-The Middle Ages spanned 1,000 years,
from about 500 to 1500.
The first half was a time of relative poverty
and economic stagnation.
Then around the year 1000, Europe rebounded.
That story, its turmoil and triumphs,
is reflected in the magnificent art and architecture of the age.
We start after the fall of Rome,
as the flickering flame of civilization
was kept alive in monasteries and in fortress-like churches.
We'll see how Europe was invigorated
by neighbors on the fringes,
from Christian Byzantium to Islamic Spain
to the pagan Vikings of the north.
Then we step into the High Middle Ages,
marveling at formidable castles,
radiant Gothic cathedrals,
and art that both dazzled the faithful
and celebrated secular life
as Europeans approached the dawn of a new age.
By the year 1000, Europe was on the rise.
Entering a period called the High Middle Ages,
it was a time of growing innovation, trade, and travel.
Christianity was dominant, and people celebrated their faith
by building great structures.
The imposing Romanesque style was eventually eclipsed
by an even grander style: Gothic.
Gothic was an architectural leap forward,
with taller and taller churches reaching for the heavens
and filled with more and more light.
Fueled by their faith,
Europeans built towering cathedrals to the glory of God.
Each community tried to outdo the other,
with churches featuring soaring naves.
Supported by elaborate pointed arches
and flooded with light,
Gothic seemed to be emblematic
of a Europe moving upward and onward.
The Gothic style was born in France in the 12th century.
The cathedral in Chartres, one of the first, greatest,
and most influential Gothic churches,
captures the spirit of this "Age of Faith,"
as the Middle Ages were nicknamed.
Magnificent structures were built by the sweat of peasants,
construction projects
that dominated entire communities for generations,
all for the glory of God.
Towering churches like this became sites
which, for centuries, broke distant horizons,
heartening the weary spirits of approaching pilgrims.
Gothic churches were taller
and brighter than the earlier Romanesque.
They were made with a skeleton of support.
The key to Gothic is the pointed arch.
A Romanesque church is built with round arches.
With a round arch, the weight pushes down,
but with a pointed arch, the weight pushes not down,
but out.
As a tour guide, it's fun to demonstrate this
by building a Gothic cathedral out of tourists.
You start with six columns.
These will support the roof with ribs --
ignore the elbows -- coming together with pointed arches.
The key to Gothic is the pointed arch.
A Romanesque church is built with round arches.
With a round arch, the weight sits squarely on the wall,
and it needs to be thick and strong.
If a round arch collapses, it falls down.
But if you point the arches,
suddenly the weight of the roof pushes not down, but out.
So rather than thick walls, you need to buttress
the building by adding support, pushing in.
So you need six more tourists to be buttresses.
With buttresses rather than
thick walls supporting the church,
the walls are freed to become window holders,
letting in more light.
To free up even more wall space,
you can make the buttresses "flying buttresses,"
with their support "flying" in with more arches.
Are you guys ready for a spire? -Yes, we are.
-Okay.
Now when the spire is raised, because of the pointed arches,
the weight goes out rather than down.
And with buttresses in place, everything is solid.
Windows can fill the spaces between the columns.
And you've built a Gothic church out of tourists.
All right, thank you. -Yep.
-That was good. [ Applause ]
-One more time! One more time! [ Laughter ]