Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/519

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
ABC—XYZ

GLOSSARY.] ARCHITEC T U II E 461 BEAD, a small cylindrical moulding cf frequent use. BED-MOULD, the congeries of mouldings which is under the pro jecting part of almost every cornice, of which, indeed, it is a part. BELFRY (Fr. clochcr if applied to a church, be/roi if to the tower of a hotel de ville ; Ital. campanile, Ger. Glockenthurm), properly speaking, a detached tower or campanile containing bells, as at Evesham, hut more generally applied to the ringing room or loft of the tower of a church. (See TOWER.) BELL OF A CAPITAL. In Early English and Decorated work, imme diately above the necking is a deep, hollow curve ; this is called the hell of a capital. It is often enriched with foliages. BELL-COT, BELL-GABLE, or BELL-TURRET. The place where one or more hells are hung in chapels, or small churches which have no towers. Bell-cots are sometimes double, as at Northborough and Coxwell ; a very common form in France and Switzer land admits of three bells. In these countries also they are frequently of wood, and attached to the ridge. Those which stand on the gable, dividing the nave from the chancel, are generally called Sanctus Bells. A very curious, and it is believed unique, example at Cleves Abbey juts out from the wall. In later times bell turrets were much ornamented ; these are often called Fleches. BEMA (Gr. jSij/uo, Lat. tribunal), the semicircular recess or hexedra, in the basilica, where the judges sat, and where in after times the altar was placed. It generally is roofed with a half dome or concha. The seats, OpAvoi, of the priests were against the Avail, looking into the body of the church, that of the bishop being in the centre. The bema is generally ascended by steps, and railed off by Cancelli. BENCH TABLE, the stone seat which runs round the walls of large churches, and sometimes round the piers ; it very generally is placed in the porches. BEZANTEE, a name given to an ornamented moulding much used in the Norman period, resembling bezants, coins struck in Byzan tium. BILLET (Fr. lillctte), a species of ornamented moulding much used in Norman, and sometimes in Early English work, like short pieces of stick cut off and arranged alternately. BLOCKING-COURSE, a deep but slightly projecting course in an elevation, to act as cornice to an arcade, or to separate a basement from a superior story. (See STRING-COURSE.) Boss (Fr. clef de voilte, Hal. bozza, Ger. Buckcl), an ornament, generally carved, forming the key -stone at the intersection of the ribs of a groined vault. Early Norman vaults have no bosses. The carving is generally foliage, and resembles that of the period in capitals, &c. Sometimes they have human heads, as at Notre Dame at Paris, and sometimes grotesque figures. In later vaulting there are bosses at every intersection. BOWTELL (supposed to be akin to Bottle}, the mediaeval term for a round moulding or torus. "When it follows a curve, as round a bench end, it is called a ROVING BOWTELL, q.v. BRACE MOULD, two ressaunts or ogees united together like a brace in printing, sometimes with a small bead between them. BRACKET (Fr. corbcau, cul-de-lampe, Ital. mensola, Ger. Kragstein), a projecting ornament carrying a cornice. Those which support vaulting shafts or cross springers of a roof are more generally called Corbels. BRATTISIIING or BRANDISHING, is no doubt derived from the French brefeche, a sort of crest ridge on a parapet, or species of einbattlcment. The term, however, is generally employed to describe the ranges of flowers which form the crests of so many parapets in the Tudor period. BROACH (from brochc, a spit), now used to designate a particular form of spire, the sides of which, with the angles of the tower, finish with a sort of haunching. (See SPIRE.) BUTTRESS, anciently written Botrasse, or Boterasse (Ital. puntcllo, Fr. contrefort, Ger. Strebepfeilcr), masonry projecting from a wall, and intended to strengthen the same against the thrust of a roof or vault. Buttresses are no doubt derived from the classic pilasters which serve to strengthen walls where there is a pressure of a girder or roof timber. In very early work they have little projection, and in fact are "strip-pilasters." In Nor man work they are wider, with very little projection, and generally stop under a cornice or corbel table. Early English buttresses project considerably, sometimes with deep sloping weatherings in several stages, and sometimes with gabled heads, as at Beverley. Sometimes they are chamfered, and sometimes the angles have jamb shafts, as in the last example. At Wells and Salisbury they are richly ornamented with canopies and statues. In the Decorated period they became richly panelled in stages, and often finish with niches and statues and elegantly carved and crockettcd gablets, as at York. In the Perpendicular period the weatherings became waved, and they frequently terminate with niches and pinnacles. BUTTRESS, FLYING (Fr. arc-boutant, Ital. puntdlo arcuato, Ger. Strebcbogcn), a detached buttress or pier of masonry at some distance from a wall, and connected therewith by an arch or portion of an arch, so as to discharge the thrust of a roof or vault on some strong point. BUTTRESS SHAFTS, slender columns at the angle of buttresses, chiefly used in the Early English period. CABLING. The flutes of columns are said to be cabled when they are partly occupied by solid convex masses, or appear to be refilled with cylinders after they had been formed. CAISSON. See CASSOON. CAMPANILE, a name given in Italy to the bell tower of a town hall or church. In that country this is almost always detached from the latter. (See BELFRY.) CANOPY, the upper part or cover of a niche, or the projecting orna ment over an altar or seat or tomb. The word is supposed to be derived from conopceum, the gauze covering over a bed to keep off the gnats (KUVOI^), a mosquito curtain. Early English canopies are generally simple, with trefoiled or cinquefoiled heads; but in the later styles they are very rich, and divided into compart ments with pendants, knots, pinnacles, &c. The triangular ar rangement over an Early English and Decorated doorway is often called a canopy. The triangular canopies in the north of Italy aro peculiar. Those in England are generally part of the arrangement of the arch mouldings of the door, and form, as it were, the hood- moulds to them, as at York. The former are above and independent of the door mouldings, and frequently support an arch with a tym panum, above which is a triangular canopy, as in the Duomo at Florence. Sometimes the canopy and arch project from the wall, and are carried on small jamb shafts, as at San Pietro Martire at Verona. An extremely curious canopy, being a sort of horse shoe arch, surmounting and breaking into a circular arch, from Tournay is given. Similar canopies are often over windows, as at York Minster over the great west window, and lower tiers in the towers. These are triangular, while the upper windows in the towers have ogee canopies. CANT. When the corner of a square is cut off octagonally, it is said to be canted. Thus a bay window with octagonal corners is called a canted bay, CAPITAL (Gr. Kpdaioi , Lat. capitulum, Ital. capitcllo, Sp. chapitel, Ger. KrMuff, Kapital, Fr. chapitcau), the upper part of a column, pilaster, pier, &c. Capitals have been used in every style down to the present time. That mostly used by the Egyptians was bell-shaped, with or without ornaments. The Persians used the double-headed bell, forming a kind of bracket capital. The Assyrians apparently made use of the Ionic and Corinthian, which were developed by the Greeks, Romans, and Italians, into their present well-known forms. The Doric was apparently an invention or adaptation by the Greeks, and was altered by the Romans and Italians. Bat in all these examples, both ancient and modern, the capitals of an order are all of the same form throughout the same building, so that if one be seen the form of all the others is known. The Romanesque architects altered all this, and in the carving of their capitals often introduced such figures and emblems as helped to tell the story of their building. Another form was introduced by them in the curtain capital, rude at first, but afterwards highly decorated. It evidently took its origin from the cutting olf of the lower angles of a square block, and then rounding them off. The process may be dis tinctly seen, in its several stages, in Mayence Cathedral. But this form of capital was more fully developed by the Normans, with whom it became a marked feature. In the Early English capitals a peculiar ilower of three or more lobes was used, spread ing from the necking upwards in most graceful forms. In Decorated and Perpendicular this was abandoned in favour of more realistic forms of crumpled leaves, enclosing the bell like a wreath. In each style bold abacus mouldings were always used, whether with or without foliage. CARRELS (Lat. carola}, small chapels or oratories enclosed by screens ; also sometimes the rails of the screens themselves ; and sometimes the separate seats or pews for monks near the windows. It was at one time supposed that the scrolls on which inscriptions of texts, &c., are formed were called carrels, but this seems a mistake. CARYATIDES, human female figures used as piers, columns, or supports. Caryatic is applied to the human figure generally when used in the manner of Caryatides. CASEMENT, a deep hollow moulding, sometimes filled with foliage, and then called a Vignette ; also the frame which holds the lead lights of a quarrel-glazed window. CASSOON, or CAISSON, a deep panel or coffer in a soffit or ceiling. This term is sometimes written in the French form, caisson, some times derived directly from the Italian cassone, the augmentative of cassa, a chest or coffer. CATHEDRAL (Ital. duomo, cattcdralc, Fr. cathedrale, Ger. Dom- kirche), the principal church where the bishop has his seat (cathedra) as diocesan. (See separate article.) CATHETUS (Gr. ndBfros, a perpendicular line). The eye of the

volute is so termed because its position is determined, in an Ionic