Medieval and Renaissance Art

Fibula

metal dress-pin that not only was used as a clothes’ fastener but also acted as a sign of an individual’s allegiance, wealth, and status

Ashlar

dressed(cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked

Romanesque

stylistic term used to define the architecture of western Europe from the mid-10th to the 12th century AD

Choir

The area of the church between a transept and main apse. It is the area where the service is sung and clergy may stand, and the main or high altar is located. In some churches, while in others, the choir is quite large and surrounded by an ambulatory

Tribune/Gallery

an upper story over the aisle which opens onto the nave or choir. It corresponds in length and width to the dimensions of the aisle below it

Pilgrimage Church

a church to which pilgrimages are regularly made, or a church along a pilgrimage route

Transverse Arch

supporting arch which runs across the vault from side to side, dividing the bays

Engaged Column

a column embedded in a wall and partly projecting from the surface of the wall

Compound Pier

a clustered column or pier which consists of a central structural element to which engaged or semi-detached shafts have been attached

Barrel Vault

vault based on the repeated arch

Groin Vault

two barrel vaults intersecting at right angles, folding the shell into two crossing diagonals

Tympanum

architectural term used to describe the vertical, triangular space enclosed by the horizontal and raking cornices of a pediment; also the space between the square head or lintel of a door or window and the round or pointed discharging arch above it

Theophanic Vision

appearance of a deity to humans

Cloister

center of an architectural ensemble within a monastery, especially in medieval western Europe. Reserved solely for the use of the mons, the cloister consists of a yard(the garth), usually quadrilateral n shaper and surrounded on all sides by covered passageways or galleries linking the major monastic buildings: church, refectory, dormitory, and chapter house

Historiated Capital

a capital decorated with figures of animals, birds, or humans, used either alone or combined with foliage. the figures need not have any meaning, although they may be symbolic or part of narrative sequence. historiated capitals were most commonly used in the Romanesque from the late eleventh to mid-twelfth centuries

blind arch

an arch that is infilled and cannot serve as passageway(door or window)

Blind Arcade

composed of a series of arches with no passageway; decorative element

Dwarf Gallery

arcaded gallery, usually below the roof line and recessed into the thickness of the wall

Transverse arch

supporting arch which runs across the vault from side to side, dividing the bays

Groin Vault

two barrel vaults intersecting at right angles, folding the shell into two crossing diagonals

Barrel Vault

vault based on the repeated arch

Rib Vault

a masonry vault set within a framework of ribs

Abbess

female superior of a community of nuns

Horror Vacui

a fear or dislike of leaving empty spaces, especially in an artistic composition

Reliquary

receptacle for the preservation of relics, principally the physical remains of a holy person or an object of particular veneration

Repousse

(of metalwork) hammered into relief from the reverse side

Baptistery

building used for the rite of baptism into the Christian Church

contrapposto

a sculptural scheme, originated by he ancient Greeks, in which the standing human figure is poised such that the weight rests on one leg(called the engaged leg), freeing the other leg, which is bent as the knee, With the weight shift, the hips, shoulders, and head tilt, suggesting relaxation with the subtle internal organic movement

Archivolt

bands or molding surrounding an arched opening

Triforium

a narrow passage in the thickness of the wall with arches opening onto the nave. it may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. it can have an outer wall of glass rather than stone

Flying Buttress

a free-standing buttress attached to the main vessel (nave, choir, or transept wall) by an arch or half-arch which transmits the thrust of the vault to the buttress

lux nova

new light

cloisonne

decorative work where enamel, glass, or gemstones are separated by strips of flattened wire placed on a metal backing. a cross between mosaic and stained glass

parchment

animal skin dried and treated to provide a flat sheet for writing, painting, bookbinding, and other purposes. the terms parchment and vellum have long been used indiscriminately, but strictly speaking “vellum” refers only to skins made from calves

Carolingian Art

art associated with Charlemagne, King of the Franks, from the last quarter of the 8th century AD, and with his successors, to the beginning of the 10th century

Westwork

a monumental facade incorporating two towers

Rayonnant(“radiant”)

term applied to a particular phase of French Gothic architecture(c. 1230s-1300s) by 19th-century historians who were attempting to divide Gothic into distinct sub-styles based on the changing forms of window tracery. other features: reduced mass and scale; elimination of prodigious structural and spatial speculations of High Gothic to concentrate of delicate two-dimensional effect

Flamboyant

architectural term referring to the sinuous, flickering patterns found in French tracery from the 14th century to the early 16th. by extension, it has come to designate French Late Gothic architecture

Frontispiece

an illustration facing the title page of a book

Psalter

a collection of Psalms for liturgical or devotional use

Miniature

term applied to encompass the small-scale painted illustrations in manuscripts

Breviary

a book containing the service for each day, to be recited by those in orders in the Roman Catholic Church

Enamel

glass melted onto a metal surface