religion

not as strong and sure during the Gothic. In the earlier period, people

believed that the world was a God - inspired mystery that could be

expressed in simple, direct art. In the Renaissance that followed the

Middle Ages, people believed , as did the Greeks, in cultivating

rationalism and humanism. This change to a more secular age came

about through the subtle influences of a variety of trends and events.

When the year 1000 passed into history without the predicted end of

the world, people began to think in terms of a more pleasurable life.

Salvation through the remission of sins was still paramount in their

thinking, but they reduced it to a formula. Scholasticism was the

product of the medieval university, which had evolved from the earlier

monastic schools. The medieval curriculum was divided into the so -

called quadrivium and trivium. The quadrivium included arithmetic,

geometry, astronomy, and music all under the heading of

"Mathematics." While scholastic philosophy systematized salvation, it

did not bring forth the deep and abiding faith that many believed it

would. Worship tended toward an empty formalism, with the let

. . .
The sense of vertical space is even more impressive

in the interior of these cathedrals. The emotional tone became

one of warmth and mystic longing. The

Annunciation of the Siena Cathedral altar by Simone Martini is a case

in point. Moreover, those

returning from pilgrimages showed signs of becoming more

intellectually and economically independent. The love for Mary was perhaps

both cause and effect in the development of the ideals of "courtly

love.

SCULPTURE

The elements of sculpture wer treated essentially the same in the

Gothic as they had been in the Romanesque.

ARCHITECTURE

The Gothic cathedral, with its spires rising majestically over the

towns of northern Europe, is a physical counterpart to the spiritual

urge for rising above the earthly. Despite their anonymity,

they were among the most innovative practitioners of architecture of

all time. These pilgrimages to wrest

the Holy Land from the Moslems were unsuccessful in their main

objective, but they did open up new vistas in social and cultural

thought. The countless anonymous composers of

the chants of the Middle Ages are an embodiment of a "God -

inspired," mysterious, creative power disassociated from the humans

through which it worked.

PAINTING

During the Gothic period, the art of painting, except for the

illumination of manuscripts, was a minor art in the north. The east windows of

King's College Chapel serve the same instructive purpose. Unlike their Romanesque predecessors, Gothic sculptors

created their figures independently of the columns, placing them upon

pillars or in niches in the structure. That of Wells Cathedral is in part determined by its

scissor arches, which were added to the interior out of engineering

necessity about one hundred years after the completion of the main

body of the cathedral.

This limitation hampered the Gothic builders, who sought in their

buildings to reach great heights.

Common topics in this essay:
Middle Ages, ARCHITECTURE Gothic, Land Moslems, Europe Romanesque, Christianity Dante, Unlike Romanesque, Holy Trinity, , College Chapel, Perpendicular Gothic, stained glass, gothic cathedral, middle ages, life christ, architecture gothic, northern europe, people believed, gothic period, lamentation christ, music gothic,

Approximate Word count = 1292
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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