A vault in which diagonal arched ribs carry the structural load and support a thinner infill web between them, concentrating weight at discrete points rather than along continuous walls. Refined in Norman and northern French building at the end of the Romanesque period, the rib vault let builders raise thinner walls and open them with the large traceried windows that define Gothic cathedral architecture.
Facts
Element Kind First Used EraAncient Roman builders used the first rib vaults in the second century AD; the earliest surviving example in Islamic architecture, at the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba, predates the earliest Romanesque examples by about a century, with the form developed further through the eleventh and twelfth century Romanesque to Gothic transition in Europe. 3 Era
Era (category)Post-Classical / Medieval 1 Connections
Associated With
The rib vault and the flying buttress are the paired structural solutions that define Gothic cathedral construction.
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Rib Vault (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Rib Vault (Wikipedia)
Seen In
The nave and choir of Notre-Dame de Paris are covered by quadripartite rib vaults.
Source Wikipedia
Additional Source Notre-Dame de Paris (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Era Of Origin
Also in History Atlas: the era this subject comes from.
Sources
1. Rib vault (Medieval Heritage dictionary)
Origin and dating entryQuote, Origin and dating entry
The rib vault appeared at the end of the 11th century in early gothic buildings,
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia: Rib vault, history sectionQuote, Wikipedia: Rib vault, history section
The Romans used an early version of the rib vault to strengthen groin vaults.
3. Rib Vault (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia: Rib vault, Early history section
The first rib vaults were built by the ancient Romans in the 2nd century AD.
Wikipedia: Rib vault
A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs.
English Wikipedia, Rib vault, lead section, first sentence
A rib vault or ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs.
- In Category: Elements and Materials
- Associated With: Gothic Architecture
- Associated With: Flying Buttress
View the Source Notre-Dame de Paris (Wikipedia)
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