The Middle Ages were a time of knights and castles, wars, and the Black Death. Presiding over the daily lives of all the people in Europe was the Catholic Church. The Church dominated the thinking of the Middle Ages, from marriage and diet to writing and art. The influence of the Church shone most through the stained-glass windows of the Gothic Cathedrals of France, England, Germany, and Spain. If the castle was the trademark of the Middle Ages, then the Gothic Cathedral was the pinnacle of medieval architecture.
Notre Dame de Paris
(http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Notre_Dame_Cathedral.html)
In order for one to understand Gothic Cathedrals, one must know the definition of cathedral. Technically speaking, to be considered a cathedral, a church must have a bishop's seat, called a cathedra, given to them by the Holy See. But a cathedral, and especially a Gothic cathedral, is much more than that. A cathedral is more often than not the largest, most expensive, and most beautiful church in the surrounding area. It is a symbol of greatness and prosperity for the town, and the bishop of the cathedral was envied by other bishops in the area.
Along with being places of worship for the Christian faith, Gothic cathedrals are some of the best primary sources on daily life of the Middle Ages. Many people who donated money for the building of the cathedral were shown in stained glass miniatures at their daily jobs: a butcher selling meat or a blacksmith making tools and weapons (Chartres, Transcript window); the inscriptions above the door and in the cathedral tell their values and beliefs (Lace, 36).
One must be reminded that cathedrals, and more so Gothic cathedrals, are strictly a European phenomena. There are no North African Gothic cathedrals, nor Asian ones, nor African or the Americas, with the exception of those built in places of Western European influence. That makes these buildings even more special,as almost all of them were built within a few thousand miles of each other.
The cathedrals of the Middle Ages truly dominated the surrounding landscape. Most houses barely cleared the head of the owner, and there were no other buildings on the same scale as the great cathedrals, with the exception of castles. Cathedrals could be seen for miles around, and were the center of any town that had one. Because they were so important to the lifestyle of the Middle Ages, additional information is provided in the links below. For even more information related links to other web sites are provided with the bibliography.
Notre Dame Rose Window North Transept
(http://www.elore.com/Gothic/Features/Paris/north_rose.htm)