Did the ancient Goths make gothic cathedrals?

by figtarr

Those fellows with long mustaches and pointy metal helmets made such cathedrals?

itsallfolklore

No. The cathedrals in question are twelfth century at the earliest. The style perpetuated, but more importantly, it had a revival movement in the eighteenth century. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "Gothic," as applied to architecture, does not appear until the seventeenth century.

The reasoning behind the late use of the term "Gothic architecture" had to do with an early-modern perception of history and architecture. It goes this way (in a crude, not entirely-correct synopsis of history): round-arch, sturdy stone buildings were the hallmark of the Romans; the Goths caused the downfall of the Roman Empire; after the Romans, architecture shifted (presumably - but not really) under the supervision of the Goths to pointed arches and lighter stone structures. Crediting Gothic architecture to the Goths is a mistake on many levels, but the popular use and enthusiasm for the term "Gothic architecture" was not to be stopped in the seventeenth century and later.

mimicofmodes