gothic art definitions

andachtsbild

an image used for private contemplation and devotion

apocalypse

the last book of the Christian bible, sometimes called revelations, which details god’s destruction of evil and consequent raising to heaven of the righteous

bay

a vertical section of a church that is embraced by a set of columns and is usually composed of arches and aligned windows

chevet

the east end of a gothic church

choir

a space in a church between the transept and the apse for a choir or clergymen

compound pier

a pier that appears to be a group or gathering of smaller piers put together

flying buttress

a stone arch and its pier that support a roof from a pillar outside the building. flying buttresses also stabilize a building and protect it from wind shear

haggadah

literally “narration”; specifically, a book containing the Jewish story of Passover and the ritual of the seder

hammerbeam

a type of roof in English gothic architecture, in which timber braces curve out from walls and meet high over the middle of the floor

lancet

a tall narrow window with a pointed arch usually filled with stained glass

moralized blue

a bible in which the old and new testament stories are paralleled with one another in illustrations, text, and commentary

ogee arch

an arch formed by two s-shaped curves that meet at the top

Passover

an eight day Jewish festival that commemorates the exodus of jews from Egypt under the leadership of Moses

pieta

a painting or sculpture of crucified Christ lying on the lap of his grieving mother, Mary

pinnacle

a pointed sculpture on piers or flying buttresses

rose window

a circular window, filled with stained glass, placed at the end of a transept or on the facade of a church

seder

a ceremonial meal celebrated on the first two nights of Passover that commemorates the Jewish flight from Egypt as told in the Bible; marked by a reading of the Haggadah

spire / steeple

a tall pointed tower on a church

triforium

a narrow passageway with arches opening onto a nave, usually directly below a clerestory