In a Gothic cathedral, a stone arm spans from an outer pier over the aisle roof to the high nave wall. What job does this member perform?

In Gothic architecture, what is an arch whose two curved sides meet at a sharp apex called?

Stone arches cross diagonally overhead, and thinner webbing fills the spaces between them. What ceiling system is this?

Why could builders make Gothic nave walls thinner than many Romanesque walls?

A cathedral has very thick walls, small round-headed windows, and a heavy barrel vault. Which structural condition most limits its window size?

At Chartres, slender colonnettes rise from piers and continue into vault ribs. What visual effect does this create?

Why is a Gothic flying buttress placed outside the main interior wall rather than inside it?

In a Gothic nave elevation, what is the top zone of high windows called?

In a three-part Gothic elevation, which level lies between the nave arcade and the clerestory?

A visitor stands in the lowest row of large arches that opens the central nave onto side aisles. What part of the elevation is this?

On the plan, a long nave crosses a transept; a passage curves around the east end and small chapels open from it. Which plan type is shown?

What was the practical purpose of an ambulatory around a cathedral choir?

A student calls every circular stained-glass opening a rose window. Which detail would confirm that term?

In the upper chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, glass fills nearly the entire wall between slender stone supports. What structural arrangement made this possible?

A Gothic architect replaces a semicircular arch with a pointed arch over a vault. What structural advantage results?

Why did Gothic architects favor rib vaults rather than treating the whole vault surface as one heavy mass?

A church interior is bright because its walls contain expansive colored windows. Which feature most directly provides the stone framework that holds many small glass pieces?

Why was light more than a practical necessity in many Gothic churches?

Which change best explains why a High Gothic cathedral could have a much larger clerestory than a Romanesque church?

At Chartres, windows include biblical narratives, saints' lives, and scenes of local trades. What broad role did this imagery serve?

Small panels at the base of a Chartres window show shoemakers at work. What do these panels indicate about the window's patronage?

How was medieval stained glass generally assembled into a cathedral window?

Sainte-Chapelle was built by Louis IX within the royal palace complex. Its exceptional glass-filled upper chapel reinforced what purpose?

What effect did the colored glass at Chartres produce inside the cathedral?

The Royal Portal jamb figures at Chartres are elongated and stiff. What does their form reveal about Early Gothic sculpture?

The picture shows jamb figures from Reims Cathedral. Compared with the Royal Portal figures at Chartres, what changed?

In a cathedral portal, what is the name for the semicircular or pointed field directly above a doorway that often carries relief sculpture?

A sculpted figure stands on the central support dividing a cathedral's two main portal doors. What is that support called?

Why did portal sculpture become an important teaching medium at Gothic cathedrals?

Abbot Suger rebuilt the east end of an abbey church north of Paris in the 1140s, creating a luminous ambulatory with radiating chapels. Which church was it?

Chartres Cathedral was reconstructed after a major fire in 1194. Which feature makes it especially important for studying French Gothic art?

Which French cathedral, begun around 1163, is known for rib vaults, buttresses, colored rose windows, and a sculpted west façade?

Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, completed in 1248, has thin supports and walls almost entirely of glass and tracery. Which phase of French Gothic does it represent?

Salisbury Cathedral's foundation stones were laid in 1220, and the building was dedicated in 1258. In which country is this Gothic cathedral?

French High Gothic cathedrals often end in a rounded apse with an ambulatory and radiating chapels. How does the east end of Salisbury Cathedral differ?