated in its own right and by that time the name had stuck.

[@totalclima88]

@@smarthistory-art-history thanks,

[@totalclima88]

@@smarthistory-art-history so, in the years when these "Gothic" buildings were built, they did not yet know that they were Gothic buildings? :D Impressive style for 5-6-7th cent. especially Whitby abbey or Lindisfarne priory. What is very interesting and mysterious is that most of these buildings were built on the ruins of old buildings, much earlier before the Roman Empire.

[@smarthistory-art-history]

It's even more complex, the Gothic begins in the 12th century, see our videos on St. Denis and Chartres. Before that was the Romanesque which begins around 1000. Before that, styles are more regional but also influenced by the Byzantine Empire. If you visit our site, smarthistory.org you will find all of this and much more.

[@ogindigo]

Gothic aka Moorish.

[@stiannobelisto573]

You wish😪

[@remilenoir1271]

A more critical analysis than your oversimplification would reveal that the moorish pointed arch was primarily decorative and could as easily be replaced in moorish buildings by full or horseshoe arches without putting their structural integrity at risk. On the other hand, such pointed arches were absolutely primordial to the structural integrity of gothic buildings, their aesthetic being merely a second thought. Moorish architects wanted to achieve a sense of horizontality. Frankish architects wanted to achieve a sense of verticality. In Moorish architecture this could be served by any kind of arch. Thus making the choice of the pointed arch an aesthetic one. In frankish architecture this could be served best by the pointed arch. Thus making the choice of the pointed arch a structural one.

[@ogindigo]

@Rémi Lenoir .. the Goths were a race of people that lived side by side with the moors as they ruled Europe for 700+ years before being exiled, all architecture after 1492 is up for discussion.

[@remilenoir1271]

@@ogindigo No.