Catholic Encyclopedia · B
Buttress
Historical Article from The Catholic Encyclopedia
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Catholic Encyclopedia
Historical Context
This article preserves the historical wording and context of the printed encyclopedia. Dates, statistics, terminology, disciplinary descriptions, and civic or ecclesiastical circumstances may reflect the period in which the article was published.
Article Text
A pilaster, pier, or body of masonry projecting beyond the main face of the wall and intended to strengthen the wall at particular points and also to counterbalance the thrust of a roof or its vaulting. The term “counterfort” is used when the projection is on the inside. A flying buttress is an arch, resting at one end on a detached pier and it carries the thrust of the nave vault over the aisles or cloister.
Source Record
- Author
- Poole, Thomas
- Publication
- The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1908.
- Nihil Obstat
- Nihil Obstat. November 1, 1908. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor.
- Imprimatur
- Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.