--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Buttresses were one of the prime…" description: "\"“Buttresses were one of the prime structural features of Gothic architecture: by accommodating the thrust of the vaults transferred to them from strate..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/ross-king-30886_dreams_buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structu_1427023.jpg" --- # Buttresses were one of the prime structural features of… ![“Buttresses were one of the prime structural features of Gothic architecture: by accommodating the thrust of the vaults transferred to them from strategic points, they allowed for walls pierced by a multitude of windows to rise to spectacular heights, filling the church with heavenly light—the…” quote by Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/ross-king-30886_dreams_buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structu_1427023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/ross-king-30886_dreams_buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structu_1427023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/ross-king-30886_dreams_buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structu_1427023.jpg) > ““Buttresses were one of the prime structural features of Gothic architecture: by accommodating the thrust of the vaults transferred to them from strategic points, they allowed for walls pierced by a multitude of windows to rise to spectacular heights, filling the church with heavenly light—the aspiration of all Gothic builders.”” [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gothic architecture used buttresses to transfer vault thrust, enabling tall, window-filled walls that bathe interiors in light. **In simple terms:** Buttresses let Gothic cathedrals be tall and bright. Key Takeaway Design structures that balance support and openness. Themes architecture engineering art history religion Mood inspirational reflective Type architectural educational When to use this quote - building restoration - modern architecture - urban planning - heritage preservation Key Concepts structural mechanics aesthetic ambition light symbolism Questions to Reflect On - How does structural support influence aesthetic goals? - What modern tech can replace historic solutions? A Different Perspective Modern materials may reduce the need for traditional buttresses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Gothic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gothic/) [Gothic architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gothic-architecture/) ## Related quotes > [The principle of the Gothic architecture is infinity made imaginable. 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It could not have been foreseen by any logical process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clark/opera-next-to-gothic-architecture-is-one-of-the-strangest-inventions/) [Kenneth Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clark/) > [Revived in this country the long forgotten beauties of Gothic architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wyatt/revived-in-this-country-the-long-forgotten-beauties-of-gothic/) James Wyatt > [Lovely promise and quick ruin are seen nowhere better than in Gothic architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/lovely-promise-and-quick-ruin-are-seen-nowhere-better-than-in-gothic/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [Melrose is the finest remaining specimen of Gothic architecture in Scotland. Some of the sculptured flowers in the cloister arches are remarkably beautiful and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/melrose-is-the-finest-remaining-specimen-of-gothic-architecture-in/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [The Gothic cathedral is a blossoming in stone subdued by the insatiable demand of harmony in man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-gothic-cathedral-is-a-blossoming-in-stone-subdued-by-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It is better to have a plain, substantial building, with no extravagance about it, but without a debt, than to have the most splendid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mackergo-taylor/it-is-better-to-have-a-plain-substantial-building-with-no/) [William Mackergo Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mackergo-taylor/) > [Eroticism, hallucinogenic drugs, nuclear science, Gaudi's Gothic architecture, my love of gold - there is a common denominator in all of it: God is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salvador-dali/eroticism-hallucinogenic-drugs-nuclear-science-gaudi-s-gothic/) [Salvador Dali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salvador-dali/) > [I love flying buttresses!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/i-love-flying-buttresses/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [In drawing, I often think of things as flying buttresses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiki-smith/in-drawing-i-often-think-of-things-as-flying-buttresses/) [Kiki Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiki-smith/) > [ “Western cathedrals and abbeys…through soaring Gothic architecture, \[give\] us at floor level a sense of belonging within (but unable at the moment to inhabit… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/western-cathedrals-and-abbeys-through-soaring-gothic-architecture/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“Mother refuses to sell to a buyer who’ll “ruin it,” which also seems to include making it a normal bed-and-breakfast or house. Though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyn-balog/mother-refuses-to-sell-to-a-buyer-who-ll-ruin-it-which-also-seems-to/) [Cyn Balog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyn-balog/) ## More by Ross King > [“A stylus was a metal-tipped drawing instrument widely used by artists before the invention of the pencil (graphite was not discovered until in 1504,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/a-stylus-was-a-metal-tipped-drawing-instrument-widely-used-by-artists/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“Quite amazing how determined kings and emperors have been to destroy books. But civilization is built on such desecrations, is it not? Justinian the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/quite-amazing-how-determined-kings-and-emperors-have-been-to-destroy/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“In fact, the figure in The Last Supper is not a woman: only the most partisan reading can place Mary Magdalene in the scene.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/in-fact-the-figure-in-the-last-supper-is-not-a-woman-only-the-most/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“…Because every ruler celebrated his conquests by setting torch to the nearest library. Did not Julius Caesar incinerate the scrolls in the great library…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/because-every-ruler-celebrated-his-conquests-by-setting-torch-to-the/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“It’s amazing — and poignant — to think that Leonardo (da Vinci)did consider himself as something of a failure. He didn’t believe that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/it-s-amazing-and-poignant-to-think-that-leonardo-da-vinci-did/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“And as I surveyed the clutter of his study I was pleased to see that he was a man after my own heart. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/and-as-i-surveyed-the-clutter-of-his-study-i-was-pleased-to-see-that/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“That one of history’s greatest brains struggled with amo, amas, amat should be consolation to anyone who has ever tried to learn a second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/that-one-of-history-s-greatest-brains-struggled-with-amo-amas-amat/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“There was nothing so dangerous to a king or an emperor as a book. Yes, a great library—a library as magnificent as this one—was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/there-was-nothing-so-dangerous-to-a-king-or-an-emperor-as-a-book-yes/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“Yes, a great library — a library as magnificent as this one — was a dangerous arsenal, one that kings and emperors feared more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/yes-a-great-library-a-library-as-magnificent-as-this-one-was-a/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“While running simple errands I often became hopelessly confused in the maze of crowded, filthy streets that began twenty paces beyond the north gate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/while-running-simple-errands-i-often-became-hopelessly-confused-in/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“The Black Death was a faithful visitor to Florence. It arrived, on average, once every ten years, always in the summer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/the-black-death-was-a-faithful-visitor-to-florence-it-arrived-on/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“At times Leonardo was troubled by his lack of achievement. As a young man he appears to have developed a reputation for melancholia. “Leonardo,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/at-times-leonardo-was-troubled-by-his-lack-of-achievement-as-a-young/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“The soft throb and glow roused in my breast by the gilt letters of four or five different languages winking at me from scores…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/the-soft-throb-and-glow-roused-in-my-breast-by-the-gilt-letters-of/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“Let no one read my principles who is not a mathematician,” he famously declared (less famous is the fact that the principles he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/let-no-one-read-my-principles-who-is-not-a-mathematician-he-famously/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) > [“On August 19, 1418, a competition was announced in Florence, where the city's magnificent new cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, had been under construction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/on-august-19-1418-a-competition-was-announced-in-florence-where-the/) [Ross King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) [Explore all 17 Ross King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/) ## More Dreams quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? Cine a surpat drumul spre viitor al celor din morminte?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionel-teodoreanu/cine-a-ucis-stelele-cine-a-surpat-drumul-spre-viitor-al-celor-din/) [Ionel Teodoreanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ionel-teodoreanu/) > [“Once we become sensitive to dreams, we discover that every dynamic in a dream is manifesting itself in some way in our practical lives”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-johnson/once-we-become-sensitive-to-dreams-we-discover-that-every-dynamic-in/) [Robert A. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-johnson/) > [“Now you’re wet. You’re so wet you’re leaking down your ass. You’re soaking my pillow. I don’t think I’m ever washing it. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-stoker/now-you-re-wet-you-re-so-wet-you-re-leaking-down-your-ass-you-re/) [Susan Stoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-stoker/) > [“Not that it matters, when you dream, there's no outside or in. Your mind is an unimaginable bloom. A willow catkin as big as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-shapero/not-that-it-matters-when-you-dream-there-s-no-outside-or-in-your-mind/) [Rich Shapero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-shapero/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [It’s so important to create in your own voice, to hold onto what makes you unique, and have faith in your vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/it-s-so-important-to-create-in-your-own-voice-to-hold-onto-what-makes/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [“As dreams are the healing songs from the wilderness of our unconscious - So wild animals, wild plants, wild landscapes are the healing dreams…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-pendell/as-dreams-are-the-healing-songs-from-the-wilderness-of-our/) [Dale Pendell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-pendell/) > [Alone in a world, With millions of souls Walking in circles Trapped in their dreams unhealthy, unclean walking in circles, now do not disturb…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-bennington/alone-in-a-world-with-millions-of-souls-walking-in-circles-trapped-in/) [Chester Bennington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-bennington/) > [“Doing the work to transform your dreams into reality is like walking across the earth. It can be that hard, and it can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dragos-bratasanu/doing-the-work-to-transform-your-dreams-into-reality-is-like-walking/) [Dragos Bratasanu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dragos-bratasanu/) > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Sometimes life seems like a dream, especially when I look down and see that I forgot to put on my pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/sometimes-life-seems-like-a-dream-especially-when-i-look-down-and-see/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [“I had a dream. I had an awesome dream.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-i-had-an-awesome-dream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 40,599 Dreams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Buttresses were one of the prime structural features of Gothic architecture: by accommodating the thrust of the vaults transferred to them from strategic points, they allowed for walls pierced by a multitude of windows to rise to spectacular heights, filling the church with heavenly light—the aspiration of all Gothic builders.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ross King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structural-features-of-gothic/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dreams" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structural-features-of-gothic/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/ross-king-30886_dreams_buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structu_1427023.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/ross-king-30886_dreams_buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structu_1427023.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/74c/ross-king-30886_dreams_buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structu_1427023.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Buttresses were one of the prime structural features of Gothic architecture: by accommodating the thrust of…” — Ross King", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ross King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Buttresses were one of the prime...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structural-features-of-gothic/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-king/buttresses-were-one-of-the-prime-structural-features-of-gothic/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```