Editing Flying buttress (section)

{{Short description|Form of buttress}}
[[Image:Lübeck Marienkirche Strebebögen.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Arching above a [[Aisle#Church architecture|side aisle]] roof, flying buttresses support the main [[vault (architecture)|vault]] of [[St. Mary's Church, Lübeck|St. Mary's Church]], in Lübeck, Germany.]]

The '''flying buttress''' ('''''arc-boutant''''', '''arch buttress''') is a specific form of [[buttress]] composed of a [[ramping arch]] that extends from the upper portion of a wall to a pier of great mass, in order to convey to the ground the lateral forces that push a wall outwards, which are forces that arise from [[Vault (architecture)|vaulted]] ceilings of stone and from wind-loading on roofs.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Architecture |editor-first=James Stevens |editor-last=Curls |year=1999 |location=Oxford |pages=113–114 }}</ref>

The namesake and defining feature of a flying buttress is that it is not in contact with the wall at ground level, unlike a traditional buttress, and transmits the lateral forces across the span of intervening space between the wall and the pier. To provide lateral support, flying-buttress systems are composed of two parts: (i) a massive [[pier (architecture)|pier]], a vertical block of masonry situated away from the building wall, and (ii) an [[arch]] that bridges the span between the pier and the wall – either a segmental arch or a quadrant arch – the ''flyer'' of the flying buttress.<ref>For the functional mechanics of the flying buttresses, see {{cite journal |title=Chartres Cathedral: A Reinterpretation of its Structure |first1=Alan |last1=Borg |first2=Robert |last2=Mark |journal=[[The Art Bulletin]] |volume=55 |issue=3 |year=1973 |pages=367–372 |doi= 10.1080/00043079.1973.10790710}}</ref>