Elaborately decorated classical-style stone corbels support balconies on a building in Indianapolis.

Corbelling supporting parapets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow (c.1480), as decorative machicolation.

In architecture a corbel (or console) is a term for a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels support a projecting wall or parapet, has been used since Neolithic times. It is common in Medieval architecture and in the Scottish baronial style. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2125x1541, 864 KB) Summary Stone corbels on a building in Indianapolis, Indiana. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2125x1541, 864 KB) Summary Stone corbels on a building in Indianapolis, Indiana. ... From the point of view of modern times, the ancient civilizations of the Mediterranean sometimes seem to blend smoothly into one melange we call the Classical. ... Official website: http://www. ... Image File history File links Newark_Castle_corbelling. ... Image File history File links Newark_Castle_corbelling. ... The Renaissance mansion of Newark Castle as seen from the west is linked to the original 15th century tower house to the left . ... Machiolated battlements at Pontivy Castle, Brittany Parapets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, supported on decorative machicolation. ... The Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, Athens, Greece Architecture (from Latin, architectura and ultimately from Greek, αρχιτεκτων, a master builder, from αρχι- chief, leader and τεκτων, builder, carpenter) is the art and science of designing buildings and structures. ... An array of Neolithic artefacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae Scotland, Europes most complete Neolithic village. ... Medieval architecture is a term used to represent various forms of architecture popular in the Middle Ages. ... Scottish baronial style is an architectural style typical of the castles of North East Scotland. ...

The word "corbel" comes from Old French and derives from the Latin corbellus, a diminutive of corvus (a raven) which refers to the beak-like appearance. Similarly, the French refer to a corbel as corbeau (a crow) or as cul-de-lampe, Italians as mensola, the Germans as Kragstein. Old French is a term sometimes used to refer to the langue doïl, the continuum of varieties of Romance language spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of Belgium and Switzerland during the period roughly from 1000 to 1300 A.D... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Species See text Many large black birds of the genus Corvus are called ravens. ... Species See text. ...

Decorated corbels

Norman corbel at Kilpeck, Herefordshire, showing a hound and hare

Stone corbel at Boyle Abbey, 13th century

Norman (Romanesque) corbels often have a plain appearance, although they may be elaborately carved with stylised heads of humans, animals or imaginary "beasts", and sometimes with other motifs (Kilpeck church in Herefordshire is a notable example, with 85 of its original 91 carved corbels still surviving). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (540x702, 217 KB) Summary A scan from a 35mm transparency which I took at the exquisite Romanesque church of Saint Mary and Saint David in Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England in 1989. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (540x702, 217 KB) Summary A scan from a 35mm transparency which I took at the exquisite Romanesque church of Saint Mary and Saint David in Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England in 1989. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (456x984, 97 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Corbel ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (456x984, 97 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Corbel ... The Nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the nave anticipates the Gothic style. ... Romanesque St. ... Kilpeck (Welsh: Llanddewi Cil Peddeg) is a Herefordshire village renowned for its Norman church, with striking stone carvings, particularly the arch above the south door. ... Herefordshire is a traditional and ceremonial county and unitary district in the West Midlands region of England in the United Kingdom. ...

Similarly, in the Early English period, corbels were sometimes elaborately carved, as at Lincoln Cathedral, and sometimes more simply so. Salisbury Cathedral, built c. ... Norman West front Plan East elevation. ...

Corbels sometimes end with a point apparently growing into the wall, or forming a knot, and often are supported by angels and other figures. In the later periods the carved foliage and other ornaments used on corbels resemble those used in the capitals of columns. In politics, a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of capital) is the principal city or town associated with its government. ... Deconstructing a Roman pillar. ...

The corbels carrying balconies in Italy and France were sometimes of great size and richly carved, and some of the finest examples of the Italian "Cinquecento" (16th century) style are found in them. Throughout England, in half-timber work, wooden corbels abound, carrying window-sills or oriel windows in wood, which also are often carved.
A balcony comprising a balustrade supported at either end by plinths. ... Timber framing is the modern term for the traditional half-timbered construction in which timber provides a visible skeletal frame that supports the whole building. ... Oriel windows are a form of window commonly found in Gothic revival architecture, which jut out from the main wall of the building but do not reach to the ground. ...

Corbel tables

Two Norman corbels, depicting a ram and a lion, supporting the corbel table at Kilpeck

A corbel table is a projecting moulded string course supported by a range of corbels. Sometimes these corbels carry a small arcade under the string course, the arches of which are pointed and trefoiled. As a rule the corbel table carries the gutter, but in Lombard work the arcaded corbel table was utilized as a decoration to subdivide the storeys and break up the wall surface. In Italy sometimes over the corbels will form a moulding, and above a plain piece of projecting wall forming a parapet. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (809x540, 305 KB) Summary A scan from a 35mm transparency which I took at the exquisite Romanesque church of Saint Mary and Saint David in Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England in 1989. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (809x540, 305 KB) Summary A scan from a 35mm transparency which I took at the exquisite Romanesque church of Saint Mary and Saint David in Kilpeck, Herefordshire, England in 1989. ... The word course has several meanings: course is the direction of travel in navigation in sailing, a course is the principal sail on a mast course is a regime of study in education in restaurant language, a course is a single dish in a row of subsequently served dishes, constituting... The Cleveland Arcade in downtown Cleveland (late 1960s) An arcade is a passage or walkway covered over by a succession of arches or vaults supported by columns, or else it is a covered passage fronted by a series of arches. ... Look up Gutter in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Lombards or Longobards or Langobards were the Germanic tribe who gave their name to Lombardy, an administrative entity in Northern Italy. ... A parapet consists of a dwarf wall along the edge of a roof, or round a lead flat, terrace walk, etc. ...

The corbels carrying the arches of the corbel tables in Italy and France were often elaborately moulded, and sometimes in two or three courses projecting over one another; those carrying the machicolations of English and French castles had four courses.
Machiolated battlements at Pontivy Castle, Brittany Parapets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, supported on decorative machicolation. ...

In modern chimney construction a corbel table is constructed on the inside of a flue in the form of a concrete ring beam supported by a range of corbels. The corbels can be either in-situ or pre-cast concrete. The corbel tables described here are built at approximately ten metre intervals to ensure stability of the barrel of refractory bricks constructed thereon. A chimney is a system for venting hot gases and smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. ... A flue is a pipe or channel for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, furnace, boiler, or generator. ... Barrel can refer to: Barrels for storage; especialy Barrels for aging alcoholic beverages. ... The term refractory can refer to multiple things: A refractory clergyman is one who refused to swear an oath to the French Revolution-era French state under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. ...

Corbelling

Craigievar Castle (completed 1626) displays corbelling supporting upper storeys, corner turrets and stairwells projecting out from the wall line

Corbelling supporting corner turrets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow on a Renaissance mansion of c.1600

Corbelling, where rows of corbels gradually build a wall out from the vertical, has long been used as a simple kind of vaulting, for example in many Neolithic chambered cairns where walls are gradually corbelled in until the opening can be spanned by a slab. Download high resolution version (632x954, 130 KB)Craigievar Castle, an archetypical Scottish Tower house near Aberdeen, photograph taken 1991 by User:Dave souza File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (632x954, 130 KB)Craigievar Castle, an archetypical Scottish Tower house near Aberdeen, photograph taken 1991 by User:Dave souza File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Categories: Stub | Castles in Scotland ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1602x2139, 405 KB) Summary Corner turrets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, and windows in the short west wing connecting the mansion to the gatehouse. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1602x2139, 405 KB) Summary Corner turrets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, and windows in the short west wing connecting the mansion to the gatehouse. ... The Renaissance mansion of Newark Castle as seen from the west is linked to the original 15th century tower house to the left . ... Vaulting is gymnastics on a horseback. ... An array of Neolithic artefacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae Scotland, Europes most complete Neolithic village. ... A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a cairn of stones inside which a sizeable (usually stone) chamber was constructed. ...

In medieval architecture the technique was used to support upper storeys or a parapet projecting forward from the wall plane, often to form machicolation where openings between corbels could be used to drop things on attackers. This later became a decorative feature, without the openings. Corbelling supporting upper stories and particularly supporting projecting corner turrets subsequently became a characteristic of the Scottish baronial style. Medieval architecture is a term used to represent various forms of architecture popular in the Middle Ages. ... Machiolated battlements at Pontivy Castle, Brittany Parapets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow, supported on decorative machicolation. ... Corbelled corner turrets at Newark Castle, Port Glasgow. ... Scottish baronial style is an architectural style typical of the castles of North East Scotland. ...

Mediaeval timber-framed buildings often employ jettying, where upper stories are cantilevered out on projecting wooden beams in a similar manner to corbelling. Timber framing is the modern term for the traditional half-timbered construction in which timber provides a visible skeletal frame that supports the whole building. ... Alternate meanings: See Jetty (web server) Alternate meanings: See Jetty (river, dock and maritime structures) A double jettied timber framed building. ... The cantilevered beam (green) projects out into space from its supports (blue). ...

Examples

• Maes Howe, a particularly fine Neolithic chambered cairn in Scotland.
• Gallarus Oratory, an early Christian church in Ireland, is built with corbel vaulting.

Maes Howe is a Neolithic chambered cairn and passage grave situated on Mainland Orkney (off northern Scotland). ... An array of Neolithic artefacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools Excavated dwellings at Skara Brae Scotland, Europes most complete Neolithic village. ... A chambered cairn is a burial monument, usually constructed during the Neolithic, consisting of a cairn of stones inside which a sizeable (usually stone) chamber was constructed. ... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... The Gallarus Oratory is believed to be an early Christian church located on the Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland. ... A Christian is a follower of Jesus Christ. ... Vaulting is gymnastics on a horseback. ...

See also

• balcony

A balcony comprising a balustrade supported at either end by plinths. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• The CRSBI (Corpus of ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE in Britain and Ireland) website has many examples of carved Norman corbels