Triangular arch

Triangular arch made of two stone slabs

In architecture, a triangular arch (sometimes angular arch ^[1] ) typically defines an arch where the intrados (inner surface of an arch) consists of two straight segments formed by two stone slabs leaning against each other. ^{[2] [3]} In this roof-like ^[4] arrangement, mitre joint is usually used at the crown, thus the arch was in the past also called a mitre arch. ^[5] Brick builders would call triangular any arch with straight inclined sides. ^[6] Mayan corbel arches are also sometimes called triangular due to their shape. ^[7]

Since the sides of a triangular arch are experiencing bending stress, it is a false arch ^[3] in a structural sense (historically preceding the invention of true arches ^[8] and going back to Neolithic times ^[9] ). The design was used in Anglo-Saxon England until the late 11th century (St Mary Coslany) over small openings. ^{[2] [1]}

• 
  A triangular arch built using masonry (White Castle, Monmouthshire)
• 
  Mayan corbelled arch
• 
  Doorway at St Peter's Church, Barton-upon-Humber (Anglo-Saxon architecture)
• 
  Arches at St Mary Coslany (Saxo-Norman architecture)

See also

• Pediment, a triangular gable

References

1. Audsley & Audsley 1881, p. 37.
2. Woodman & Bloom 2003, Triangular.
3. "triangular arch". The Oxford Dictionary of Architecture (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. 2021. ISBN   9780191918742.
4. Passmore, A.C. (1904). "Mitre arch". Handbook of Technical Terms Used in Architecture and Building and Their Allied Trades and Subjects. Scott, Greenwood, and Company. p. 228. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
5. "mitre arch". Oxford English Dictionary . 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2024-02-27.
6. Brick Industry Association] (January 1995). Brick Masonry Arches: Introduction (PDF). Technical Notes on Brick Construction. Brick Industry Association. p. 2.
7. Sturgis & Davis 2013, p. 121, Triangular Arch.
8. Nikolich 2020, p. 1862.
9. Harry S. Ashmore, ed. (1961). "Arch and Vault". The New Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 2 (14 ed.). Chicago: Sears. p. 262. OCLC   855170286.

Sources

• Audsley, W.; Audsley, G.A. (1881). "Arch". Popular Dictionary of Architecture and the Allied Arts: A Work of Reference for the Architect, Builder, Sculptor, Decorative Artist, and General Student. With Numerous Illustrations from All Styles of Architecture, from the Egyptian to the Renaissance. Popular Dictionary of Architecture and the Allied Arts: A Work of Reference for the Architect, Builder, Sculptor, Decorative Artist, and General Student. G. P. Putnam's sons. pp. 24–39. Retrieved 2024-12-28.
• Nikolich, Dimitriye (2020-05-08). "Thrust line analysis of triangular arches". Archive of Applied Mechanics. 90 (9). Springer Science and Business Media LLC: 1861–1874. doi:10.1007/s00419-020-01701-7. ISSN   0939-1533.
• Sturgis, Russell; Davis, Francis A. (2013). "Triangular Arch". Sturgis' Illustrated Dictionary of Architecture and Building: An Unabridged Reprint of the 1901-2 Edition. Dover Architecture. Dover Publications. ISBN   978-0-486-14840-3 . Retrieved 2023-12-15.
• Woodman, Francis; Bloom, Jonathan M. (2003). "Arch". Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t003657. ISBN   978-1-884446-05-4.