Gothic (term)
Encyclopedia
Gothic is the term originally used to describe things pertaining to the Gothic people and then reused in a variety of contexts.
The Goths were traditionally thought to have originated in northern Europe and moved south towards the borders of the Roman Empire
in the 2nd century. Eventually they occupied territories in modern Germany, Spain and Italy.
The Goths became a byword for northern barbarism and from the sixteenth century their name was given to the dominant architectural and artistic style of the late medieval period, which had originated in France in the twelfth century, Gothic architecture
.
The style became idealised in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries within Romanticism
, leading to the architectural Gothic revival, beginning in Britain but spreading to continental Europe (including as far east as Ukraine, Belarus and even Russia) and North America, by which medieval buildings were restored and large numbers of civil, ecclesiastical and educational buildings built in a medieval style.
The creation of literary works that employed such late medieval backdrops to explore dark aspects of human nature and the supernatural led to the creation of Gothic fiction
, which was the origin of the modern horror genre in books, film, T.V. and more recently video games.
From the 1980s these works provided the visual and atmospheric inspiration for the Gothic subculture, producing Gothic music, as well as fashions, fiction and events.
The Goths were traditionally thought to have originated in northern Europe and moved south towards the borders of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
in the 2nd century. Eventually they occupied territories in modern Germany, Spain and Italy.
The Goths became a byword for northern barbarism and from the sixteenth century their name was given to the dominant architectural and artistic style of the late medieval period, which had originated in France in the twelfth century, Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
.
The style became idealised in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries within Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
, leading to the architectural Gothic revival, beginning in Britain but spreading to continental Europe (including as far east as Ukraine, Belarus and even Russia) and North America, by which medieval buildings were restored and large numbers of civil, ecclesiastical and educational buildings built in a medieval style.
The creation of literary works that employed such late medieval backdrops to explore dark aspects of human nature and the supernatural led to the creation of Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
, which was the origin of the modern horror genre in books, film, T.V. and more recently video games.
From the 1980s these works provided the visual and atmospheric inspiration for the Gothic subculture, producing Gothic music, as well as fashions, fiction and events.