Architecture Glossary

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Tessera - A small piece of stone, glass,etc. used in making a mosaic.

Tierceron - A major rib in a complex rib vault. Tiercerons spring from the main springers.

Salisbury Cathedral

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. Salisbury Cathedral has two transepts extending north and south and marking divisions within the building. The western transept separates the nave from the choir; the eastern transept divides the choir from the presbytery. The western or main transept arms are composed of four tall bays with three short bays along the east side that function as chapels. The eastern transept arms consist of three tall bays and two shorter ones for chapels.

Transverse arch - Supporting arch which runs across the vault from side to side, dividing the bays. It usually projects down from the surface of the vault.

Transverse rib - The projecting bands which mark the transverse arches of a rib vault.

Lincoln Cathedral

Triforium or triforium passage - A narrow passage in the thickness of the wall with arches opening onto the nave. It may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. It may itself have an outer wall of glass rather than stone.

Trumeau - Vertical architectural member between the leaves of a doorway. Trumeaus were often highly decorated.

Trumeau figure - Statue decorating a trumeau. Usually this was a human figure, very often a religious personage.

Twisted ribbon - An ornamental motif of thin, continuous bands arranged in a rectilinear fashion, and represented as if the bands were three dimensional.

Tympanum - The basically semicircular area enclosed by the arch above the lintel of an arched entranceway. This area is often decorated with sculpture in the Romanesque and Gothic periods.

Architecture Glossary

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