What is transept architecture?
transept, the area of a cruciform church lying at right angles to the principal axis. The bay at which the transept intersects the main body of the church is called the crossing. The transept itself is sometimes simply called the cross. Actual transepts first appear in Romanesque churches.
Why do churches have transept?
Transepts were part of medieval Christian churches. Most churches were shaped like a cross, to remind people about Jesus’ crucifixion, and the transept is the cross-piece of the cross.
What is the purpose of a transept?
transept A rectangular area which cuts across the main axis of a basilica-type building and projects beyond it. The transept gives a basilica the shape of a Latin cross and usually serves to separate the main area of the building from an apse at the end.
What is the architectural feature that is located at the end of each transept in a Gothic cathedral?
This design is called a Latin cross ground plan, and these extensions are known as the “arms” of the transept.
What is the apse of a church?
apse, in architecture, a semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir, chancel, or aisle of a secular or ecclesiastical building. First used in pre-Christian Roman architecture, the apse often functioned as an enlarged niche to hold the statue of a deity in a temple.
How would you describe a church architecture?
Though church architecture has taken on many forms and levels of complexity over time, core elements are all still present today. Some of these architectural components include the steeple, portals, apse, and buttresses. Also included are components of style such as crosses and stained glass.
What is nave in architecture?
Nave, central and principal part of a Christian church, extending from the entrance (the narthex) to the transepts (transverse aisle crossing the nave in front of the sanctuary in a cruciform church) or, in the absence of transepts, to the chancel (area around the altar).
What symbol is created when a church features both the nave and the transept?
Cruciform churches When looked at from above or in plan view it takes the shape of a Latin cross (crux immissa). Such cruciform churches were very common in the West during the Romanesque period. The Latin cross plans have a nave with aisles or chapels, or both, and a transept that forms the arms of the cross.
What is Rose Window of north transept?
The Rose and Lancet windows are located in Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France. The style of these windows are Gothic and were added to the cathedral sometime between 1230 and 1235. Located in the North transept of the church, the windows are made from glass that has been stained to create a beautiful visual image.
What is apse architecture?
What direction are churches built?
1. Direction: churches are always rotated east to west with the chancel, sanctuary and altar in the east. This is because the east faces towards the holy city of Jerusalem which is where, in medieval writing, God’s presence was said to be strongest.
What direction does the church altar face?
Within church architecture, orientation is an arrangement by which the point of main interest in the interior is towards the east (Latin: oriens). The east end is where the altar is placed, often within an apse. The façade and main entrance are accordingly at the west end.
What kind of building is a transept in a church?
Transept. In churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform (” cross -shaped”) building within the Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architectural traditions. Each half of a transept is known as a semitransept.
Which is part of a church has two semitransepts?
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the edifice. In churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform (” cross -shaped”) building within the Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architectural traditions.
Is the transept of a church called the cross?
The transept itself is sometimes simply called the cross. The nave of a church with a cruciform plan usually extends toward the west from the crossing, the choir and sanctuary toward the east.
Where can you find the transept of the Catholic Church?
The transept, though, is not peculiar to the Roman basilica, as was for a long time believed; it is also to be found in the churches of Asia Minor, as at Sagalassos.