The Gothic style, as we know it today, was originally called the modern style, and its appearance coincided with the emergence of the monarchy as a powerful centralizing force in France. He attributed the style to that of the Goths who were Germanic northerners that had destroyed the classical civilization of the Roman Empire that he and his contemporaries so admired. As it spread, it gradually displaced Romanesque forms. However, it took on regional characteristics inspired by these forms. England, for example, developed a distinctive national style, which also influenced the architectural design in continental Europe.
Gothic architecture is absolutely beautiful.
The characteristics that attribute it are astounding. The elegant interiors, the light, color, and sense of transparency produced by the stained glass, and its linear qualities are just some of the many unique characteristics of gothic architecture. Stone was just one of the many expenses that went along with gothic architecture. Some of the time, like in Chartres, the clergy already owned the quarry, but in others they had to buy it. Transporting the stone was an even greater expense.