Gothic architectureGothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture. It originated in the Île-de-France and Picardy regions of northern France. The style at the time was sometimes known as opus Francigenum (French work); the term Gothic was first applied contemptuously during the later Renaissance, by those ambitious to revive the architecture of classical antiquity.
Reims CathedralNotre-Dame de Reims (ˌnɒtrə_ˈdɑːm,_ˌnoʊtrə_ˈdeɪm,_ˌnoʊtrə_ˈdɑːm; nɔtʁə dam də ʁɛ̃s; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the French city of the same name, the archiepiscopal see of the Archdiocese of Reims. The cathedral was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was the traditional location for the coronation of the kings of France. The cathedral church is thought to have been founded by the bishop Nicasius in the early 5th century.
ApseIn architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin absis 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek ἀψίς 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an exedra. In Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic Christian church (including cathedral and abbey) architecture, the term is applied to a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the main building at the liturgical east end (where the altar is), regardless of the shape of the roof, which may be flat, sloping, domed, or hemispherical.
AlsaceAlsace (ælˈsæs, USalsoælˈseɪs,_ˈælsæs; alzas; Low Alemannic German/Elsàss ˈɛlsɑs; Elsass ˈɛlzas; Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2023, it had a population of 1,921,014. Alsatian culture is characterized by a blend of Germanic and French influences. Until 1871, Alsace included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort, which formed its southernmost part.
Flying buttressThe flying buttress (arc-boutant, arch buttress) is a specific form of buttress composed of an arch that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall outwards, which are forces that arise from vaulted ceilings of stone and from wind-loading on roofs. The namesake and defining feature of a flying buttress is that it is not in contact with the wall at ground level, unlike a traditional buttress, and transmits the lateral forces across the span of intervening space between the wall and the pier.
Gothic Revival architectureGothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1840s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly serious and learned admirers of the neo-Gothic styles sought to revive medieval Gothic architecture, intending to complement or even supersede the neoclassical styles prevalent at the time. Gothic Revival draws upon features of medieval examples, including decorative patterns, finials, lancet windows, and hood moulds.
