Evolution of construction techniques in the Early Gothic: Comparative study of the stereotomy of European sexpartite vaults using new measurement systems

Sexpartite vaults, built between the 12th and 13th centuries, stand out as the main feature of European Early Gothic, in a time of transition between the Romanesque and Gothic periods. The detailed study of sexpartite vaults provides an insight into how medieval construction systems evolved from the earliest times and facilitates our understanding of the knowledge and technical advances implemented through the stonemasons’ lodges. Early examples show clumsy building solutions, which soon developed, however, new tools and different carving and erection techniques emerging together with intelligent building strategies that simplified the auxiliary wooden structures needed for construction. Sexpartite vaults did not evolve homogeneously across Europe, but rather in two radically different geographical areas, each developing in different stages. A new data-gathering procedure was used to define the vaults’ components. This new system, together with key aspects of comparative analysis, helped us to establish how these structures developed. The master builders’ knowledge was constantly changing and evolving at this time in history and therefore any qualitative leap in the technology used enables us to determine regional influences.