The original Goths were a Germanic tribe who played an important role in the fall of the western Roman Empire. The name "goth" later became pejorative: synonymous with "barbarian" and being uncultured (a similar fate befell the name of another such tribe, the Vandals). During the Renaissance period in Europe, medieval architecture was retrospectively labelled gothic architecture, and was considered ugly and barbaric in contrast to the pure lines of classical architecture. In the United Kingdom, by the late 1700s... nostalgia for the medieval period destroyed by the Reformation led people to become fascinated with medieval gothic ruins. This sometimes went to the extent of building fake ruins. This fascination was often combined with an interest in medieval romances, Roman Catholic religion, and the supernatural.