The flying buttress was an essential feature of High Gothic architecture; the great height and large upper windows would have been impossible without them.
Buttresses with arches apart from the walls had existed in earlier periods, but they were generally small, close to the walls, and were often hidden by the outer architecture.
In High Gothic, the buttresses were nearly as tall as the building itself.
massive, and meant to be seen; they were decorated with pinnacles and sculpture.

Flying buttresses had been used to support the upper windows of the apse in the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, completed in 1063 and then at Notre Dame de Paris.
They were then used in a more ambitious way to support the upper walls of Chartres Cathedral.
The first flying buttresses of Chartres were built atop the wall abutments of the nave and choir of the earlier cathedral.
They had a double arch reinforced with small columns like the spokes of a wheel.
Each small column, with its base and capital, was carved from a single block of stone, Each arch had a sort of stone pyramid on top to add extra weight.
Later a second set of arches was added to the nave and choir above the spoked arches, which reached longer and added greater strength.

Similar buttresses were added to each of the High Gothic Cathedrals.
The buttresses of each Cathedral were unique, and had its own distinct form and decoration.
The buttresses of Beauvais Cathedral, the last and tallest High Gothic Cathedral, are so high and numerous that they practically hide the Cathedral.
The flying buttress was an essential feature of High Gothic architecture; the great height and large upper windows would have been impossible without them. Buttresses with arches apart from the walls had existed in earlier periods, but they were generally small, close to the walls, and were often hidden by the outer architecture. In High Gothic, the buttresses were nearly as tall as the building itself. massive, and meant to be seen; they were decorated with pinnacles and sculpture. 
Flying buttresses had been used to support the upper windows of the apse in the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, completed in 1063 and then at Notre Dame de Paris. They were then used in a more ambitious way to support the upper walls of Chartres Cathedral. The first flying buttresses of Chartres were built atop the wall abutments of the nave and choir of the earlier cathedral. They had a double arch reinforced with small columns like the spokes of a wheel. Each small column, with its base and capital, was carved from a single block of stone, Each arch had a sort of stone pyramid on top to add extra weight. Later a second set of arches was added to the nave and choir above the spoked arches, which reached longer and added greater strength. 
Similar buttresses were added to each of the High Gothic Cathedrals. The buttresses of each Cathedral were unique, and had its own distinct form and decoration. The buttresses of Beauvais Cathedral, the last and tallest High Gothic Cathedral, are so high and numerous that they practically hide the Cathedral.
High Gothic