Everything about Corbel totally explained
:
For the town in France, see Corbel, Savoie. For the Windows Vista typeface, see Corbel (typeface).
In
architecture a
corbel (or
console) is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of
corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or parapet, has been used since
Neolithic times. It is common in
Medieval architecture and in the
Scottish baronial style as well as in the Classical architectural vocabulary, such as the
modillions of a
Corinthian cornice and in ancient
Chinese architecture.
The word "corbel" comes from
Old French and derives from the
Latin corbellus, a diminutive of
corvus (a
raven) which refers to the beak-like appearance. Similarly, the French refer to a corbel as
corbeau (a
crow) or as
cul-de-lampe, Italians as
mensola, the Germans as
kragstein. The usual word in French for a corbel in a Classical context is
modillon A
corbeau is a bracket-corbel, which is usually a load-bearing internal feature. A
cul-de-lampe is a kind of bracket-corbel supporting a vault. In traditional Chinese architecture, such a load-bearing structural element is called
dougong and has been used since the late centuries BCE.
Decorated corbels
Norman (
Romanesque) corbels often have a plain appearance, although they may be elaborately carved with stylised heads of humans, animals or imaginary "beasts", and sometimes with other motifs (
Kilpeck church in
Herefordshire is a notable example, with 85 of its original 91 carved corbels still surviving).
Similarly, in the
Early English period, corbels were sometimes elaborately carved, as at
Lincoln Cathedral, and sometimes more simply so.
Corbels sometimes end with a point apparently growing into the wall, or forming a knot, and often are supported by angels and other figures. In the later periods the carved foliage and other ornaments used on corbels resemble those used in the
capitals of
columns.
Throughout England, in
half-timber work, wooden corbels abound, carrying window-sills or
oriel windows in wood, which also are often carved.
In Classical architecture
The corbels carrying
balconies in Italy and France were sometimes of great size and richly carved, and some of the finest examples of the Italian "Cinquecento" (16th century) style are found in them. Taking a cue from sixteenth-century practice, the Paris-trained designers of
Beaux-arts architecture were encouraged to show imagination in varying corbels
Corbel tables
A
corbel table is a projecting moulded
string course supported by a range of corbels. Sometimes these corbels carry a small
arcade under the string course, the arches of which are pointed and trefoiled. As a rule the corbel table carries the
gutter, but in
Lombard work the arcaded corbel table was utilized as a decoration to subdivide the storeys and break up the wall surface. In Italy sometimes over the corbels will form a moulding, and above a plain piece of projecting wall forming a
parapet.
The corbels carrying the arches of the corbel tables in Italy and France were often elaborately moulded, and sometimes in two or three courses projecting over one another; those carrying the
machicolations of English and French castles had four courses.
In modern
chimney construction a corbel table is constructed on the inside of a
flue in the form of a concrete ring beam supported by a range of corbels. The corbels can be either in-situ or pre-cast concrete. The corbel tables described here are built at approximately ten metre intervals to ensure stability of the
barrel of
refractory bricks constructed thereon.
Corbelling
Corbelling, where rows of corbels gradually build a wall out from the vertical, has long been used as a simple kind of
vaulting, for example in many Neolithic
chambered cairns where walls are gradually corbelled in until the opening can be spanned by a slab.
In
medieval architecture the technique was used to support upper storeys or a parapet projecting forward from the wall plane, often to form machicolation where openings between corbels could be used to drop things on attackers. This later became a decorative feature, without the openings. Corbelling supporting upper stories and particularly supporting projecting corner
turrets subsequently became a characteristic of the Scottish baronial style.
Mediaeval timber-framed buildings often employ
jettying, where upper stories are
cantilevered out on projecting wooden beams in a similar manner to corbelling.
Gallery
Image:Craigievar castle 1991.jpg|Craigievar Castle (completed 1626) displays corbelling supporting upper storeys, corner turrets and stairwells projecting out from the wall line
Image:Newark Castle turrets.jpg|Corbelling supporting corner turrets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow on a Renaissance mansion of c.1600
Image:Montmajour-Tour.jpg|Corbelling supporting parapets at Montmajour Abbey
Image:Badami Narasimha cave3.jpg|Corbel in Badami Cave Temples in India
Image:Wieskirche 011.JPG|Corbel supporting a pulpit at, Germany
Examples
Further Information
Get more info on 'Corbel'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://corbel.totallyexplained.com">Corbel Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
