Key Terms for Gothic and Late Medieval Art
- Abbey Church of Saint-Denis
- ambulatory (for more information see ambulatory)
- apse (for more information see apse)
- basilica
- buttress
- Byzantine
- central-plan
- choir (for more information see choir)
- flying buttress (for more information see flying buttress)
- lancet window (for more information see lancet window)
- naturalism
- nave (for more information see nave)
- pointed arch
- portal
- ogee arch (for more information see ogee arch)
- quatrefoil (for more information see quatrefoil)
- Rayonnant
- rose window (for more information see rose window)
- spire
- stained glass (for more information see stained glass)
- tracery
- trefoil (for more information see trefoil)
First Gothic style Cathedral
The passage around the apse in a basilica church or around the central space in a central-plan building.
A semicircular or polygonal recess in a building. In Christian architecture, an apse is often found at the east end of a basilica church.
A Christian church building that has a nave with a semicircular apse, side aisles, a narthex and a clerestory.
An architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall that serves to support or reinforce the wall.
In reference to the Italo-Byzantine style: elements; sometimes applied to the debased style of the later Roman Empire, but especially to the more developed architecture prevailing from the 8th to the 12th centuries.
In architecture, a plan in which the parts of a building radiate from a central point. Examples include circular, octagonal and Greek cross plans.
The area of a cruciform church between the crossing and the altar. This part of the church provides seating for singers and the clergy.
In Gothic architecture, a structural element that carries the thrust of the nave vault over the side aisles through masonry struts and arches.
In Gothic architecture a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at the top. Lancet windows acquired their name from their resemblance to the blade of a lance.
A style of art that seeks to represent objects or living beings as they appear to the eye.
The central space of a church. In a basilica church, the nave is usually flanked by aisles.
An arch that features a pointed apex instead of being rounded like a typical Roman arch. Also known as an ogival or Gothic arch.
A grand entrance, door, or gateway, typically leading into a significant public building. It is often adorned with sculpture.
A pointed arch formed with a double curve (ogee) on each side. Ogee arches are common in Gothic architecture.
A four-lobed design, often used in architectural ornament and tracery.
The period of French
Gothic
architecture between c. 1240 and 1350, characterized by a shift in focus away from the High
Gothic
mode of great scale toward a greater concern for two dimensional surfaces and the repetition of decorative motifs at different scales.
A stained glass circular window with a radiating design suggestive of a rose.
A tapering conical or pyramidal structure that sits atop the roof of a building or tower, commonly found on church steeples. The base can be circular, square, or polygonal.
Decorative glass consisting of colored pieces fastened together, usually with strips of lead, to form an image or design. Stained glass is frequently used in church windows.
Ornamental stonework that supports the glass in a Gothic window.
A design of three rounded lobes like a clover leaf, often used in architectural ornament and tracery.
