"Tour Through European Cathedrals Awe-Inspiring"

You’re impressed! There’s absolutely no doubt but that you’re awed! That’s how you feel when you visit your first gothic cathedral in Europe. No matter how many cathedrals you visit, with each one, you’re absolutely dumbfounded.

In his book, “The Gothic Enterprise, a Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral”, the author, Robert A. Scott, explains why. The builders of these tremendous structures worked for hundreds of years to impress the tens of millions of people who were to visit the cathedrals for generations to come. The width and length are impressive, the height—and all in stone—is incredible, and the light which streams in through the huge windows is unforgettable.

In 1137AD, when Abbot Sugar began building the choir of the Abby Church of St Denis, a few miles north of Paris, he chose to modify the old Romanesque arch by making a pointed arch—now known as the “Gothic” arch. This arch allowed the builders to construct taller and wider buildings. In taller buildings, more window space allowed for more light to illuminate the interior. As the height of the buildings increased, more weight was put on the walls, so “flying buttresses” were devised to support the downward and outward thrust of the walls and ceilings.

While the avowed intention of Abbot Sugar’s new choir was to glorify God, the ulterior motive was to consolidate and strengthen that church’s ecclesiastical standing in France. Abbot Sugar realized his dream as thereafter the Abbot of the Church of St. Denis was to be the most powerful church official in France for hundreds of years. Until the coming of the revolution 600 years later, most of the French royalty were to be buried there.

The architectural influence of this newly developed arch spread throughout Europe. Many old Romanesque-style churches were torn down and new “Gothic” cathedrals were built. Some Norman-style and Romanesque-style churches were merely remodeled with “Gothic” towers or other sections appended to the old building style.

While it’s remarkable that such edifices were built, it’s all the more profound that the construction occurred at a time of monetary chaos, chronic food shortages, devastating wars, and horrific plagues. Why would people commit to such stupendous building projects? The author examines all of the social, political, and religious factors that combined to produce these monumental building projects.

Written nearly 15 years earlier, the fiction title, “Pillars of the Earth”, by Ken Follett, recounts the life of Abbot Sugar and the building of the Abby Church of St. Denis. The author vividly describes the life of the peasants and the townspeople, the itinerant stone masons, carpenters, tinners, and all the other categories of workers who were involved in building the choir of the Abby.

A few years after writing this best seller, Follett collaborated with photographer “f-stop” Fitzgerald in publishing a beautiful photo-laden book on the building of Kingsbridge Cathedral in twelfth-century England. This book is entitled, “Pillars of the Almighty, a Celebration of Cathedrals”. All three books are essential readings for anyone interested in Gothic architecture and cathedrals.