What are the external supports on a Gothic cathedral called?
What are the external supports on a Gothic cathedral called? Whereas Romanesque buildings had used internal buttresses as a means of supporting weight, the buttresses of Gothic cathedrals are external. These so-called flying buttresses allowed for churches to be built much taller, as the weight of the roof was dispersed away from the walls to an external load-bearing skeleton.
What are the benches in a cathedral called?
Pew – wooden seats or benches in the church. Pews only appeared at the end of the medieval period. Often pews had carved bench-ends and were carved with animal or foliage designs.
What are the parts of the outside of a cathedral?
Facade: The outside of the church, where the main doors are located. In traditional medieval design, this faced the west and is called the West End. Narthex: The entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave. Nave: The primary area of public observance of the Mass.
What are the main features of a cathedral?
The typical cathedral contains a narthex at the entrance, three aisles with the central being the nave, a transept that gives the church its cross shape, an open choir where the nave and transept meet, and an apse at the far end of the nave, containing the altar.
What are the towers of a cathedral called?
steeple, tall ornamental tower, sometimes a belfry, usually attached to an ecclesiastical or public building. The steeple is usually composed of a series of diminishing stories and is topped by a spire, cupola, or pyramid (qq. v.), although in ordinary usage the term steeple denotes the entire structure.
What is the layout of a Gothic church?
The floor plan of a Gothic cathedral is typically laid out in the shape of a cross, which distinguishes it from early church designs that followed the Roman basilica plan. Transepts intersect the main axis of the church to form the cross. The main entrance traditionally faced west and is known as the West Door.