Gothic architecture started between 12th and 13th centuries (Frankl and Paul 5). Engineering advancements had freed architecture of the church from the thick, heavy walls of Romanesque frameworks and permitted ceilings to soar, windows to proliferate, and walls to thin. Gothic interiors attracted gazes of churchgoers upward to high ceilings full of light. Graceful spires and buttresses soared above town. The Gothic phase started with Abbot Sugar’s construction of the renowned Abbey of St-Denis during the 1140s (Frankl and Paul 9). Nonetheless, Cathedrale de Notre-Dame is believed to have made this style influential. Work started on Notre Dame throughout 1163, and took about two centuries to be constructed. The Gothic style remained preserved until the church experienced many mutilations, on the account of restoration.
Philippe Auguste ruled France between1180-1223 (Frankl and Paul 6). He did much work to consolidate reputation of Paris throughout the middle ages. He constructed the Louvre, a tower that was 33m high, used to defend and safeguard the city from assail and survey the nearby regions. He is also remembered for the covered market within Les Halles, which build Right Bank reputation as a center of trade and commerce. The greatest achievement of Philippe, nonetheless, was military fortification he build within the city from 1190-1213 (Frankl and Paul 7).
Within the 12th century, college students from across Europe gathered within the city to study theology, medicine, liberal arts, and law. In the year 1253 a royal chaplain, Robert de Sorbon, founded a theology college called Sorbonne. It became Paris’s most prestigious institution. By 1300 approximately 3000 college students were staying on the Left Bank (Frankl and Paul 4).
When Charles V ascended the throne in the year 1364, he crushed the uncontrollable forces in the city, and strengthened as well as expanded the Philippe wall. Towards the Right Bank, there was a novel fortress called Bastille. Charles V became the first monarch to succeed in making Louvre a royal residence (Frankl and Paul 8).
Works Cited
Frankl, Paul, and Paul Crossley. Gothic Architecture. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2010. Print.
