Gothic architecture Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High Middle Ages, High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved f ...

, a lierne is a tertiary rib connecting one rib to another, as opposed to connecting to a

springer Springer or springers may refer to: Publishers * Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag. ** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...

, or to the central boss. The resulting construction is called a lierne vault or stellar vault (named after the star shape generated by connecting liernes). The term ''lierne'' comes from the French ''lier'' (to bind). In England, the lierne came into use during the 14th-century Decorated period of architecture.

Gloucester Cathedral Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity and formerly St Peter's Abbey, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated with the establishme ...

offers a good example of lierne vaulting. In France, examples occur in

Flamboyant Flamboyant () is a lavishly-decorated style of Gothic architecture that appeared in France and Spain in the 15th century, and lasted until the mid-sixteenth century and the beginning of the Renaissance.Encyclopedia Britannica, "Flamboyant style ...

architecture, such as in the Church of Saint-Pierre in

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. The vault-plan diagram of Ely Choir shows the ribs as double lines. The main longitudinal ridge rib (middle vertical lines) and transverse ridge ribs (alternate horizontal lines) intersect each other at the central bosses (large circles). The longitudinal ridge rib runs down the centre of the choir, and the transverse ridge ribs span from the apex of each window at the sides of the choir. Arched diagonal ribs span from piers between the windows, from springers to the central bosses, and arched transverse ribs (alternate horizontal lines) span from the springers to the main longitudinal ridge rib. Secondary arched diagonal ribs, called tiercerons, span from the springers to the transverse ridge ribs. Liernes (shaded black) span between the other ribs, forming intricate patterning. Note: in French terminology relating to architecture, a ''lierne'' is a ridge rib, and hence has a different meaning. Image:Chester cathedral nave.jpg, Lierne vault in the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

of Chester Cathedral File:Ely Cathedral Lady Chapel, Cambridgeshire, UK - Diliff.jpg, Lady chapel of

Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Ely, is an Church of England, Anglican cathedral in the city of Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. The cathedral can trace its origin to the abbey founded in Ely in 67 ...

Ely, Cambridgeshire Ely ( ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in the East Cambridgeshire district, in Cambridgeshire, England, northeast of Cambridge, southeast of Peterborough and from London. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the built-up a ...

File:Perpendicular Vaulting.JPG,

east end with perpendicular lierne vaulting

References

* Bond, Francis (1906) ''Gothic Architecture in England'', Batsford, London. Arches and vaults

See also

References