Gothic Cathedrals

Dem medieval Europeans sure know how to build big impressive adobes of worship. Never ever having seen a gothic cathedral in my life I have now seen 2 in the space of a week: the Cathedral Basilica in Barcelona and Notre Dame. These babies were meant to intimidate the average peon and they sure do. Huge spacious caverns inside, the gothic style explodes with a profusion of ornation. Stone dogs stick their heads out of the sides, gargoyles of hellish beasts gaze covetously on the congregation. Phallic studded spires bridge in the firmanent to the divine heavens above.

In Notre Dame, there is a massive round stained glass window arrangement that is larger than the floor space of an average appartment block. These Cathedrals are so large that the sections flanking the main sections are sub-divided into little chappels, each with its own particular function. In the Barcelona Basilica, each chapel has been decorated, often with sheets of gold, in a different period for a different saint. In Notre Dame, on the other hand, some of the chapels were prepared with a confession box. I can just imagine the priests stationed at the Cathedral to compete for the coveted confession booths in the different Chapels. Maybe there's a confession box of the month competition.

Zhat to me was particularly striking was the use of domes supported by spandrels and arches, there is something rather soothing and somewhat womblike about the structures.