CATHEDRAL OF BOURGES – was begun by bishop Henri de Sully around 1190, and progressed from east

to west. Two Romanesque portals were retained from the previous church,one on the north the other
on the south aside of the nave. A large doubled-aisled crypt supports the aps.This was necessary
because the ground falls away steeply to the east of the cathedral. The upper church is also double-
aisled in plan,with five small radiating chapels opening off the outer ambulatory. The main space is
continous with no transepts. The main elevation is of three storeys, with an immensely high arcade, a
triforium under transverse arches and a long, clerestory with plate-tracery windos crowned by a
sexpartite nave vault 38m(125ft) high. The aisles are of unequal height and the inner aisle is high enough
to enjoy its own three storey elevation, which echoes that of the nave. Both internal elevations are
articulated by a giant order which swells oit beyond the wall plane, and runs uninterrupted form the
base to vault . The upper levels ar e supported by a double-span steeply angled flying buttresses. Bouges
owes much including plan, proportions and many detailes,to Notre Dame in Paris and was itself
influentioal in varying degrees at S. Martin at Tours, the Cathedrals at Le Mans and Countances in
France, and the Cathedrals of Burgos, Toledo and Palma in Spain and of Milan in Italy.

Reims Cathedral- was begun in 1211 and construction and embelishment continued throughtout most
of the thirteenth century.The building history is complex, and still the subject of controversy,but
construction proceeded from east to west, reaching the west front around 1260.The overall design is
derived from Chatres, but the aisles of the western arm are broadened for the eastern arm (completed
1241) into a nave and double aisles so as to include the trasepts, thus providing space for coronations.
The deep radiationg chapels,however, have the Remois passage derived from S. Remi at Reims. The
windows at all levels are enormous. Bartracery,where the windows are divided by spokes piers and
arches of masonry, rather than sectns of wall,seems to have been invented in the radiating chapels at
Reims and was used throughout the building. The west front and the north and south trasept facades
are all dominated by a large rose windows, which also occupy the portal tympana on the west front. The
cathedral is unusually rich in sculpture both inside and out, as befitted its royal status. The arcade piers
have magnificent often naturalistic,foliage,capitals,figure sculpture extends the full height of the west
front, there are richly decorated portals to both transcript façade and the west portals are covered with
figure sculpture.

Amiens Cathedral - was begun, somewhat unusually, from the west end in 1220. The nave was
complete by 1236 the choir transepts by 1270. The names of all architecs are known. The architect of
the nave was Robert de Luzarches,the choir was began by Thmas de Cormont and finished by his son
Regnault.The upper parts of the west front, including the two west towers and the flambouyant west
rose windows are not completed until at least a century later than the main volumes.At the same time,
A series of richly decorated chapels were added to the south nave aisle. Amiens is very tall the vault is
42 m(140 ft) high – and very expansive with double aisles in the choir, ailed transepts and a ring of seven
radiating chapels . The internal elevation throughout is on three levels with a tall arcade of piliers
cantonnes a trifrorium passage and a vast traceried clerestory. The quadripartite vaults are supported
by a splendin range of flying buttresses. The choir and nave are structurally identical and the change of
architect is apparent only in the development of details, particularly tracery forms. In both architecture
and sculpture Amiens, like Reims, belongs to the tradition established at Chatres but tracery forms are
much more developed, Amiens having played an important role in the evolution of the Rayonnant style.
The lower parts of the choir are so close to the S. Chapelle Paris as to suggest that the same architect
was responsible for bouth while more spiky upper levels of the choir relate closely to the Cologne
Cathedral in Germany.