My Trip to Paris: Flying Buttresses Galore

For our second field trip we went to Basilica of Saint-Denis, the very first Gothic Cathedral. I enjoyed this trip because the cathedral we went to wasn't filled with tourists and it was a little out of the way in a nice little town. Other Gothic cathedrals that I have seen while in France include Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, and the Chartres Cathedral. All the pictures below are from those cathedrals.

Around 250 CE, Saint Denis, the bishop of Paris was martyred and buried. Abbot Suger rebuilt parts of the Saint-Denis in the 12th century, and it was completed in 1144. This is when the Gothic style was created. The goal of Gothic architecture was to let in light because light was equated with God and they were built as tall as possible in order to be close to God. This was achieved through flying buttresses and ribbed vaulted arches. The flying buttress allowed support and weight distribution. The ribbed vaulted arches provided weight distribution on the inside walls and allowed for structures to be built taller.

Ribbed Vaulted Arches - Saint-Denis

Flying Buttresses - Saint-Denis

Another less structural characteristic is rose windows that are at the end of the nave and usually also the transepts. The rose window typically tells a story of the Bible through stain glass. I just really like the way they look and the purpose they serve.