Cathedrals were churches that housed bishops, and their nature of operation was that they were the bishops’ headquarters. Most of the large Medieval churches in Europe were cathedrals at some point (Doe 19). The churches were grand in design and broad, demonstrating the Catholic Church’s status in medieval society. Most Medieval cathedrals were known for their stained-glass windows that displayed the life of religious icons, saints, and Christ. The churches also had grand architecture (Sullivan 188). The existence of a bishop was one of the characteristics of a cathedral. A church could have been bigger than some cathedrals at the time, but they would not enjoy similar status if they had no bishop. The church of Laon in France is an example of a structure that enjoyed cathedral status until the resident bishop left, downgrading it to a church (Doe 21). The population around the church significantly dropped. Other churches during the Medieval period witnessed a situation similar to that of the church of Laos. Additionally, cathedrals enjoyed a more influential hierarchy status than churches, regardless of size. 

Reason for the cathedrals

Before the emergence of cathedrals in Europe, people feared the end of the world (Joshi and Ar 162). Most individuals felt their life experiences and actions had not met the criteria for a better life after death. Religious people fronted the argument on the end of the world as occurring as the calendar year turned to 1000 (Basarrate 15). However, the calendar year 1000 passed without any incidences. Subsequently, people sought the Cathedrals’ refuge as their saving grace (Bella 159). The construction of the cathedrals became a way of easing people’s fears about what awaited them had the world ended (Sullivan 189). Within four centuries, approximately 500 cathedrals had been built in France alone. Additionally, for every population of 200 people, a cathedral church existed (Kim 94). The architectural analysis of the cathedrals built around the time reveals that the cost of stones used in making the cathedrals was more than that of Egypt’s pyramids. 

Cologne, Germany, a city with 25,000 inhabitants, had not less than 28 chapels and churches built in a span of 100 years between 1150 and 1250 (Joshi and Ar 163). The largest cathedral in the town was commissioned in 1248 and completed in the nineteenth century. On the other hand, Chartres, a city in France, had approximately 8,000 inhabitants but had one of the cathedrals that stood as the tallest building in France for several years. Other cathedrals such as the Strasbourg cathedral equally held significant appeal from the masses because of its 142 meters height, making it France’s tallest structure before the construction of the Eiffel Tower in 1889 (Trisno and Fermanto 211). In Gdansk, Poland, St. Mary’s Cathedral, completed in 1496, remains the tallest brick building. The enormity of the cathedrals’ architectural designs reveals the effort architects put into ensuring that some of the features considered critical to their facilities demonstrate the worldwide longevity of the cathedral structures.

The Romanesque architectural design

Throughout the centuries, Medieval cathedrals went through transformations. The earliest cathedrals were built in Romanesque architecture, meaning they adopted the Roman buildings’ design and Roman basilicas (Samól 207). The cathedrals were characterized by heavy foundations and solidity, with large vaults and columns; for instance, the medieval cathedrals adopting the Romanesque architecture had fewer windows, which resulted in gloomy and dark interiors (Plant 49). However, the walls were adorned with chalices, bejewelled statues, and bright tapestries to counter the grim interiors, but they did little to brighten up the cathedral’s interiors. Other characteristics included a central aisle with a crossing and a transept in the south and north arm (Samól 212). Additionally, the porch, the tower, and the large nave completed the cathedral’s Romanesque look. These elements formed the approach to the architectural design of the early Medieval cathedrals. 

The Romanesque architectural style represented a host of innovations that went beyond the stylistic features of the basilica that originated during Constantine’s time. Romanesque architecture, like the basilica, was generally large, rectangular, and heavy in scale (Doe 24). The Romanesque style was different from the basilica through its towers’ additions, which featured two towers at the entrance of the structures (Ustinov et al. 32). The other difference was the shift from the basilica’s flat wood ceilings to a vaulted ceiling. Additionally, the structures had a rounded arch mounted with heavy and thick columns. The Romanesque architecture also had a barrel vaulting and a circular arch (Trisno and Fermanto 210). The ceiling’s enormous weight in Romanesque architecture was thrust outward by the arch in a horizontal direction, which cracked the supporting pillars at their intersection with the arches. In compensating for this anomaly in the architectural designs, the architects increased the pillars’ size (Ustinov et al. 34). However, this made the columns quite heavy and exerted enormous pressure on the foundation stones. Given this architectural disadvantage, the Romanesque cathedrals could not realise the colossal vertical heights accustomed to the Gothic cathedrals. 

The Gothic architectural design

In the later medieval cathedrals, the design shifted from the Romanesque architectural design to a Gothic design (Vidal 100). The Gothic characterization was a more euphemistic term that avoided using the word ‘barbarian,’ which was the appropriate origin of the Gothic structure. The timeline for the introduction of Gothic architecture was in the mid-12th century. Most citizens who considered themselves refined applied Gothic to describe the High Medieval cathedrals (Pauliac 30). Most of the cathedrals withstood deterioration over time and remain standing in the current years are Gothic architecture products. There was a significant departure from designing the cathedrals using Gothic architecture compared to Romanesque architecture (Maddison 31). Gothic cathedrals had thinner walls constructed using lighter materials, and the churches had highly-positioned windows paced at the structure’s center. Additionally, the more enormous cathedrals could have a minimum of two centrally divided towers using a roof and a crocket. 

Below the towers were arcades, small elongated openings that practically surrounded the structure. Additionally, the flying buttresses, sharp pinnacles, and the arched windows of the High Medieval Gothic designs gave the cathedrals a soaring appearance (Maddison 32). Some sources indicated that the pointy aspects of the designs were to ward off demons and were a style that came from the Arabian edifices, which provided the same purpose (Pauliac 34). A common argument at the time was that demons could hide within the cathedrals and torment or tempt churchgoers into committing sins (Vidal 102). The pointy elements in the cathedral’s design acted as a mitigating factor. During the Gothic architectural design of the cathedrals, the architects did not incorporate the stained-glass windows into the construction process until the twelfth century (Samól 214). The benefit they had in the churches was to illuminate the interiors of the Gothic cathedrals, which eliminated the goofy and dark interiors that characterized the Romanesque cathedrals. The windows also added some element of colour to the churches’ interiors. 

Other distinguishing features of the Gothic architectural designs from the Romanesque designs included the rotational nature of the Gothic cathedrals’ pointed arch. The design of the cathedrals allowed the arch to rotate most of the horizontal pressure in a direction that lessened its pressure on the supporting columns (Pauliac 35). Ensuring that the cathedral’s weight transferred downward allowed pressure to concentrate on the support columns. Consequently, the Gothic cathedral walls were lighter than the Romanesque architectural designs (Santamaria 40). Since the architects could redistribute the structure’s weight off the supporting pillars, walls, and ceiling, the Gothic cathedrals could rise higher than the Romanesque cathedrals. 

Factors determining the nature of the cathedrals’ architectural designs

Despite the Gothic architectural design coming from France, its application in other regions around Europe depended on the availability of building materials, traditions, and local tastes. For instance, in England, the flung buttresses that were a common feature of the Gothic cathedrals in France were lacking since the builders continued constructing thicker walls before the inception of Gothic architecture (Vidal 106). Likewise, in Germany, some Gothic architecture used for building cathedrals featured bricks since the natural stones were scarce. Subsequently, the Gothic structures of the German cathedrals were known as the brick Gothic or Backsteingotik.

The other feature that determined the nature of the cathedral designs in different countries was the environmental challenges that faced such structures. For instance, wind is a significant concern that determines the type of materials used in respective countries, and so does the need for pressure resistance depending on the structure’s location (Plant 52). Areas prone to earthquakes had their designs a little smaller than those with no threat of earthquakes. Equally, the nature of the weather or climate determined the necessity for natural light for the building’s interior, which determined the spacing provided for windows depending on the region (Samól 215). The benefit of the Gothic era of cathedral construction was that the design created room for larger glass surfaces. Still, the height of the buildings made them susceptible to wind pressures compared to the Romanesque architectural design (Maddison 34). Additionally, the lesser solidity of the vertical elements exacerbated the situation for the Gothic structures, but architecture corrected this through the emergence of the flying buttress.

The financing of the cathedrals was another determinant of the nature of the cathedrals built worldwide. For instance, the French royal dynasty and other capital’s great families financed the construction of the Notre Dame Catholic Church (Doe 33). They had a stake in the church’s influence in the region. Consequently, the church’s building had minimal difficulties as other churches took a long time to finish and had architectures incorporating varying designs for the cathedral before its completion (Santamaria 42). An example of a church that suffered from financing is Poland’s St. Mary (Doe 47), whose construction began in 1343 but ended in 1496 because of the challenges in the capital acquisition and the influence of inventing a brick approach at the building of a Gothic architectural design.

The availability of stones was another feature that determined the location of the cathedrals. Despite population influencing where a cathedral could be constructed, in some cases, the availability of the stone materials dictated where the church would establish a cathedral (Samól 217). The transportation costs were significantly higher, and most architects preferred constructing a cathedral at the stones’ quarry. An example is the total costs of the construction of the Norwich Cathedral, which relied significantly on the stone shipped from Normandy to England through Caen (Maddison 37). Most cathedrals could not sustain the costs of transporting the stone materials, resulting in various cathedrals at locations that baffled most observers.

Other elements that determined the cathedral’s nature included timber availability. Before the cathedral had a stone structure, builders constructed the structure using wood but later removed the wood upon the building’s completion. The scaffolding construction used wood that facilitated the builders’ movement and applied for the roofing of most Gothic and Romanesque architectural designs (Plant 53). The quantity of wood used in the roof depended on the enormity of the cathedral structure. For instance, Ingolstadt’s Our Lady’s Church had its roof containing wood from approximately 3,800 trees (Maddison 38). The expertise of masons was another feature that determined how a cathedral’s architectural design would look upon completion, as different regions had different desires and techniques on what would best expose the community’s religious connotations and values. 

Later, cathedral architectural design

As the Gothic cathedral architectural design dominated the Middle Ages, some features tempered down in the late Medieval era. The Perpendicular design was a new Gothic architectural form (Bella 158). The design replaced the decorated Gothic architecture in France and Germany and the English and Norman Gothic architectural approaches. The perpendicular design lacked ornamentation, diversity, fluidity, and a more minimalist approach to constructing the cathedrals (Samól 219). Consequently, the arches were less pointed, and the openings of the cathedrals were no longer narrow. The subsequent application of Gothic designs in cathedral construction after the Medieval era broadly applied the Perpendicular architectural design.

Some examples of Gothic architecture include the Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, and Seville Cathedral (Santamaria 43). The notable cathedral that applied a mixture of the Norman and Perpendicular forms of cathedral architecture was the Worcester Cathedral, which took approximately five centuries to complete (Bella 162). The circular crypt and chapter house were constructed in the Norman form, while the cathedral’s transitional Gothic bays, the woodwork, and central tower, used the Perpendicular form.

Given the above examination of the architectural design of cathedrals over the centuries, the Gothic and Romanesque approaches to cathedral construction dominated the design and form of the cathedrals. Strong columns characterized Romanesque architecture, but the structures had dimmer interiors. The Gothic structures, on the other hand, were taller, had light in the interiors than the Romanesque interiors, and used broader windows. The latter stages of the cathedral designs involved applying the Perpendicular method, which featured a lack of ornamentation, diversity, fluidity, and less pointed arches. Additionally, the openings were less narrow compared to the earlier Gothic and Romanesque designs. Most medieval cathedrals have survived centuries of environmental impact and serve as an example of the architectural brilliance of past architectures. Additionally, present-day people can learn about the culture of the Medieval people from the architectural design and the importance of the cathedrals in those societies.

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