Christian History Home > Issue 49 > God's Glory in Wood and Stone
God's Glory in Wood and Stone
Intriguing facts behind one of medieval Christendom's magnificent legacies: The Cathedral.
Kevin A. Miller is executive editor of Christian History. | posted 1/01/1996 12:00AM
 2 of 2
Medieval architects sometimes built life-sized models for parts of a cathedral, making, for example, a huge wooden window frame and presenting it to masons to build it in stone.
Though built centuries ago, cathedrals are still among the largest buildings in the world. The spire of Strasbourg Cathedral in France reaches as high as a 45-story skyscraper; the cathedral stood as the tallest building in Europe until the Eiffel Tower was built last century.
To lift the heavy carved stones to the top of a cathedral, workers used winches, windlasses, and a “great wheel.” The great wheel was a wooden wheel big enough for one or two men to stand inside; when they walked, the wheel turned an axle that wound up rope.
Despite the effort it took to build just one cathedral, in Europe in just 400 years, Christians built 500 cathedrals.
Copyright © 1996 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian History magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Christian History.
Browse More ChristianHistory.net
Home | Browse by Topic | Browse by Period | The Past in the Present | Books & Resources
| 
share this page
