Flying buttress

The architectural-element precursors of the medieval flying buttress derive from Byzantine architecture and Romanesque architecture, in the design of churches, such as Durham Cathedral, where arches transmit the lateral thrust of the stone vault over the aisles; the arches were hidden under the gallery roof, and transmitted the lateral forces to the massive, outer walls.

Instead, the wall surface could be reduced (allowing for larger windows, often glazed with stained glass) because the vertical mass is concentrated onto external buttresses.

The design of early flying buttresses tended to be heavier than required for the static loads to be borne, e.g. at Chartres Cathedral (ca.

Despite its disuse for function and style in construction and architecture, in the early 20th century, the flying-buttress design was revived by Canadian engineer William P. Anderson to build lighthouses.

The need to build large cathedrals that could house many people along multiple aisles provided the stimulus for the Gothic style to be developed.

[11] The flying buttress originally helped bring the idea of open space and light to the cathedrals through stability and structure, by supporting the clerestory and the weight of the high roofs.

[11] The height of the cathedrals and amply sized windows among the clerestory creates an open space giving the illusion of no clear boundaries.

[12]The architecture and construction of a medieval cathedral with flying buttresses figures prominently into the plot of the historical novel The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (1989).