ABSTRACT
The Gothic style has everything and nothing to do with liturgy. It has been approached as a kind of visual ‘Scholastic argument’ (Panofsky), an elaborate theological code (Mâle) or as feats of engineering (Viollet-le-Duc, Kidson and Wilson): ‘The ritual and devotional use of mediaeval churches is a subject of great intrinsic interest but … the functions and architectural forms of the Gothic great churches showed remarkably little interaction.’1 It was by no means changes in the liturgical functions that resulted in the development of the architectural forms of the Gothic from those of the Romanesque. New structural techniques involving the pointed arch, rib-vaulting and flying buttresses produced an architectural aesthetic based on linear definition of space rather than on mass and weight. On the other hand, churches are not just technical feats of architectural engineering, but were built as a solution to a diverse set of problems, including the provision of a range of spaces for the adequate performance of the contemporary liturgy, presented to highly skilled and widely experienced mason/architects by the ecclesiastical patron. Liturgy is the worship of the Church aligned with the worship of heaven, and a renewed conception of the Heavenly Jerusalem, along with new technical developments, tempted architects and their patrons towards a realization of its image on earth as a fitting setting for the liturgy. The contemporary vision of heaven was grounded in the biblical use of light imagery, epitomized by the Revelation of John the Divine, with precious stones, pearls, jasper and gold, crystal, music, incense, and above all, light. A theological aesthetics was developed from this strand by Augustine, Pseudo-Dionysius, Hugh and Richard of St Victor.
