long time since anyone in Kingsbridge built rib-vaulting.' He turned to Merthin. 'Could you make the formwork?'
Merthin knew what he meant. At the edge of the vault, where the masonry was almost upright, the stones would stay in place by their own weight; but, higher up, as the curve turned toward the horizontal, some support was needed to keep everything in place while the mortar dried. The obvious method was to make a wooden frame, called formwork or centering, and lay the stones on top of that.
It was a challenging job for a carpenter, for the curves had to be just right. Thomas knew the quality of Merthin's craftsmanship, having closely supervised the work Merthin and Elfric carried out at the cathedral over several years. However, it was tactless of Thomas to address the apprentice rather than the boss, and Elfric reacted quickly. 'Under my supervision he can do it, yes,' he said.
'I can make the formwork,' Merthin said, already thinking about how the frame would be supported by the scaffolding, and the platform on which the masons would have to stand. 'But these vaults were not built with formwork.'
'Don't talk nonsense, boy,' Elfric said. 'Of course they were. You know nothing about it.'
Merthin knew it was unwise to argue with his employer. On the other hand, in six months he would be competing with Elfric for work, and he needed people such as Brother Godwyn to believe in his competence. Also, he was stung by the scorn in Elfric's voice, and he felt an irresistible desire to prove his master wrong. 'Look at the extrados,' he said indignantly. 'Having finished one bay, surely the masons would have re-used the same formwork for the next. In which case, all the vaults would have the same curve. But, in fact, they're all different.'
'Obviously they didn't re-use their formwork,' Elfric said irritably.
'Why wouldn't they?' Merthin persisted. 'They must have wanted to save on timber, not to mention the wages of skilled carpenters.'
'Anyway, it's not possible to build vaulting without formwork.'
'Yes, it is,' Merthin said. 'There's a method - '
'That's enough,' Elfric said. 'You're here to learn, not teach.'
Godwyn put in: 'Just a minute, Elfric. If the boy is right, it could save the priory a lot of money.' He looked at Merthin. 'What were you going to say?'
Merthin was half wishing he had not raised this subject. There would be hell to pay later. But he was committed now. If he backed off, they would think he did not know what he was talking about. 'It's described in a book in the monastery library, and it's very simple,' he said. 'As each stone is laid, a rope is draped over it. One end of the rope is tied to the wall, the other weighted with a lump of wood. The rope forms a right angle over the edge of the stone, and keeps it from slipping off its bed of mortar and falling to the ground.'
There was a moment of silence as they all concentrated, trying to visualize the arrangements. Then Thomas nodded. 'It could work,' he said.
Elfric looked furious.
Godwyn was intrigued. 'What book is this?'
'It's called Timothy's Book ,' Merthin told him.
'I know of it, but I've never studied it. Obviously I should.' Godwyn addressed the others. 'Have we seen enough?'
Elfric and Thomas nodded. As the four men left the roof space, Elfric muttered to Merthin: 'Do you realize you've just talked yourself out of several weeks' work? You won't do that when you're your own master, I'll bet.'
Merthin had not thought of that. Elfric was right: by proving that formwork was unnecessary, he had also done himself out of a job. But there was something badly wrong with Elfric's way of thinking. It was unfair to allow someone to spend money unnecessarily, just to keep yourself in work. Merthin did not want to live by cheating people.
They went down the spiral staircase into the chancel. Elfric said to Godwyn: 'I'll come to you tomorrow with a price for the work.'
'Good.'
Elfric turned to Merthin. 'You stay here and count the stones
Merthin knew what he meant. At the edge of the vault, where the masonry was almost upright, the stones would stay in place by their own weight; but, higher up, as the curve turned toward the horizontal, some support was needed to keep everything in place while the mortar dried. The obvious method was to make a wooden frame, called formwork or centering, and lay the stones on top of that.
It was a challenging job for a carpenter, for the curves had to be just right. Thomas knew the quality of Merthin's craftsmanship, having closely supervised the work Merthin and Elfric carried out at the cathedral over several years. However, it was tactless of Thomas to address the apprentice rather than the boss, and Elfric reacted quickly. 'Under my supervision he can do it, yes,' he said.
'I can make the formwork,' Merthin said, already thinking about how the frame would be supported by the scaffolding, and the platform on which the masons would have to stand. 'But these vaults were not built with formwork.'
'Don't talk nonsense, boy,' Elfric said. 'Of course they were. You know nothing about it.'
Merthin knew it was unwise to argue with his employer. On the other hand, in six months he would be competing with Elfric for work, and he needed people such as Brother Godwyn to believe in his competence. Also, he was stung by the scorn in Elfric's voice, and he felt an irresistible desire to prove his master wrong. 'Look at the extrados,' he said indignantly. 'Having finished one bay, surely the masons would have re-used the same formwork for the next. In which case, all the vaults would have the same curve. But, in fact, they're all different.'
'Obviously they didn't re-use their formwork,' Elfric said irritably.
'Why wouldn't they?' Merthin persisted. 'They must have wanted to save on timber, not to mention the wages of skilled carpenters.'
'Anyway, it's not possible to build vaulting without formwork.'
'Yes, it is,' Merthin said. 'There's a method - '
'That's enough,' Elfric said. 'You're here to learn, not teach.'
Godwyn put in: 'Just a minute, Elfric. If the boy is right, it could save the priory a lot of money.' He looked at Merthin. 'What were you going to say?'
Merthin was half wishing he had not raised this subject. There would be hell to pay later. But he was committed now. If he backed off, they would think he did not know what he was talking about. 'It's described in a book in the monastery library, and it's very simple,' he said. 'As each stone is laid, a rope is draped over it. One end of the rope is tied to the wall, the other weighted with a lump of wood. The rope forms a right angle over the edge of the stone, and keeps it from slipping off its bed of mortar and falling to the ground.'
There was a moment of silence as they all concentrated, trying to visualize the arrangements. Then Thomas nodded. 'It could work,' he said.
Elfric looked furious.
Godwyn was intrigued. 'What book is this?'
'It's called Timothy's Book ,' Merthin told him.
'I know of it, but I've never studied it. Obviously I should.' Godwyn addressed the others. 'Have we seen enough?'
Elfric and Thomas nodded. As the four men left the roof space, Elfric muttered to Merthin: 'Do you realize you've just talked yourself out of several weeks' work? You won't do that when you're your own master, I'll bet.'
Merthin had not thought of that. Elfric was right: by proving that formwork was unnecessary, he had also done himself out of a job. But there was something badly wrong with Elfric's way of thinking. It was unfair to allow someone to spend money unnecessarily, just to keep yourself in work. Merthin did not want to live by cheating people.
They went down the spiral staircase into the chancel. Elfric said to Godwyn: 'I'll come to you tomorrow with a price for the work.'
'Good.'
Elfric turned to Merthin. 'You stay here and count the stones
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