Nor was it only in this indirect way that the “Speculum Universale” was reflected in Gothic architecture. Its chapters were represented in sculptured illustrations upon the exteriors of the cathedrals, particularly around the portals, in order that all who came and went might see and learn. The statues and reliefs at Chartres comprise some two thousand figures, while Amiens presents another memorable example.
Thus the Gothic Cathedral was not only the House of God; it was also the House of Man—the civic centre of his religious, social, moral, and intellectual life.
CHAPTER II
GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE
I
The term Gothic, with the suggestion of “barbarian,” was applied by men of the Renaissance to Mediæval Art. Unlike the term Romanesque, it is not a name that defines. Hence an attempt has been made to substitute the word, ogival, from the French ogive, which is applied to the curve of the pointed arch—a distinguishing feature of the Gothic style. But in our own language, at least, Gothic has become so embedded that it is more convenient to preserve it.
We understand by it that style which was developed out of Romanesque about 1150 and continued to flourish until the development and spread of the Renaissance style.
The change which is represented in Gothic is due to several causes: (a) development of vaulting ribs; (b) the general use of the pointed arch; (c) reapplication of the Roman principle of concentration of vaulting strains upon four points; (d) the development of a buttress system to reinforce the main parts of the strain, and (e) the development of window openings both as to their size and ornamentation.
Periods of Gothic.—The period of Gothic covers the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. The variations which it presented in these several centuries are often characterised by the changes in the treatment of the windows. Thus, in France, they have been divided
