Glossary
Chapter 14
Altar A raised platform or stand used for sacred ceremonial or ritual purposes in a place of worship.
Alternate a-b-a-b support system An architectural support system in which every other nave wall support sends up a supporting rib that crosses the vault as a transverse arch.
Alternate support system An architectural support system in which alternating structural elements bear the weight of the walls and the load of the ceiling.
Ambulatory In a church: A continuation of the side aisles of a Latin Cross plan into a passageway that extends back behind the choir and apse and allows traffic to flow to the chapels, which are often place in this area. From the Latin ambulare, meaning to walk.
Annunciation The angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus.
Apocalypse The ultimate triumph of good over evil foretold in Judeo-Christian writings.
Apse A semicircular or polygonal projection of a building with a semicircular dome, especially on the east end of a church.
Architecture The art and science of designing aesthetic buildings, bridges, and other structures to help people meet their personal and communal needs.
Archivolts In architecture, concentric moldings that repeat the shape of an arch.
Atrium A hall or entrance court.
Barrel vault A roofed-over space or tunnel that is constructed by placing arches behind one another.
Buttress To support or prop up construction with a projecting structure, usually built of brick or stone; a massive masonry structure on the exterior wall of a building whose function is to press inward and upward in order to hold the stone blocks of arches in place. Flying buttresses connect the exterior buttresses with the vaults of the nave arcade.
Byzantine A style associated with Eastern Europe that arose after the year 300 ce, when the emperor Constantine moved the capital of his empire from Rome to Byzantium (he renamed the capital Constantinople; present-day Istanbul). The style was concurrent with the Early Christian style in Western Europe.
Carolingian Referring to Charlemagne or his period. Charlemagne was Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 800 to 814 ce.
Catacomb A vault or gallery in an underground burial place.
Central plan A plan for a church or a chapel with a primary central space surrounded by symmetrical areas around each side. Contrast with longitudinal plan.
Clerestory In a Latin Cross plan, the area above the triforium in the elevation of the nave, which contains windows to provide direct lighting for the nave.
Compound pier In the Gothic style, a complexly shaped vertical support, to which a number of colonnettes (thin half-columns) are often attached.
Crossing square In architecture, the area that defines the right-angle intersection of the vaults of the nave and the transept of the church.
Diagonal rib In architecture, a rib that connects the opposite corners of a groin vault.
Eastern Orthodox The Christian church dominant in Eastern Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa.
Flying buttress A structure that connects a buttress on the exterior of a building with the interior vault that it supports.
Gothic A style of Western European art and architecture developed between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries ce. An architecture, characterized by ribbed vaults, pointed arches, flying buttresses, and high, steep roofs.
Iconography In a work of art, the conventional meanings attached to the images used by the artist; as an artistic approach, representing or illustrating by using the visual conventions and symbols of a culture.
Illumination Illustration and decoration of a manuscript with pictures or designs.
International Gothic style A refined style of painting in late fourteenth-century and early fifteenth-century Europe that was characterized by splendid processions and courtly scenes, ornate embellishment, and attention to detail.
Jamb In architecture, the side post of a doorway, window frame, fireplace, etc.
Lintel In architecture, a horizontal member supported by posts.
Longitudinal plan A church plan in which the nave is longer than the transept, and in which parts are symmetrical against an axis.
Lunette A crescent-shaped space. A French word meaning little moon.
Manuscript illumination Illustration or decoration of books and letters with pictures or designs.
Middle Ages The thousand years that span ce 400 to 1400, from the end of Roman Classical art to the rebirth of Classical traditions in the Renaissance. Although this period is sometime referred to as the Dark Ages, it was actually a time of important contributions to economics, science, and the arts.
Mosaic A medium in which the ground is wet plaster on an architectural element, such as a wall, and the vehicle consists of small pieces of colored tile, stone, or glass (tesserae) that are assembled to create an image.
Mural quality From the Latin muralis, meaning of a wall, and referring to solidity.
Narthex A church vestibule that leads to the nave, constructed for use by the catechumens (individuals preparing to be baptized).
Nave The central aisle of a church constructed for use by the congregation at large.
Oran A praying figure.
Orthogonal A line placed at right angles to another line.
Ottonian Of the period characterized by the consecutive reigns of German kings named Otto, beginning in 936 ce.
Palatine Chapel A chapel which is part of a palace.
Pendentive In architecture, a spherical triangle that fills the wall space between the four arches of a groin vault in order to provide a circular base on which a dome may rest.
Propylaeum In architecture, a gateway building leading to an open court before a Greek or Roman temple; specifically, such a building on the Acropolis.
Radiating chapel An apse-shaped chapel located beneath the ambulatory of a Latin Cross plan. Several of these generally radiate from the ambulatory.
Rectangular bay system A church plan in which rectangular bays serve as the basis for the overall design. Contrast with square schematism.
Rib In Gothic architecture, a structural member that reinforces the stress points of groin vaults.
Romanesque style A style of European architecture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries ce that is characterized by thick, massive walls, the Latin Cross plan, the use of a barrel vault in the nave, round arches, and a twin-towered façade.
Rose window A large circular window in a Gothic church. Rose windows are assembled in segments that resemble the petals of a flower and are usually adorned with stained glass and plantlike ornamental work.
Sculpture The art of carving, casting modeling, or assembling materials into three-dimensional figures of forms; a work of art made in such a manner.
Square schematism A church plan in which the crossing square serves as the basis for determining the overall dimensions of the building. Contrast with rectangular bay system.
Transept The arms of a Latin Cross plan, used by pilgrims and other visitors to allow access to the area behind the crossing square.
Transverse rib In architecture, a rib that connects the midpoints of a groin vault.
Tribune gallery In architecture, the space between the nave arcade and the clerestory, which is used for traffic above the side aisles on the second stage of the elevation.
Triforium In a church, a gallery or arcade in the wall above the arches of the nave, transept, or choir.
Trumeau In Romanesque and Gothic architecture, a dividing element in the center of a portal below the tympanum, which serves as an area for sculpture.
Tympanum The semicircular space above the doors to a cathedral.
Visitation In Roman Catholicism, the visit of the Virgin Mary to Elizabeth; a church feast commemorating the visit.