Until the 1140s, the weight and outward thrust of large stone roofs were supported by massive, thick walls. The disadvantage of this system, called Romanesque, was that it severely limited the size of windows, and consequently restricted the amount of sunlight that was able to reach the interior of buildings. Beginning in the 1140s, visionaries like Abbot Suger of St. Denis in Paris performed a series of experiments that resulted in the invention of "flying buttresses": giant diagonal exterior braces attached to exterior columns, which allowed unlimited glass windows in the spaces between the columns. This is one of the characteristics of Gothic architecture. By 1195 magnificent stained glass windows such as those at Chartres Cathedral were finally made possible.
1. Which of the following accurately describe the development of flying buttresses? Check all that apply
A) Abbot Suger's hypothesis was a verifiable solution to the problem of supporting large walls.
B) The Romanesque building system was better because it predated the Gothic building system.
C) There is little difference between Gothic and Romanesque building systems, as they both achieve roughly the same results.
D) The search for a way to allow more light to be admitted into buildings in the mid-1100s led to the invention of the flying buttress, which revolutionized construction techniques.
E) Abbot Suger developed his hypothesis as a tentative solution to an architectural challenge.