Take a look at the 1^st Gothic cathedral constructed, like the Cathedral of St Denis (ile de France)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_St_Denis

 

The dark Romanesque nave, with its thick walls and small window-openings, was rebuilt using the very latest techniques, in what is now known as Rayonnant Gothic. This new style, which differed from Suger's earlier works as much as they had differed from their Romanesque precursors, reduced the wall area to an absolute minimum. Solid masonry was replaced with vast window openings filled with brilliant stained glass (all destroyed in the Revolution) and interrupted only by the most slender of bar tracery

 

The light of the cathedral is very impressive, that was the new achievement of that time. So now we can clearly see that what we call middle ages are not the dark times of “stand still” we hold them for. No, I think it was a sparkling time, but we must clearly distinguish “ordinary” people, that were struggling to survive and the elite, that were occupied with “cultural” life. All we know of true people from these days are elite, related to church or kingdom. Nothing of the dwellings people lives in still stands, we only see the powerful structures of Churches and Castles. And these only survived by chance. I only recall this because it should make us modest, we look back into old times and we should be grateful of what we can distinguish still. And we should appreciate more of what is left, of what our ancestors left us!