THE AD HOC COLLECTIVE WORK OF BUILDING GOTHIC CATHEDRALS WITH TEMPLATES, STRING, AND GEOMETRY

Gothic cathedrals like Chartres were built in a discontinuous process by groups of masons using their own local knowledge, measures, and tec hniques. They had neither plans nor knowledge of structural mechanics. The success of the masons in building such large complex innovative s tructures lies in the use of templates, string, constructive geometry, and social organization to assemble a coherent whole from the messy h eterogeneous practices of diverse groups of workers. Chartres resulted from the ad hoc accumulation of the work of many men.