In architecture a corbel or console is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the structure. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger" in the UK. The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or parapet, has been used since Neolithic, or New Stone Age, times. It is common in Medieval architecture and in the Scottish baronial style as well as in the Classical architectural vocabulary, such as the modillions of a Corinthian cornice and in ancient Chinese architecture.
The word "corbel" comes from Old French and derives from the Latin corbellus, a diminutive of corvus ("raven"), which refers to the beak-like appearance. Similarly, the French refer to a bracket-corbel, usually a load-bearing internal feature, as a corbeau ("crow").
Corbel is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Jeremy Tankard for Microsoft and released in 2005. It is part of the ClearType Font Collection, a suite of fonts from various designers released with Windows Vista. All start with the letter C to reflect that they were designed to work well with Microsoft's ClearType text rendering system, a text rendering engine designed to make text clearer to read on LCD monitors. The other fonts in the same group are Calibri, Cambria, Candara, Consolas and Constantia.
In a blurb for its use, Corbel was described as "designed to give an uncluttered, clean appearance on screen. The letter forms are open with soft, flowing curves. It is legible and clear at small sizes. At larger sizes the detailing and style of the shapes is more apparent." The italic style is a true italic, with influences from serif fonts and calligraphy, with many letters gaining a tail pointing to the right. Many aspects of its design are similar to Calibri and Candara, which are also humanist sans-serif designs; like them it is slightly more condensed than average. Font designer Raph Levien, reviewing it for Typographica, described it as similar to Frutiger. Tankard described it as "less cuddly, more assertive."
Corbel may also refer to:
Ein Sterbelied Auf Metall
scharfe zungen wie gewetzte klingen
ein scheusal alt, heimtïckisch und kalt
massen im trichter des blutes sich ballend
wenn stahl ist die formulierung einer Tat
erscheinungen mit ringen gefestigt
g�tterschwïrme verblassen im neuen glanz
in finsternis wollen sie zugrunde gehen
wie das von uns nie gesehene gold
in des einen kraft versinkt die freiheit
fïr das fleisch welches unterzugehen vermag
durch die herzen
bohrt sich das sterbelied auf metall
ein ehrgeiziges werk
im schicksal der jahrtausende
kr�nze der hoffnung
streuen verwïstende blïten
leben kïsst den kod mit breitem mund
ein volk am rande der nacht
wenn es brennt
am stahl der einsamkeit
doch trïume erklingen rastlos
vor dem kessel des letzten heizers
ich mensch,
der von der erinnerung singt
...und im schatten