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Gothic Pointed Arch
The core structural element of Gothic architecture, replacing the Romanesque round arch with arches meeting at a curve or point, dispersing lateral t…
Timeline
- c. 1140–1160Saint-Denis and Sens · FranceIn projects such as the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis and Sens Cathedral, architects experimentally broke with the Romanesque round arch form using pointed arches combined with ribbed vaults, laying the structural foundation for the later Gothic vocabulary.
- 1190Paris and Île-de-France · Île-de-FranceWorksites at Notre-Dame de Paris, Laon, and Champigny adopted pointed arches on a large scale in the 1190s in naves, aisles, and window arches; combined with ribs and buttresses, the pointed arch became the routine structural language of Early Gothic cathedrals.
- c. 1195–1220Northern Europe and Britain · United KingdomPointed-arch techniques spread to England, the Rhineland, and northern Iberia through stonemasons' guilds and episcopal building networks, with local interpretations of the pointed-arch form in window arches, arcades, and facade rhythms.
Sources
- French Gothic Architecture of the 12th and 13th Centuries — Jean Bony (1983)
- Gothic Architecture — Paul Frankl (2000)