Springer (architecture)

In architecture, a springer (sometimes springing^[1]) 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.^[2] It rests on the impost or pier of the arch, that is, the topmost part of the abutment, from which the arch arises.^[3]

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.^[4]

References

1. Calvo-López 2020, p. 8.
2. "Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture - springer". University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
3. Ching, Francis D.K. (1995). A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. New York: John Wiley and Sons. p. 12. ISBN 0-471-28451-3.
4. 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.
• Calvo-López, José (2020). "Introduction". Stereotomy. Vol. 4. Cham: Springer International Publishing. pp. 1–41. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-43218-8_1. ISBN 978-3-030-43217-1.

External links

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