Vault Structure
- Left: Saint-Sernin, Toulouse
- Right: Amiens Cathedral
Saint-Sernin, Toulouse: Barrel vaults with transverse arches over the central vessel.
Quadrant vaults
over galleries.
Groin vaults over
side aisles. Material is a local brick alternating with courses of limestone. Windows and portals are framed
with limestone. Shafts and decorative details are cut limestone. The heavy ribbed vault of the Romanesque
building are made possible by thick walls, heavy
cruciform piers, and
few windows.
Amiens Cathedral: Quadripartite ribbed vaults throughout.
Star vault over
crossing combining
diagonal ribs, transverse
ribs with
liernes and
tierceron.
From prefabricated limestone (result of the use of drawings, division of labor, and the more
economic structure of workshops). Ribbed vaults are structurally more efficient than a barrel vault that evenly
distributes the weight and thrust along the wall. A ribbed vault directs
thrust to specific points in the
masonry--where the ribs meet the wall at the clerestory level. These in turn are supported by the use of flying
buttresses visible on the outside of the building.
Comparisons
Sant' Ambrogio, Milan
Italian Romanesque
Saint Philibert, Tournus
French Romanesque
St. Etienne, Caen
French Romanesque
St. Etienne, Caen
French Romanesque
Abbey of St. Denis
French Early Gothic
Westminster Abbey, London, Henery VII Chapel
English Perpendicular
