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Gothic Rose Window

Type Object Region Western Europe Time c. 1200–1500

The Gothic rose window is a circular radiating stained-glass window form on High Medieval Western European cathedral facades, organizing biblical ima…

Timeline

  1. c. 1200–1220Paris · ParisEarly works such as Notre-Dame de Paris placed circular stained-glass windows on the west facade, organizing imagery with radiating stone ribs and lead cames, establishing the basic composition of the rose window.
  2. c. 1220–1270Île-de-France · Île-de-FranceRose windows on the north and south transepts and west facade grew in scale, with imagery covering the Last Judgment and the Life of the Virgin, becoming standard features of French High Gothic facades.
  3. c. 1270–1350Western Europe · Western EuropeIn the Rayonnant period, tracery line density increased and rose windows combined more complexly with triple lancet windows; England and France each developed regionalized tracery styles.
  4. c. 1350–1500Western Europe · Western EuropeFlamboyant and Perpendicular late Gothic styles continued the rose window motif, with imagery tending toward white glass and painterly effects; its symbolic meaning influenced later Neo-Gothic revival architecture.

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