GABLE (OF., Fr. gable, from OHG. gabala, Jabal, Ger. Gabel, fork, AS. geafl, fork, from Ir. gabul, gobul, Welsh gafl, Bret. gavl, gaol, fork). The triangular part of an exterior wall at the end of a building 'having a roof sloping both ways from a longitudinal ridge, between the top of the side walls and the slopes of the roof. The whole wall of which the gable forms the top is called a gable-end. The form appears first in the pediment (q.v.) of Greek temples which, on account of its rich sculptures, became so impor tant a part of temple architecture. It was not, however, until the Romanesque period of medi mval architecture that the gable came into gen eral use as a constructive and decorative form. Some Romanesque gables in Central France, forming the summits of church facades, are ex tremely rich in ornamentation. Such gable fa cades throughout Europe became a decorative feature and often, instead of following the lines of the structure behind, were given independent lines, forming a screen facade. The form was extended, then, to minor parts of the building, often for purely decorative purposes. The de
velopment of tracery in the Gothic styles led to the use of delicate openwork gables, adorned. with crockets and finials and covered with a lacework of • decoration. Such gables—termed goblets in their smaller forms—were used in great profusion in the more decorative parts of Gothic architecture, such as doorways, windows, canopies, pinnacles, etc., where they are intro duced in endless variety. In the mediaeval towns of Northern and Central Europe almost all the houses had gabled facades on the street, produc ing great diversity and picturesqueness of effect, as may still be seen in many towns which have been little modernized. The towns of Belgium and Germany especially still retain this medi aeval arrangement. In the Gothic and the Renais sance periods, the simple outline of the gable in these countries became stepped and broken in the most fantastic manner. See CoatirE STEPS.