What is the definition of tracery as used in Gothic architecture?
Tracery is an architectural device by which windows (or screens, panels, and vaults) are divided into sections of various proportions by stone bars or ribs of moulding. The term probably derives from the tracing floors on which the complex patterns of windows were laid out in late Gothic architecture.
What does bar tracery mean?
: decorative architectural tracery that is formed by the curves and intersections of the molded bars of mullions.
What is the difference between plate tracery and bar tracery?
plate tracery: tracery which uses thick areas of stone to separate glozed areas. The window may look as if it had been filled in with stone, then small openings cut through for the glass. The stone rather than the glass dominates the window. Contrast with :bar tracery.
What is blind tracery and pierced tracery?
Blind tracery: Tracery adorning a wall or panel but not pierced through. Branch tracery : A form, of Gothic tracery in Germany in the late 15th and early 16th cent; made to imitate rustic work with boughs and knots. Fan tracery / fanwork: Tracery on the soffit of a vault whose ribs radiate like the ribs of fan.
What is a Chevette in a cathedral?
: the apsidal eastern termination of a church choir typically having a surrounding ambulatory that opens onto a number of radiating apses or chapels —used especially of French Gothic architecture.
What is a Gothic window called?
rose window, also called wheel window, in Gothic architecture, decorated circular window, often glazed with stained glass. Scattered examples of decorated circular windows existed in the Romanesque period (Santa Maria in Pomposa, Italy, 10th century).
What are Gothic windows called?
Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. Rose windows are also called “Catherine windows” after Saint Catherine of Alexandria, who was sentenced to be executed on a spiked breaking wheel.
What makes a gargoyle a gargoyle?
In architecture, and specifically in Gothic architecture, a gargoyle (/ˈɡɑːrɡɔɪl/) is a carved or formed grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between.
What material is tracery made of?
In Gothic architecture, tracery in windows refers to the stone bars, ribs, or other supports between sections of glass that have decorative as well as utilitarian qualities. Tracery, which is often made of stone, gives the impression of a frame or outline and forms a pattern of interlacing or interconnected lines.
What is meant by Apsidal?
In Romanesque, Byzantine and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the term is applied to a semi-circular or polygonal termination of the main building at the liturgical east end (where the altar is), regardless of the shape of the roof, which may be flat, sloping, domed, or hemispherical.
What is a Westwork in architecture?
A westwork (German: Westwerk) is the monumental, west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The main function of the westwork was to draw attention to the emperor, even if he was not there in person.
What is a Gothic arch called?
Lancet arch The simplest Gothic arch is a long opening with a pointed arch known in England as the lancet. A “lancet” is a sharp knife, so these windows are knife-shaped. Very often lancet windows are put together in a group of three or five.
Where does the term tracery come from in architecture?
In architecture, tracery is the stonework elements that support the glass in a Gothic window. The term probably derives from the ‘tracing floors’ on which the complex patterns of late Gothic windows were laid out.
What does tracery mean in a Gothic window?
In Gothic architecture, tracery in windows refers to the stone bars, ribs, or other supports between sections of glass that have decorative as well as utilitarian qualities. Tracery, which is often made of stone, gives the impression of a frame or outline and forms a pattern of interlacing or interconnected lines.
What kind of tracery is used in Windows?
As the windows grew larger, their segments were supported by tracery, stone bars or ribs that formed outlines of interconnected shapes. In large circular windows, the tracery sometimes took the form of petals. One of the earliest styles of tracery, plate tracery, gives the impression of a plate pierced by openings.
How are tracery windows made in Islamic architecture?
In Islamic architecture, tracery was generally constructed by filling the window area with a pierced sheet of cement and inserting pieces of coloured glass into the openings, a technique that yielded windows of jewel-like intensity and brilliance.