A Short History of the Middle Ages Fourth Edition

Plate 6.3: Notre Dame of Paris, Interior (begun 1163). Compare this interior with that of Autun in Plate 5.6
(p. 185). Autun, a typical Romanesque church, has a barrel vault (though slightly pointed) and small
windows at the top. By contrast, the Gothic cathedral of Notre Dame (shown here) has a pointed ribbed
vault that soars above the nave, while light from large stained-glass windows suffuses the interior.