St.-Sernin was an important stop for pilgrims on the way from northwestern Europe to Campostella, Spain. It contains marvelous examples of sculpture, the dominant form of decoration in Romanesque churches, which had little space in their walls for windows.

Romanesque churches in the Pilgrimage style, of which St.-Sernin is a fine example, share several features. Built as they were to accommodate large groups of visitors, they were constructed on a grand scale in both length and width. Aisles paralleling the nave and an ambulatory allowing easy access to the chapels radiating off the apse permit the throng to circulate in an orderly fashion. Because of the technical limitations of Romanesque architecture, windows were kept small.

The abbey church of St. Denis, just north of Paris, was reconstructed under the leadership of Abbot Suger beginning in 1140. This project marks the beginning of the Gothic style, which is marked by use of rib vaulting and flying buttresses to transfer the thrust of the roof away from the walls, allowing more of the vertical surface of the building to be devoted to windows. The result was a better-lit, and lighter-looking, church, in contrast to the massive gloom of Romanesque structures.

Abbot Suger of St. Denis is credited with the creation of the Gothic style during the reconstruction of his church during the early 1140s. Here he explains why and how this work was begun. Notice his justification for expanding the church and the material difficulties he faced.

The Cathedral of St. Denis as it looks today, still a remarkable example of the early Gothic style.

Suger had this poem inscribed in the choir of St. Denis to commemorate his reconstruction of it. The poem, written in 1144, makes clear that bringing more light into the church constituted one of his chief objectives.

This image shows St. Denis's main portal and all of its intricate details.

Not everyone was enthused about the lavish decoration of churches in the High Middle Ages. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) believed such adornment could be harmful, particularly to monks and nuns who had sworn to live in holy simplicity. The excerpted diatribe comes at the end of Bernard's unfavorable comparison of the rich monastic order of Cluny to his own austere order of Cîteaux, and provides an excellent sample of Bernard's uniquely powerful polemical style.

Notre Dame, the Cathedral of Paris, is an outstanding example of Early Gothic architecture. This picture showcases Notre Dame's innovative flying buttresses. These external, arched supports allowed the cathedral's builders to develop higher and thinner walls within the church. The buttresses supported the weight of the roof and walls, allowing for a more spectacular interior.

Teachers and students gathered in and around the great urban churches throughout Europe. The cathedrals provided interested individuals with spacious, largely unused spaces in which to meet. Furthermore, the educators usually had ecclesiastical connections. This practice eventually gave way to a need for institutionalized schools and universities. In this excerpt, the set of regulations written in 1215 for the University of Paris outlines the curricula of study, requirements placed upon teachers and students, and some of the concerns of university life during the late Middle Ages.

Rising abover the city of Chartres, the cathedral could be seen from hundreds of miles away, a signal to pilgrims that they were on the right path. Chartres Cathedral was rebuilt after a disastrous fire in 1194. Use of flying buttresses allowed the installation of huge windows, which were beautifully decorated. The uniform rhythms of interior and exterior mark the beginning of the High Gothic style.

Chartres Cathedral, the first church built in the High Gothic style, showcases developments in architecture such as flying buttresses, vaulted arch ceilings, and enormous stained-glass windows. Its bold design influenced later development of Gothic architecture.

Salisbury Cathedral takes the High Gothic style pioneered at Chartres and adds a horizontal emphasis. Every aspect of Salisbury proclaims the length of the nave. The individual windows were kept small; each bay contains three slender windows instead of one large one, as many French churches of the time featured. The original plan lacked the exposed flying buttresses seen here, as well as the high spire of the crossing tower, which was not added until c. 1330.

Salisbury Cathedral's plan emphasizes the horizontal, not the vertical. The squared-off plan of the church, including its apse, is countered by circular bases of the supports. The Lady Chapel at the extreme east end, a special shrine to the Virgin Mary, features extremely slender piers which appear too thin to support the weight above. In fact, the structure is cunningly constructed to create this illusion; the weight of the roof is actually transferred to the outer walls.

After the Albigensian crusade in the early 13th century, the Catholic church built this cathedral in Albi.  Since they were in the center of Cathar-influenced southwestern France, the cathedral is not light and airy, full of windows, like most Gothic churches of the time.  Instead, the French Southern Gothic style is more fortress like so that the Catholics could withstand any assaults from the "heretics" they had been sent to crusade against and to convert. 

London's Westminster Abbey has served as the primary site of worship for the kingdom since the eleventh century, and has staged every coronation since 1066. The abbey was started in about 1045 by King Edward I, and was not completely finished until 1400.