OriginsĮven those who have not been to the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral know its famous defining feature: the gargoyles perched on its exterior, like beastly sentinels surveying the city of Paris. Other references will be linked throughout the piece.

We recommend that you check out these sources to learn more. The chief references for this article are Alex Woodcock’s Gargoyles and Grotesques, published by Shire Publications in 2011, and “ Gravely Gorgeous“, published online by the Cornell University Library.

In this post we will look at the history of gargoyles and grotesques during the Gothic period to give us insight about these fascinating architectural figures perching from buildings all over Western Europe. You will find gargoyles and grotesques in countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom. Gargoyles and grotesques were a hallmark of the Gothic period of architecture, which grew popular in Western Europe from the 12th to the late 15th centuries, and which was carried over well into the 20th century during the age of Gothic Revival marked by fascination with the Middle Ages.

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