Gothic Vocab Flashcards
Antependia
a decorative piece of material that can adorn a Christian altar, lectern, pulpit, or table
Barbican
a fortified outpost or gateway, such as an outer defence to a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes
Bar tracery
stone/woodwork applied to wall surfaces. Mullions divide the space into vertical segments and form decorative patterns at the top of the opening or panel
Bas-de-page
in French, bottom of the page. Used to indicate pictures below the text in a manuscript
Battlements
rectangular gaps or indentations in a defense wall that occur at intervals to allow for the discharge of arrows or other missiles from within the defences.
Buon fresco
Painting technique in which water based pigments are applied to a surface of wet plaster
Buttress piers
The part of a buttress which rises above the point of thrust of a vault
Cames
a lead strip used in the making of stained glass windows. They have grooves on the side to secure each piece of glass that is set
Colonettes
Small, thin columns, often used for decoration or to support an arcade
Column statue
a statue attached to a column; not a freestanding sculpture
Crenelations
alternating high and low sections of a wall; notches; creating a defense shield in the walls of fortified buildings.
Crocket
stylized leaf used as decoration along the outer angles of spins, pinnacles, and gables, and around capitals in gothic architecture
Crossing
the junction of the four arms of a cruciform.
Drawbridge
a bridge that doubles as a door that gets lowered down by a pulley system and can be suspended into a bridge, thus allowing entrance into a fortified building
Finials
knoblike decoration found at the top point of a spire, pinnacle, canopy, or gable
Gesso
ground made from glue, gypsum, &/or chalk forming the ground of a wood panel or priming layer of a canvas; provides smooth surface for painting
Giornata
section of a fresco plastered and painted in one day
Grisaille
monochromatic painting in shades of gray
Hall church
church with nave & aisles of the same height; gives an impression of large, open hall
Lancets
tall narrow window crowned by a sharply pointed arch
Latin-cross plan
transept intersects the nave high above the midpoint of the church
Mullions
thin stone strips that form a lacy matrix for glass in bar tracery
Oculi
circular windows, “bull’s-eye windows”
Parapets
low walls
Pinnacle
an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret
Portcullis
a latticed grille made of wood, metal or a combination of the two
Predella
platform or step on which an altar stands
Quadripartite rib
rib vault that is divided into four sections by two diagonal ribs
Quatrefoils
four lobed decorative pattern
Rampart
broad mount of earth raised to form fortification around a place
Retablo
votive offering in form of a religious picture, typically of painted saints and hung in church
Rib vaults
ribs separate the junctions of a groin, and functions to reinforce groins in vault
Rood screens
screens separating nave from sanctuary
Rose window
circular window with tracings to suggest a rose figure
Sinopia
the preparatory design or underdrawing of a fresco (or reddish chalklike earth pigment)
Stockade
barrier formed by stakes for defense against attack or as a means of confining animals
String courses
horizontal band of stone projecting beyond or level with face of building
Tempera
painting medium made by blending egg yolk with water, pigments, and other materials like glue
Tiercerons
secondary rib that arcs from springing point to the rib that runs lengthwise through the vault
Transept
arm of a cruciform church, perpendicular to nave
Triforium
shallow, arched gallery which stands above nave
Turrets
small tower that projects vertically from wall of building
