The term "Gothic" was one of distain, used by the Italians for the style of European art outside Italy. They considered it far inferior to art of Roman classical time.
The Gothic style originated in France in the area around Paris. In the romaneque period the monastery had been the seat of learning and the Romanesque church directed religious and social powers. The clergy used Latin as the language of the educated class, not wishing to use the speech of the common people. The church at this time was supported bythe Papacy and the secular power of the aristocracy.
The Gothic cathedral was built by townspeople for their own community and around which they built their homes. The centre of learning moved from the isolated monasteries and down into the towns. The first schools and universities were built by secular hands and education for all was first seen.
Architecture
As in Byzantine and Romanesque architecture so to in Gothic the Cathedral became the focal point of artistic development. Sculptors, stone masons, bricklayers, painters, carpenters all worked on their towns cathedral to make it a show place of their imagination and skill.
The Gothic plan followed that of the Romanesque cross plan, but the entire feeling changed. A new construction method - the ribbed cross pointed cross vault - enabled the load of the roof to be taken on the piers only and not along the enture walls as in Romanesque. With ribs and columns (piers) taking all the load, the spaces between could be filled with stained glass windows or other non-load bearing walls. To prevent the walls being thrust out under load they were propped by flying butresses to a counter piller. The ratio of hight to width became about 3 to 1 as Gothic cathedras seamed to soar into the sky expressing man's new found confidence in himself.
English Gothic
Gothic style developed in countries outside France - England, Germany and to a spall extent Northern Italy. In England the most important and best Gothic cathedrals outside France were built in the 15th century. Then Perpendicular Gothic style evolved with emphasis on vertical (perpendicular) lines. German Gothic developed from the French, but instead of gaining character of its own like English Perpendicular, it became heavily decorated.
In Italy the Gothic style made a small impression in the north and was combined with the old Byzantine style. In Spain, the Gothic and Romanesque was mixed with Moorish style brought by the conqueroring Arabs.