Springer (architecture)

In architecture, a springer is the lowest voussoir (wedge-shaped structural element) on each side of an arch. Since it is the bottom-most element of the arch, it is where the arch support terminates at the respond.^[1] It rests on the impost or pier of the arch, that is, the topmost part of the abutment, from which the arch arises.^[2]

Usually, the springer is located at the bottom of an arch curve. The "delayed" springing (when the curvature starts noticeably above the support) is a trait of a stilted arch, common in Romanesque and Gothic architecture.^[3]

References

^ "Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture - springer". University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
^ Ching, Francis D.K. (1995). A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley and Sons. p. 12. ISBN 0-471-28451-3.
^ Jones, Murray & Murray 2013.

Sources

Jones, Tom Devonshire; Murray, Linda; Murray, Peter, eds. (2013). "springing". The Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art and Architecture (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199680276.

External links

"Stilted Arch". The electronic edition of Ruskin’s Venetian Notebooks. Lancaster University. contains many examples of the stilted arch

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[1] "Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture - springer". University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2007-06-24.

[2] Ching, Francis D.K. (1995). A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley and Sons. p. 12. ISBN 0-471-28451-3.

[FOOTNOTEJonesMurrayMurray2013-3] Jones, Murray & Murray 2013.

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