GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE (VOCAB SET #5)

guild

a medieval association of craftspeople or merchants, often having considerable power

buttress

an exterior mass, usually shaped like a thick rib or flange, that helps to support a wall

rose window

a circular, wheel-like window with mullions or tracery radiating in a form suggestive of a rose

ribbed vaults

the articulation of groin vaults with ribs

chevet

a series of radiating chapels extending from the apse of a Gothic Church

lux nova

new light; a transcendent metaphor for God

triforium

a shallow arcaded passageway above the nave arcade and below the clerestory, each bay having three arches

lancet window

tall, narrow window with a pointed arch

flying buttress

a buttress slanting from a separate pier, typically forming an arch with the wall it supports

scissor arches

curving X-shaped arches

tracery

a pattern of curvilinear, perforated ornament within the upper part of a medieval window or screen

Rayonnant Style

Gothic style that emphasizes elaboration of surface detail with linear motifs and enlarged windows to create “radiant" colored light