Gotiku

Gotiku, often rendered as Gothic in English, denotes a broad European artistic and architectural tradition that flourished roughly from the 12th to the 16th century. The term originated with Renaissance writers who labeled medieval styles as barbaric, but it has since become a neutral designation for a connected set of architectural and cultural forms.

In architecture, Gotiku is defined by structural innovations that allowed taller, brighter buildings. Key features include pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses, which distributed weight and opened walls for large stained-glass windows. The effect was a vertical emphasis intended to inspire upward contemplation. Early examples include the Basilica of Saint-Denis near Paris; the cathedrals of Chartres and Reims; and Notre-Dame de Paris. Over time the style diversified regionally, yielding English Gothic with innovations in tracery and a habit of soaring, slender proportions; German Gothic with rich sculpture and brick construction in the north; and Italian Gothic, which often fused with local Romanesque and Renaissance elements.

Historically, Gotiku developed in France, then spread to the British Isles and Central Europe, peaking in the 13th–14th centuries before gradually evolving into Late Gothic forms such as French Flamboyant and English Perpendicular. Beyond architecture, Gotiku influenced sculpture, painting, and sacred music, and provided a cultural vocabulary for city identity, religious devotion, and scholastic life.

In the 18th–19th centuries, Gotiku experienced a revival, and in modern times the Gothic revival influenced literature and cinema as well as contemporary architectural aesthetics.