Cathedral architecture

Cathedrals are among the most ambitious buildings ever conceived, far exceeding the size and complexity of most other constructions and often requiring many years to complete. This article describes some of the elements of cathedral architecture and how these elements have varied from place to place and time to time.

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Romanesque and Gothic cathedral architecture is laid out upon some conventional ground plans, which are discussed at Cathedral diagram. Consult the articles in the See also section (below) for more details on the various sections of a cathedral.

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The evolution of styles in England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, is dealt with under the general articles on architecture. This article deals particularly with the development of the eastern end of English and Western European cathedrals, as it was in those that the greatest changes took place from the middle of the 11th century to the close of the 14th century.

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