Cathédrale de Beauvais: les accidents structurels des XIIIe et XVIe siècles eurent-ils une origine géotechnique? Partie 2: accidents structurels et rôle de la géotechnique

Saint Peter’s cathedral in Beauvais (France) has the highest vaults ever built during the Middle Ages. It was affected by two famous structural accidents, in the choir in 1284, and later at the transept crossing, in 1573. In 2023, there are still several explanations to account for what happened then, structural or natural causes, or geotechnical ones. We here show that nothing appears to justify a geotechnical origin in the 1284 collapse. It may be considered in 1573, nevertheless as a secondary cause. The following text is the second part of the article.