In 1144, the Basilica of SaintDenis, near Paris, was consecrated. The construction was met with amazement by locals. Its hallmarks were extensive light, glass, pointed arches and diagonal ribs, and it ushered in what is known as the Gothic period.

"Let there be light!" the biblical message emanates from the Basilica of SaintDenis. Its Gothic building principles spurred medieval architects to ever more daring constructions. Rooms would be flooded with more and more light, buildings would rise higher and higher into the heavens. In the following 100 years, more than 20 large Gothic churches were built in the Paris region. And it barely took a generation for the trend to take hold elsewhere in Europe. A contest of cathedrals saw Freiburg, Strasbourg and Ulm build the largest churches of their time. It was not only nobles and bishops who saw in these splendid buildings a chance to enhance their reputation and power; the period also presented ideal opportunities to a social group that only emerged in the 12th Century: the middle classes.

Part 1:    • Contest of the cathedrals – the Roman...  

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