romanesque

Romanesque

Stylistic term used to define the architecture of western Europe from the mid-10th to the 13th century.

Thibune/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

Transverse Arch

Supporting arch which runs across the vault from side to side, dividing the bay

Engaged Column

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

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 comices 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 monks, the cloister consists of a yard (the garth), usually quadrilateral in church, refectory, dormitory, and chapter house

shape and surrounded on all sides by covered passageways or galleries linking the major monastic buildings

Historiated Capital

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 a 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

Abbess

Female superior of a community of nuns composition

Horror Vacui

A fear or disike of leaving empty spaces, especially in an artistic

Reliquary

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

Repoussé

(of metalwork) hammered into relief from the reverse side

Baptistery

Building used for the rite of baptism into the Christian Church