The Importance of the Ribbed Vault in Gothic Architecture

Proceedings of the First International Congress on Construction History Madrid 20th 24th January 2003 Vol 1 2003 Isbn 84 9728 071 7 Pags 657 664, 2003

2014

During the 14 th and 15 th centuries, the challenge of creating vaulted ceilings lead to ever more complex solutions in late Gothic architecture. These ambitious, astonishing and sometimes daring constructions rank amongst the finest masterpieces of architecture-extremely demanding from the structural point of view and particularly challenging in their geometric design. Their builders managed to overcome the difficulties of planning the complicated meshes of ribs soaring along spatial curves, providing instructions for the production of their single components and their assembly on the building site, and achieving a curved vault surface which corresponds to the equilibrium condition of shell structures.

The study of ribbed vaults in 12 th-century churches is of great interest and novelty due to certain architectural solutions that took shape in the middle decades of the century, reaching full maturity towards the end of it. Romanesque architecture in NorthWest Italy is characterised by the use of the rib vault introduced into some important monastic sites, where architectural choices made during the century were completed 1. A highly innovative element of 11 th century architecture was the use of arches extending out from the intrados of the vaults, initially limited to the perimeter of the ribs and to longitudinal and transversal elements. The first diagonal ribs began to appear towards the second half of the century. They had a rectangular section and completed the supporting structure of the panels 2 : the torus section developed at the end of the century, linked largely to the improve of monastic sites. There was a long debate regarding the effective structural function of ribbing which innovated the medieval construction techniques, and even today, despite advances in research, it isn't easy to find a univocal answer. It seems clear that ribs help support the vaults, guaranteeing better static involvement of the piers, but some collapses have proven that they are not sufficient to maintain the vault's stability. In some cases, the diagonal rib has detached itself without causing the vault to fall. The debate opened by Artur Kingsley Porter with a series of studies (from 1911) and taken up by Pol Abraham 3 analysed certain destructions of French cathedrals during the First World War, shedding doubt on the first interpretations supplied by Viollet le Duc 4. The poor static contribution made by ribbing seems to have been confirmed, while ribs played a central role in the complex construction phases. The mesh created by the diagonal ribbing helps support the vaults, acting as a sort of permanent centring. Their creation allowed a " chain " construction sequence, where the craftsmen removed the supports of one span and worked on the next one, while the vaults were complete in the first one using lighter wooden supports, hung from the ribbing 5. Diagonal arches also took on the role of joint covers, regulating the frequent deformations of the vaults. The study investigates an extensive area which, between the 11 th and 12 th centuries, was split between the archdiocese of Vercelli, with the dioceses of Novara, Turin, Acqui and Asti (fig.1). Romanesque architecture in NorthWest Italy was mainly characterized by the use of ribbed vaults, with diagonally reinforced arches used in some important monastic sites where the architectural choices became more specific and accomplished. The diocese of Vercelli seems to be the area where rib vaults were developed; some examples are the church of San Bernardo in Vercelli and the solutions implemented in the Badia of Dulzago and partly in San Nazzaro Sesia. Novarese architecture underwent a considerable period of experimentation during the first quarter of the 12 th century: Novara cathedral, consecrated in 1132 (and destroyed in the middle of the 19 th century), is the most evident and relevant example of pillars with diagonal lesenes, an alternate system of support, and ribbed vaults with diagonally reinforced arches. Similar solutions were also adopted in Vercelli cathedral, which also no longer exists. To trace the technical and architectural changes in rib vaulting, it was necessary to investigate the main Cistercian sites opened during the 12 th century: in particular those located in Lucedio, Tiglieto, Staffarda and Casanova, and in Rivalta Scrivia, and also Canonical of Vezzolano, where the first forms of experimentation of ribbed vaults, especially in the sections and laying of ribs, reached full maturity.

En 5ICCH proceedings, Vol. II : 533-540. ISBN: 978-1-329-15031-7.

Sexpartite vaults constitute one of the most interesting chapters in European Gothic architecture. Originally, the use of the square cross-ribbed vault was limited to relatively small spaces, but when the need arose to cover spaces of considerable size, a new vault with very peculiar characteristics appeared. This new vault was a cross-ribbed vault that was reinforced in the centre by a rib that was parallel to the transverse ribs which effectively divided the vault in half. This configuration breaks the side arch into two fragments, creating a pair of windows on each side. The volumetrics of these vaults is extremely complex and the difficulties involved in their construction perhaps explain why they were abandoned in favour of the simple cross ribbed vault, now with rectangular sections. The existence of the sexpartite vault barely lasted more than fifty years, from the end of the XII century and the beginning of the XIII. Towards the end of the 19th century Viollet-le-Duc gave a succinct explanation of this type of vault. A. Choisy also, later, devotes some pages to the French sexpartite vault; since then, the subject has only been broached in a few references in later studies on Gothic architecture. However , despite its short period of existence, the sexpartite vault spread throughout Europe and was used to build important vaulting. Viollet-le-Duc's sexpartite vault could be considered to be the prototype of them all, while it is true that the studies that we have conducted so far lead us to affirm that there is a wide variety of vaults, with different volumetric spaces and different construction strategies. Therefore, we believe that this chapter of international Gothic deserves further study applying the knowledge and resources that are available today. This paper has been written to explore the most significant European sexpartite vaults. New measurement technology has led to a revolution in research into the history of construction, allowing studies to be conducted that were hitherto impossible. Thorough data collection using total station and photogrammetry has enabled us to identify the stereotomy of the voussoirs, tas-de-charges and keystones, as well as the bonding of the surfaces of the severies. A comparison of the construction techniques employed in the different vaults studied reveals common construction features and aspects that are specific to each country. Thus we are able to establish the relationship between sexpartite vaults in different European countries and their influence on each other.

The ribbed vault is considered one of the four elements characterizing Gothic architecture. However, due to its constructive advantages, its success overtook the Middle Ages. Ribbed vaults were still built throughout Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries, when Gothic had already been replaced by Renaissance principles coming from Italy. For centuries, these Late Gothic vaults have been considered a decadent anachronism even by the staunchest defenders of the Gothic style. However, current research on Late Gothic vaults has revalued this rich heritage, showing that these vaults don't respond to an unnecessary complexity or to a mere stylistic mannerism , but to a deep understanding of Gothic construction system. The Late Gothic vault is now considered as part of an evolution, usually offering design or material advantages or expressing the mastery of a system. There is a huge Late Gothic vaults heritage in Europe and some interesting conclusions on this constructive element have already been achieved: stylistic and construction relationships between different countries have been identified, offering evidences of a knowledge transfer beyond a mere copy of patterns. Unfortunately, much of this rich heritage still remains unknown. Researches on these vaults are based on the analysis of particular examples, which doesn't allow tackling the problem as a whole. We cannot answer with confidence seemingly simple questions such as: How many Late Gothic vaults are there? How many vaults with a diamond design are there? Or where did curved rib first appear? We don't even know whether these questions are worth to be answered. This paper aims to present a work in progress that the authors are carrying out at the UPM School of Architecture of Madrid: to lay the foundations for a catalog of Late Gothic vaults, which is not based on formal or stylistic criteria but arises from a reflection on the constructive features of these vaults, from the point of view of Construction History. The catalog would allow tackling future research on this subject with confidence. This work is part of the research project «Spanish late Gothic vaults construction in the European context. Innovation and knowledge transfer», funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy (BIA2013-46896-P).

Nuts and Bolts of Construction History. Culture, Technology and Society, 2012

The arrival of European master masons to Burgos and Toledo during the mid-fifteenth century was essential for the promotion of the late Gothic ribbed vault design techniques in Spain. The Antigua Chapel in Seville Cathedral, designed by the Spanish master mason Simón de Colonia on 1497, provides an outstanding case study on this subject. This vault is characterized by the interlacing of the ribs near the springing, reflecting the influence of German ribbed vault designs. This paper analyses the relationship between German ribbed vaults and their design methods with those of Spanish ribbed vaults; with particular attention to the presence of ribs that cut through one another above the springing, materialized in the work of Simón de Colonia. This characteristic is reflected in some manuscripts in the German area, like the Wiener Sammlungen (15th-16th centuries) and the Codex Miniatus 3 (ca. 1560-1570), but no Spanish documents of the same period make reference to it.

Aborda los principios geométricos que permiten el diseño en planta de la bóveda de crucería española y se extiende en las tipologías volumétricas de las mismas bajo principios de estandarización y eficacia constructiva. Firsth International Congress on Construction Histoy. Madrid. 2003. Vol III, pags. 1547-58.ISBN. 84-9738-070-9

Nexus Network Journal, 2020

The evolution process of Gothic construction techniques towards the Renaissance implied a remarkable change in the design of ribbed vaults. The advance from pointed designs towards curved forms gave rise to the appearance of models with multiplied ribs. This meant a great variety and diversity of forms and the incorporation of curved ribs. The Manuscript Ms. 12686 of the National Library of Spain, the oldest of the Hispanic stonecutting texts, contains a drawing of a starry ribbed vault with eight loops. This tracing stands out for its marked practical nature, contrary to the theoretical models of greater simplicity included in other contemporary and later treatises. The main research core of this work is the geometric analysis about the design process of this tracing and its constructive application in similar vaults built in Spain during the sixteenth century.

… of the 2nd International Congress on …, 2004

Gothic church architecture is characterised by the vaulting systems' dynamic equilibrium in the transverse section, which then guarantees the construction design and safety of bays and their repetition along the main axis of a church. French Gothic is considered as the classic expression of the achievements of the period in Europe but in England, the Early English period (1175-1265) marks the experimentation towards a more national style, where horizontality and verticality are more balanced, resulting in a less ambitious scale of the nave. The technology and role of vaulting systems linked to the advances of the period are reviewed in this work.

Abstract. A Bombay High Court Judgement of 1934 provides surprising leads to decipher the key of Indus Script seals and inscriptions. One unique feature of the writing system is to join parts to create images. The word for such 'joining of parts' is ज ां गड jāṅgaḍa. The word also has a similar sounding word with the semantics of 'ज ां गड jāṅgaḍa invoice on entrustment basis'. Unicorn and Standard device which occur on over 2000 seals of Indus Script are joined parts, namely: 1. young bull + double-sack on shoulder + spiny, forward-thrusting horn'; 2. lathe + churning container. Reading these joined parts results in the determination of form and function of the writing system.