The Construction of Gothic Cathedrals: A Study of Medieval Vault ErectionJohn Fitchen systematically treats the process of erecting the great edifices of the Gothic era. He explains the building equipment and falsework needed, the actual operations undertaken, and the sequence of these operations as specifically as they can be deduced today. Since there are no contemporary accounts of the techniques used by medieval builders, Fitchen's study brilliantly pieces together clues from manuscript illuminations, from pictorial representations, and from the fabrics of the building themselves. "Anyone who has caught the fascination of Gothic Churches (and once caught, has almost necessarily got it in the blood) will find this book enthralling. . . . Clearly written and beautifully illustrated." —A. D. R. Caroe, Annual Review, Central Council for the Care of Churches "Fitchen's study is a tribute to the extraordinary creative and engineering skills of successive generations of mediaeval builders. . . . This study enables us to appreciate more fully the technical expertise and improvements which enabled the creative spirit of the day to find such splendid embodiment." —James Lingwood, Oxford Art Journal "Fitchen, in what can only be defined as an architectural detective story, fully explores the problems confronting the medieval vault erectors and uncovers their solution. . . . This is a book that no serious student of architecture will want to miss." —Progressive Architecture |
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Contents
SOURCES OF INFORMATION | 1 |
CONSTRUCTIONAL MEANS | 11 |
MEDIEVAL TYPES OF VAULTING | 42 |
GOTHIC FORMWORK | 86 |
GOTHIC CENTERING | 123 |
ERECTION OF RIB VAULTING WITHOUT FORMWORK | 176 |
NOTES AND COMMENTS | 197 |
APPENDIXES | 241 |
ing They Reveal | 248 |
APPENDIXES com | 254 |
Encountered | 301 |
GLOSSARY | 307 |
| 317 | |
| 337 | |
Other editions - View all
The Construction of Gothic Cathedrals: A Study of Medieval Vault Erection John Fitchen No preview available - 1997 |
Common terms and phrases
abutment actual angle appear arch Architecture assemblage barrel vault beams blocks builders building built Cathedral centering frames century church clerestory completed considerable construction continuous courses crown curve decentering detail direction drawings early employed erection evidence example falsework feet flying buttresses followed formwork French given Gothic Gothic vaults groin groin vault heavy horizontal illustrated inches indicated joints lagging lagging units lateral less light load lower masonry masons materials means medieval mortar nave needed operation pair planks plate platform poles portion position possible practice prevent problems reason ribbed vault roof says scaffolding scheme secured seen separate shape shown shows side side aisles simple single span spring square stone structure struts surfaces thick throughout thrust timber tion transverse units upper vault vertical Vide voussoirs wall wedges weight window
Popular passages
Page 322 - Diagrams. 2s. 6d.t 44. FOUNDATIONS AND CONCRETE WORKS, a Rudimentary Treatise on ; containing a Synopsis...
Page 335 - TRACTS ON VAULTS AND BRIDGES; CONTAINING OBSERVATIONS ON THE VARIOUS FORMS OF VAULTS, ON THE TAKING DOWN AND REBUILDING LONDON BRIDGE; And ON THE PRINCIPLES OF ARCHES: Illustrated by extensive Tables of Bridges. Also, containing the PRINCIPLES OF...
Page 321 - A BOOK ON BUILDING, Civil and Ecclesiastical, including CHURCH RESTORATION. With the Theory of Domes and the Great Pyramid, &c. By Sir EDMUND BECKETT, Bart., LL.D., QC, FRAS 4s.
Page 320 - CE 45. 6d.t 216. MATERIALS AND CONSTRUCTION; A Theoretical and Practical Treatise on the Strains, Designing, and Erection of Works of Construction.
Page 317 - TRANSACTIONS of the Society instituted at London for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, with the Premiums offered in the year 1783.
Bibliographic information
| Title | The Construction of Gothic Cathedrals: A Study of Medieval Vault Erection Art: Architecture Phoenix book |
| Author | John Fitchen |
| Edition | illustrated, reprint, annotated |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press, 1981 |
| ISBN | 0226252035, 9780226252032 |
| Length | 344 pages |
| Subjects | › › Architecture / Buildings / Religious Architecture / General Architecture / History / General History / Europe / Medieval |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |