Transverse rib

Ribs of a Gothic vault at Southwell Minster, England

A transverse rib (French : arc doubleau) is a term in architecture given to the rib structure of a rib vault which runs the nave, dividing it into bays. In Roman architecture Transverse ribs were often sunk in or below the barrel vault of thermae , as in the piscina at Baiae and the so-called Baths of Diana (Nymphaeum) at Nîmes. In the Romanesque and Gothic styles of church architecture, Transverse ribs are principal feature of the vault, so much so that Scott ^[1] termed it the "master rib". ^[2]

References

1. Robert A. Scott, The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral University of California Press (2003)
2. Chisholm 1911.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Transverse Rib". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 210.