Two Great Gothic Cathedrals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Two Great Gothic Cathedrals - Essay Example In history, everyday buildings have always been made of materials that are readily to hand. This is the principal characteristic of all vernacular architecture. In an area where stone is widely available, that becomes the usual building material; where it is not, or is too difficult to work, brick or timber buildings will be found. Where good clay exists tiled floors will be common elsewhere they will be made of stone flags. Where timber is widely available joinery sections will be lavish; where it is scarce and costly to import they will be mean. Comparing the two cathedrals, we see that they are made of the same materials: stone, mixed with brightly colored stained glass, each depicting a religious story or a time-line of Jesus' life in great detail. Moreover, the floor-plans are almost the same. Both the Chartres Cathedral and Saint Patrick's Cathedral are centrally planned, entered through a narthex, followed by a long nave, with side aisles, leading to the transept crossing, and then culminating into the apse, reminiscent of the shape of a cross.