rib-vaulting

The builders had used rib-vaulting and pointed arches in combination here, and Jack saw in a flash that the two techniques went together perfectly: the grace of the pointed arch was accentuated by the ribs that followed its line.

The Pillars of the Earth FOLLETT, Ken 1989

But most interesting of all was the discovery that both rib-vaulting and pointed arches featured in Muslim architecture.

The Pillars of the Earth FOLLETT, Ken 1989

Pointed arches and rib-vaulting had been combined here, as they had in the narthex, but it was now clear that the narthex had been a cautious trial for the new technology.

The Pillars of the Earth FOLLETT, Ken 1989

It seemed the builders were using both of the new techniques, rib-vaulting and pointed arches, and the combination was rather striking.

The Pillars of the Earth FOLLETT, Ken 1989

The principle of rib-vaulting was that a ceiling was made of a few strong ribs, with the gaps between the ribs filled in with light material.

The Pillars of the Earth FOLLETT, Ken 1989

They stopped at a tiny village called Lessay, and there Aliena met a monk who vividly remembered a young English mason who had been fascinated by the revolutionary new rib-vaulting in the abbey church.

The Pillars of the Earth FOLLETT, Ken 1989

There are no nervures -- no rib-vaulting, -- and hardly a suggestion of the Gothic as one sees it in the splendid crypt of the Gros Fillers close at hand, except the elaborately intersecting vaults and the heavy columns; but the promenoir above is an astonishing leap in time and art.

Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres Henry Adams 1878

However, Jack’s evident appreciation of rib-vaulting pleased the monk, and he told Jack that there was a church at Lessay, not far away, that had rib-vaulting throughout.

The Pillars of the Earth FOLLETT, Ken 1989

It’s the piers that hold the building up, especially with rib-vaulting.

The Pillars of the Earth FOLLETT, Ken 1989