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Medieval Europe (9th - 15th Century)

© Shefali Kumar

Beginning with the legacy of the Roman construction, medieval masons soon developed their own distinctive style.  The driving force in medieval construction (especially 11th Century onwards, in the Gothic period) was to get more and more light into the interiors of the cathedrals.  This was the key in the development of the critical structural forms which delineated medieval architecture, these forms being:

• The Gothic or Pointed Arch
• The Ribbed Vault
• The Flying Buttress

The Gothic or Pointed Arch: has been found to be a more efficient form than the conventional round arch.  The pointed arch is essentially the shape of an inverted catenary. 

A catenary is the curve formed by a uniform cable or chain when it is suspended by its endpoints under its own weight.  (See Figure 1)   The catenary was inverted and modified.  The pointed arch is formed by the intersection of two circles meeting at a point - resulting in a shape closely resembling the inverted catenary.  (See Figure 1).

The Ribbed Vault: is formed using pointed arches.  When two circular vaults intersect, a groin vault is created. The same groin vault was modified using "ribs".  Ribs were pointed arches arranged to form a skeleton over which the vaulting could be done.  The weight of the vaults is evenly distributed to the arched ribs instead of the walls.  Hence the entire weight of the vault was now concentrated at a few points - that is, at the end of the arches.  So pillars were made, corresponding to these stress points, to support the weight of the vault.  These pillars were further strengthened by either monumental sculpture, a second story above them or by buttresses.

• To see a simplified view of the ribbed vault as compared to the groin vault, click here.
• For the actual construction of the vault, click here.

The Buttress: Due to the outward thrust generated by the ribs, additional support was usually needed at the pillars to prevent them from "falling out".  The buttress was usually a pillar, pilaster or masonry projecting beyond the wall surface, supporting this outward thrust of the vault.  The Flying Buttress uses the arch to transfer this thrust to a point away from the wall or pillar. (See Figure 2)  This resulted in the generation of useable interior space, with the buttress "flying over" the aisle.  Pinnacles were often added to stabilize the buttress itself.

Figure 1: The Catenary

Figure 2

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