Medevial Key Term

Relic & Reliquary Relic – an object of personal item of religious. It comes from the Latin word that means remains. A container for relics, may be physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothes, or something associated with the saint. A reliquary is a shrine that house one or more relics

Interlace Decorative element found in Medieval art. In interlace, bands motifs are looped braided and knotted in complex geometric patterns to fill space

Illumination a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders (marginalia) and miniature illustrations. To provide or brighten with light.

Horseshoe Arch a curved arch often used in Spanish medieval architecture. Its maximum width is greater than the distance between its two side supports. Many scholars believe that its wide spread adoption there was influenced by the architecture of Moslem Spain.

Westwork An entrance area at the west end of a church with upper chamber and usually with a tower or towers. It is normally broader than the width of the nave and aisles. Westwork is sometimes used synonymously with narthex.

Crossing Area of a church where the at nave, choir, and transept intersect.

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.

Crypt An underground chamber for relics or tombs.

Mandorla An almond-shaped motif in which Christ sits; sometimes used also for the Virgin..

Rumstone A raised stone with a runic inscription, the term can also be used to inscription on boulders and bedrock

Gadrooning

impost blocks the cubical block of stone above the capitals in a Byzantine church, used to carry the arches and vault, the springing of which had a superficial area greatly in excess of the column which carried them.

cloister Part of a monastery; a quadrangle surrounded by covered passages. It connects the domestic parts of the monastery with the church. Cloisters are usually located on the south side of the church.

mausoleum Freestanding structure for a tomb. Mausolea were relatively rare in northeastern Europe during the Romanesque and Gothic periods.

refectory A dining room in a monastery.

blind arcades A row of decorative arches applied to a wall.

picture stones is an ornate slab of stone, usually limestone, All of the stones were probably erected as memorial stones,[1] but only rarely beside graves.[

colophon A brief description, usually located at the end of a book, describing publication or production notes relevant to the edition

Choir The area of the church between a transept and main apse. It is the area where the service is sung and clergy may stand, and the main or high altar is located. In some churches there is no choir, while in others, the choir is quite large and surrounded by an ambulatory.

narthex A low projection at the western end of a church, like a porch. Although narthex is sometimes used synonymously with westwork, a narthex is usually more open and often has only one story in contrast to the more closed westwork with a large open chamber on the upper level.

ambulatory A semicircular or polygonal aisle. Often an ambulatory leads around the east end of the choir; separating the choir from apses or chapels.

rotunda any building with a circular ground plan, often covered by a dome. It can also refer to a round room within a building

Caroline miniscule a script developed as a writing standard in Europe so that the Roman alphabet could be easily recognized by the small literate class from one region to another.

Triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental archway, in theory built to celebrate a victory in war, but often used to celebrate a ruler.

Animal Style A medievel art form in which animals, are depicted in stylized and often complicated pattern usually a fighting with the other.

Cloissanne’ Enamelwork in which colored areas are separated by thin bans of metal usually gold or bronze

Horror Vacui Latin meaning “ fear of empty spaces” a type of artwork in which the entire surface is filled with object, people design and ornaments in a crowed sometimes congested way

Scriptorium or Scriptoria A place in monastery were monks wrote manuscripts

Codex or Codices A manuscript book