Scroll gables first appeared in the prosperous towns of the former Southern Netherlands (in Flanders at large) and then quickly spread throughout the former Netherlands, and to all German-speaking parts of the Holy Empire as well as in Northern Europe to the Baltic countries, in particular via the network of merchant cities of the former Hanseatic League. The success of the Antwerp
Mannerist architects is at the origin of the rapid diffusion of these gables from England to the Baltic in the second half of the 16th century. The volutes are a motif derived from the influence of the
Italian Renaissance, which was grafted onto the older architectural traditions of Northern Europe. This gable appeared by an evolution of the
stepped gable, frequent in the architecture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance of these regions. At the end of the Middle Ages, twisted and openwork Gothic foliage motifs (a motif derived from illuminations) as well as curved traceries which are specific to late Gothic, often decorated the Gothic bleachers in Northern Europe, although because of their fragility these decorations have rarely been preserved. The Italian volutes came initially to replace these old decorations during the first half of the 16th century, treated as simple ornaments added to the tiers or replacing them. Then, during the Mannerist and Baroque periods, large scrolls gradually tended to take up all the space, making the appearance of the tiers disappear. In the same way,
obelisks, balls or statues took the place of the old Gothic ears. ==See also==