Fine Arts | The Gothic Cathedral
A324 | 2306 | Reilly
This course will survey the development of one of the most
important cultural institutions of the Medieval era, the Gothic Cathedral.
Starting in the Ile-de-France around 1140, the cathedral became the most
important innovating force in Europe, leading the way in the development
of architecture and the visual arts, as well as education, music. The
centrality of the cathedral in the later medieval world reflects a
fundamental change in the structure of medieval society, which moved from
being primarily rural to urban in the course of only a century.
A study of the Gothic cathedral therefore provides an ideal
jumping off point to examine the most important trends of the twelfth,
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These include the use of secular
learning, and the conflict between ecclesiastical and secular authority in
the newly empowered medieval city.