The word "gothic" (after the name of the barbarian tribes of the Goths) was introduced in the middle of the 16th century by the Italian Giorgio Vasari as a term of abuse.
He formulated this word to designate all pieces of Art of the Middle Ages which did not correspond to the rules of the "Golden Ages" of the Antiquity.
Even if this assessment is no longer shared since more than 200 years, it has given its name to the style and the epoch of Art of the late Middle Ages.
On June 11th of the year 1144 the abbot Sugerius of St Denis initiates solemnly the new choir of his renovated minster.
He has used architectural elements which were already known and improved elsewhere; he adds furthermore big colored stoned glass windows and a portal provided with sculptures.
Therefore he carries a new style to its baptism which was called opus francigenum (the french style of building) during 400 years, before it was provided with the term of abuse:
