Where does the term "gothic" come from?
There is a lot of justified confusion about this term. It originally
referred to some of the German tribes that would ultimately
participate in the sacking of Rome. The term "gothic" became a synonym
for uncivilised and barbaric. (The term "vandal" also comes from a
German tribe name.)
In the Middle Ages, large and ominous cathedrals were built in the Ogive style. Baroque historians would later refer to the style as "gothic" to indicate that they found it unrefined and tasteless. However, the joke never got off the ground. Instead of changing popular perception of the architecture, they succeeded only in changing the popular definition of the word. People assumed "gothic" meant "dark and ominous" because that's what the Ogive style evokes. Next, we arrive at the macabre and mysterious literature of the late 19th century (Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and Bram Stoker's Dracula, for example). The term "gothic" was extended to it because of the ominous imagery associated with the churches. This expanded its meaning further to include the macabre. When a number of punk bands in the late 1970s and early 1980s began taking a more stark, somber, and ethereal direction, the British music press extended the term to the music, again, because of the associaton with the architecture and the literature. Finally, the term was applied to the people who listened to the music - not because of any properties they had, but just out of association. Whatever it's worth, this is the term we're stuck with. |