Art History Vocab.txt

A semicircular or polygonal aisle. Often an ambulatory leads around the east end of the choir; separating the choir from apses or chapels.

A vaulted extension or projection, usually from a choir or chapel and generally circular or polygonal in shape.

A series of arches supported by columns or piers.

A curved structural member spanning an opening or recess. The wedge shaped elements that make up an arch keep one another in palce and transform the vertical pressure of the structure above into lateral pressure.

The simplest form of a vault, consisting of a continuous surface of semicircular or pointed sections. It resembles a barrel or tunnel which has been cut in half lengthwise

A unit of interior space in a building, marked off by architectural divisions.

An upper story of a building with windows above adjacent roofs.

Column : A cylindrical support, usually structural but often decorative.

The central longitudinal space of a bascilican church. It is usually flanked on its lond sides by aislas which are separated from the nave by columns or piers. In many churches, the lay congregation stand in the nave to attend religious services