Ribbed vault
Introduction
The ribbed vault, also called ribbed vault, is a type of vault characteristic of Gothic architecture. In its simplest version, two diagonal arches, usually semicircular, intersect in their key "Key (architecture)"), and four pointed arches, also called ogival, that make up its sides, emerge from the four pillars located in the corners of a square plan. The panels that close the spaces between the diagonal and lateral arches are known as supplementary.
The pointed lateral arches are usually composed of two circumferential arches of the same radius as the diagonal arches, which facilitates the centering and construction of the whole.[1][2] In this way, drawing the diagonal arches and the lateral arches with a center at the same height, it turns out that the keystone of the diagonal arches is slightly higher than those of the lateral arches, and the complements take the form of double-curved caps,[3] which It provides great resistance with a minimum thickness.
The most complex cross vaults can have a non-square plan and be supported by more than four pillars, and the ribs and keystones can be multiplied, forming drawings, sometimes very intricate, that divide the accessories.
The lateral arches are called perpiaño arches or transverse arches when they are transverse to the main axis of the nave, and lateral arches, when they are parallel to said axis.
The cross vault is considered one of the three distinctive elements of Gothic architecture, along with the pointed arch and the flying buttress.
History
The Romans used an early version of the ribbed vault to strengthen ribbed vaults. In these Roman vaults, the brick ribs were embedded in the concrete of the vault. This was different from later Gothic vaults, where the ribs were separated from the infill of the panels, giving the Gothic vaults flexibility and therefore greater strength. The Romans also used these embedded ribs hidden within the structure to strengthen the concrete surface of domes, such as the Pantheon.
It seems, however, that the Gothic ribbed vault evolved from the groin vault already used in the Romanesque. The most direct antecedents of Gothic cross vaults are found in late Romanesque constructions in two regions far from each other: Lombardy, on the one hand, and Normandy-England on the other.
In Lombardy, it was used in at least five temples: San Ambrose de Milan, San Nazaro de Milan"), San Miguel de Pavia"), San Sabino de Piacenza") and Rivolta d'Adda. The dates are not precise, but it is believed that all of these works were made between 1100 and 1130.