Cathedrals Vs English Cathedral Essay

During the Middle Ages, the Catholic religion played a huge role within both French and English people’s lives. Due to lack of education in both countries, the poor were consequently very superstitious and feared the wrath of God. Hence, the Church provided for people's religious lives in the forms of baptisms, marriages and confessions. These practices eased the general public’s qualms while also constantly imposing on their daily lives to establish a sense of need. Not only did religion have this strong impact within the people, it also played an important role in politics. In England, bishops sat in the House of Lords. They had powerful privileges such as being able to raise an army for the king in times of war. Similarly, in France, bishops

All cathedrals pictured above consist of a nave, North and South aisles, a choir, an ambulatory and a chevet plan. In addition, by referring to figures 1 and 2, it is evident that both English cathedrals, Wells and Lincoln, consist of a similar typology. Similarly, both Chartres and Notre Dame relate closely to each other’s spacial design. However, comparing both English and French cathedrals, the general shapes differ in that the English cathedrals appear to be more rectangular and geometric whereas the two French cathedrals are curved in the East end, resulting in a semi-circle shaped chevet plan. Transepts are found within all images from figures 1 to 4, however are visibly more pronounced and span a greater distance in comparison to the within the English Wells and Lincoln cathedrals. The biggest addition evident in English cathedrals is the presence of a central tower, which both the Chartres and the Notre Dame cathedrals lack. Also, chapels are not a characteristic solely found in either English or French cathedrals, as by referring to both figures 2 and 4, it is evident that Wells and Chartres cathedral both consist of this element within their