Italian Viking
back next
Chapter 7 - EARLY CHRISTIAN & BYZANTINE
Allegory ____ The representation in a work of art of an abstract concept or idea using specific objects or human figures.
Ambulatory ____ Passage walkway around the apse in a church, or around the central space in a centrally-planned building.
Baptistry ____ Building used for the Christian ritual of baptism.  Usually separate from the main church, and often octagonal or circular in shape.
Central-Plan Building ____ any structure designed with a primary central space surrounded by symmetrical areas on each side.
Cherub/Cherubim ____ Second highest order of angels, usually an idealized small child, depicted naked and with wings.
Ciborium ____ Pavilion erected in Christian churches to mark places of particularly sacred significance, such as the altar.
Cloisonné ____ Technique in enameled decoration of metal involving metal wire (filigree) affixed to the surface in a design. The resulting areas are then filled with decorative enamel.
Codes/Codices ____ A book, or a group of manuscript pages, held together by stitching or other binding on one side.
Cruciform ____ Term describing anything that is cross-shaped, as in the cruciform plan of a church.
Crypt ____ Vaulted underground space beneath the floor of a church, usually under the sanctuary, which may contain tombs and relics.
Deesis ____ In Byzantine art, the representation of Christ flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist.
Enamel ____ Technique in which powdered glass is applied to a metal surface in a decorative design. After firing, the glass forms an opaque or transparent substance that is fixed to the metal background.
Eucharist ____ Central rite of the Christian church.  Bread and wine symbolize body and blood.
Good Shepherd ____ A man carrying a sheep or with sheep at his side.
House-Church ____ In early Christian times, any small and relatively secret church located in a (get ready for another surprise!) private house.
Icon ____ Painted, low-relief or mosaic image representing a sacred figure or event.
Iconoclasm ____ Banning or destruction of icons and religious art, arising from different beliefs about the power, meaning, function and purpose of imagery in religion.
Iconostasis ____ The wall or screen in a church between the sanctuary (where the Mass is performed) and the body of the church (where the congregation assembles).
Illumination ____ Manuscript illustrations on paper or parchment, usually done in rich colors, often with gold and other precious materials.
Illusionism ____ Appearance of reality in art created by the use of perspective and foreshortening.
Latin-Cross Plan ____ Cross-shaped building plan, incorporating one longer arm (nave) and three arms of equal length.
Loculus/Loculi ____ A niche in a tomb or catacomb in which the sarcophagus was placed.
Lunette ____ Semicircular wall area, framed by an arch over a door or window.
Mandorla ____ Almond-shaped area in which a sacred figure, such as Christ, is represented.
Martyrium ____ A church, chapel or shrine built over the grave of a martyr or over the site of a great miracle.
Monophysitism ____ Christian doctrine stating that Jesus Christ has only one nature, both divine and human.
Naos ____ The nave and sanctuary.
Narthex ____ Rectangular vestibule at the main entrance of a church.
Orant ____ Representation in Early Christian art of a standing figure praying with outstretched arms.
Parchment ____ Writing surface made from treated skins of animals.
Pendentive ____ Concave triangular section of a wall that forms the transition between a square or polygonal space and the circular base of a dome. 
(Well, that sure cleared things up for me.  How about you?).
Pieta ____ Devotional subject in which the body of Jesus is laid across the lap of his grieving mother, Mary.
Portal ____ Grand entrance, door or gate, usually to an important public building, and often decorated with sculpture.
Putti ____ A divine creature in the form of a plump, naked little boy, often with wings.  In classical art, also called a cupid or cherub.
Representational ____ Any art that attempts to depict an aspect of the external, natural world in a visually understandable way. The opposite of "abstract".
Rotulus ____ Scroll or manuscript rolled in a tubular form.
Scriptorium ____ A room in a monastery for writing or copying manuscripts.
Squinch ____ Arch or lintel built over the upper corners of a square space.
Syncretism ____ In religion or philosophy, the union of different ideas or principles.
Transept ____ Arm of a cruciform church, perpendicular to the nave.  The point where the nave and transept cross is called the "crossing".
Vellum ____ Fine animal skin prepared for writing and painting.
Vignette ____ A small motif or scene that has no established border.