Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | May 11, 2000 06:31am | #10

   *
   In one of the books I've read I remember that the author said, "When they laid out medieval cathedrals they only had ___ basic tools: ______, _______,..." I want to use the quote in a presentation. I think the tools were a line, a plumb bob and a level. Can anyone verify that or instruct me otherwise?

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   Guest_ | May 07, 2000 04:14pm | #1

   *Ron, possibly a librarian could help you. They have a really active mailing list. http://www.cuis.edu/~stumpers/

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   Guest_ | May 07, 2000 05:37pm | #2

   *Ron ,this is one of my pet areas of interest,although my actual knowledge is woefully in-adequate. I could be wrong,but I don't think the spirit level had been invented yet. Medieval manuscripts show plumbobs,a type of level which was basically a plumbob hung in a small triangular frame,and squares.I doubt the squares had markings or tables of any kind.This is a pretty cool area for individual study.I am interested in the guild structure,pay scales of respective trades,and the status confered upon skilled tradesmen by the society of the day.skilled tradesmen had rights and privleges very much envied by the commoners of the day. In many cases the tradesmen had practical educations superior to that of a lot of the nobility.I was first interested in all of this when I found out that a lot of the cathedrals were originally roofed with sheet lead by (who else) plumbers.The centuries old slate roofs we now associate with cathedrals are actually re-roofs in many cases.(The lead had a tendency to elongate and creep downhill over the centuries)Good luck in your research,Stephen

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   Guest_ | May 07, 2000 06:43pm | #3

   *Woodcarver Ron, Ken Follet wrote a novel "Pillars of the Earth" on the subject. It's kinda long to flip through but he did a lot of research to write it. Good book if you like that kind of thing. Joe H

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   Guest_ | May 08, 2000 02:31am | #4

   *For level, they did a trench and fill with water. Instant reference point for measuring level.

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   Guest_ | May 08, 2000 04:14am | #5

   *Ron - There is a cool book I have laying around here somewhere called "Building Construction Before Mechanization" by John Fitchen. It has been a long time since I read it, so I can't say with absolute certainty that it addresses your question, but it has a lot of really fascinating information about how things were built back before all the tools we take for granted in the 20th and 21st century.

3. 
   jarvie | May 08, 2000 04:58am | #6

   *on.another basic but important layout tool of the medeival builders was the "pole" or rod. a pole, actually, of a fixed length, maybe 12 or 15 feet or whatever the units or bays of the building were to be. sometimes several different lengths were used. these tools assured consistency and accuracy from initial layout through construction.

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   Guest_ | May 08, 2000 05:41am | #7

   *I don't know about the trench part--and that makes sense, but my tile instructor told me, perhaps erroneously, that water levels were the first form of level--only he used tubing to demonstrate.

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   Guest_ | May 08, 2000 07:27pm | #8

   *What Joe said.Read "Pillars of the Earth". Its a great book.

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   Guest_ | May 08, 2000 11:29pm | #9

   *I would add the compass or dividers to the list of old tools. It is part of the Mason's symbol.

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   Guest_ | May 11, 2000 06:31am | #11

   *Pillars of the earth. read it.