The stereotomy of keystones in european early gothic: different geometric designs and construction solutions

Abstract

The sexpartite vault was the great protagonist of the beginnings of Gothic architecture in Europe and outstanding vaulting was built using this system in Europe's important cathedrals and monasteries, such as Notre Dame de Paris or Canterbury. By making a comparative study of the principal examples we have been able to bring to light the knowledge of geometry and construction present in Early Gothic architecture and show how it evolved to the remarkable level of stereotomic development achieved in the High Gothic. The carving of the keystone was one of the most complicated challenges of the vault as it received the different tilted ribs at varying angles on plan and in elevation, which entailed considerable knowledge of geometry. The evolution of Gothic stereotomy is reflected in this element and we found three different solutions that show development using diverse techniques to facilitate geometric design and the carving process.

Keywords

• geometría
• estereotomía
• clave
• bóvedas sexpartitas
• gótico
• levantamiento