Early Christian / Byzantine Vocab Flashcards
Catacombs
a subterranean burial ground consisting of tunnels on different levels, having niches for urns and sarcophagi and incorporating cubiculi
Cathedra
chair or throne of the bishop
Iconography
imaging representing a sacred figures and believed to deliver messages to god
Necropolis
“city of the dead”; burial area
Personification
attribution of human characteristics in inanimate objects
Sarcophagus
stone coffin decorated with relief
Syncretism
in religion or philosophy, the union of different ideas or principles
Cherub/Cherubim
in christian art, a round, winged boy (cupid)
Codex
a book or group of manuscript pages (folios) bound together
Lunette
a semicircular wall area, framed by an arch over a door or window; can be plain or decorated
Manuscript
a handwritten book or document
Medallion
any round ornament or decoration
Miniatures
illustrations within albums or manuscripts or intimate portraits
Mosaic
images formed by small colored stone/glass pieces (tesserae) affixed to a hard surface
Orant figure
representation of a standing figure praying with outstretched and upraised arms
Parchment
writing surface made from treated skins of animals; fine parchment: vellum
Putto/Putti
a plump, naked little boy, often winged in classical art called a cupid, Christian art called a cherub
Quire
a collection of leaves of parchment
Scroll
rolled paper with hard support on each end
Tesserae
small pieces used for mosaic
Vellum
thin parchment
Aisle
passage or open corridor that parallels main space of building on both sides
Ambulatory
the walkway passage around the apse in a basilican church or around the central space in a central plan building
Apse
large semicircular niche jutting out of a building; in christian church, it contains the altar
Arcade
a series of arches carried by columns and supporting a common wall or lintel
Arcosolium
an arched recess area used as a place of entombment
Atrium
unroofed, interior courtyard or in front of a christian church
Baptistry
separate, centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal font
Basilica
large rectangular building with clerestory, side aisles separated from the center nave by colonnades, and an apse at the east end
Blind Arcade
arcade style with no actual openings; engaged for decoration
Buttress
added support from adjacent masonry elements
Ciborium
pavilion-like structure supported on four columns
Clerestory
topmost zone of a wall with windows in a basilica extending above the aisle roofs
Colonnade
row of columns that support straight lintel or series of arches
Crypt
underground vault
Cruciform
cross-shaped (building)
Cubiculum
small rooms for sarcophagi; painted with imagery related to their owners’ religious beliefs
Dome
round vault, usually over circular space; two types: pendentive, squinch
Loculi
long, rectangular niches in the walls that held 2-3 bodies
Mausoleum
building used as a tomb