The term 'Gothic' as applied to architecture is by no means well defined in the early 20th century, and there were a variety of theories concerning its emergence from Romanesque buildings and the reasons for this radical shift in style. This paper reviews these competing theories of the definition of 'Gothic' and the way in which this style developed, presenting a clear and erudite overview of the difficulties involved in assigning a single name to a developing, varied, and dynamic form of human expression. This is of interest not only to students of Gothic architecture, but also to illustrate the myriad difficulties in assigning such labels to any one building or work of art and to expose the problems that arise when 'pidgeonholing' art into discrete categories that may not reflect the reality of the artistic process.