Gothic Architecture: Did you mean...?

Roman architecture was nothing if not eclectic. From ingenious underfloor heating to gravity-defying arches, the Romans added to the Classical repertoire such grandiose structures as the triumphal arch, basilica...

Alure (Wall Walk) The walkway along the higher and interior part of a wall which often gives access to the higher floors of towers within the wall. Typically protected by battlements. Apse A semicircular...

Medieval English churches differed in size and layout. Their original and evolving role(s), financial and material resources, and architectural fashions helped determine variability. However, their...

Ambulatory, Basilica of Saint Denis, Paris, 1140-44. Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.

Chinese culture developed from small communities such as Banpo Village (c. 4500 BCE) through the early Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE) and the great dynastic periods that followed after, creating some of the...

Justinian I reigned as emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565 CE. Born around 482 CE in Tauresium, a village in Illyria, his uncle Emperor Justin I was an imperial bodyguard who reached the throne on the death of Anastasius...

Bourges Cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen, is a Gothic cathedral located in Bourges, Le Cher, central France. Built from 1195 to 1245, the cathedral is one of the largest in Europe and contains many magnificent stained glass...

Theodoric the Great (l. c. 454-526 CE, r. 493-526 CE, also known as Flavius Theodoricus) was the king of the Ostrogoths who, at the encouragement and direction of the Roman emperor Zeno, invaded Italy, deposed King Odoacer...

In August of 410 CE Alaric the Gothic king accomplished something that had not been done in over eight centuries: he and his army entered the gates of imperial Rome and sacked the city. Although the city and, for a time, the...

Andrea Palladio (1508-1580 CE) was an Italian Renaissance architect most famous for the villas he designed in and around Vicenza and two large churches in Venice. Palladio blended elements of classical architecture, particularly...