ARHS Romanesque-Gothic VOCAB

meaning of numbers

milennial “cults” thinking the world is going to end in ear 1000,

relics

body parts from saints, figures, unearthed from graveyards of kings/saints. said to have miraculous qualities.

miracles

The space where heaven and earth meet is where that lingering holiness is, and what cannot happen under earthly rules happens under heavenly rules. as such, miracles can occur.

reliquaries

gem encrusted storage made to house relics

cathedral (monastic and secular)

a “state house” or, seat of a bishop

Romanesque style

means roman style, seen as a primitive phase of gothic. Identified by semicircular arches, thick walls/piers, small windows, barrel and groin vaults, and heavy, fortress like appearance.

monasteries/nunneries (abbeys)

endowed by wealthy people, for those who dedicate their lives to the church, places for manuscript production

parish churches

thousands of them, in villages, people were born and buried in their home churches, acted as the village center

apse

rounded end of the church that holds the altar

radiating chapels

situated along the apse for additional worship, housed relics

ambulatory

walkway around the apse

transept

transverse, cross-shaped arm of a church, standard feature in monastic abbey churches

nave

central, main body of the church

side aisles

aisles that run alongside the nave, separated from it by rows of columns, piers, or an arcade

crossing

center of the nave

barrel vault

rounded arches together, like a tunnel, flanked by buttresses for additional support, allow tons of room without columns in the way, despite their weight

groin vault

two barrel vaults crossed over each other, allows for multiple openings on all 4 sides with piers as support

romanesque roman arch vocab

keystone - stone that holds everything in place on the top
voussoirs - stones flanking the keystone acts as compression

impost - helps spread the heavy load of the arch evenly down into the column or wall below

piers- solid vertical support, sharp in shape

corbel

decorative, minature motifs of arches placed above windows for accessory

arcade

a series of arches

crossing square and dome on squinches

transept crosses over the nave, with a domelike tower pierced by windows

pilaster strips

where wall comes out slightly as decor

alternating support system

pier column pier column, aesthetically pleasing

articulated piers

carved to look not as blocklike, not quite like columns though

transverse arch

made of pilaster strips, helps hold a barrel vault, shows different sections of the church

freso secco

paint on dry plaster, doesnt survive that well (unlike a fresco which is wet paint on wet plaster)

clerstory

high section of church wall containing small windows, arches dont need to support that much weight, above eye level to let natural light in (feels more divine, holds aesthetic and structural purpose)

bays

units of measurement to mark vertical divisions in the building