| The Vault as Illusion (3) |
The next thing the English masons did was to make out that the "Wind of the Spirit" was still too strong to be contained with one extra rope. At Lincoln, they suggested a tear in the fabric of the cathedral by splitting one of the diagonal ribs to produce a zany zigzagging vault, which the monks are known to have loved. It's still called the "Crazy Vault", and in our illustration the split ribs run upwards from left to right. Notice how they pull different distances apart. It is as if a hurricane blasted through the church and knocked it off kilter, tearing the vault like tent canvas!
So then of course they had to add more "ropes". The ropes are the tierceron ribs which are shown in purple in the diagram on the right, between the red diagonal ribs and the blue transverse arches. The earliest version I have found is at Lincoln itself, in the nave, which was built after Crazy Vault and completed after the main tower fell down too (Lincoln is, in fact, a very windy spot). Sadly, I can't show it to you, but here is an excellent example from the nave of Bristol Cathedral. This one is actually a clever Victorian essay in archaism, but it is there for the same reason as at Lincoln, as we shall see. Notice how Classically Beautiful order has been restored!
Has God's irresistible force now been contained by the church as immovable object? Not on your life! After about a hundred years of acquiescence, we suddenly find another tear in the fabric in the choir at Bristol. There, the ridge rib is split and cusped to look as if it is in the very act of coming apart, like bubblegum blown too hard. The animated diagram on the right will demonstrate. Then you can admire the vault itself.
Once He got this idea, God (or the masons, as you will) started splitting ribs of various kinds all over the place. At Prague cathedral it was the transverse arches, elsewhere, it was the tiercerons, and in the main choir of Wells, it was every single rib intersection!
Well! The masons weren't having this! Immediately, they started adding more "ropes" (tiercerons), and beefed up the bosses for good measure—as we'll see later (page 5), when the masons fight back!
But first (page 4), they had other problems to contend with. Man, what a time they had of it!
Page 1: structure and terms
Page 2: an idea is born
Page 3: the patterns and the power
Page 4: problems with towers
Page 5: the masons fight back
Page 6: lilies, seashells, snowflakes and waterfalls
Page 7: Glossary and Dates
| Why Use Stained Glass? | Classical Beauty | Before Stained Glass | Seeking the Perfect Vault | The Vault as Illusion |