The medieval Gothic style was a departure from the former Romanesque style. The Romanesque style had thick walls to support the stone ceilings and so windows were small and thin. But in the high middle ages people wanted high ceilings with lots of windows to reflect what they thought of God. So to support the walls without them being to thick for windows cathedrals were made with the flying buttress. They took the weight from the ceiling and threw it out to the side to make room inside for large spaces and windows. People in the middle ages thought of God as a great mathematician so the cathedrals were constructed in a very geometric shape. The middle cross section of the church is called the transept, the curved part the chancel and the bottom part the nave.
The number three was important in cathedrals because of the trinity, such as the transept could have a length of thirty three feet. Large, high windows were also an important part of Gothic architecture providing large beams of light as a symbol of Gods glory.
In the high middle ages the rise of towns was also of great importance. They were centers of trade and every town had its own trades guild. If serfs ran away to a town and remained there undetected for a year and a day that serf would be free from their feudal lord. If after that time the lord tried to take the serf back the townspeople would chase the lord out of the town. The lord in the area would allow towns to do this and give the towns other liberties since they wanted it to be a nice place live so people would move there and they would receive more tax money. In the middle ages the difference between a town and a city was not population, but if a bishop lived there or not. Cities were where bishops would stay and have their cathedrals. Towns contributed to the economy of the middle ages and because of them great advances were made.