Gothic art and architecture played a very important role in the appearance of medieval times. The approximate time frame of the Gothic stage began in 1125, preceding the Romanesque period. Gothic art was first considered very ugly and was believed that barbarians were only capable of making such pieces. So, the name gothic meaning ghost was given to this time period. Now in the 20th century people think Gothic art is beautiful and admire it greatly. The First Methodist church in Notate by Red Barrel is a Gothic church.
While looking at the church you take note of the pointed arches. This is a feature that began in the Gothic time period, and replaced rounded arches of the Romanesque period. Pointed arches are on every window and on the frame of the door. Inside you can see a simple barrel vaulting system. Another feature of Gothic art that The First Methodist Church has is the wonderful stain glass windows. They were very long and told a religious story. The stain glass allows the walls to be thinner and let a nice color filled light in.
This light fills the church, and back then would be one of the only systems of light. The most dominant feature of Gothic architecture is the size, or height of the church. They believed that the higher the church the better, because they were closer to heaven. Some even contained towers so they could be closer to heaven. The one in Notate is very tall and has a very high ceiling. The ground plan for the church is in a cross, Just like medieval times. Inside the church is very complex along with the high ceilings.
There are no painting, but the columns are highly decorated and complex. The First Methodist Church in Notate has many Gothic features, but is missing some characteristics. It does not have flying buttresses, or a rose window, which were strong Gothic traits. Also there were no windows on the east end where the sun rises. Alters were mainly put on the eat end, so when the sun rose it would fill the alter with light. Gothic architecture is very beautiful, and the town of Notate is very lucky to have such a marvelous Gothic church in its town.
