Gothic Cathedrals and Relics

I know I posted about the Duomo already but since then I have learned some more about Gothic cathedrals and therefore decided to add a few facts.

Gothic cathedrals were an extremely exciting innovation because called upon feats in engineering that were unparalleled in the dark ages of medieval Europe. Most large buildings were made of stone and had to  be made heavy with thick walls in order to be made tall. This made it so that they couldn't build large windows, otherwise the ceilings would cave in, and rooms couldn't get any light. Gothic cathedrals were built with high ceilings 12 stories above the ground that weighed thousands of tons, yet the walls were mostly made of glass windows. How did this work? There were three main innovations that allowed for it: pointed arches, flying buttresses, and vaulted ceilings.

Pointed Arches In Roman times people made round arches, but those could easily cave in because the weight of the wall above the arch would push the columns of the arch outwards, causing the rounded part in the middle to cave in. Gothic cathedrals, however, use pointed arches, wich redirect the forcesof gravity more towards the ground. These arches are elegant and stronger, allowing for more weight to be put on them and make rooms more open and spacious.

Flying Buttresses The problem is, even though pointed arches redirect gravity, there is one stone on either side that can fall outwards and cause the entire arch to cave. Flying buttresses are giant stone props that are set up right against that particular stone, holding it in and allowing the downward gravity to do its work. However, the buttress must be perfectly placed, or it won't work. They are usually outside of the cathedral and stretch from the outer wall to the ground.

Vaulted Ceilings So we've discussed how cathedrals have their high arches and open rooms, but not why they can have high ceilings and walls made of glass. This where it all comes together. Gothic cathedrals have vaulted ceilings, which is basically two giant pointed arches crossing each other. They intersect at what's called a "boss stone," which is like a keystone and keeps the pressure that allows for the arches to stay together. The vaulted ceilings put all the weight of the ceiling on the columns of the arches instead of on the walls, allowing for glass windows. They too use flying buttresses.

Those three innovations are what make Gothic cathedrals so spectacular. Another interesting part of cathedrals is relics. Relics are the remains of important saints and martyrs. Some of them are recent, from the 1960s, and some of them are so old that they're dry bone. The newer ones have to be covered with silver masks because there's still flesh underneath. It's pretty awesome.

A vaulted ceiling in a Baroque church. As you can see the Baroque style uses curved arches. 

These curved Roman arches are not as strong as pointed arches and have to use modern support. 

A Byzantine influenced mural on the ceiling of a Baroque church.

Although these examples are of a Baroque church, not a Gothic one, the style is later and still uses some of the techniques of Gothic cathedrals.

A Gothic arch on the Duomo.

For more information check my brother's blog. The URL is nicksawesomeadventures.blogspot.com.He has done a detailed writing project on Gothic architecture so be sure to check it out!