Early Christian & Byzantine Architecture

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, buildings, structural elements, and historical figures from Early Christian and Byzantine architecture lecture notes.

Early Christian Architecture

Architectural style that developed after Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity, characterized by basilicas and central-plan churches.

Basilica (Roman)

Large oblong Roman hall of justice with central nave, side aisles, clerestory lighting, timber roof, and apse for the tribunal.

Christian Basilica

Early Christian church type adapted from Roman basilicas, featuring long nave, side aisles, single apse, trussed wooden roof, and clerestory windows.

Nave

The principal central space of a church extending from narthex to choir, usually flanked by aisles.

Apse

Semicircular or polygonal projection, usually at the east end of a church, housing the altar or bishop’s throne.

Narthex

Portico or vestibule before the nave of an early Christian or Byzantine church, used by catechumens.

Atrium

Forecourt of an early Christian church, often surrounded by porticoes and containing a fountain or cantharus.

Ambulatory

Covered walk around an atrium or encircling the central space of a central-plan church.

Cantharus

Basin in an early Christian atrium for ritual cleansing with water.

Tribune

Recess or apse in an early Christian church containing the bishop’s throne.

Bema

Transverse space separating nave and apse; precursor to the transept in later cruciform churches.

Sanctuary

Sacred area of a church where the principal altar stands.

Altar

Table in a Christian church on which the Eucharist is celebrated; also called the communion table.

Aisle

Longitudinal division of a church flanking the nave, separated by columns or piers.

Esonarthex

Inner narthex when a church has two narthexes.

Exonarthex

Outer covered walk or narthex situated before an inner narthex.

Transept

Arm of a cruciform church that crosses the nave at right angles, developing from the early bema.

Clerestory

Upper wall section containing windows that admit light to the central nave.

Colonnade

Series of columns supporting an entablature or arches, such as those separating nave and aisles.

Arcade

Row of arches supported by columns or piers.

Central-Plan Structure

Building organized around a central space, often circular or polygonal and capped by a dome.

Mausoleum

Monumental tomb; source prototype for many early Christian central-plan churches.

Dome

Hemispherical vault covering a circular or polygonal space, often resting on pendentives or a drum.

Santa Costanza

Circular mausoleum of Constantia in Rome (c. 330-350 CE) with central dome and encircling ambulatory.

Baptistery of Constantine

Octagonal baptistery in Rome (c. 430-440 CE) used for administering the sacrament of baptism.

Old St. Peter’s Basilica

Great Constantinian church in Rome (begun 324 CE) with atrium, narthex, long nave, and transept; demolished in the 16th–17th centuries.

Emperor Constantine the Great

Roman emperor (306-337 CE) who legalized Christianity and moved the capital to Byzantium (Constantinople).

Emperor Justinian I

Byzantine emperor (527-565 CE) who patronized Hagia Sophia and made Constantinople a cultural capital.

Constantinople

Eastern Roman (Byzantine) capital founded on Byzantium; center of early Byzantine architecture.

Pendentive

Curved triangular masonry that transitions from a square base to support a circular dome.

Buttress

External support built against a wall to counteract outward thrust, used on Hagia Sophia after its conversion to a mosque.

Hagia Sophia

Monumental church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople (532-537 CE) featuring a massive dome on pendentives and half-domes.

Cross-in-Square Plan

Typical Byzantine church layout with nine bays and central domed square, corner bays domed or vaulted.

Greek-Cross Plan

Plan with four equal arms intersecting at the center, as in St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice.

St. Mark’s Basilica

Byzantine-influenced church in Venice (begun 1063) with five bulbous domes and rich mosaic decoration.

Lantern

Small structure atop a dome or roof, with windows to admit light and air.

Portal

Monumental doorway or entrance, often richly decorated, such as those on St. Mark’s façade.

Piazza

Public square in an Italian city, e.g., the Piazza San Marco in front of St. Mark’s.

Whispering Gallery

Curved space beneath a dome where low sounds travel audibly to distant points.

Cupola

Light, often domed, structure crowning a roof; can act as a belfry or lantern.

Tambour

Vertical wall or drum on which a dome rests.

Interdome

Space between inner and outer shells of a double-layered dome.

Lucarne

Dormer window in a roof or spire.

Dosseret

Thickened abacus or block set above a capital to receive an arch’s thrust; common in Byzantine architecture.

Composite Capital (Byzantine)

Capital combining Ionic volutes and Corinthian acanthus, often filled with dense foliage carving.

Byzantine Ionic Capital

Variation of the Ionic order in Byzantine buildings, featuring deeply carved foliage between volutes.

Bird & Basket Capital

Byzantine capital type carved with birds amid basket-like foliage motifs.

Cross on Pendentives Dome

Structural system in Byzantine churches where a dome rests on pendentives over a square bay.

Basilica Ulpia

Imperial Roman basilica in Trajan’s Forum that provided a prototype for later Christian basilicas.

Clerestory Windows

High windows in the nave walls admitting light above aisle roofs, characteristic of basilican churches.

Timber Truss Roof

Wooden roof framing system used in early basilicas prior to widespread stone vaulting.

Minaret

Slender tower added to Hagia Sophia after 1453 for the Islamic call to prayer.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Designation given to Hagia Sophia recognizing its cultural significance.

Piers

Massive upright supports that carry the weight of arches and domes, as in Hagia Sophia.

Basilican Orientation

Traditional placement of main entrance on west and apse on east in early Christian basilicas.