Flamboyant

Flamboyant style

Facade of the Trinity Abbey, Vendôme (Completed 1507)
Years active	From 15th to 16th century
Location	France and Spain

Flamboyant (from French flamboyant 'flaming') is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.^[1] Elaborate stone tracery covered both the exterior and the interior. Windows were decorated with a characteristic s-shaped curve. Masonry wall space was reduced further as windows grew even larger. Major examples included the northern spire of Chartres Cathedral, Trinity Abbey, Vendôme, and Burgos Cathedral and Segovia Cathedral in Spain.^[1]

England produced its own very ornamental version, called Perpendicular Gothic, at about the same time. In the British version, the multiple interior levels of earlier periods were replaced by single towering level. It also included distinct features such as the fan vault. Examples of Perpendicular Gothic include the choir of Gloucester Cathedral (1335; Kings College Chapel, Cambridge (1446-1515), and the Chapel of Henry IV in Westminster Abbey. It was gradually replaced by Renaissance architecture in the 16th century.^[1]