lierne and tierceron and impost and springer and ridge rib

I was originally going to discuss lierne along with lemniscate, but the latter term became overlaid with too many other words, thus forcing this page. And this page will take one Collegiate word from p. 718 and one from the 900s as I begin to turn exclusively to words from pp. 900-1450. They are both medieval architectural terms which, when you learn what you mean, open up words of understanding. Let's begin with lierne [I realized after writing this, that I will have to turn to pendentive in another essay.]

Lierne

Pronounced lie-ERN, lierne is defined as "a rib in Gothic vaulting that passes from one intersection of the principal ribs to another." Not exactly a crystal clear picture, is it? We need to know a little about ribs/vaulting in Gothic churches in order to know about the liernes. By the way, the word was probably invented by the Frenchman Delorme in the 16th century, even though the etymology of the term is inconclusive. Some scholars think it is related to ligare, meaning to bind, and that the lierne rib is so called because it, though structurally unnecessary, "binds" significant or principal ribs to each other. Here is a picture of a lierne rib.

This is the best picture on the Net I discovered which illustrates the lierne rib. But maybe this is a good point to define some other features of the rib or vault. Suffice it to say that three major types of vaults are barrel, rib and groin vaults. A barrel vault is a simple concave cylindrical roof surface which looks, appropriately so, like a barrel. The groin vault is produced by the intersection of two barrel vaults which are perpendicular to each other, while the rib vault, as portrayed here, is a ceiling crisscrossed by several projections which look like "ribs in the human anatomy. Hence their name. Let's

learn a few other "rib-like" terms. The place where the post divides, creating various ribs that soar to the ceiling, is called the springer or the impost. The word impost in this sense goes back to the 17th century and is defined as "the upper course of a pillar or abutment, frequently projecting in the form of an ornamental molding or capital, on which the foot of an arch rests." Thus, we see in the diagram above that there are two imposts or springers--near the bottom of the diagram. So we know what imposts/springers are and what lierne ribs are. The lierne ribs really do not have a function in medieval church architecture. They simply bind together or connect more major ribs. The rounded floral clusters which often are connected by a lierne rib are called bosses. Finally, the bigger ribs in the picture are variously called the diagonal ribs, the transverse ribs or even the tierceron ribs. The last term suggests, according to the Century and OED, "a secondary rib springing from an intersection of two other ribs," but the best online diagram of such a tierceron may show it differently. Here is the diagram.

You see from this diagram that the tierceron appears to be a rib or two which extends from the bosses in the center of the roof all the way towards the imposts. But, perhaps we can have consistency after all. Maybe the red lines of the tiercerons only go down near the impost but, in fact, join up with another rib which itself originates in the impost. Thus, we can have consistency between the two definitions. Thus, here is the terminology we have learned from the

ribs. The major rib would be called the transverse or diagonal rib, while the first series of secondary ribs can be called the tiercerons. The smallest of the ribs is are called the liernes. Then, in some churches, there is what is called a ridge rib, which goes along the highest point or apex of the vault.

Conclusion

I think we have done enough for one day, and that the word pendentive will have to wait until the next essay.

1839