Since the late 19th century, scholarship on 13th- and 14th-century Spanish architecture has largely depended on formal analysis and systems of cataloguing. From this have emerged fundamental studies of cathedrals, including those of Burgos, León and Toledo, of monasteries such as Las Huelgas in Burgos, or of parish churches such as Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona. But what are the premises of such approaches? As interest in gothic architecture wanes amongst early 21st-century art historians, some of Spain’s most significant buildings still lack basic analysis. And yet perhaps the biggest problem is not the absence of studies but their methods, mediated by contemporary contexts.