Córdoba and Amiens Architectural Vocabulary

A vocabulary review of key architectural, Christian, and Islamic terms related to the Great Mosque of Córdoba and Amiens Cathedral based on the lecture notes.

Aisles

The narrower zones to either side of the main vessel of the nave

Ambulatory

The zone behind the choir and sanctuary

Arcade

A series of arches supported by columns or piers; or the first story of the elevation. At Amiens, it is composed of a row of piers supporting a series of pointed arches.

Arch

A curved structure composed of voussoirs; at Cordoba, a combination of columns and piers support them; at Amiens, piers support them.

Caliph

The chief Muslim ruler, successor to the Prophet Muhammad; ‘Abd al-Rahman III and al-Hakam II, and al-Mansur were these for Cordoba.

Cathedral

A Christian church containing the seat of a bishop.

Choir

The zone in the main aisle of the chevet where the clergy sat, often in wooden stalls; at Amiens, it comprises the first three bays of the chevet.

Church

A congregational building designed to accommodate Christian worship.

Clerestory

The fenestrated level at the top; at Amiens, it is the third story of the elevation.

Clergy

In Christianity, a person who has been ordained to perform a religious duty.

Column

A cylindrical upright architectural support.

Courtyard

An open-air space, often lined with covered arcades; at Cordoba, it was planted with fruit and palms trees.

Crossing

The bay at the center of the transept

Dome

Usually a hemispherical structure that encloses a space

Emir

A local or regional Muslim ruler

Flying buttress

A system of external support consisting of an upright and a flyer; when placed at the correct height, the flyer absorbs the thrust of the stone vault inside the cathedral and transfers the load to the upright.

Horseshoe arch

An arch with a single center, it describes more than half of a circle, so it curves inward at the bottom.

Imam

For sunnis, the leader of worship in a mosque.

Jambs

The zone to the left and right of a doorway; at Amiens, column-figures appear in these.

Lintel

A horizontal member placed on top of an upright; at Amiens, each portal contains a lower lintel and an upper lintel.

Maqsura

An enclosure near the mihrab in a mosque, often reserved for a ruler and his associates; at Cordoba, the current maqsura was part of al-Hakam II’s intervention, and it was surrounded by a wooden screen.

Mihrab

A niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the direction of prayer; at Cordoba, the current mihrab was part of al-Hakam II’s intervention.

Minaret

A vertical pillar or tower, usually used as a platform for the call to prayer.

Minbar

A pulpit in a mosque, where the imam stands; at Cordoba, the minbar was inlaid with sandalwood, ebony, ivory, and Indian wood; while several extant medieval sources describe it, the minbar itself was destroyed in the 16th century.

Mosque

A congregational building largely designed to accommodate Muslim prayer.

Muezzin

The person who performs the call to prayer.

Nave chapels

Devotional spaces off the nave aisle, often roughly the size of one or two aisle bays; at Amiens, the nave chapels were not part of the original design, but they were added over time by knocking down the outer wall and adding the chapels between the buttresses of the nave.

Nave

A zone stretching from the west end to the crossing; at Amiens, there is a three-aisled nave.

Pier

An upright thicker than a column, which may or may not be cylindrical; at Cordoba, the upper arcade rests on piers; at Amiens, piers support the main arcade.

Pointed arch

An arch with two centers, a pointed arch appears more triangular in form and comes to a point at the top; at Amiens, pointed arches appear in all three stories of the nave elevation, and they are used in concert with cusped arches in the transept and choir.

Polychromed sculpture

Sculpture that is painted in multiple, often bright, colors; at Amiens, both the figural and the vegetal sculpture was originally painted, and some of the polychromy is still visible if you zoom in and look closely.

Portal

A monumental, arched entrance to a church or cathedral; at Amiens, there are three west portals, one south transept portal, and one north transept portal.

Prayer hall

An enclosed space for Muslim prayer; at Cordoba, there is a hypostyle prayer hall.

Qibla wall

Often the longest wall in the mosque, the qibla wall indicates the direction of prayer; at Cordoba, the qibla wall faces southeast.

Radiating chapel

Radially arranged devotional spaces off the ambulatory; at Amiens, there are seven radiating chapels, including the axial chapel.

Relics

Physical remains of or material objects associated with a saint or holy person; at Cordoba, there was an important relic associated with Caliph ‘Uthman, in the form of "four bloodied leaves of the mushaf he was reading at the time of his assassination in Medina in 656," and both the Great Mosque of Damascus and Amiens Cathedral housed relics of John the Baptist.

Round arch

An arch with a single center, a round arch describes the top half of a circle.

Sanctuary

The zone in the main aisle of the chevet where the high altar is placed; at Amiens, the sanctuary occupies the fourth bay of the chevet and the hemicycle.

Transept

The zone that intersects with the rest of the building at a 90-degree angle; at Amiens, the transept project out at least one bay from the nave and chevet.

Triforium

The level designed to hide the aisle roof; at Amiens, it is the second story of the elevation.

Tympanum

A field that is either rounded at the top or pointed; at Amiens, a tympanum appears directly above the two lintels in each portal.

Vault

An arched structure that encloses a space; at Amiens, most of the vaults are quadripartite rib vaults.

Voussoir

A wedge-shaped unit used to form an arch; at Cordoba, the voussoirs of the original mosque alternate between stone and brick; at Amiens, the voussoirs are made exclusively of limestone, and the ones used to form the arches of the three west portals are carved in high relief with figural sculpture.