Height & Light
This theme refers to the Gothic architecture at the time, which incorporated very high buildings, with many stained glass windows, letting in a lot of light.
Historical Context
The Gothic art historical period was during a time of Urban life becoming more and more common, becoming centers of patronage commerce, wealth and power. It was during this time that there was an increased amount of skilled craftsmen and other workers who had created Trade Guilds during the 14th century, in an attempt to band together craftsmen of a specific type and protect their common interest. Sometimes these guilds grew to dominate their cities economies, almost completely. Compared to earlier, the cities were large, and there was little fighting going on.
It was during this time two new religious orders sprang up, the Franciscans & Dominicans. The Franciscans are defined as people who adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of Saint Francis of Assisi. These people also usually adhered to the Roman Catholic Church, however many later denominations also consider themselves Franciscan. Francis himself was deeply touched about a sermon, and decided to live his life in permanent poverty, going to teach and proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven. Francis did not take any money, or even a walking stick or shoes for the road. The only thing he had with him was a rough garment that he wore.
The Dominicans was a Roman Catholic religious order founded by a Spanish priest named Dominic de Guzman. While originally founded to preach the Gospel and to combat heresy, it is well known for producing many educated people due to its intellectual tradition. The Dominican order includes friars nuns, active sisters, and lay or secular Dominicans. Dominic saw a need to establish a new kind of order to provide systematic education and dedication to the older monastic orders, to help bear on the religious problems of the increasing size of cities.
It was during this time that people began to reconcile Christian theology with classical philosophy to help answer questions of divinity and humanity. For example Thomas Aquinas published Summa Theologica to show a Rational approach to religious faith with 631 questions and answers to those questions.
Almost all art of this time period was inside major churches, which Medieval theologians believed that the beauty of the church would cause people to meditate and believe. During this time stained glass was the main form of art to be shown on cathedral wall and churches, which often preached the path to salvation to the viewers. These churches were now often built using two engineering breakthroughs, ribbed groin vaults, and flying buttresses. which were necessarily to help support the massive churches to be built as high as possible, with as many windows as they could fit.
It was during this time two new religious orders sprang up, the Franciscans & Dominicans. The Franciscans are defined as people who adhere to the teachings and spiritual disciplines of Saint Francis of Assisi. These people also usually adhered to the Roman Catholic Church, however many later denominations also consider themselves Franciscan. Francis himself was deeply touched about a sermon, and decided to live his life in permanent poverty, going to teach and proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven. Francis did not take any money, or even a walking stick or shoes for the road. The only thing he had with him was a rough garment that he wore.
The Dominicans was a Roman Catholic religious order founded by a Spanish priest named Dominic de Guzman. While originally founded to preach the Gospel and to combat heresy, it is well known for producing many educated people due to its intellectual tradition. The Dominican order includes friars nuns, active sisters, and lay or secular Dominicans. Dominic saw a need to establish a new kind of order to provide systematic education and dedication to the older monastic orders, to help bear on the religious problems of the increasing size of cities.
It was during this time that people began to reconcile Christian theology with classical philosophy to help answer questions of divinity and humanity. For example Thomas Aquinas published Summa Theologica to show a Rational approach to religious faith with 631 questions and answers to those questions.
Almost all art of this time period was inside major churches, which Medieval theologians believed that the beauty of the church would cause people to meditate and believe. During this time stained glass was the main form of art to be shown on cathedral wall and churches, which often preached the path to salvation to the viewers. These churches were now often built using two engineering breakthroughs, ribbed groin vaults, and flying buttresses. which were necessarily to help support the massive churches to be built as high as possible, with as many windows as they could fit.