Key Terms for Byzantine Art
- buttress
- centrally planned
- diptych (for more information see diptych)
- Greek-cross
- icons
- iconoclasm
- iconomachy
- iconoclast
- iconophiles
- mandorla (for more information see mandorla)
- mausoleum (for more information see mausoleum)
- mosaic
- mosque
- narthex
- pagan
- pendentive (for more information see pendentive)
- pier (for more information see pier)
- tesserae (for more information see tesserae)
An architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall that serves to support or reinforce the wall.
Having a central nave with an aisle on either side separated by a colonnade, and an apse at one end.
A two-piece, hinged panel painting or plaque.
The dominant architectural form of middle- and late-period Byzantine churches, featuring a square center with an internal structure shaped like a cross, topped by a dome.
(Greek for “images”) refers to the religious images of Byzantium, made from a variety of media, which depict holy figures and events.
refers to any destruction of images, including the Byzantine Iconoclastic Controversy of the eighth and ninth centuries, although the Byzantines themselves did not use this term.
(Greek for “image struggle”) was the term the Byzantines used to describe the Iconoclastic Controversy.
(Greek for “breakers of images”) refers to those who opposed icons.
(Greek for “lovers of images”), also known as “iconodules” (Greek for “servants of images”), refers to those who supported the use of religious images.
(Italian: “almond”). A light surrounding the entire body of a religious figure, symbolizing holiness. Mandorlas are usually almond-shaped or elliptical.
A freestanding building constructed as a monument and housing the dead body of an important person or the bodies of multiple people.
A medium in which small, roughly cubic pieces of colored material (usually stone or glass) are embedded in mortar to create patterns or images. The small pieces are called tesserae.
A building used by Muslims for communal worship.
An architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave.
A person not adhering to any major or recognized religion; a follower of a pantheistic or nature-worshipping religion.
An architectural element in the shape of a triangular segment of a sphere, used to make the transition from a square room to a circular base for a dome.
In architecture, an upright support for a structure or superstructure such as an arch or bridge.
Small, roughly cubic pieces of cut stone or glass used in making mosaics.
