The Gothic Cathedral as Artistic and Economic Endeavor

Gothic cathedrals were financed in many ways and their building could take centuries to complete. The process was long and arduous costing enormous sums of money over a sustained period of time. Their construction sapped both capital and labor from the surrounding areas, spurring economic and artistic change. Specifically, the materials used to build these massive structures depended on and drew from the region of the building, which impacted their architectural form. When donors, religious figures, aristocrats and guild members are represented in a Gothic Cathedral, connections are made between them and the church. This demonstrates their place in the changing social and economic structure of the middle ages