- Paperback: 364 pages
- Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; Phoenix ed edition (April 28 1997)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0226252035
- ISBN-13: 978-0226252032
- Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.1 x 2.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#302,392 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #29 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Gothic
- #51 in Books > Professional & Technical > Architecture > Building Types & Styles > Religious Buildings
- #59 in Books > Arts & Photography > Architecture > Building Types & Styles > Religious Buildings
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
John Fitchen systematically treats the process of erecting the great edifices of the Gothic era. He explains the building equipment and falsework needed, the actual operations undertaken, and the sequence of these operations as specifically as they can be deduced today. Since there are no contemporary accounts of the techniques used by medieval builders, Fitchen's study brilliantly pieces together clues from manuscript illuminations, from pictorial representations, and from the fabrics of the building themselves.
"Anyone who has caught the fascination of Gothic Churches (and once caught, has almost necessarily got it in the blood) will find this book enthralling. . . . Clearly written and beautifully illustrated." —A. D. R. Caroe, Annual Review, Central Council for the Care of Churches
"Fitchen's study is a tribute to the extraordinary creative and engineering skills of successive generations of mediaeval builders. . . . This study enables us to appreciate more fully the technical expertise and improvements which enabled the creative spirit of the day to find such splendid embodiment." —James Lingwood, Oxford Art Journal
"Fitchen, in what can only be defined as an architectural detective story, fully explores the problems confronting the medieval vault erectors and uncovers their solution. . . . This is a book that no serious student of architecture will want to miss." —Progressive Architecture
"Anyone who has caught the fascination of Gothic Churches (and once caught, has almost necessarily got it in the blood) will find this book enthralling. . . . Clearly written and beautifully illustrated." —A. D. R. Caroe, Annual Review, Central Council for the Care of Churches
"Fitchen's study is a tribute to the extraordinary creative and engineering skills of successive generations of mediaeval builders. . . . This study enables us to appreciate more fully the technical expertise and improvements which enabled the creative spirit of the day to find such splendid embodiment." —James Lingwood, Oxford Art Journal
"Fitchen, in what can only be defined as an architectural detective story, fully explores the problems confronting the medieval vault erectors and uncovers their solution. . . . This is a book that no serious student of architecture will want to miss." —Progressive Architecture
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
THE PRIMARY STRUCTURAL PROBLEM IN BUILDING IS THAT OF spanning space. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
THE PRIMARY STRUCTURAL PROBLEM IN BUILDING IS THAT OF spanning space. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
How did they do it?,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Construction of Gothic Cathedrals: A Study of Medieval Vault Erection (Paperback)
The builders of Gothic vaults left few clues (written or pictorial) about their actual construction methods. John Fitchen employs induction as well as the skills of a detective to figure out how the vaults were designed and built. Nevertheless, he fails the inquisitive reader at one critical point.Fitchen states that the stone ribs supporting the Gothic vaults conform to a curve called, in mathematics, a catenary. The mathematics of catenary curves was first described by Robert Hooke in the late 1600s. This was no less than 150 years *after* the Gothic builders completed their last work. In the absence of a knowledge of the mathematics of catenaries, how did the Gothic builders discover the *only* rib curvature that was self-supporting? (It's not good enough to say the Gothic builders arrived at the correct catenary curve empirically, that is, by trial and error. There was simply no room for error. All would have come tumbling down.) How did they do it?
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good description of medieval building techniques,
By
This review is from: The Construction of Gothic Cathedrals: A Study of Medieval Vault Erection (Paperback)
In this book, originally published in 1961, John Fitchen describes and explains the falsework (i.e. scaffolding) that was used to build Gothic Cathedrals. The main focus is on the construction and use of the centering (which is the formwork used to build arcs and vaults). The chapters: 1. Sources of information - 2. Constructional means - 3. Medieval types of vaulting - 4. Gothic formwork - 5. Gothic centering - 6. Erection of rib vaulting without formwork. The text is clearly written and accompanied by excellent drawings, a very good glossary and an extensive bibliography. For everyone interested in medieval building techniques this book is a must.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.4 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews) 47 of 47 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A very good description of medieval building techniques,
By Peter Gugerell - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Construction of Gothic Cathedrals: A Study of Medieval Vault Erection (Paperback)
In this book, originally published in 1961, John Fitchen describes and explains the falsework (i.e. scaffolding) that was used to build Gothic Cathedrals. The main focus is on the construction and use of the centering (which is the formwork used to build arcs and vaults). The chapters: 1. Sources of information - 2. Constructional means - 3. Medieval types of vaulting - 4. Gothic formwork - 5. Gothic centering - 6. Erection of rib vaulting without formwork. The text is clearly written and accompanied by excellent drawings, a very good glossary and an extensive bibliography. For everyone interested in medieval building techniques this book is a must.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maximum height and maximum light,
By Mario Mitas - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Construction of Gothic Cathedrals: A Study of Medieval Vault Erection (Paperback)
Good introduction to medieval building techniques. Being a devoted admirer of Gothic cathedrals, this was one of the first books I red about the subject and it served well. If you wish to know why was pointed arch so important, or procedures used to erect butresses or types of scaffoldings used at that times... you will find the answers here. There is one drawback - it seems to me that author was repeating some ideas from the first half of the book in the second one, but still, it deserves 5 stars. Kind regards, Mario.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
needs more figures and graphics. Assumes you already know what the different areas in a cathedral are called.,
By J. Reese "JJ" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Construction of Gothic Cathedrals: A Study of Medieval Vault Erection (Paperback)
I've read about a third of this book so far, and I'm finding myself wishing the author had included more figures, sketches, and diagrams. There are already quite a few figures, sketches, and diagrams in it, but they lack callouts and arrows pointing to specific items of interest with a description, and they feel very disconnected from the text. The main reason I wish he had used even more sketches is that the author seems to assume the reader knows what all the parts of a cathedral are called. He randomly tosses out references to "triformiums" and "diaphragm wall" (there are lots of walls, which one is he considering the diaphragm wall?). The glossary at the back offers a written description of SOME of these confusing terms, but architecture and structural engineering are by nature graphical and visual fields... he needs an overall plan and section of a typical cathedral with each area and piece identified... a visual glossary. I've been so distracted trying to figure out what he is referring to that I haven't had a chance to evaluate anything else about his book.
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