Seeking places to meet and worship, early Christians often turned Roman pagan temples into churches. Until the twelfth century, the Romanesque style, deriving from Roman buildings, dominated medieval church architecture. This style seems solid, earth-bound and somber, giving the congregation a sense of protection and nurturing. But beginning in the mid-twelfth century, particularly with the work of abbot Suger as he rebuilt the monastic church of St. Denis, church architecture underwent a radical transformation into a new style: the Gothic. Soaring, light, almost lacy, the Gothic church sought to raise the mind and soul of the congregant towards heaven. Brilliant light, entering through colorful stained glass windows, illuminated these churches. As Suger put it, "Bright is the noble edifice which is pervaded by the new light."

1. Architectural plans for several Romanesque and Gothic churches (click on the thumbnails for larger versions of the plans; note, among other differences between the two styles, the relative thickness of the walls) and a detailed glossary may be explored at
   
   http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~hart205/Cathedrals/Plan/plan.html
   
   
2. The site below shows exteriors, interiors, and plans of four important Romanesque churches, with interesting links to virtual tours:
   
   http://www.wisc.edu/arth/ah201/26.romanesque.2.html
   
   
3. The structural innovations that made the Gothic cathedral possible also permitted the extensive use of stained glass. See examples of Gothic windows from St. Etienne, Bourges, at
   
   http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/fnart/arch/bourges_glass.html
   
   
4. Notre Dame in Paris is among the best known Gothic churches. It was built on the site of a former Roman temple to Jupiter, which in turn had been turned into a Christian basilica and then a Romanesque church. Among the many web sites that allow the visitor to take a virtual tour of this famous church are
   
   http://www.elore.com/Gothic/History/Overview/paris.htm
   
   http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/ndame/ndame.html
   
   http://catholique-paris.cef.fr/nd2/
   
   (The last of these is in French only, but offers an excellent, clickable 3-D tour of the cathedral.)
   
   
5. Abbot Suger's memoirs describe the reconstruction of the church, initiated in the 1130s. Read excerpts, which detail his concern with the decoration and design, at
   
   http://www.columbia.edu/~eer1/suger.html