Gothic architecture

Match the words with their Italian equivalent:

1 aisle a) Guglia
2 arch b) Pilastro
3 column c) Arco, arcata
4 faade d) Campanile o guglia di torre
5 fan vault e) Volta con nervature
6 nave f) Navata laterale
7 pier g) Navata centrale
8 pinnacle h) Pinnacolo
9 relief i) Colonna
10 ribbed vault j) Rilievo
11 spire k) Facciata
12 steeple l) Volta a ventaglio

Check the pronunciation of the new words www.howjsay.com

Wood and card model of the west front of Notre Dame Cathedral, Reims, France, possibly by E.C.
Hakewill, England, UK, about 1840. Annotated to identify Gothic features. Museum no. MISC.3-1928

The style of architecture we now call Gothic first emerged in northern France in around 1140. It evolved
during the construction of great churches in the Paris region in a move towards greater height, light and
volume. Later it was also used for secular buildings such as castles, palaces, bridges, city walls and
gates. Key features include the pointed arch, the rib vault, buttresses (especially arched flying buttresses)
and window tracery. Over time and across Europe, Gothic developed into a family of related styles.

Enthusiasm for Gothic began to wane in the early 15th century, initially in the city states of central Italy
where it had never been entirely popular. However, in northern Europe the style persisted into the 16th
century and beyond.

Castles

The visual characteristics and structural engineering of Gothic architecture were also used to
build great castles and fortifications. These monumental buildings were planned for defence and
administration, but also for their psychological impact on the local population. Following his
conquest of Wales, Edward I of England (reigned 12721307) built a series of castles along the
boundary of his new territory

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The History Of Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral is alive with history and many fascinating stories. The information
below gives a brief insight into the history of this magnificent building.
The Origins of Canterbury Cathedral

St Augustine, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived on the coast of Kent as a

missionary to England in 597 AD. He came from Rome, sent by Pope Gregory the Great. It
is said that Gregory had been struck by the beauty of Angle slaves he saw for sale in the
city market and despatched Augustine and some monks to convert them to Christianity.
Augustine was given a church at Canterbury (St Martin's, after St Martin of Tours, still
standing today) by the local King, Ethelbert whose Queen, Bertha, a French Princess,, was
already a Christian. This building had been a place of worship during the Roman occupation
of Britain and is the oldest church in England still in use.
Augustine had been consecrated a bishop in France and was later made an archbishop by
the Pope. He established his seat within the Roman city walls (the Latin word for a seat is
cathedra, from which the word cathedral is derived) and built the first cathedral there,
becoming the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Since that time, there has been a community
around the Cathedral offering daily prayer to God; this community is arguably the oldest
organisation in the English speaking world. The present Archbishop, The Most Revd and
Right Honourable Dr Rowan Williams, is 104th in the line of succession from Augustine.

Until the 10th century the Cathedral community lived as the

household of the Archbishop. During the 10th century, it became a formal community of
Benedictine monks, which continued until the monastery was dissolved by King Henry VIII
in 1540.
Augustine's original building lies beneath the floor of the nave it was extensively rebuilt
and enlarged by the Saxons, and the Cathedral was rebuilt completely by the Normans in
1070 following a major fire. There have been many additions to the building over the last
nine hundred years, but parts of the quire and some of the windows and their stained glass
date from the 12th century.
By 1077, Archbishop Lanfranc had rebuilt it as a Norman church, described as "nearly
perfect". A staircase and parts of the North Wall - in the area of the North West transept
also called the Martyrdom - remain from that building.
More Recent Times

The work of the Cathedral as a monastery came to an end in 1540, when the monastery
was closed on the orders of King Henry VIII. Its role as a place of prayer continued as it
does to this day. Once the monastery had been suppressed, responsibility for the services
and upkeep was given to a group of clergy known as the Dean and Chapter. Today, the
Cathedral is still governed by the Dean and four Canons, together (in recent years) with
four lay people and the Archdeacon of Maidstone.
During the Civil War of the 1640s, the Cathedral suffered damage at the hands of the
Puritans; much of the medieval stained glass was smashed and horses were stabled in the
nave. After the Restoration in 1660, several years were spent in repairing the building.
In the early 19th Century, the North West tower was found to be dangerous. although it
dated from Lanfrancs time, it was demolished in the early 1830s and replaced by a copy of
the South West tower, thus giving a symmetrical appearance to the west end of the
Cathedral.
During the Second World War, the Precincts were heavily damaged by enemy action and the
Cathedrals Library was destroyed. Thankfully, the Cathedral itself was not seriously
harmed, due to the bravery of the team of fire watchers, who patrolled the roofs and dealt
with the incendiary bombs dropped by enemy bombers.

Through The Centuries

597 St Augustine arrived in Kent and soon established the first Cathedral
1070-
Cathedral rebuilt by Archbishop Lanfranc
1077
1098-
New Quire built over a Crypt (present Western Crypt)
1130
1170 Thomas Becket murdered in the Cathedral
1175- Quire rebuilt. Eastern Crypt, Trinity and Corona Chapels added (all as seen
1184 today)
1220 Becket's body placed in new Shrine in Trinity Chapel
1377-
Lanfranc Nave demolished and rebuilt as seen today; Cloister vaulting inserted
1405
c1450 Pulpitum Screen constructed
1498 Bell Harry Tower extended and the Cathedral largely complete as seen today
1538 Becket's Shrine destroyed by Henry VIII
1540 Monastery dissolved by royal command
1541 New Foundation of Dean and Chapter established
1660-
Repair and refurbishing after Puritan damage
1704
1834 North West tower rebuilt
1954 Library rebuilt, repairing War damage
1986 altar of the Sword's Point (Martyrdom) restored
1988 Compass Rose placed in the Nave
2000 International Study Centre opened in the Precincts

Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?

The best known event in the Cathedral's history was the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket in 1170.

Canterbury, always on the medieval pilgrim route to Rome, became an end in itself, as thousands came to

worship at Becket's tomb, especially after his canonization in 1173. Geoffrey Chaucer's pilgrims in his poem,

The Canterbury Tales, were by no means unique. They represented the hundreds of thousands who travelled

to the Cathedral to pray, repent or be healed at his shrine. The tradition of pilgrimage is very much alive

today, although the journey is faster and considerably more comfortable. Thomas' shrine was destroyed in

1538 on the orders of King Henry VIII; today, a simple candle marks the place where it once stood and the

pink stone before it bears the imprint of thousands of pilgrims' knees.

When Becket was made Archbishop of Canterbury by King Henry II in 1162, he changed his total allegiance

from the King to the Pope and the Church.

Henry had expected his full support, and there were many conflicts between them. Four knights, Richard

Brito, Hugh de Moreville, Reginald FitzUrse, and William de Tracy overheard the King's rage and took

seriously his shout of "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" On 29 December 1170, returning from

France where Henry had held his Christmas Court, they entered the Archbishops lodgings from Palace

Street; the monks persuaded Thomas to enter the Cathedral from his Palace through the Cloisters and into

the North West Transept. Vespers was in progress when the knights burst in, and found Thomas kneeling at

the altar. According to Edward Grim, a monk who watched the murder, Thomas refused to absolve the

Bishops and told the Knights that "for the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to

embrace death."

It was not long before he did so. The knights wielded their weapons and administered three mighty blows,

the last one breaking off the tip of a sword. Three days after his death, there began a series of miracles

attached to his martyrdom. These are depicted in the miracle windows of the Trinity Chapel.
In 1173, Becket was canonized by Pope Alexander III. Pilgrims began to flock to Thomas' shrine in the

Cathedral; a year later Henry, in sackcloth, walking barefoot, was among them.

http://canterbury-cathedral.org/visit/tour.html