Gothic Structure
in Relation to
Aesthetics
Mysticism and Logic
In his book Gothic Architecture and Scholasticism,
Erwin Panofsky makes a detailed and convincing case
for the cultural resonance between the formal
characteristics of Gothic architecture and the culture of
Scholasticism. Exemplified in the work of medieval
scholars at such institutions as the School of Chartres
and the University of Paris, Scholasticism was a system
of organizing knowledge and building arguments
through logical arrangement. Any question, problem
or issue could be subdivided into numerous elements,
all of which could fit neatly and logically into a larger
superstructure called a summa.
This system of arrangement was used to clarify difficult
philosophical and theological questions, even in debates
about the existence or non-existence of God.
For this reason, scholasticism may at first seem to be
unnecessarily complex and remote. Yet, it is, in fact,
the basis of the way we organize information in an
outline, an encyclopedia or the way we use binary
mathematics in computer science. The great Summa
Theologicae of St. Thomas Aquinas or the treatise Sic et
Non [Yes and No] of Peter Abelard may be thought of
as distant ancestors of contemporary digital theory.
Erwin Panofsky’s interpretation of Gothic architecture
rests on the proposition that Scholasticism was not just a
rarefied concept practiced in the medieval academies but
without popular relevance. He argues that direct as well
as indirect exposure to the methods and processes of
scholasticism made it a part of the common culture.
The patronage of architects by the chapters of
metropolitan cathedrals, the education of those who later
became architects in schools sponsored by the church,
public debates, and the sermons they heard would have
helped bring the culture of scholasticism into the
consciousness of the architects as a “mental habit.”
By analogy, most people in our society, Panofsky
observed, are trained neither in psychoanalysis nor in
space technology, but we all use the terminology of
these disciplines in our daily language.
The increasingly rich life of professionalism in urban
centers brought contact between various professions
and elevated the competition among members of these
groups.
Architects were more urbane at this time. They were
no longer usually monks; they were well read, and
quite widely traveled. They enjoyed much more
prestige than had their predecessors.
The important point to keep in mind is that Panofsky
does not claim that Gothic architects were trained in
scholasticism, nor that they understood scholastic
method as academicians did. Rather, he argues that
scholasticism imbued high medieval society with a
particular way of thinking and understanding that
architects, as active participants in that society, could
not escape.
Therefore, the arguments he advances must be
examined as claims for the architectural
manifestation of a cultural phenomenon during the
Gothic period.
The fundamental principles of scholasticism are
manifestatio and concordantia. Manifestatio means the
elucidation or clarification of a subject in its totality.
The result of this is the Summa, the vehicle for
presentation. The three requirements of manifestatio
are:
(1) totality (completeness, thoroughness)
(2) arrangement in a logical system of parts and
sub-division of parts in sufficient articulation
(3) distinctness and deductive cogency, ie.
sufficient interrelation
Concordantia is the acceptance and ultimate
reconciliation of contradictory possibilities
An easy way to imagine the scholastic method is to think
about the organization of a book into chapters, sections,
and sub-sections or the organization of an outline into
divisions of Roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic
numerals, and lower case letters.
Book
Chapter I
Chapter II
Section A.
Section B.
Section C.
Sub-section 1.
Sub-section 2.
I.
A.
B.
1.
2.
3.
a.
b.
II.
The tendency in this system is to move toward an
obsession with systematic divisions, sub-divisions,
methodical demonstrations, and the appearance of
artificial symmetries to make sure that the visual vehicle
appropriately expresses the method that creates it.
According to Panofsky’s reasoning, the “mental habit”
of scholasticism naturally finds its way into other
works; and it is particularly visible in the development
of the High Gothic cathedrals in the Ile-de-France.
Their structural principles were revealed not only in the
functioning structural elements but in the way in which
the structural elements were arranged visually, even
when they do not actually serve a structural function.
The High Gothic equivalent of scholastic manifestatio is
the “principle of transparency.” What you see on the
outside is directly related to and is driven by the
expression on the inside. The interior of the High
Gothic cathedral is a delimited volume separated from
the exterior space but projects itself through the
surrounding structure.
Next images: Cathedral of Notre Dame at Chartres
Next images: Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Reims
Next images: Cathedral of Notre Dame at Amiens
The unified whole must consist of identifiable and
separate parts. We must be able to infer the interior
from the exterior and the organization of the whole
system from the cross-section of one pier.
Visual logic is a part of manifestatio. Not everything
that we see in the elevation of the interior really works;
but it represents the larger scheme of parts which do
work.
Next images: nave elevations of Chartres and Reims
Next images: nave elevations at Reims and Amiens
Next images: nave and choir elevations at Amiens
Next images: Chartres and Reims
Next images: Reims and Amiens
Erwin Panofsky’s assessment of the relationship between
faith and reason in the high middle ages is that within the
parameters of mysticism, reason was drowned in faith.
Later, Nominalism would separate reason and faith
altogether. But during the 12th century, reason was used
as a means of laying out faith within the scholastic
system while mysticism became a source of faith.
This complex and layered relationship is made visible to
an extent within the high Gothic cathedral, especially as
the repository for stained glass that filled the interiors
with a mystical chromatic light. The illumination of the
environment is one of its most overwhelming
experiences. The colored light can seem to dissolve the
very stone structure itself.
Cathedral of St. Etienne at Bourges