In the 1140s, Abbot Suger of the Abbey Church of St Denis, began building a new and larger church, as the congregation had outgrown the available space in the old church. This was the first church built in the style which came to be known as Gothic.
Suger's new church was a taller, more elegant church, which allowed much more light inside and used a round decorated window, called a rose window, for the first time. The [G 11 / facade] was elaborately decorated with sculpted figures.
The church also used a new kind of vaulting called `ribbed' vaulting, which was first seen in Durham Cathedral, having been completed in 1133. Ribbed vaulting used visible arches (known as ribs), which were built using a wooden frame to support them. Stones were then inserted in the spaces between the arches. This type of vaulting was much lighter and looked more elegant, as well as being a more flexible design to use in relation to the rest of the building's construction. The arches used in Suger's church were also pointed as opposed to rounded, giving the impression of more height.
