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Altar: Elevated structure located in
the choir at the east end of the church, where religious rites are performed
(fig.1).
Ambulatory: Passageways surrounding the
central part of the choir, which is often a continuation of the side aisles
(fig.1,5). The most common design of the Gothic era was the double ambulatory
surrounded by semi-circular radiating chapels such as at the Abbey Church
of
Saint-Denis.
Apse: Semi-circular vaulted structure
at the east end of the church at the termination of the choir (fig.1).
Arcade: An arch or a series of arches
supported by piers or columns (fig.6)
Arch: Curved masonry construction that
spans an opening such as a portal or window. Pointed arches were a feature
of the Gothic era, that evolved from the round Romanesque arches.See
Gothic Architecture.
[Fig.1: Plan of the interior at the Cathedral
of St-Gervais and St-Protais (after Gonet 1998)].
Archivolt: A series of decorated, recessed
arches spanning an opening such as a portal (fig.3, B).
Baldachin: ornamental canopy covering
statues (fig.3, F).
Balustrade: A railing with symmetrical
supports.
Bay: A major vertical division of a large,
interior wall. There are usually more than one, such as a nave that is divided
into seven bays (fig.1).
Buttress/Abutment System: A projecting or
free-standing support built into or against the exterior wall of a cathedral,
which steadies the structure by opposing the lateral thrusts from the vaults.
The appearance of double span flying buttresses first occurred at Saint-Denis
(fig.2, B).
Canopy: A decorated rooflike projection
or a richly decorated baldachin over a  statue (fig.3, F).
Capital: Architectural element that surmounts
a column or any other vertical support (fig.5, B).
Chancel: Space around the altar of a
church that is usually intended for the clergy (fig.1). From the Latin
cancellus for "railing."
Chevet: Apse built as radiating chapels
outside of the choir aisle, and the resulting, more complicated structure
became known as the chevet at the beginning of the 13th century.
[Fig.2: North transept of the Abbey Church of Saint-Denis showing
A)tower; B) Double Span Flying Buttresses; C) Gothic rose window with tracery;
D) Lancet windows (photo: Athena Review)].
Choir: Part of the church east of the
crossing, usually occupied by the priests and singers of the choir (fig.1).
From the Latin chorus for a "singing group."
Clerestory: Windowed area of the church
above the side aisles and above the wall of the central part of the nave
(fig.6).
Colonnades: A series of columns supporting
either arches or an entablature, and usually one side of a roof. These were
common architectural features of Early Roman churches.
Colonettes: Small, thin columns, often
used for decoration or to support an arcade.
Column: Slender vertical support having
either a cylindrical or polygonal shaft, and which always has a base and
a capital.
Crossing: Space where the transept intersects
with the nave along the main axis of the church (fig.1).
Crypt: Low room underneath the choir
of the church used as a sepulchral vault. From the Greek kryptós
meaning "hidden." Examples include the crypt at
Notre-Dame
in Paris.
Embrasure: An opening in a thick wall
for a portal or window, especially one with angled sides, so that the opening
is larger on the inside than the outside. From the Old French embraser
for "to cut at a slant."
Effigy: A sculptured representation of
a figure such as in the recumbent effigies of dead kings at the Abbey Church
of Saint-Denis.
Façade: The front of the cathedral
(fig.1). During the Gothic era, the west façade at the entranceway
was noted for its three sculptured portals, and crowning rose window flanked
by two towers. Starting with Saint-Denis, this became a feature of Gothic
cathedrals.
Finial: Small ornament located on top of a
pinnacle or gable.
Foil: Circular segments combined
concentrically with other foils to form the tracery used in rose windows
(fig.2, fig.4, B) The foil is usually used in groups such as trefoil or
quatrefoil.
Foliated frieze: A panel decorated with
carved foliage or leaves, found below the upper molding or cornice of a wall,
and sometimes spanning the whole interior of the church.
Gable: Triangular portion of a wall fronting
the enclosing lines of a sloping roof, which often contains sculptures (fig.3,
A).
Gallery: Covered corridor in an upper
story overlooking the nave. A traverse gallery crosses both sides of the
church and a tribune gallery is the elevated part of a gallery which contains
seats.
Fig.3: Central portal of the
West façade of Amiens showing A) gable; B) pointed archivolt; C) tympanum;
D) lintel; E) trumeau; F) canopy above a carved cornerpiece; G) jambs; H)
socles (photo:Athena Review)].
Gallery of Kings: Statues of kings in
sequence, located either under baldachins (ornamental canopies) or encircling
the base of the towers of the west façade of Gothic cathedrals. Examples
include the 63 giant statues of kings at Reims, and the Kings of Judah at
Notre-Dame in Paris.
Gargoyles: A water sprout terminating
in a grotesquely carved figure of a human or animal, and projecting from
the gutter of a cathedral such as Notre-Dame in Paris.
Iconographic scheme/program: The specific
arrangement of sculptures, which symbolically represent a religious event
or saint's life on the sculptured portals of Gothic cathedrals. Examples
include the narrative portrayal of the Annunciation, Visitation, and Presentation
at Reims Cathedral.
Impost: Slab above a column capital at
the point of the spring of an arch.
Jamb: One of a pair of vertical posts
or pieces, that together form the sides of a portal, which often contains
sculptures (fig.3, G). The individual columns can also be referred to as
jambshafts, which often support an arch or vault. From the Old French jambe
for "pier" or "sidepost of a door."
Keystone: Stone in the form of wedge
forming the central element of a lintel, vault, or arch. Pendant keystones
are found at the intersection of ribbed vaults. Originally from the Latin
clavis for "key."
Labyrinth: Intricate combination of paths
and passageways, often located in the nave of a cathedral, marked by floor
tiles sometimes engraved with the names of the cathedral architects. Pilgrims
would follow the torturous path on their knees; see
Chartres.
Lancet window: A narrow window with sharp
pointed arches. Starting with Amiens, lancets were often subdivided into
two and topped by a smaller rose window. Prior to this, lancets were typically
surmounted by an oculus or round opening (fig.2, D; fig.4, D).
Lintel: Horizontal architectural member
in wood or stone that supports the weight above an opening (fig.3, D).
Marmosets: Grotesque human and animal
figures sculpted in stone, often underlying jamb figures. From the Old French
word marmouset (1280). At the end of the 15th century, the same word
was used to describe small squirrel-like monkeys of the New World.
Martyrium: An edifice built over the
site of a tomb of a martyr frequently became the site of cathedrals.
Moldings: Long narrow, often decorated
bands found on other architectural
features such as cornices or bases.
Mosan goldsmiths: A 12th century workshop
located in the Meuse valley of Belgium and northern France that produced
high quality gold, silver, and enameled objects, with naturalistic human
figures. These are thought to have influenced the figurative stone sculptures
adorning the façades of Gothic cathedrals (Williamson 1995). Examples
include the reliquary of Cologne by Nicolas of Verdun and the gold cross made for
Abbot
Suger.
Fig.4: Lancet Window (D) of Reims Cathedral
surmounted by an oculus (A) with six lobed foils (B). Tabernacle pinnacles
(C) flank both sides of the lancet window and contain sculptures of saints
and angels (photo: Athena Review).
Mullion: The vertical dividing bar of
a rose or lancet window (fig.6).
Narthex: Beginning with Early Christian
architecture, this was the gallery, vestibule, or porch located in the main
(west) entrance of the church (fig.1).
Naturalism: Style of art treating drapery,
bodily movements, and facial expressions as they might appear in nature or
real life. Sculptures carved in the Gothic era showed considerably more
naturalism than in the Romanesque or Byzantine eras
(see
Gothic sculpture).
Nave: The middle aisle or multiple main
aisled part of a church extending from the narthex or main entrance to the
choir (fig.1). The congregation usually sits here.
Oculus: A small circular opening, and
which was a precursor of the Gothic rose window (fig.4, A).
Openwork gablet: Gable-shaped motif above
portals and windows, often containing tracery decorations as well as pinnacles
and finials.
Pier: A masonry support between openings
such as arcades. Typically slender, the pier has a rectangular, polygonal,
or round cross-section, but does not taper and often has no capital (fig.6).
The pier may also have a base as well as an impost. A compound pier is a
pier with two or more members or support elements.
Pillar: A support which does not taper,
has an impost, and does not need to be cylindrical as is the case with a
column. The shaft consists of either rectangular, octagonal, circular, or
cruciform blocks and may have a capital (fig.5, A).
Pinnacle: Small narrow pointed tower
capping buttresses and openwork gablets or portals and galleries.
Portal: The door or entrance of a cathedral
(fig.3).
Fig.5: Pillars (A) with capitals (B) and
quatri-partite vaulting (D) containing keystones (C) of the ambulatory of
the Cathedral of St-Gervais and St-Protais at Soissons (photo: Athena
Review).
Portico: A gallery which opens onto the
exterior of the church and is supported by columns. From the Latin
porticus for "arcade" or "gallery."
Radiating (Apsidal) chapels: Series of
chapels arranged around an ambulatory in the apse of a cathedral (fig.1).
Reliquary: A container, often richly
ornamented, holding the remains of a saint which can be displayed to the
faithful.
Rood screen/Jube: A stone or wooden screen,
which separated the choir of the church where the clergy sits from the nave
where the congregation sits (fig.1).
Rose window: A large round window on
the west façade or transept, containing tracery that became more elaborate
as the Gothic era progressed (fig.2, C). Beautiful examples occur at Notre-Dame
in Paris and Chartres.
Socles: Architectural term referring
to the lower panels of a portal, often located under the jamb figures. The
reliefs were often quatrefoil, and typically portrayed such pagan themes
as the Signs of the Zodiac and the Virtues and Vices (fig.3, H).
Spire: A sharply pointed pyramidal structure
surmounting a tower.
Spandrel: An area between two adjoining
arches, often decorated.
Stained glass: Colored windows of Gothic
cathedrals made from a combination of many pieces of colored and semi-transparent
white glass joined together with lead strips. Colors were generated by adding
specific metal oxides, which illuminated
the glass with bright red, blue, green, and yellow tones. The function of
stained glass was to fill the cathedral with light in windows which also
fulfilled a narrative and illustrative purpose, in representing Biblical
events and the lives of saints. Patrons and workers guilds who helped fund
the construction of the cathedral were also portrayed (see
Chartres).
Tabernacle: a canopied niche holding
a sculpted figure, such as the rendering of saints and angels on the façade
and transept of Reims cathedral (fig.4, C).
Tracery: Geometrically constructed building
ornament such as a foil found in the upper part of Gothic rose windows (fig.2,
C). This type of stonework decoration b ecame more complex during the High
Gothic and Flamboyant phase.
Transept:
Any major transverse part of the church, usually crossing the
nave and at right angles with the entrance of the choir (fig.1). The transept
may be divided into areas of different height.
Triforium: Space or passage above the
nave arcade, below the clerestory, and extending over the ceiling or vaults
of the side aisle (fig.6). A blind triforium does not contain a passageway
and blind arches are placed in front of the wall such as at Amiens. A false
triforium has arcades which open to the roof. A pierced triforium contains
windows in the outer walls of the passageway.
Trumeau: Stone pillar or column supporting
the tympanum of a portal at its center (fig.3, E).
Fig 6: Drawing of the nave at Reims cathedral
showing the clerestory, triforium, and the nave arcades (after M.Alexander,
2003).
Tympanum: A triangular space between
an arch and the horizontal bar of a portal or window (lintel), often decorated
with sculpture (fig.3,C).
Vaulting: A curved, self supporting wall
or ceiling that covers a space between two walls and rests on pillars. Romanesque
antecedents of the Gothic ribbed vault are the barrel vault and the groined
vault. The ribbed vault is composed of diagonally arched ribs and can be
classified as tri-partite, quatri-partite (fig.5, D), or sexpartite. Sexpartite
vaults have an additional transversal rib in the center of the bay
(see
Gothic architecture).
Voussoirs: Any of the pieces, in the
shape of a truncated wedge, that make up an arch or vault.
. References:
Binding, G. 2002. High Gothic: The Age of the Great Cathedrals.
Cologne, Taschen.
Bony, J. 1983. French Gothic Architectures of the 12th and 13th
centuries. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London, University of California
Press.
Michelin Travel Publications. 2001. The Green Guide. Northern France
and the Paris Region. France.
Williamson, P. 1995. Gothic Sculpture. New Haven and London,
Yale University Press.
This article appears on pages 109-111 of Vol.4 No.2 of Athena
Review.
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