What Is the Origin of Gable Roofs?

Ancient Origins

• Gable roofs were often used in ancient Greece and Rome, where they were called tympana. In Greek and Roman architecture, a tympanum was a decorative semi-circular or triangular wall surface that sat over a lintel or arched entrance. The famed Parthenon of ancient Greece is an excellent example of a tympanum, or gable. For the Greeks and Romans, the primary purpose of the gable was to fill in the space at the end of two sloping roof sections.

Middle Ages

• Many shops and stores, during the Middle Ages, used the space at the end of gable roofs as areas to display signage. Simple houses built during the Middle Ages consisted of a single gable roof that allowed rain and snow to easily run off. More complex house designs in the Middle Ages included cross gable roofs. Middle Age cross gable roofs featured at least one smaller triangular roof that crossed the first roof.

Post-Middle Ages

• After the Middle Ages, variations in how the gable roof's sloping lines were shaped also began to appear. Some notable examples of differences in a gable roof's lines included crow-stepped versions. Crow-stepped gable roofs feature stair-step roof lines, running from their peaks to their bases. Victorian architecture was known for multiple gable roofs on typical homes. The gable roof is also noted in literature, with American author Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1851 novel "The House of the Seven Gables" as a famous example.

Considerations

• Modern architecture continues to consistently use the gable roof in both homes and other structures. The triangular-shaped space on a gable roof over a business is the perfect place to hang a sign, for example. On homes, gable roofs are considered an architectural building block, and they run in all sizes. Gable roofs in the 21st century often feature accent siding covering the end spaces, with decorative carvings at their peaks.