It was a phenomenon that unfolded over the longue durée until the early sixteenth century, when medieval architecture, which was still in use, began to be disdained, before once again being reappraised in the eighteenth century.
Gothic architecture, which is based on a complex structural system devised from technical innovations tried and tested during the Romanesque period, developed in Île-de-France beginning in the 1130s. In the space of a few decades, it had spread throughout Europe thanks to the expansion of monastic orders, as well as the initiative of ecclesiastical communities seeking to erect soaring monuments bathed in light. All while integrating various local building traditions, “French” architectural models transfigured the territories of the Old World, and helped define a common cultural identity from Italy to England, and Portugal to Hungary. It was a phenomenon that unfolded over the longue durée until the early sixteenth century, when medieval architecture, which was still in use, began to be disdained, before once again being reappraised in the eighteenth century.