Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Flying buttress
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
== History == [[Image:Aside 00348.JPG|thumb|right|The 4th-century [[Arch of Galerius and Rotunda|Rotunda of Galerius]] in [[Thessaloniki]], Greece, showing an early example of flying buttresses|299x299px]] As a lateral-support system, the flying buttress was developed during [[late antiquity]] and later flourished during the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic period]] (12th–16th c.) of architecture. Ancient examples of the flying buttress can be found on the [[Basilica of San Vitale]] in Ravenna and on the [[Arch of Galerius and Rotunda|Rotunda of Galerius]] in Thessaloniki. The architectural-element precursors of the medieval flying buttress derive from [[Byzantine architecture]] and [[Romanesque architecture]], in the design of churches, such as [[Durham Cathedral]], where arches transmit the lateral thrust of the stone vault over the aisles; the arches were hidden under the gallery roof, and transmitted the lateral forces to the massive, outer walls. By the decade of 1160, architects in the [[Île-de-France]] region employed similar lateral-support systems that featured longer arches of finer design, which run from the outer surface of the clerestory wall, over the roof of the side aisles (hence the visibility from the outside) to meet a heavy, vertical buttress rising above the top of the outer wall.<ref>{{Cite journal |first=John |last=James |title=Evidence for flying buttresses before 1180 |journal=[[Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians|J. Soc. Archit. Hist.]] |volume=51 |issue=3 |date=September 1992 |pages=261–287 |doi=10.2307/990687 |jstor=990687 }}</ref> The flying buttresses of [[Notre Dame de Paris]], constructed in 1180, were among the earliest to be used in a Gothic cathedral. Flying buttresses were also used at about the same time to support the upper walls of the apse at the [[Saint-Germain-des-Prés (abbey)|Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés]], completed in 1163.<ref>Watkin, David, "A History of Western Architecture" (1986), page 130</ref> [[Image:VillardButtressReims.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Flying buttress of [[Reims Cathedral]], as drawn by [[Villard de Honnecourt]]]] The advantage of such lateral-support systems is that the outer walls do not have to be massive and heavy in order to resist the lateral-force thrusts of the vault. Instead, the wall surface could be reduced (allowing for larger windows, often glazed with stained glass) because the vertical mass is concentrated onto external buttresses. The design of early flying buttresses tended to be heavier than required for the static loads to be borne, e.g. at [[Chartres Cathedral]] (ca. 1210), and around the [[apse]] of the [[Saint Remi Basilica]], which is an extant, early example in its original form (ca. 1170).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Prache |first=Anne |title=Les Arcs - boutants au XIIe siècle |journal=[[Gesta (journal)|Gesta]] |volume=15 |issue=1 |year=1976 |pages=31–42 |doi=10.2307/766749 |jstor=766749 |s2cid=193417526 }}</ref> Later architects progressively refined the design of the flying buttress, and narrowed the flyers, some of which were constructed with one thickness of [[voussoir]] (wedge brick) with a capping stone atop, e.g. at [[Amiens Cathedral]], [[Le Mans Cathedral]], and [[Beauvais Cathedral]]. The architectural design of Late Gothic buildings featured flying buttresses, some of which included flyers decorated with [[crocket]]s (hooked decorations) and sculpted figures set in [[aedicula#Gothic aediculae|aedicules]] (niches) recessed into the buttresses. The architecture of the Renaissance eschewed the lateral support of the flying buttress in favour of thick-wall construction. Despite its disuse for function and style in construction and architecture, in the early 20th century, the flying-buttress design was revived by Canadian engineer [[William P. Anderson]] to build [[lighthouse]]s.<ref>{{cite rowlett|buttressed}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)