Gothic Cathedrals,

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History essay ­ Celia Mellem. In this essay i will discuss high gothic cathedrals, and how the improved architectural techniques during this period led to clerestory windows and tracery. A clerestory are “ any high windows above eye level, is historically seen in gothic and romanesque churches. The purpose is to bring in outside light and fresh air into the inner space”. The oldest examples of clerestories can be found in the temples of Ancient Egypt. In the egyptian temple Karnak it was necessary to add a clerestory to get natural light and air circulation. If not the inner rooms would get no light, and be totally cut off from the outside. In the hall of the temple they raised the central nave, and it was lined with grilled windows. The openings was high, 24 meters, and allowed sunlight to enter, while maintaining the privacy and secrecy of the space. The grills was constructed of two sections, one on top of the other, tighten to the sides of the piers. In the 1140­1190, the builders of cathedrals in the French area ile­de ­France improved their architectural construction techniques and led to expansion upward. After 1190, walls progressively dissolved. The galleries were removed , and the height of the nave was pushed above the aisles. Also the triforium and window area was put in the spotlight, caused by the abutment system and the introduction of the four­piece, cross rectangular vault cells. Chartres cathedral , is a medieval catholic cathedral located in Chartres, France, southwest of Paris. This cathedral is one of the most extraordinary examples of french gothic architecture, and was setting the out the pattern for high gothic cathedrals. The current cathedral was constructed after a fire in 1994, and was the first church to be planned from the beginning with a flying buttresses, which was the key how to bring the light into the cathedral. The great

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