history of the vaults (5 de 5) Print E-mail

[...] Gradually, the heavy Romanesque vault, decorated with the intersection of diagonal ribs, started to discover the possibilities offered by its diagonal arches. As in the East, the European constructors realized that these arches could be used to build the vault without having to erect a centering for the whole of the vault, by using expensive wooden planks; just holding the diagonal arches would be enough. Once the vault is divided in four parts, a not very thick shell of stonemasonry could be built amid the arches without using a centering.

From that moment on, vaults were a lot more economical and could be built more rapidly; along the following centuries, this vault would not cease its evolution and attained bigger spans with less thickness. With this new vault, Gothic style had already fulfilled one of the biggest goals in the history of construction.

Catedral de Ely Saint Étienne, Beauvais