THE FIRST STEP TOWARD GOTHIC LINEARIZATION: GENESIS OF ROUND PIER WITH SHAFTS ASCENDING FROM THE CAPITAL

-Study on the process of linearization (Part 5)-

Abstract

The first step toward gothic linearization was taken by introducing round piers with shafts ascending from the capitals into grand arcades of church architecture. This type of pier structure was invented in Île-de-France at a time when attempts were being made to construct rib-vaults for apses surrounded by ambulatories, the grand arcades of which were supported by round piers. The choirs of Saint-Maclou at Pontoise, Notre-Dame at Poissy, and Saint-Nicolas at Meulan probably initiated to create this structure, preceding Suger's choir of Saint-Denis.