romikgosai/squad_modified huggingface dataset:
In Northern Germany, Netherlands, northern Poland, Denmark, and the Baltic countries local building stone was unavailable but there was a strong tradition of building in brick. The resultant style, Brick Gothic, is called "Backsteingotik" in Germany and Scandinavia and is associated with the Hanseatic League. In Italy, stone was used for fortifications, but brick was preferred for other buildings. Because of the extensive and varied deposits of marble, many buildings were faced in marble, or were left with undecorated façade so that this might be achieved at a later date.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Northern Germany, Netherlands, northern Poland, Denmark, and the Baltic countries used what building material in place of local stone?
A: brick', '
Q: What was the name of the building style that resulted from the use of brick?
A: Brick Gothic, is called "Backsteingotik"', '
Q: What building style was the Hanseatic League connected with in Germany and Scandinavia?
A: "Backsteingotik"', '
Q: Why were many buildings covered with marble?
A: Because of the extensive and varied deposits of marble', '
Q: With what type of facade were buildings left with if they were to completed at a later time?
A: undecorated façade']
By the 12th century, Romanesque architecture (termed Norman architecture in England because of its association with the Norman invasion), was established throughout Europe and provided the basic architectural forms and units that were to remain in evolution throughout the Medieval period. The important categories of building: the cathedral church, the parish church, the monastery, the castle, the palace, the great hall, the gatehouse, the civic building, had been established in the Romanesque period.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What is Romanesque architecture known as in England?
A: Norman architecture', '
Q: By the beginning of what century was the Romanesque style established all over Europe?
A: the 12th century', '
Q: The Romanesque style continued to affect and inspire  the basic architectural forms throughout which period?
A: the Medieval period', '
Q: What is one important category of building that was recognized during the Romanesque period?
A: the cathedral church', '
Q: What is another category of building that was established during the Romanesque period?
A: the palace']
It was principally the widespread introduction of a single feature, the pointed arch, which was to bring about the change that separates Gothic from Romanesque. The technological change permitted a stylistic change which broke the tradition of massive masonry and solid walls penetrated by small openings, replacing it with a style where light appears to triumph over substance. With its use came the development of many other architectural devices, previously put to the test in scattered buildings and then called into service to meet the structural, aesthetic and ideological needs of the new style. These include the flying buttresses, pinnacles and traceried windows which typify Gothic ecclesiastical architecture. But while pointed arch is so strongly associated with the Gothic style, it was first used in Western architecture in buildings that were in other ways clearly Romanesque, notably Durham Cathedral in the north of England, Monreale Cathedral and Cathedral of Cefalù in Sicily, Autun Cathedral in France.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What was the most important single design aspect that separated the Gothic style from the Romanesque? 
A: the pointed arch', '
Q: What is one example of a Gothic style element that was able to be incorporated because of technological innovation?
A: the flying buttresses', '
Q: What is another example of a Gothic style element that was able to be incorporated because of technological innovation?
A: traceried windows', '
Q: What is the name of the cathedral in Northern England that first displayed the use of the pointed arch?
A: Durham Cathedral', '
Q: What is the name of the cathedral in Sicily that first displayed the use of the pointed arch?
A: Cathedral of Cefalù']
The pointed arch, one of the defining attributes of Gothic, was earlier incorporated into Islamic architecture following the Islamic conquests of Roman Syria and the Sassanid Empire in the Seventh Century. The pointed arch and its precursors had been employed in Late Roman and Sassanian architecture; within the Roman context, evidenced in early church building in Syria and occasional secular structures, like the Roman Karamagara Bridge; in Sassanid architecture, in the parabolic and pointed arches employed in palace and sacred construction.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What is one defining characteristic of the Gothic architectural style?
A: The pointed arch', '
Q: Which type of architecture first used the pointed arch during the seventh century?
A: Islamic architecture', '
Q: What other type of architecture also made use of the pointed arch?
A: Sassanian architecture', '
Q: The Roman Karamagara Bridge is an example of what type of structure?
A: secular structures', '
Q: Parabolic and pointed arches were used in what type of constrcution?
A: palace and sacred construction']
Increasing military and cultural contacts with the Muslim world, including the Norman conquest of Islamic Sicily in 1090, the Crusades, beginning 1096, and the Islamic presence in Spain, may have influenced Medieval Europe's adoption of the pointed arch, although this hypothesis remains controversial. Certainly, in those parts of the Western Mediterranean subject to Islamic control or influence, rich regional variants arose, fusing Romanesque and later Gothic traditions with Islamic decorative forms, as seen, for example, in Monreale and Cefalù Cathedrals, the Alcázar of Seville, and Teruel Cathedral.

Questions and answers:
["
Q: What could have affected Medieval Europe's embracing of the pointed arch?
A: cultural contacts with the Muslim world", "
Q: What event in the year 1090 could have had an effect on Medieval Europe's embracing of the pointed arch?
A: the Norman conquest of Islamic Sicily", '
Q: In which parts of the Western Mediterranean did the blending of Romanesque and Islamic styles occur?
A: those parts of the Western Mediterranean subject to Islamic control', '
Q: What is one cathedral in which the mixing of Romanesque, Gothic and Islamic styles can be seen?
A: Cefalù Cathedrals', '
Q: What is another example of a cathedral in which the blending of Romanesque, Gothic and Islamic styles can be seen?
A: Teruel Cathedral']
The characteristic forms that were to define Gothic architecture grew out of Romanesque architecture and developed at several different geographic locations, as the result of different influences and structural requirements. While barrel vaults and groin vaults are typical of Romanesque architecture, ribbed vaults were used in the naves of two Romanesque churches in Caen, Abbey of Saint-Étienne and Abbaye aux Dames in 1120. Another early example is the nave and apse area of the Cathedral of Cefalù in 1131. The ribbed vault over the north transept at Durham Cathedral in England, built from 1128 to 1133, is probably earlier still and was the first time pointed arches were used in a high vault.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: The distinctive forms that describe Gothic architecture developed out of which style?
A: Romanesque', '
Q: Barrel and groin vaults are examples of what kind of architecture?
A: Romanesque architecture', '
Q: What type of vaults were used in the Abbey of Saint-Étienne and Abbaye aux Dames?
A: ribbed vaults', '
Q: When was Durham Cathedral constructed?
A: from 1128 to 1133', '
Q: What cathedral first made use of pointed arches in high vaults? 
A: Durham Cathedral in England']
The Basilica of Saint Denis is generally cited as the first truly Gothic building, however the distinction is best reserved for the choir, of which the ambulatory remains intact. Noyon Cathedral, also in France, saw the earliest completion of a rebuilding of an entire cathedral in the new style from 1150 to 1231. While using all those features that came to be known as Gothic, including pointed arches, flying buttresses and ribbed vaulting, the builders continued to employ many of the features and much of the character of Romanesque architecture including round-headed arch throughout the building, varying the shape to pointed where it was functionally practical to do so.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What is considered the first truly Gothic building?
A: The Basilica of Saint Denis', '
Q: Which cathedral was first to be rebuilt in the new style from 1150 to 1231?
A: Noyon Cathedral', '
Q: What is one of the features that have come to be considered as an important part of the Gothic style?
A: pointed arches', '
Q: What is one of the features that have come to be considered as an important part of the Gothic style?
A: flying buttresses', '
Q: What is one of the features that have come to be considered as an important part of the Gothic style?
A: ribbed vaulting']
At the Abbey Saint-Denis, Noyon Cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris and at the eastern end of Canterbury Cathedral in England, simple cylindrical columns predominate over the Gothic forms of clustered columns and shafted piers. Wells Cathedral in England, commenced at the eastern end in 1175, was the first building in which the designer broke free from Romanesque forms. The architect entirely dispensed with the round arch in favour of the pointed arch and with cylindrical columns in favour of piers composed of clusters of shafts which lead into the mouldings of the arches. The transepts and nave were continued by Adam Locke in the same style and completed in about 1230. The character of the building is entirely Gothic. Wells Cathedral is thus considered the first truly Gothic cathedral.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What is one cathedral in which simple cylindrical columns stand out more than the Gothic features?
A: Abbey Saint-Denis', '
Q: When was the construction of Wells Cathedral in England begun?
A: in 1175', '
Q: Who completed the transepts and nave on Wells Cathedral in about 1230?
A: Adam Locke', '
Q: Which Cathedral is considered the first thoroughly Gothic cathedral?
A: Wells Cathedral', '
Q: What is another cathedral in which simple cylindrical columns stand out more than the Gothic features?
A: Notre Dame de Paris']
Suger, friend and confidant of the French Kings, Louis VI and Louis VII, decided in about 1137, to rebuild the great Church of Saint-Denis, attached to an abbey which was also a royal residence. He began with the West Front, reconstructing the original Carolingian façade with its single door. He designed the façade of Saint-Denis to be an echo of the Roman Arch of Constantine with its three-part division and three large portals to ease the problem of congestion. The rose window is the earliest-known example above the West portal in France. The façade combines both round arches and pointed arches of the Gothic style.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Who chose to rebuild the great Church of Saint-Denis in about 1137?
A: Suger', '
Q: Which portion the cathedral was the reconstruction of the great Church of Saint-Denis begun?
A: the West Front', '
Q: The facade of Saint Denis resembled what other well known structure?
A: the Roman Arch of Constantine', '
Q: Why were three large portal used in the construction of the Roman Arch of Constantine?
A: to ease the problem of congestion', '
Q: The facade of Saint Denis combines round arches with what other style arch?
A: pointed arches of the Gothic style']
At the completion of the west front in 1140, Abbot Suger moved on to the reconstruction of the eastern end, leaving the Carolingian nave in use. He designed a choir that would be suffused with light. To achieve his aims, his masons drew on the several new features which evolved or had been introduced to Romanesque architecture, the pointed arch, the ribbed vault, the ambulatory with radiating chapels, the clustered columns supporting ribs springing in different directions and the flying buttresses which enabled the insertion of large clerestory windows.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: When was the west front of Saint Denis completed?
A: in 1140', '
Q: What portion of the reconstruction of Saint Denis was begun after the completion of the west front? 
A: the eastern end', '
Q: What style of nave was left unaltered during this portion of the reconstruction of Saint Denis?
A: the Carolingian nave', '
Q: What style of columns did Abbott Suger use when reconstructing Saint Denis?
A: clustered columns', '
Q: What design element allowed the use of large clerestory windows?
A: the flying buttresses']
While many secular buildings exist from the Late Middle Ages, it is in the buildings of cathedrals and great churches that Gothic architecture displays its pertinent structures and characteristics to the fullest advantage. A Gothic cathedral or abbey was, prior to the 20th century, generally the landmark building in its town, rising high above all the domestic structures and often surmounted by one or more towers and pinnacles and perhaps tall spires. These cathedrals were the skyscrapers of that day and would have been the largest buildings by far that Europeans would ever have seen. It is in the architecture of these Gothic churches that a unique combination of existing technologies established the emergence of a new building style. Those technologies were the ogival or pointed arch, the ribbed vault, and the buttress.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What type of buildings most prominently display the design aspects of the Gothic architectural style?
A: cathedrals and great churches', '
Q: Prior to the 20th century, a Gothic cathedral was considered to be what type of building in the town in which it was constructed?
A: the landmark building', '
Q: What is another name for the pointed arch?
A: the ogival', '
Q: What is an example of architectural technology that is seen in Gothic construction?
A: the ribbed vault', '
Q: What is another example of architectural technology that is seen in Gothic construction?
A: the buttress']
The eastern arm shows considerable diversity. In England it is generally long and may have two distinct sections, both choir and presbytery. It is often square ended or has a projecting Lady Chapel, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. In France the eastern end is often polygonal and surrounded by a walkway called an ambulatory and sometimes a ring of chapels called a "chevet". While German churches are often similar to those of France, in Italy, the eastern projection beyond the transept is usually just a shallow apsidal chapel containing the sanctuary, as at Florence Cathedral.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: In England, which arm would generally show two distinct sections, choir and presbytery?
A: The eastern arm', '
Q: Who is a projecting Lady Chapel dedicated to?
A: the Virgin Mary', '
Q: What shape does the eastern end often exhibit in France?
A: polygonal', '
Q: What is the ring of chapels found in the eastern end of French chapels known as?
A: chevet', '
Q: In Italy, the eastern projection beyond the transept often contains what?
A: the sanctuary']
Contrary to the diffusionist theory, it appears that there was simultaneously a structural evolution towards the pointed arch, for the purpose of vaulting spaces of irregular plan, or to bring transverse vaults to the same height as diagonal vaults. This latter occurs at Durham Cathedral in the nave aisles in 1093. Pointed arches also occur extensively in Romanesque decorative blind arcading, where semi-circular arches overlap each other in a simple decorative pattern, and the points are accidental to the design.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: The use of the pointed arch for bringing transverse vaults to the same height diagonal ones, is in disagreement with what theory?
A: the diffusionist theory', '
Q: At which cathedral is the pointed arch used to match the heights of transverse and diagonal vaults?
A: Durham Cathedral', '
Q: In what type of decorative blind arcading are pointed arches common?
A: Romanesque', '
Q: When semicircular arches overlap each other, what type of design is accidentally created?
A: points']
The Gothic vault, unlike the semi-circular vault of Roman and Romanesque buildings, can be used to roof rectangular and irregularly shaped plans such as trapezoids. The other structural advantage is that the pointed arch channels the weight onto the bearing piers or columns at a steep angle. This enabled architects to raise vaults much higher than was possible in Romanesque architecture. While, structurally, use of the pointed arch gave a greater flexibility to architectural form, it also gave Gothic architecture a very different and more vertical visual character than Romanesque.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Which type of vault can be used for rectangular and trapezoidal shaped roofs?
A: The Gothic vault', '
Q: What structural benefit is offered by the Gothic vault?
A: channels the weight onto the bearing piers or columns at a steep angle', '
Q: What can architects raise much higher using the Gothic versus the Romanesque variety?
A: vaults', '
Q: What type of visual character is achieved by using the pointed arch?
A: more vertical visual character']
Externally, towers and spires are characteristic of Gothic churches both great and small, the number and positioning being one of the greatest variables in Gothic architecture. In Italy, the tower, if present, is almost always detached from the building, as at Florence Cathedral, and is often from an earlier structure. In France and Spain, two towers on the front is the norm. In England, Germany and Scandinavia this is often the arrangement, but an English cathedral may also be surmounted by an enormous tower at the crossing. Smaller churches usually have just one tower, but this may also be the case at larger buildings, such as Salisbury Cathedral or Ulm Minster, which has the tallest spire in the world, slightly exceeding that of Lincoln Cathedral, the tallest which was actually completed during the medieval period, at 160 metres (520 ft).

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What is one feature of both large and small Gothic churches?
A: towers', '
Q: What is another feature of both large and small Gothic churches?
A: spires', '
Q: How many towers are typical on the front of Gothic churches in France and Spain?
A: two towers', '
Q: In what country is the tower often found detached from the main building?
A: Italy', '
Q: How many towers are found at the Salisbury Chapel?
A: just one tower']
On the exterior, the verticality is emphasised in a major way by the towers and spires and in a lesser way by strongly projecting vertical buttresses, by narrow half-columns called attached shafts which often pass through several storeys of the building, by long narrow windows, vertical mouldings around doors and figurative sculpture which emphasises the vertical and is often attenuated. The roofline, gable ends, buttresses and other parts of the building are often terminated by small pinnacles, Milan Cathedral being an extreme example in the use of this form of decoration.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What enhances the vertical look of the exterior of Gothic construction? 
A: the towers and spires', '
Q: What is one design element of Gothic construction that is often terminated by small pinnacles?
A: The roofline', '
Q: What is another design element of Gothic construction that is often terminated by small pinnacles?
A: gable ends', '
Q: Which cathedral demonstrates a drastic example of termination with small pinnacles?
A: Milan Cathedral', '
Q: What other part of Gothic buildings are often found terminated with small pinnacles?
A: buttresses']
On the interior of the building attached shafts often sweep unbroken from floor to ceiling and meet the ribs of the vault, like a tall tree spreading into branches. The verticals are generally repeated in the treatment of the windows and wall surfaces. In many Gothic churches, particularly in France, and in the Perpendicular period of English Gothic architecture, the treatment of vertical elements in gallery and window tracery creates a strongly unifying feature that counteracts the horizontal divisions of the interior structure.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What is often found sweeping unbroken from floor to ceiling on the interior of Gothic buildings?
A: attached shafts', '
Q: Where are the verticals found repeated in the interior of Gothic buildings?
A: the treatment of the windows and wall surfaces', '
Q: What sort of feature is created by the use of vertical elements in gallery and window tracery?
A: a strongly unifying feature', '
Q: What does the use of vertical elements help to counteract?
A: horizontal divisions of the interior structure']
Expansive interior light has been a feature of Gothic cathedrals since the first structure was opened. The metaphysics of light in the Middle Ages led to clerical belief in its divinity and the importance of its display in holy settings. Much of this belief was based on the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius, a sixth-century mystic whose book, The Celestial Hierarchy, was popular among monks in France. Pseudo-Dionysius held that all light, even light reflected from metals or streamed through windows, was divine. To promote such faith, the abbot in charge of the Saint-Denis church on the north edge of Paris, the Abbot Suger, encouraged architects remodeling the building to make the interior as bright as possible.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: Who encouraged cathedral architects to allow as much light as possible into the building?
A: the Abbot Suger', '
Q: Who held the belief that all light, including light reflected from walls and surfaces was divine?
A: Pseudo-Dionysius', '
Q: What sort of light has always been characteristic of Gothic cathedrals?
A: Expansive interior light', '
Q: What book became popular with monks in France and had an effect on how light was used in cathedrals?
A: The Celestial Hierarchy', '
Q: Whose writings led to the clerical belief in the divinity of light?
A: Pseudo-Dionysius']
Above the main portal there is generally a large window, like that at York Minster, or a group of windows such as those at Ripon Cathedral. In France there is generally a rose window like that at Reims Cathedral. Rose windows are also often found in the façades of churches of Spain and Italy, but are rarer elsewhere and are not found on the façades of any English Cathedrals. The gable is usually richly decorated with arcading or sculpture or, in the case of Italy, may be decorated with the rest of the façade, with polychrome marble and mosaic, as at Orvieto Cathedral.

Questions and answers:
['
Q: What size of window is found above the main portal at York Minster?
A: a large window', '
Q: What type of window is often found above the main portal at cathedrals in France such as the Reims Cathedral?
A: a rose window', '
Q: Where are rose windows never found in the facades of cathedrals?
A: any English Cathedrals', '
Q: What portion of Gothic buildings are usually richly decorated with arcading or sculpture?
A: The gable', '
Q: Which Italian cathedral displays polychrome marble and mosaic on the gable?
A: Orvieto Cathedral']