Flying buttress

A flying buttress is an external masonry arch that carries a roof or vault’s lateral thrust across open space to a buttress or pier. It supports the building while leaving much of its wall unobstructed.

Rib vault: A vault formed by masonry ribs that define its framework and support the infill between them. Rib vaults concentrate roof loads at points where flying buttresses can resist their outward thrust.
Gothic architecture: A medieval European architectural style characterized by pointed arches, rib vaults, and expansive windows. Flying buttresses became a defining structural feature of Gothic churches.
Amiens Cathedral: A French Gothic cathedral begun in 1220 and known for its exceptionally tall nave. Its flying buttresses help carry the thrust of a high vaulted interior.
Clasping buttress: A projecting buttress that wraps around the corner of a building. Unlike a flying buttress, it braces a wall directly rather than spanning open space.
Pointed arch: An arch with two curved sides meeting at a point at its crown. Its steep profile can reduce the horizontal thrust that flying buttresses must counter.
Basilica of Saint-Denis: A church north of Paris whose Gothic choir was rebuilt under Abbot Suger in the twelfth century. Its choir is among the early major buildings associated with the Gothic use of flying buttresses.
Beauvais Cathedral: A French Gothic cathedral whose choir is among the tallest built in the Middle Ages. Its ambitious height exposed the limits and risks of supporting vaults with buttresses.
Pilaster: A shallow, rectangular wall projection that resembles a column and may provide visual or structural support. It remains attached to the wall instead of transferring thrust across an open gap.
Buttress: A projecting structure built against a wall to strengthen it or resist lateral forces. The flying arch transfers its load to this broader family of external wall supports.
Notre-Dame de Paris: A medieval cathedral in Paris, begun in the twelfth century and later extensively restored. Its prominent exterior arches show how flying buttresses developed in Gothic cathedral construction.

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