Gothic Flashcards
Gothic
- Originated in France
- Characterized by height and delicacy - pointed arch, buttress, tracery, and large windows
- Wood becomes common in furniture
- Structure dominated by thrust and counterthrust
- Highly religious time
Gothic Cathedral
- became the center of town life
- acted as town hall, school, museum, and gallery
- Christian church
- Cathedrals were built to give people work and as a tourist attraction
- Often unknown designers
Fundamental teachings of the Gothic Church
Piety - the fullfillment of Religious obligations
Humility - modesty and humbleness in the eyes of the church
Asceticism - a measure of personal and spiritual discipline
Gothic art
Appealed to the emotional side of people who were ignorant and superstitious
Tracery
Ornamental stone mullions commonly found
in the stained glass of Gothic architecture.
Latin cross plan
A cross with three short equal arms and
one extended lower arm.
Nave
The central section of a
Latin cross church, generally
terminated by an apse and
flanked by aisles.
Transcept
The central section of a
Latin cross church, generally
terminated by an apse and
flanked by aisles.
Apse
The semicircular or angular
extension usually in the east end
of a Christian church or basilica.
Ambulatory
The aisle or passageway around the apse in a
church.
Narthex
The arcaded porch of a
church that leads to the nave.
Pointed arch
Allowed for harmonious, unified effect and more illumination.
Ribbed vault / groin vault
stained glass windows
Often 20’ wide by 30’ high
- Windows were so big that they needed large stone mullions for support.
- People were illiterate. Stained glass windows told stories of the bible.
Rose window
A large circular window with
tracery resembling a stylized
rose, usually in the façade of a
Gothic church or cathedral.
Buttress
An exterior architectural support commonly found
in Gothic era cathedrals, tied into masonry walls
in order to disburse the structure’s load bearing
weight.
Flying buttress
A finger-like arch that extends from
a wall to a buttress, designed to
counteract the thrust of a roof or
vault, typically found on the exterior
of Gothic cathedrals.
Used so cathedrals could grow higher.
Gargoyle
A grotesque carved human or animal figure
often used as a rain spout in Gothic architecture.
Chimera
A mythological animal, originating with the Greeks and
Romans, with the head of a lion,
part goat, with a dragon tail.
Was not functional. Decoration.
Castle
- Mote or ditch
- fixed bridge and draw bridge
- Outside wall known as a curtain wall. Could be 8’ to 20’ thick
- Tower to watch for intruders
- Keep where people lived - located in the highest point. The most secure place in the castle. Contained kitchen, great hall, servant sleeping quarters, lord/lady sleeping quarters.
- A chapel
- Poorly ventilated. Cold in the winter, wet/damp in summer.
Gothic living
- Very little comfort due to political conditions
Keep floorplan
Great hall
- Two stories high
- Exposed beams or trusses, which were painted
- Stone, brick, or tile floor
- Sometimes straw lined floor because they brought animals inside when under attack
- Minstrel gallery
- Would sometimes have a fire pit area.
- Tapestries on the walls.
Spiral staircase
Easier for inhabitant to swordfight in a downward direction to defend castle (most people were right handed).
Dais
A raised platform commonly used in the Great Hall of medieval castles
as a place for nobles to dine.
Usually had two throne-like chairs for lord and lady.
Lancet windows
A tall, narrow window with a sharply pointed, arched top typical of the English Gothic Style.
Found in great halls and cathedrals
Fireplaces
- Moved from center of room to side.
- Could be deep around 6’
Gothic tapestries
Used natural dyes.
Ogee
An arch containing S-shaped
curves on either side that converge to form a point, commonly found in Islamic architecture.
Also identified as an ogive or
keel arch.
Arcading
A series of columns with their
entablatures or arches that are
represented in relief to decorate
panels or fill open frames, especially in the 17th century.
Pyramidal hood
crocket
Gothic ornament designed with a curled leaf
or bud used originally as a decoration on the
sides of pinnacles on Gothic turrets and subsequently on furniture designs as finials on
chairs; also used on cathedrals in imitation of
a bishop’s crozier, which symbolized his function as a shepherd protecting his sheep.
Crocket capital
Finial
A carved or turned ornament used to terminate a post or pediment and to define element intersections.
Gothic chair
- symbol of authority (most people would be sitting on benches)
- would only be two in house, sitting on the dais of the great hall
- elongated back
- decorative back influenced by tracery of stained glass
Linenfold motif
Ornamental carving, common in the Gothic
and Tudor periods, that resembles folded linen
or a scroll of linen.
Trefoil
Gothic stool
- often had a handle
- people would sometimes bring their own stool to someones house for dinner
Gothic tables
- When eating the great wall, family would sit with backs against wall because backs were the most vulnerable
- Table cloths would be put on trestle tables
Medieval sleeping concepts
Sleeping area of owners moved upstairs to a room called the solar
Men and women start sleeping in the same bed - beds got wider.
Beds were shorter because people would sleep sitting up.
Mattresses would be stuffed with straw and sometimes herbs to keep away fleas.
Solar
The private chamber of a lord and lady found in a medieval castle or manor house. Originally partitioned from the end of the Great Hall, the solar was a place for the family to retreat. Also called the great chamber.
Tester
The canopy of a four poster bed, often seen in full, half, or threequarter lengths. The term is derived from the French term testiere meaning headpiece.
Hung bed
Canopy would be attached to wall. Draperies would prevent drafts.
Tester is the top part of the canopy, which could be wood or fabric.
Trundle bed
Originally Gothic in design, a child’s or servant’s bed on rollers that could be rolled under a full-size bed when not in use.
Horn panes
Glass was expensive, so people would soak horns, slice them, and put them in a wooden window frame
Garderobe
Indoor toilet room that empties into the mote.
Ambry
Latin word for chest or small cupboard used in churches and castles to hold sacred books, valuables, guns, vessels, linens, and/or utensils of the Eucharist. It also could be the name for a storage place or wardrobe. Could be locked.
Dresser/Dressoir
- symbol of wealth
- highly decorative
- made of superimposed shelves intended to show gold, silver plates, cupes, dishes
- Could be painted and/or gilded
Buffet
- does not have doors
shelves for dishes/goods
Gothic chest
- Raised feet because floors were gross
- Transported from castle to castle
- Lid provides seating
Strap-hinge door
with linenfold motif
