Orant
A figure with both arms raised in the ancient gesture of prayer
Ex: The Good Shepherd, the Story of Jonah, and Orants
Prefiguration
In Early Christian art, the depiction of Old Testament persons and events as prophetic forerunners of Christ and New Testament events.
Ex: Arena Chapel
Nave
Ex: Santa Sabina
Side Aisles
side aisles
Transept
Apse
Narthex
Ambulatory
A covered walkway; the passageway around the apse and the choir of a church.
Ex: Santa Costanza Church
Pendentives
a concave, triangular section of a hemisphere, four of which provide the transition from a square area to the circular base of a covering dome.
Ex: Hagia Sophia
Intercessor
one who intercedes; in a Christian context, generally an angel or saint
Ex: San Vitale
Eucharist
in Christianity, the partaking of the bread and wine, which believers hold to be either Christ himself or symbolic of him
Ex: Justinian, Bishop Maximianus, and attendants
Chi-Rho
The three initial letters of Christ's name in Greek
Ex: Justinian, Bishop Maximianus, and attendants
Icon
small portable paintings depicting Christ, the Virgin, or saints and is considered a personal, intimate, and indispensable medium for spiritual transaction with holy figures.
Ex: Christ Blessing icon
Iconoclasm
the destruction of religious or sacred images; in Byzantium, the time period when there was an imperial ban on such images
Ex: Christ Blessing icon
Iconoclast
a destroyer of images or icons used in religious worship
Ex: Christ Blessing icon
Iconophile
someone who supports or favors religious images or icons
Ex:Christ Blessing icon
Idolatry
the worship of a physical image or object rather than the prototype it represents
Ex: Christ Blessing icon
Encaustic
a painting technique in which pigment is mixed with melted wax and applied to the surface while the mixture is hot. However, these objects are not exclusively paintings; they can also be relief icons.
Ex: Christ Blessing icon
Pantokrator
Greek, "ruler of all" or "almighty"
Ex: Christ Blessing icon
Cloisonne
a decorative metalwork technique employing cells made out of metal and filled with semi-precious stones, pieces of colored glass, or glass paste fired to resemble sparkling jewels.
Ex: Purse Cover
Animal Style
Art that creates patterns using animal imagery; also known as a zoomorphic style.
Ex: Purse Cover
Illuminated manuscript
A luxurious handmade book with painted illustrations and decorations
Ex: Saint Matthew Lindisfarne Gospels
Scriptorium
the writing studio of a monastery
Ex: Saint Matthew folio 25 verso of the Lindisfarne Gospels
Carpet Page
in early medieval manuscripts, a decorative page resembling a textile
Ex:Cross-inscribed carpet page, folio 26 of the Lindisfarne Gospels
Historiated letter
an enlarged, introductory letter in a written word that contains within the body of the letter pictorial scenes or figures related to the text.
Ex:Chi-rho-iota page from the Book of Kells
Caroline miniscule
The alphabet that Carolingian scribes perfected, from which the modern English alphabet was developed
Ex: Coronation Gospels, St. Matthew
Parchment
Lambskin prepared as a surface for writing or painting.
Ex: Coronation Gospels
Vellum
Calfskin prepared as a surface for writing or painting
Ex: Coronation Gospels
Codex
Separate pages of vellum or parchment bound together at one side; predecessor of the modern book.
Ex: Ebbo Gospels
Spolia
older statues and reliefs reused in newer monuments.
Ex: Palatine Chapel
Alternate-support system
heavy square piers alternate with columns, dividing the nave into vertical units
Ex: St. Michael's abbey church
typology
In Christian theology, the recognition of concordances b/w events, especially b/w episodes in the Old and New Testaments
Ex: Bishop Bernward's Doors
Typological Portrait
Different figures and ideas through time are being displayed in a portrait figure.
Ex: Gospel Book of Otto III
Sardonyx
a difficult stone to carve that has many layers of white and purple
Ex: Lothar Cross
Pilgrimage
Any long journey made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion, or a quest taken to pay homage to someone or something.
Ex: Cathedral of Santiago de Compestela
Barrel Vault
an uninterrupted series of arches, one behind the other, over an oblong space.
Ex: Church of Saint-Sernin
Groin Vault
formed at the point at which two barrel vaults intersect at right angles.
Ex: Church of Saint-Sernin
Choir
The space reserved for the clergy and singers in the church, usually east of the transept, but in some instances, extending into the nave.
Ex: Church of Saint-Sernin
Crossing Square
The area in a church formed by the intersection of a nave and a transept, often used as a standard module of interior proportion.
Ex: Church of Saint-Sernin
Bays
The space between two columns, or one unit in the nave arcade of a church.
Ex: Church of Saint-Sernin
Radiating Chapel
Chapels for the display of relics that opened directly onto the ambulatory and the transept.
Ex: Church of Saint-Sernin
Jamb Sculpture
In architecture, the side posts of a doorway.
Ex: Second Coming of Christ
Trumeau
In church architecture, the pillar or center post supporting the lintel in the middle of the doorway.
Ex: Second Coming of Christ
Archivolt
One of the concentric bands framing the tympanum
Ex: Second Coming of Christ
Tympanum
The space enclosed by a lintel and an arch over a doorway
Ex: Second Coming of Christ
Relic
The body parts, clothing, or objects associated with a holy figure, such as Christ or a Christian saint.
Ex: Mother Mary's tunic that she gave birth to Jesus in.
Reliquary
A container for holding relics.
Ex:Reliquary statue of Saint Foy
Embroidery
The technique of sewing threads onto a finished ground to form contrasting designs. Laid-and-couched work creates solid blocks of color.
Ex: Bayeux Tapestry from Bayeux Cathedral
Lux Nova
Latin, "new light." Abbot Suger's term for the light that enters a Gothic church through stained-glass windows.
Ex: Saint-Denis
Triforium
In a Gothic cathedral, the blind arcaded gallery below the clerestory
Ex: Laon Cathedral
Stained-glass
In Gothic architecture, the colored glass used for window decoration
Ex: Chartres Cathedral
Flying buttress
an exterior masonry structure that opposes the lateral thrust of an arch or a vault
Ex: Chartes Cathedral
Rayonnant
The "radiant" style of Gothic architecture, dominant in the second half of the 13th century and associated with the French royal court of Louis IX at Paris.
Ex: Sainte-Chapelle
Pieta
a painted or sculpted representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the body of the dead Christ
Ex:Lamentation scene from Arena Chapel
Usury
The practice of lending money with an exorbitant interest rate intended to enrich the lender.
Ex: Arena Chapel
Repoussoir figures
figures that bracket a composition and direct the viewer's eye into the composition.
Ex: Arena Chapel
Italo-Byzantine style
A painting style of the 13th century that is reminiscent of classicalizing art mixed with the Byzantine aesthetic.
Ex: Saint Francis Altarpiece
Altarpiece
A panel, painted or sculpted, situated above and behind an altar.
Ex: Saint Francis Altarpiece