Pointed arch and ribbed vault
Arco apuntado y bóveda de crucería
- Date
- 1140 · confidence high
- Place
- Abbey of Saint-Denis, Paris, France
- Credited to
- Abbot Suger and anonymous master builders
- People
- 👤 Abad Suger
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A combination of pointed arches and stone ribs that concentrate loads at fixed points, allowing walls to be taller, lighter and more pierced with openings. Gothic architecture is born.
The pointed arch had been used in Islamic architecture since the 8th century and reached Europe via Sicily, Amalfi (Montecassino) and Burgundy (Cluny III).
What it led to
- Gothic cathedrals as urban emblems and objects of competition between cities
- masons' lodges and the transmission of practical geometric knowledge
- an aesthetic of light that drove the development of stained glass
Built on
- Islamic pointed arch (Samarra, Ibn Tulun)
- Romanesque groin vault
- Durham (ribs c. 1100)