Gothic

Gothic? First thing that comes to mind? Heavy metal, eye shadow, black clothes. But of course that isn't the type of Gothic we're dealing with. The era of Gothic Architecture was from the 12th century and ended around the 16th century. It was preceded by Romanesque architecture, and succeeded by Renaissance. Gothic architecture can be seen as an evolution of Romanesque architecture. They used the gothic scheme for the same buildings as Romanesque (Churches, Monasteries, Palaces and Castles). However, Gothic Architecture separated itself from romanesque through the use of flying buttresses, pointed arches, and ribbed vaults. Gothic architecture was also similar to romanesque with the plans of the churches and cathedrals. Romanesque built churches with a cross plan, where if seen from above, it would resemble a cross. Gothic had the same plan, but changed it up a bit. Instead of resembling a cross, they made it into a plus sign ( + like that). It doesn't necessarily look like a plus, but it was the closest thing I could relate it to. Gothic architecture was known for its use of arches. They had a wide variety of arches (Lancet, Equilateral, Flamboyant, Depressed). It was known throughout Europe, having famous churches/cathedrals in Italy, Spain, Germany, France and England.