The Engineering of Medieval Cathedrals

This collection of essays inaugurates a new series titled “Studies in the History of Civil Engineering,” under the general editorship of Joyce Brown. The immediate goal is to facilitate and promote research into past engineering achievements by creating a reference collection “through the reproduction of important contributions” with “international authorship” (pp. xi–xii). The present anthology of essays, selected and presented by Lynn Courtenay, meets and even exceeds that aim. In addition to providing a handy and valuable reference tool for the serious scholar, Courtenay has brought together most of the major contributions on cathedral engineering that are required or recommended reading in advanced courses on Gothic architecture. Unfortunately, the book’s hefty price will undoubtedly discourage instructors from adopting it as a course text.

Courtenay’s introductory essay also meets the intent of the series, which is to set the selected papers “in the context of the whole history of the subject and its historiography” (p. xii). With refreshing directness, she succinctly summarizes the arguments or interpretations offered in each of the papers. This makes it possible for persons new to the discipline or with little exposure to medieval engineering to peruse with greater ease articles that are often very technical. Thus Courtenay’s explanation of statically determinate and statically indeterminate structures is particularly welcome, since knowing what these terms signify is necessary not only for comprehending the structural analyses presented in the various contributions but also for understanding why engineers do not always agree with each other’s conclusions, and this, as she observes, “is pertinent to the considerable difficulties that arise in interpreting historic structures” (p. xx).

The introductory essay is helpful in other respects as well. Either by commentary, footnotes, or both, Courtenay brings the discussion of each topic up to date. For example, in the case of John F. Fitchen’s 1955 article on the upper flying buttresses of Gothic cathedrals, she notes that while his principal conclusions remain valid, some of his other observations have been undermined by later investigations. Critical evaluation also informs Courtenay’s presentation of the various essays. Thus, in the case of the aforementioned article, she points out in straightforward fashion Fitchen’s mistaken views regarding compressive forces in the tie-beams of cathedral roofs. Similarly, on the much debated role of the rib in ribbed vaulting, she cautions against assuming universal application of research findings based on the analysis of a single monument.

The nineteen essays comprising this anthology are grouped into four parts: “Historiography and Scope,” “Medieval Builders and Their Methods,” “Vaults and Their Supports,” and “Roof, Towers, and Spires.” Part 1 concerns the interpretation of Gothic structure in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; the latter three are arranged the way cathedrals were built, from the ground up. The opening essay of part 2, by Lon Shelby, explores the geometrical knowledge of medieval masons and is followed by other papers devoted primarily to issues of design and planning, rather than engineering per se. The works selected for this section provide a balanced treatment of these interrelated topics, as well as much food for thought. For instance, Jean Bony’s analysis of Durham’s early stonework makes one wonder if “project drawings” were not used much earlier than Robert Branner hypothesized in his article on Gothic architectural renderings. In part 3, which is given over entirely to essays on structural issues, Courtenay has deliberately included studies that reveal controversy among scholars on a wide range of problems, such as the failure of the Beauvais vaults in 1274 and the function of ribs in ribbed vaulting. The essays in part 4 examine the engineering of timber roofs, Courtenay’s area of expertise and a topic generally neglected in studies of medieval architecture, undeservedly so since the lofty roofs and spires of Gothic churches amply demonstrate the period’s mastery of building technology.

It is gratifying to find in this anthology yet other papers on neglected subjects, such as...