flying buttresses
Gothic arch braces
Flying buttresses are arched supports that transfer the weight and outward thrust of a roof or vault to an outer pier, allowing walls to be thinner and filled with windows.
The term comes from their appearance—stone arches that seem to fly through the air between wall and pier.
They enabled the soaring, light-filled interiors of Gothic cathedrals: The flying buttresses of Notre-Dame are among its most recognizable features.
Of the Middle Ages
- pointed archesSpans peaking at apex
- stained glassColored window art
- gargoylesDecorative architectural waterspouts
- traceryDecorative branching stonework
spires · pinnacles · clerestory · rose window · lancet · Notre-Dame · Chartres · Reims
Weight-bearing curved spans
- piersWaterside mooring platforms
- pinnaclesHighest or culminating points
- naveChurch's main interior
- apseVaulted church recess
aisle · clerestory · transept · chancel · ambulatory · choir · vault · exterior
Solid earth fragment
- limestoneCarbonate sedimentary rock
- carvedCut to create form
- quarriedExtracted from open pit
- blocksObstructs or sections
joints · mortar · weathering · restoration · sculptural · ornamental · decorated · craftsmanship
Sustaining structural mass
- structuralRelating to building framework
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- stabilityResistance to displacement
- bracingRefreshingly keen or stimulating
supports · tension · compression · thrust · counterweight · lateral · forces · distribution
medieval
Of the Middle Ages
- pointed archesSpans peaking at apex
- stained glassColored window art
- gargoylesDecorative architectural waterspouts
tracery · spires · pinnacles · clerestory · rose window · lancet · Notre-Dame · Chartres · Reims · Amiens
arches
Weight-bearing curved spans
apse · aisle · clerestory · transept · chancel · ambulatory · choir · vault · exterior · wall
stone
Solid earth fragment
blocks · joints · mortar · weathering · restoration · sculptural · ornamental · decorated · craftsmanship · stonemasons
load-bearing
Sustaining structural mass
- structuralRelating to building framework
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- stabilityResistance to displacement
bracing · supports · tension · compression · thrust · counterweight · lateral · forces · distribution · cantilever
- medievalknights, castles, cathedral, kings, queens
- building partsfacades, wall, door, windows, floor
- ancient constructionpyramids, arches, aqueducts, masonry, stonework
- cathedralsnave, apse, transept, spire, altar
- church architecturealtar, altars, nave, naves, aisle
- Gothic Architecturepointed arches, pointed arch, rose window, gargoyles, gargoyle
flying, flies, buttress, buttressed, buttressing, flying buttress