Module 4: Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture and Design

Question 1

Apse

Answer 1

The semi-domed and rounded area at the terminus of a Christian basilica or at the ends of a secular Roman basilica.

Question 2

Catacombs

Answer 2

A series of underground passageways and chambers most often associated with the Christians who buried their dead there and sometimes used them as places of worship, free of persecution.

Question 3

Cloisonné enamel

Answer 3

Type of decorative technique in which metal filaments are filled with enamel and fired to create a glossy surface.

decorative work in which enamel, glass, or gemstones are separated by strips of flattened wire, placed edgeways on a metal backing

Question 4

Mausoleum

Answer 4

A centrally planned domed structure built as a memorial.

Question 5

Pendentive

Answer 5

the triangular concave masonry surfaces that transmit the weight of a circular dome to four isolated corner supports

Question 6

Repoussé

Answer 6

Method of decorating metal by hammering a relief design from the reverse so it is shown on the front.

Question 7

Spandrel

Answer 7

the roughly triangular wall space between two adjacent arches

Question 8

Transept

Answer 8

that portion of a church that crosses the nave at right angles, near the apse

Question 9

Christians gained universal acceptance with the rise of

Answer 9

Constantine (circa 273-337 CE; Roman Emperor 324-337 BCE)

Question 10

Edict of Milan

Answer 10

In 313 CE, Constantine signed the Edict of Milan, which granted Christians freedom from religious persecution within the Empire

Question 11

325 CE he moved the capital of the Roman Empire to

Answer 11

Byzantium, renamed it Constantinople after himself (modern-day Istanbul), and left the ruling of Rome to a governor.

Question 12

Roman Catholicism that was practiced in…

Answer 12

Europe and the West

Question 13

Eastern Orthodoxy was practiced in…

Answer 13

Eastern Roman Empire Byzantium, renamed Constantinople

Question 14

Visigoths

Answer 14

were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in Late Antiquity, or what is known as the Migration Period.

Question 15

Squinch

Answer 15

first used to fit a dome onto a square building. They are defined as arches, lintels or corbels that bridge the corner of a square to form an octagonal base, allowing for the dome to rest on top.

Question 16

Pendentives

Answer 16

Curving rectangular wedge inside a dome that allowed it to rest on what is essentially another dome; the pendentives form a ring and four arches to create a solid structure that supports the thrust of the dome.

Question 17

What was the first monument to utilize the Pendentive construction in a dome structure?

Answer 17

Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey 537 CE

Question 18

What is a quincunx?

Answer 18

the “cross in square plan” utilized in St. Mark’s Cathedral, Venice, Italy

4 arms of equal length create a footprint, and a large dome is surmounted above the intersection, smaller domes topping each arm

Question 19

Lathe

Answer 19

a machine for shaping wood, metal, or other material by means of a rotating drive which turns the piece being worked on against changeable cutting tools.

Question 20

Lecturn

Answer 20

stand designed to support a book. Sometimes this was a freestanding piece of furniture, but typically it was combined with a desk or writing table that also incorporated a cabinet for storing books. Many lecterns were hinged, allowing the book to rest at various angles.

Question 21

An impost block is….

Answer 21

part of a Byzantine column.

Question 22

Secular

Answer 22

not subject to or bound by religious rule; not belonging to or living in a monastic or other order.

Question 23

The basis of early Christian architecture was…

Answer 23

the Roman basilica.

Question 24

The _______ dome was created to accommodate severe winter climate and heavy snows in Russia.

Answer 24

Onion

Question 25

What was the subject matter of early Christian mosaics?

Answer 25

Christ, Virgin Mary, named saints, animal representations of those people