Vocab (Final) Flashcards
Portcullis
Heavy grating that slides down to block the entrance to a castle or fortified town
“Motte and Bailey”
type of defensive complex based on a central earthen mound surrounded by a fenced courtyard
Inhabited initial
Enlarged letter at the beginning of a section of text that contains a picture
Jamb
Vertical post on the sides of a door that supports an arch or archivolt
Compound pier
clustered pier composed of a core component to which are added engaged columns and sometimes also pilasters
Intuitive Perspective
optical effect in which forms have become narrower and orthogonal converge the farther they are from the viewer, approximating the visual experience of spacial recession (Italian Influence)
Engaged Column
Half column embedded in a wall or pier and partially projecting from the surface of the wall or pier
Neoplatonism
Idealistic, spiritualistic philosophy that originated in ancient Rome, later revived in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, that combined the teachings of Plato with an interest in the mystical
Stringcourse
Decorative horizontal molding
Rib vault
groin vault with masonry ribs demarcating the junctions
crenellation
Rampart built around the top of a castle with regular gaps for firing arrows
Keep
Fortified tower at the heart of a castle
Corbel Table
Form of architectural surface decoration consisting of a row of Corbels (brackets), often carrying small arches
Structural Rationalism
when a building clearly expresses its structure
Lancet window
Vertical pointed window
Groin Vault
vault consisting of two intersecting barrel vaults
Archivolt
Band of ornamental molding framing or following the curve of an arch
Flying buttress
Specific kind of buttress in which the lateral forces of the vaults are transmitted across an intervening space between the wall and the buttress (not in contact with the wall)
Humanism
Philosophy or outlook that attaches prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters (“man is the measure of all things”)
Voussoirs
Wedge shaped stones that make up an arch
Trumea
Central portal support
Machicolation
Floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which waste can be expelled or stones or other objects can be dropped on attackers
Transverse arch
Arch that connects the wall piers on both sided of a stone vault
Tracery
Stonework forming a pattern in the open space of a window or wall surface
Triforium
Gallery reduced to a mere passage in the wall
Bay
Unit of space defined by architectural element such as columns, pier, and walls
Tympanum
Area over a door enclosed by an arch and a lintel, often decorated with sculpture
Marginalia
Imagery in the margins of an illuminated manuscript page
Exultet Roll
long strip of parchment with text and images for the Easter Proclamation, which the priest unrolled from the pulpit while singing the Proclamation during the Mass for Easter Vigil
Court Style
style of the late Gothic figural art in northern Europe Characterized by mannered elegance and often scenes of courtly love, chivalry, and romance
Book of Hours
book with prayers to be said for each canonical devotional hours of the day
Scholasticism
Method of critical thought in late medieval Europe based on philosophies of reason and observation
Feudalism
Socio-economic structure based on relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labor
Barrel Vault
Arch extended three-dimensionally into space
Modular
Architectural design based on the repetition of a fixed spatial or structural unity
Grisaille
Monochromatic painting in shades of grey with only delicate touches of color
