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Mystery Cult
Only the initiated, or mystae, participated in the cults, which consisted of a series of sequential dramatized actions illustrating the myths associated with the worshiped divinities. - Christianity was one
Synagogue
the building where a Jewish assembly or congregation meets for religious worship and instruction.
House Church
a charismatic church independent of traditional denominations, especially one meeting in a private house.
Catacombs
Cities beneath the city - an underground cemetery consisting of a subterranean gallery with recesses for tombs, as constructed by the ancient Romans.
Necropolis
a cemetery, especially a large one belonging to an ancient city
Orant
female figure in the posture of prayer in ancient Greek art. 2 : a usually female figure standing with outstretched arms as if in prayer used in early Christian art as a symbol of the faithful dead.
Syncretism
the merging or attempted merging of different religions, cultures, or schools of though
Basilica
a large oblong hall or building with double colonnades and a semicircular apse, used in ancient Rome as a court of law or for public assemblies.
Cruciform
shape of a cross
Apse
a large semicircular or polygonal recess in a church, arched or with a domed roof, typically at the eastern end, and usually containing the altar.
Transept
(in a cross-shaped church) either of the two parts forming the arms of the cross shape, projecting at right angles from the nave.
(in a cross-shaped church) either of the two parts forming the arms of the cross shape, projecting at right angles from the nave.
the central part of a church building, intended to accommodate most of the congregation. In traditional Western churches it is rectangular, separated from the chancel by a step or rail, and from adjacent aisles by pillars.
Narthex
an antechamber or large porch in a modern church.
Atrium
Atrium
Clerestory
the upper part of the nave, choir, and transepts of a large church, containing a series of windows. It is clear of the roofs of the aisles and admits light to the central parts of the building.
Martyrium
A martyrium is a structure built at "a site which bears witness to the Christian faith, either by referring to an event in Christ's life or Passion, or by sheltering the grave of a martyr".
Mausoleum
a building, especially a large and stately one, housing a tomb or tombs.
Batistery
the part of a church used for baptism
Ambulatory
a side aisle for people to walk in that goes all the way around the church in a circle
Inpost Capital
Looks like a huge basket weaved together - is a projecting block resting on top of a column or embedded in a wall, serving as the base for the springer or lowest voussoir of an arch.
Gallery
a balcony, especially a platform or upper floor, projecting from the back or sidewall inside a church or hall, providing space for an audience or musicians
Pendentive
a curved triangle of vaulting formed by the intersection of a dome with its supporting arches.
Squinch
a straight or arched structure across an interior angle of a square tower to carry a superstructure such as a dome.
Diptych
a painting, especially an altarpiece, on two hinged wooden panels that may be closed like a book.
Evangelist
a person who seeks to convert others to the Christian faith, especially by public preaching. - writer of one of the 4 gospels
Codex
an ancient manuscript text in book form
Quire
four sheets of paper or parchment folded to form eight leaves, as in medieval manuscripts.
Vellum
fine parchment made originally from the skin of a calf.
Icon
a painting of Jesus Christ or another holy figure, typically in a traditional style on wood, venerated and used as an aid to devotion in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches.
Icon
the rejection or destruction of religious images as heretical; the doctrine of iconoclasts.
Theotokos
Mother of God (used in the Eastern Orthodox Church as a title of the Virgin Mary).
Pantokrator
the omnipotent lord of the universe : almighty ruler
the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah. -The Muslim World
the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah. -The Muslim World
Muslim
a follower of the religion of Islam.
Aniconic
the practice of or belief in the avoiding or shunning of images of divine beings, prophets or other respected religious figures, or in different manifestations, any human beings or living creatures.
Mosque
a Muslim place of worship
Sahn
courtyard in Islamic architecture.
Qibla
the direction of the Kaaba (the sacred building at Mecca), to which Muslims turn at prayer.
Mihrab
a niche in the wall of a mosque, at the point nearest to Mecca, toward which the congregation faces to pray.
Minbar
semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla
Maqsura
Enclosure in a mosque, situated near the mihrab and minbar, defined by a metal or timber screen, used by a ruler for purposes of protection and status
Minaret
a tall slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer.
Iwan
is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open.
Horeshoe Arch
Instead of the curve of an arch continuing on with the columns on the side, the arch continues on making a horsehoe
Pointed Arch
Instead of the curve of an arch continuing on with the columns on the side, the arch continues on making a horsehoe
Calligraphy
decorative handwriting or handwritten lettering
Kufic
an early angular form of the Arabic alphabet found chiefly in decorative inscriptions.
Animal Style
art is characterized by its emphasis on animal motifs
Anglo-Saxon
relating to or denoting the Germanic inhabitants of England from their arrival in the 5th century up to the Norman Conquest.
Cloisonne
decorative work in which enamel, glass, or gemstones are separated by strips of flattened wire placed edgeways on a metal backing.
Rune Stone
a large stone carved with runes by ancient Scandinavians or Anglo-Saxons
Westwork
is the monumental, west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers.
Monastery
a building or buildings occupied by a community of monks living under religious vows.
Cloister Crafts
is an open space surrounded by covered walks or open galleries, with open arcades on the inner side, running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangleor garth.
Scriptorium
a room set apart for writing, especially one in a monastery where manuscripts were copied.
Illumination
lighting or light.
Illumination
a publisher's emblem or imprint, especially one on the title page or spine of a book.
Romanesque
of or relating to a style of architecture that prevailed in Europe circa 900–1200, although sometimes dated back to the end of the Roman Empire
Fedualism
Social organizational system that every body owes something to the people below or above them - peasants owe noble whose land they work on and the noble gives them land and protection
Pilgrimage
Christians want to see things that tie them to christ - a pilgrims journey.
Relics/Reliquary
Reliquary is a container for relics
Radiating Chapels
An apse chapel, in church architecture, is a chapel radiatingtangentially from one of the bays or divisions of the apse.
Transverse Arch
arch or rib that runs across a vault
Rib Vault
vault that resembles a groined vault but has ribbed arches
Cluster Piers
it is cross-shaped in section, with shafts placed in the recesses.
Portals
a doorway, gate, or other entrance, especially a large and elaborate one.
Tympanum
a vertical recessed triangular space forming the center of a pediment, typically decorated.
Trumeau
a section of wall or a pillar between two openings, especially a pillar dividing a large doorway in a church.
Archivolt
a band of molding, resembling an architrave, around the lower curve of an arch.
Pointed Arch
an arch with a pointed crown, characteristic of Gothic architecture.
Gothic
an arch with a pointed crown, characteristic of Gothic architecture.
Abbot Suger
Suger was a French abbot, statesmen, historian and one of the earliest patrons of Gothic architecture
Guild
a medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power.
Master Builder
. a person skilled in the design and construction of buildings, esp before the foundation of the profession of architecture.
Flying Buttress
. a person skilled in the design and construction of buildings, esp before the foundation of the profession of architecture.
Triforium
a gallery or arcade above the arches of the nave, choir, and transepts of a church.
Trefoil
a small European plant of the pea family with yellow flowers and three-lobed cloverlike leaves.
Quatrefoil
an ornamental design of four lobes or leaves as used in architectural tracery, resembling a flower or four-leaf clover.
Lancet
a lancet arch or window.
Rose Window
a circular window with mullions or tracery radiating in a form suggestive of a rose.
Tracery
ornamental stone openwork, typically in the upper part of a Gothic window.
Stained Glass
colored glass used to form decorative or pictorial designs, notably for church windows, both by painting and especially by setting contrasting pieces in a lead framework like a mosaic.
Portal
a doorway, gate, or other entrance, especially a large and elaborate one.
Renaissance
The cultural rebirth that occurred in Europe from roughly the fourteenth through the middle of the seventeenth centuries, based on the rediscovery of the literature of Greece and Rome.
Humanism
an outlook or system of thought attaching prime importance to human rather than divine or supernatural matters. Humanist beliefs stress the potential value and goodness of human beings, emphasize common human needs, and seek solely rational ways of solving human problems.
Trilobed
(of a leaf shape) divided into three lobes.
Triptych
a picture or relief carving on three panels, typically hinged together side by side and used as an altarpiece.
Altarpiece
a work of art, especially a painting on wood, set above and behind an altar.
Grisaille
a method of painting in gray monochrome, typically to imitate sculpture.
Buon Fresco
technique consists of painting with pigment ground in water on a thin layer of wet, fresh, lime mortar or plaster, for which the Italian word for plaster, intonaco, is used. Because of the chemical makeup of the plaster, a binder is not required.
Mystery plays
a popular medieval play based on biblical stories or the lives of the saints.
Predella
a step or platform on which an altar is placed, a raised shelf above an altar.

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