During the Middle Ages, Paris was the largest city in Europe and located in the heart of France. French kings of the Capetian dynasty (also known as the House of France and is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe) controlled little more than Paris and the surrounding region, but they did their best to build up Paris as the political, economic, religious and cultural capital of France. It established numerous cathedrals and became the heart of community and religious life. Through these cathedrals, France had become one of the largest and most powerful Christian kingdoms in Europe; and it became the birthplace of Gothic style architecture.
Religion played a fundamental role in medieval Paris; whose impact continued to grow in western Europe after the fall of Rome. The church held a lot of influence and power in medieval Paris society. For example, government. The church was closely linked to the king and the government. It even
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The bishop desired to attract a mass audience and sought an architectural style that created a sense of awe and that reflected the majesty and power of God. One way he did this was through greater amounts of interior light and space. Thankfully the weather in this part of Europe was cool enough to allow the design to abandon Romanesque architecture. Naturalism influenced the style of its architecture, sculptures, and stained glass was majorly contrasted with earlier Romanesque architecture in European cathedral architecture. This is how the Gothic style was developed. Vast window space and unlimited interior space was used to illuminate the building’s interior and bathed the walls light. Everything about the gothic style was (again strategically) designed to enhance the experience of worship. Faithful Christians that lived locally would visit Notre Dame multiple times week and even foreign Christians would undertake several pilgrimages during their