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A bay is a module in classical or Gothic architecture, the distance between two supports of a vault or the unit of an opening and its framing on a façade.

Bay of Abbey of St. Denis

A bay is a module in classical or Gothic architecture, the distance between two supports of a vault…

Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English cathedral with three spires. Architecturally, the choir (alt. spelling quire) is the area of a church or cathedral, usually in the western part of the chancel between the nave and the sanctuary (which houses the altar). A bay is a module in classical or Gothic architecture, the distance between two supports of a vault or the unit of an opening and its framing on a façade.

One Bay of Choir, Lichfield Cathedral

Lichfield Cathedral is situated in Lichfield, Staffordshire, England. It is the only medieval English…

The Catholic Cathedral of Limburg, also known as <em>Georgsdom</em> or <em>Limburger Dom</em> in German (English: Cathedral of St. George) after its dedication to Saint George, is one of the most accomplished buildings of the late Romanesque style. A bay is a module in classical or Gothic architecture, the distance between two supports of a vault or the unit of an opening and its framing on a fa&ccedil;ade.

One Bay of Limburg Cathedral

The Catholic Cathedral of Limburg, also known as Georgsdom or Limburger Dom in German…

A bay is a module in classical or Gothic architecture, the distance between two supports of a vault or the unit of an opening and its framing on a fa&ccedil;ade.

Bay of Speyer Cathedral

A bay is a module in classical or Gothic architecture, the distance between two supports of a vault…

The Cathedral of St Martin (Italian Duomo) is a church in Lucca, Italy. It was begun in 1063 by Bishop Anselm (later Pope Alexander II). Of this structure, the great apse with its tall columnar arcades and the fine campanile remain. A bay is a module in classical or Gothic architecture, the distance between two supports of a vault or the unit of an opening and its framing on a fa&ccedil;ade.

One Bay, Nave of Lucca Cathedral

The Cathedral of St Martin (Italian Duomo) is a church in Lucca, Italy. It was begun in 1063 by Bishop…

Early English style. Northwest transept of Beverly Minster.

Beverly Minster

Early English style. Northwest transept of Beverly Minster.

A flying buttress, or arc-boutant, is a specific type of buttress usually found on a religious building such as a cathedral. They are used to transmit the horizontal thrust of a vault across an intervening space (which might be an aisle, chapel or cloister), to a buttress outside the building. The employment of the flying buttress means that the load bearing walls can contain cut-outs, such as for large windows, that would otherwise seriously weaken them. Flying buttresses are often found in Gothic architecture.

Early Gothic Flying Buttress

A flying buttress, or arc-boutant, is a specific type of buttress usually found on a religious building…

A French Gothic capital from Sainte Chapelle in Paris from the thirteenth century. The capitals were tall and slender, concave in profile, with heavy square or octagonal abaci. After the middle of the thirteenth century the carving became more realistic; the leaves, larger and more mature, were treated as if applied to the capital or moulding, not as if they grew out of it.

French Gothic Capital

A French Gothic capital from Sainte Chapelle in Paris from the thirteenth century. The capitals were…

A fourteenth century capital from transept of Notre Dame, Paris. The capitals were tall and slender, concave in profile, with heavy square or octagonal abaci. After the middle of the thirteenth century the carving became more realistic; the leaves, larger and more mature, were treated as if applied to the capital or moulding, not as if they grew out of it.

French Gothic Capital

A fourteenth century capital from transept of Notre Dame, Paris. The capitals were tall and slender,…

A fifteenth century capital from the north spire of Chartres. The capitals were tall and slender, concave in profile, with heavy square or octagonal abaci. After the middle of the thirteenth century the carving became more realistic; the leaves, larger and more mature, were treated as if applied to the capital or moulding, not as if they grew out of it.

French Gothic Capital

A fifteenth century capital from the north spire of Chartres. The capitals were tall and slender, concave…

Constructive system of a Gothic church illustrating the principles of isolated supports and buttressing.

Constructive System of a Gothic Church

Constructive system of a Gothic church illustrating the principles of isolated supports and buttressing.

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence, Italy, begun in 1296 and with major construction completed in 1436. The basilica is notable for its dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, its exterior facing of polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white.

Section of the Dome of Duomo, Florence

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church (Duomo) of Florence, Italy, begun in 1296…

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St. Cuthbert of Durham, commonly referred to as Durham Cathedral, in the city of Durham, England, was founded in AD 1093 and remains a center for Christian worship today. It is generally regarded as one of the finest examples of a Norman cathedral and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with nearby Durham Castle, which faces it across Palace Green, high above the River Wear.

Plan of Durham Cathedral

The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St. Cuthbert of Durham, commonly referred…

Early English style. Capital at Salisbury cathedral.

Early English capital

Early English style. Capital at Salisbury cathedral.

The facade of a large church or cathedral, often referred to as the West Front, is generally designed to create a powerful impression on the approaching worshipper, demonstrating both the might of God, and the might of the institution that it represents. Central to the facade is the main portal, often flanked by additional doors. There may be much other carving, often of figures in niches set into the mouldings around the portals, or in sculptural screens extending across the facade. Both internally and externally, the stonework is often richly decorated with carvings, particularly the capitals.

Early Gothic Carving

The facade of a large church or cathedral, often referred to as the West Front, is generally designed…

The Elisabeth Church in Marburg was built by the Order of the Teutonic Knights in honor of Elisabeth of Hungary. Her tomb made the church an important pilgrimage destination in the late Middle Ages. The building is now a Protestant church.

Section of Elisabeth Church, Marburg, Germany

The Elisabeth Church in Marburg was built by the Order of the Teutonic Knights in honor of Elisabeth…

A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. The word groin refers to the edge between the intersecting vaults; cf. ribbed vault. Sometimes the arches of groin vaults are pointed instead of round. In comparison with a barrel vault, a groin vault provides good economies of material and labour. The thrust is concentrated along the groins or arrises (the four diagonal edges formed along the points where the barrel vaults intersect), so the vault need only be abutted at its four corners.

Groined Vault with Zig-Zag Ridge-Joints

A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced…

Very few examples remain of important Norman fa&ccedil;ades in their original form, nearly all of these having been altered after the round arch was displaced by the pointed arch in the latter part of the twelfth century. Iffley Church is a good example of the style.

Front of Iffley Church

Very few examples remain of important Norman façades in their original form, nearly all of these…

The English treated woodwork with consummate skill. They invented and developed a variety of forms of roof-truss in which the proper distribution of the strains was combined with a highly decorative treatment of the several parts by carving, moulding, and arcading. The ceiling surfaces between the trusses were handled decoratively, and the oaken open-timber ceilings of many of the English churches and civic of academic halls are such noble and beautiful works as quite to justify the substitution of wooden for vaulted ceilings.

Roof of Nave, St. Mary's, Westonzoyland

The English treated woodwork with consummate skill. They invented and developed a variety of forms of…

A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. A wimperg is a German and Dutch word for a Gothic ornamental gable with tracery over windows or portals, which were often accompanied with pinnacles. It was a typical element in Gothic Architecture especially in cathedral architecture. Wimpergs often had crockets or other decorative elements in the Gothic style. The intention behind the wimperg was the perception of increased height.

Openwork Gable, From Front of Rouen Cathedral

A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. A wimperg…

With the growth in size of the windows and the progressive suppression of the lateral walls of vaulted structures, stained glass came more and more generally into use. It stimulated the increase in the size of windows, and the suppression of the walls, and contributed greatly to the development of <em>tracery</em>. Its evolution can be traced from the simple coupling of twin windows under a single hood-mould or discharging arch (shown here), to the florid network of the fifteenth century.

Plate Tracery, Charlton-on-Oxmore

With the growth in size of the windows and the progressive suppression of the lateral walls of vaulted…

A ribbed vault of the English type with divided groin-ribs and ridge-ribs.

English Style Ribbed Vault

A ribbed vault of the English type with divided groin-ribs and ridge-ribs.

Sexpartite vault (or six-part vault), in architecture, is a rib vault divided into six bays by two diagonal ribs and three transverse ribs. Legend: a, transverse ribs (doubleaux); b, wall-ribs (formerets); c, groin-ribs (diagonaux). All the ribs are semi-circle.

Sexpartite Ribbed Vault, Showing Two Compartments with the Fillings Complete

Sexpartite vault (or six-part vault), in architecture, is a rib vault divided into six bays by two diagonal…

A Rose window (or Catherine window) is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architectural style and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The name "rose window" was not used before the 17th century and according to the Oxford English Dictionary, among other authorities, comes from the English flower name rose.

Rose Window, Church of St. Ouen, Rouen

A Rose window (or Catherine window) is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but…

La Sainte-Chapelle (English: The Holy Chapel) is a Gothic chapel on the &Icirc;le de la Cit&eacute; in the heart of Paris, France. It is perhaps the high point of the full tide of the rayonnante period of Gothic architecture.

Plan of Sainte Chapelle, Paris

La Sainte-Chapelle (English: The Holy Chapel) is a Gothic chapel on the Île de la Cité…

The transept is the area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture. The transept separates the nave from the sanctuary, whether apse, choir, chevet, presbytery or chancel. The transepts cross the nave at the crossing, which belongs equally to the main nave axis and to the transept.

One Bay of Transept, Winchester Cathedral

The transept is the area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building in Romanesque…

A: Penetrations by small semi-circular vaults sprung from same level. B: Intersection by small semicircular vault sprung from higher level; groins form wavy line. C: Intersection by narrow pointed vault sprung from same level; groins are plane curves.

Vaults, Penetrations and Intersections

A: Penetrations by small semi-circular vaults sprung from same level. B: Intersection by small semicircular…