ABSTRACT
The attenuated upper buttresses of Metz cathedral begun by the '1250s' master are among the slenderest in Gothic architecture, and have no appreciable deformations. To answer this question it was necessary to calculate the thrusts imposed on the buttresses by the vaults that they support, and this in turn demanded a full survey and analysis of a high vault. Gothic churches in the city of Metz use consistently straight vertical buttressing, beginning with the late twelfth-century pilaster buttresses of the chapel of the Knights Templars. The first High Gothic master mason at Metz cathedral employed talused buttresses similar to those by Jean d'Orbais at Reims. The high vault we surveyed at the fourth bay from the crossing was either the first or second completed. The chapter discusses the Metz buttresses may also serve to correct a misperception that the Rayonnant period, with its emphasis on linear effects, and a precious brittleness, generally disregarded structural innovation or soundness.
