GLOSSARY OF THE MEANING ATTACHED TO THE TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN THE INVENTORY.
Abacus.—The uppermost member of a capital.
Alettes or Ailettes.—Plates usually rectangular, of leather
covered with cloth or other light material, fastened
by a lace to the back or sides of the shoulders; they
commonly display armorial bearings; worn c. 1275 to
c. 1325.
Alb.—Long linen robe, with close sleeves; worn by clerks
of all grades.
Altar-tomb.—A modern term for a tomb of stone or
marble resembling, but not used as, an altar.
Amice.—A linen strip with embroidered apparel, placed
upon the head coifwise by a clerk before vesting himself in an alb, after which it is pushed back, and the
apparel then appears like a collar.
Amess.—Fur cape with hood, and long tails in front;
worn by clerks of the higher grades.
Anelace.—A large dagger.
Apparels.—Rectangular pieces of embroidery on alb,
amice, etc.
Apse.—The semi-circular or polygonal end of a chancel
or other part of a church.
Arabesque.—A peculiar kind of strap ornament in low
relief, common in Moorish architecture, and found in
16th and 17th-century work in England.
Arcade.—A range of arches carried on piers or columns.
Arch.—The following are some of the most usual forms:—
Segmental:—A single are struck from a centre below
the springing line.
Segmental-pointed:—Struck from two centres, much
below the springing line, to form a slight point at
the apex.
Two-centred, pointed, lancet, equilateral:—Two arcs
struck from centres on the springing line, and meeting at the apex with a point.
Drop-arch:—A two-centred arch in which the arcs are
struck from centres below the springing line.
Three-centred, elliptical:—Formed with three arcs, the
middle or uppermost struck from a centre below the
springing line.
Four-centred, depressed, Tudor:—A pointed arch of
four arcs, the two outer and lower arcs struck from
centres on the springing line, and the two inner and
upper arcs from centres below the springing line.
Sometimes the two upper arcs (and in a few cases
all four arcs) are replaced by straight lines.
Ogee, ogival:—A pointed arch of four or more arcs,
the two uppermost or middle arcs being reversed,
i.e., convex instead of concave to the base line.
Stilted:—An arch with its springing line raised above
the level of the imposts.
Skew:—An arch not at right angles laterally with its
jambs.
Archbishops' Vestments.—Buskins, sandals, amice, alb,
girdle, stole, fanon, tunic, dalmatic, chasuble, pall;
gloves, ring, mitre; an archbishop carries a crozier
but, in later times, a cross staff.
Architrave.—A moulded enrichment to the jambs and
head of a doorway or window opening; the lowest
member of an entablature (q.v.).
Argent.—In heraldry, white or silver, the latter being
the word used in mediæval English blazonry.
Armet.—See "Helmet".
Arming Doublet.—Sleeved coat worn under armour; 15th
and 16th-centuries.
Arming Points.—Laces for attaching parts of armour
together.
Arris.—A sharp edge or corner.
Articulation.—The joining of several plates of armour
to form a flexible defence.
Ashlar.—Masonry wrought to an even face and square
edges.
Aumbries.—See "Lockers".
Azure.—In heraldry, blue.
Badge of Ulster.—A silver scocheon charged with a red
hand upraised, borne in the arms of baronets of
England, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Bailey.—A court attached to a mount or other fortified
enclosure.
Bainbergs.—Shin defence of plate armour, or leather.
Ball-flower.—In architecture, a decoration peculiar to
the first quarter of the 14th century, consisting of a
globular flower of three petals enclosing a small ball.
Banded Mail.—Mail shown with bands of leather or
woven stuff, between rows of rings; construction uncertain.
Bar.—See "Fesse".
Barbe.—Pleated linen covering for chin and throat, worn
by widows and women under vows.
Barbican Mount.—A mound advanced from the main
defences to protect an entrance.
Barge-board.—A board placed below the verge or edge
of a gabled roof, a short distance from the face of the
wall, and either taking the place of, or covering the
end rafters, which would otherwise be exposed to
view.
Barnack-stone.—A shelly oolitic limestone quarried at
Barnack, Northants.
Barrel-vaulting.—See "Vaulting".
Barrow.—A burial mound.
Barry.—In heraldry, an even number of divisions in a
shield, normally six, but sometimes four or eight,
set barwise. When a greater and indefinite number
of divisions appear the word Burely is used.
Barwise.—Disposed after the manner of heraldic bars.
Bascinet.—Steel head-piece worn with camail, sometimes
fitted with vizor.
Baston.—See "Bend".
Bead.—A small round moulding.
Bead-and-reel Ornament.—In 12th century, mouldings
with projecting cross-rings at short intervals.
Bell-capital.—A form of capital of which the chief
characteristic is the reverse bell between the neck
moulding and upper moulding; the bell is often
enriched with carving.
Bend.—In heraldry, a band passing aslant and across the
shield, commonly from the dexter chief. A narrow
bend thrown across other charges is called a Baston.
The baston drawn in the other direction across the
shield showing the ends cut off, is a mark of bastardy
in post-mediæval heraldry.
Bendwise.—In the direction of a bend.
Bendy.—In heraldry, divided bendwise into an equal
number of divisions, normally six.
Berm.—A platform on the slope of a rampart.
Besagues.—Small plates worn in front of the arm-pits.
Bevor.—Plate defence for chin and throat.
Bezant.—In heraldry, a gold roundel or disc.
Billet.—In heraldry, a small oblong figure; also an architectural ornament chiefly used in the 11th and 12th
centuries.
Billety.—In heraldry, a field or charge powdered with
billets.
Bishops' Vestments.—Same as an archbishop's, but without pall, and a bishop carries a crozier, and not a
cross.
Bolection-moulding.—A moulding raised above the
general plane of the framework of the door or
panelling in which it is set.
Border.—In heraldry, an edging round a shield.
Boss.—A projecting square or round ornament, generally
carved, covering the intersections of the ribs in a
panelled ceiling or roof, or placed at the apex of a
vault.
Bouget or Water-bouget.— A brace or yoke of leather
bottles, borne as a heraldic charge.
Bowtell.—A round moulding; another term for roll-moulding.
Brassarts.—Plate armour defence for the arms.
Bressumer.—A beam supporting the front of a building.
Brick-nogging.—The brick - work filling the spaces
between the uprights of a timber-framed building.
Brigandine.—Coat of padded cloth and very small plates
(of metal).
Broach-spire.—See "Spire".
Broach-stop.—A half pyramidal stop against a chamfer
to bring the edge of the masonry out to a right angle.
Buff Coat.—Coat of heavy leather.
Burgonet.—See "Helmet".
Buskins.—Stockings reaching to the knee; worn by
archbishops, bishops, and mitred abbots.
Butterfly Head-dress.—Large, of lawn and gauze on
wire, late 15th-century.
Buttress.—A mass of masonry or brick-work built against
a wall to give additional strength.
Angle-buttresses:—Two meeting, or nearly meeting, at
an angle of 90° at the corner of a building.
Diagonal-buttress:—One placed against the right angle
formed by two walls, and more or less equi-angular
with both.
Flying-buttress:—One connected to the wall which it
supports, by a half-arch, springing at some distance
from the wall, and leaving a clear space beneath or
within the buttress.
Cable-moulding.—A round moulding carved in the form
of a cable.
Camail.—Hood of mail; first worn attached to hauberk,
then separate from it with tippet of mail over shoulders, and, in 14th century, attached to bascinet.
Cambered (applied to a beam).—Curved so that the
middle is higher than the ends.
Canonical Quire Habit.—Surplice, amess, cope.
Canopy.—A projection or hood over a door, window,
etc., and the covering above a tomb or niche; also
the representation of the same on a brass.
Cantilever.—A beam supported at a point short of one
end, which end carries a load, the other end being
fixed.
Canton.—A word applied in modern heraldry to the
Quarter which is commonly given less space than in
the older examples.
Caryatides.—Pillars carved as human figures.
Casement.—1. A wide hollow moulding in window
jambs, etc.
2. A window frame hinged at the side to
open.
3. The sinking for a brass in a stone-slab.
Cassock.—Long, close-sleeved gown; worn by all clerks.
Central Chimney Type of House.—See "House".
Chamfer.—The small plane formed when the sharp edge
or corner of stone or wood is cut away, usually at
an angle of 45°; when the plane is concave it is
termed a hollow chamfer, and when the plane is sunk
below its arrises, or edges, a sunk chamfer.
Chancel Arch.—The arch spanning the west end of the
chancel.
Chantry-chapel.—A small chapel usually occupying part
of a large building, specially attached to a chantry.
Chasuble.—A nearly circular cape with central hole for
head, worn by priests and bishops at mass. It is put
on over all the other vestments.
Chausses.—Leg defences of mail.
Checky.—In heraldry, a field or charge divided into
checkers.
Cheveron.—In heraldry, a charge resembling a plain
barge-board of a gable. A field or charge filled with
cheverons of alternating colours is said to be
cheveronny.
Chief.—In heraldry, the upper part of the shield. Cut
off from the rest of the field by a horizontal line
and having its own tincture, it becomes one of the
charges of the shield, covering a space which occupies
from a third to a half of it.
Chrismatory.—A box containing the holy oils for anointing.
Chrisom-child.—A newly-baptised child bound in swaddling clothes.
Cinquefoil.—1. See "Foil".
2. An heraldic flower of five petals.
Clearstorey.—An open storey or range of windows in the
upper part of a nave, chancel, etc. of a church,
immediately below the roof.
Close-helmet.—See "Helmet".
Clunch.—A local name for the lower chalk limestone,
composed of chalk and clay.
Cockatrice.—A monster with the head and legs of a
cock and the tail of a wyver.
Coif.—Small close hood, covering head only.
Collar-beam.—A horizontal beam framed to and serving
to tie a pair of rafters together some distance above
the wall-plate level.
Combed Work.—The decoration of plaster surfaces by
"combing" it into various patterns.
Console.—A bracket with a compound curved outline.
Cops, Knee and Elbow.—Knee and elbow defences of
leather or plate.
Cope.—Cloak fastening in front with morse; processional
and quire vestment only; worn by clerks of most
grades.
Corbel.—A projecting stone or piece of timber supporting,
or intended to support, a superincumbent weight.
Cotises.—In heraldry, pairs of narrow bands, in the form
of bends, pales, fesses, or cheverons, and borne accompanying one of those charges on each side of it.
Counterchanged.—In heraldry, term applied in cases
where the field and charges exchange tinctures on
either side of a dividing line.
Counter scarp.—The reverse slope of a ditch facing
towards the place defended.
Courtyard Type of House.—See "House".
Cove.—A curved surface forming the junction between a
wall and a ceiling.
Cover-paten.—A cover to a communion cup, intended for
use as a paten.
Crackows.—Shoes or sollerets with very long pointed toes.
Credence.—A shelf, niche, or table on which the vessels,
etc. for mass are placed.
Crest.—A device worn upon the helm.
Crest, cresting.—An ornamental finish on the top edge
of a screen, etc. usually in the form of square leaves.
and flowers.
Crockets.—Carvings which represent projecting leaves of
conventional design; used to enrich the vertical or
sloping sides of parts of a building, such as spires,
canopies, hood moulds, etc.
Cross.—In its simplest form in heraldry, a pale combined
with a fesse, as the St. George's Cross; there are
many other varieties, of which the following are the
most common:—Crosslet,—with a small arm crossing
the end of each main arm, the ends being cut off
squarely; Crosslet fitchy,—having the lowest arm
spiked or pointed; Crosslet flowered or flory,—having
the arms headed with fleurs de lis; Crosslet formy,—
arms widening from the centre, and square at the ends.
The old forms of the crosslet have, as a rule, the arms
ending as in trefoils with rounded petals; Plain cross,—
with four equal arms; Moline (or mill-rind),—with the
arms split or forked at the ends; Paty,—as a cross
formy, but with the arms notched in two places at
the ends, giving them a form which may approach
that of a blunt head of a fleur de lis; Potent (or
Jerusalem),—having a small transverse arm at the
extreme end of each main arm; Tau (or Anthony),—
in the form of a T.
Cross-loop.—Narrow slits or openings in a wall, in the
form of a cross, generally with circular enlargements
at the ends.
Cross-vaulting.—See "Vaulting".
Cross-staff.—Staff terminating in a cross; carried before
archbishops, who are usually shown holding it in
effigies, brasses, etc.
Crusilly.—In heraldry, the field of a shield covered or
powdered with small crosslets.
Cuirass.—Breast and back plates of metal or leather.
Cushion-capital.—An early form of capital (late 11th and
early 12th-century).
Cusps (cusping, cusped heads, sub-cusps).—The projecting
points forming the foils in Gothic windows, arches,
panels, etc.; they were frequently ornamented at the
ends, or cusp-points, with leaves, flowers, berries, etc.
Dagging.—Cutting of edges of garments into slits and
foliations.
Dalmatic.—The special vestment at mass of a deacon;
loose robe, moderate length, slit up sides, with wide
sleeves and fringed edges.
Dance.—In heraldry, a fesse or bar drawn zigzagwise.
Deacons' Vestments (Mass).—Amice, alb, stole (worn over
left shoulder), dalmatic and fanon.
Demi-brassart.—Plate defences for outside of arm.
Dexter.—In heraldry, the right side of a shield (from the
position of the holder).
Diagonal-buttress.—See "Buttress".
Diaper.—Decoration of surfaces with squares, diamonds,
and other patterns.
Dimidiated.—In heraldry, cut in half palewise and one
half removed.
Dog-legged Staircase.—Two flights of stairs in opposite
directions.
Dog-tooth Ornament.—A typical 13th-century carved
ornament consisting of a series of pyramidal flowers
of four petals; used to cover hollow mouldings.
Dormer-window.—A vertical window on the slope of a
roof, and having a roof of its own.
Dorter.—A dormitory or sleeping apartment.
Double-ogee.—See "Ogee".
Dovetail.—A carpenter's joint for two boards, one with
a series of projecting pieces resembling doves' tails
fitting into the other with similar hollows; in
heraldry, an edge formed like a dovetail joint.
Drawbar.—A wood bolt inside a doorway, sliding when
out of use into a long channel in the thickness of the
wall.
Dressings.—The stones used about a window, or other
feature when worked to a finished face, whether
smooth, tooled in various ways, moulded, or sculptured.
Drip-stone.—See "Label".
Drop-arch.—See "Arch".
Easter Sepulchre.—A locker in the north wall of a
chancel wherein the Host was placed from Good Friday
to Easter Day, to typify Christ's burial after his
crucifixion. A temporary wooden structure in imitation of a Sepulchre with lights, etc. was often placed
before it, but in some parts of the country this was
a more permanent and ornate structure of stone.
Eaves.—The lower edge or verge of a sloping roof overhanging a wall.
Embattled or Battled.—In heraldry, the edge of a chief,
bend, bar, or the like drawn in the fashion of the
battlements of a wall.
Embrasures.—The openings, indents, or sinkings in an
embattled parapet.
Enceinte.—The main outline of a fort.
Engaged Shafts.—Shafts cut out of the solid or connected with the jamb, pier, respond, or other part
against which they stand.
Engrailed or Indented.—In heraldry, edged with a series
of concave curves or sharp indentures. In modern
heraldry the two forms are nicely distinguished.
Entablature.—The horizontal superstructure above the
columns or jambs of an opening, and consisting of an
architrave, frieze and cornice.
Ermine or Ermines.—The fur most frequently used in
heraldry; white powdered with black tails. Other
varieties are sometimes found, as sable ermined with
silver, and in more modern heraldry, gold ermined
with sable, and sable ermined with gold.
E Type of House.—See "House".
Fanon.—A strip of embroidery probably at one time a
handkerchief held in the left hand, or worn hanging
from the left wrist by bishops, priests and deacons.
It is often called a maniple.
Fan Vaulting.—See "Vaulting".
Fenestration.—The arrangement of windows in the
elevation of a building.
Feretory.—A place or chamber for a body which was
watched by a " feretrar "; the term now usually confined to a shrine or the chamber in which it stands.
Fesse.—In heraldry, a band athwart the shield. When
more than one fesse is borne they are known as Bars.
Finial.—A formal bunch of foliage or similar ornament
at the top of a pinnacle, gable, canopy, etc.
Fitchy.—See "Cross".
Foil (trefoil, quatrefoil, cinquefoil, multifoil, etc.).—A
leaf-shaped curve formed by the cusping or feathering
in an opening or panel.
Foliated (of a capital, corbel, etc.).—Carved with leaf
ornament.
Fosse.—A ditch.
Four-centred Arch.—See "Arch".
Frater.—The refectory or dining-hall of a monastery.
Fret or Fretty.—In heraldry, a charge formed by a number
of interlacing bastons drawn dexter-wise and sinisterwise. In modern heraldry, the charge of a fret takes
the form of a narrow saltire interlacing a voided
lozenge, while the word Fretty is kept for the older
form.
Frieze.—The middle division in an entablature, between
the architrave and the cornice; generally any band of
ornament or colour immediately below a cornice.
Fusil.—In heraldry, a word applied to the pieces into
which a fesse is divided by engrailing or indenting.
Fylfot.—A peculiar cruciform figure, each arm of which
is bent to form one or more right angles in its length.
Gable.—The wall at the end of a high-pitched roof,
generally triangular, sometimes semi-circular, and
often with an outline of various curves, then called
curvilinear.
Gadlings.—Spikes or knobs on plate gauntlets.
Gambeson.—Garment of padded cloth worn under
hauberk or as sole defence.
Gardant.—In heraldry, an epithet of a beast whose full
face is seen.
Garreted Joints.—Wide joints in rubble or masonry into
which thin pieces of flint or stone have been inserted.
Gimel-bar or Gemel-bar.—In heraldry, a bar painted as
two narrow bars lying close to one another.
Gipon.—Close-fitting vest of cloth, worn over armour
c. 1350 to c. 1410.
Gobony.—In heraldry, a row of checkers of a metal
alternating with a colour, or either with a fur.
Gorget.—Plate defence for neck and throat.
Greek Cross.—A plain cross with four equal arms.
Griffon.—A winged monster with the fore parts of an
eagle, and the hinder parts of a lion.
Groining, Groined Vault.—See "Vaulting".
Guige.—Strap from which shield was suspended.
Guilloche-pattern.—An ornament consisting of two or
more intertwining wavy bands.
Gules.—In heraldry, red.
Gussets.—Pieces of flexible armour placed in gaps of
plate defences.
Gyronny or Gironny.—In heraldry, the field of a shield
divided into six, eight or more gussets meeting at a
point in the midst.
Haketon.—Studded and stiffened body defence, of cloth,
leather and metal, with moderately long skirts, worn
between the hauberk and surcoat in the second and
third quarters of the 14th century.
Half-H type of House.—See "House".
Hall and cellar type of House.—See "House".
Hammer-beams.—Horizontal brackets projecting from
the wall at the wall-plate level, and somewhat
resembling the two ends of a tie-beam with its middle
part cut away; they are supported by braces (or
struts), and help to diminish the lateral pressure in a
roof by reducing the span for the upper part of the
truss.
Hatchment.—A display of arms in a lozenge-shaped
frame.
Hauberk.—Shirt of chain or other mail.
Helm.—Complete barrel or dome-shaped head defence of
plate.
Helmet.—A light headpiece; various forms are: Armet,
Burgonet, close Helmet, all similar in principle.
Herm.—A form of caryatid, a square tapering column
with a carved human figure growing out of it at the
top.
Hood-mould.—See "Label".
Houses.—These are classified as far as possible under the
following definitions:—
i. Hall and cellar type:—Hall on first floor; rooms
beneath generally stone vaulted; examples as early
as the 12th century.
ii. H type:—Hall between projecting wings, one containing living rooms, the other the offices. The
usual form of a mediæval house, employed, with
variations, down to the 17th century.
iii. L type:—Hall and one wing; generally for small
houses.
iv. E. type:—Hall with two wings and a middle porch;
generally of the 16th and 17th centuries.
v. Half-H type:—A variation of the E type without the
middle porch.
vi. Courtyard type:—House built round a square; sometimes only three ranges of buildings with or without
an enclosing wall and gateway on the fourth side.
vii. Central Chimney type:—(Rectangular plan), small
houses only.
Impaled.—See "Parted".
Indent.—The sinking or casement, in a slab, in which a
monumental brass is, or has been, fixed.
Indented.—See "Engrailed".
Invected.—In modern heraldry, edged with a series of
convex curves.
Jambs.—1. The sides of an archway, doorway, window,
or other opening.
2. In heraldry, legs of lions, etc.
3. In armour, plate defences for lower leg.
Jazerine.—Armour of small plates on leather or cloth.
Keep.—The great tower or stronghold in a Norman castle;
of greater height and strength than the other buildings.
Keystone.—The middle stone in an arch.
King-post.—The middle vertical post in a roof truss.
Kneeler.—Stone at the foot of a gable.
Label (hood-mould, dripstone).—A projecting moulding on
the face of a wall above an arch; in some cases it
follows the form of the arch, and in others is square
in outline.
Label.—In heraldry, a narrow horizontal band (lying
across the chief of a shield), from which small strips,
generally three or five, called points, depend at right
angles.
Lancet.—A long narrow window with a pointed head,
typical of the 13th century.
Langued (of beasts, etc.).—In heraldry, a term used when
indicating the tincture of a beast's tongue.
Latin Cross.—A plain cross with the bottom arm longer
than the other three.
Leopard.—In heraldry, a lion showing its full face; always
passant (unless otherwise emblazoned), as in the three
leopards of England.
Lierne Vault.—See "Vaulting".
Lintel.—The flat beam or joist bridging an opening.
Lion.—In heraldry, face in profile and (unless otherwise
emblazoned) always rampant.
Liripipe.—Long tail of cloth attached to hooded tippet of
14th century; the whole finally developed into form
of turban called Liripipe head-dress.
Locker (Aumbry).—A small cupboard cut or built in a
wall.
Loculus.—A small niche or locker in an Easter Sepulchre,
in which the pyx was placed.
Loop.—A small narrow light in a turret, etc.; often
unglazed.
Low side window.—A window with a low sill, i.e.
within a few feet of the floor, in the N. or S. wall
of the chancel near the W. end; it appears to have
been always provided with a shutter instead of fixed
glass; use uncertain.
Lozenge.—In heraldry, a charge like the diamond in a
pack of cards.
L type of house.—See "House".
Luce.—In heraldry, a fish (pike).
Lychgate.—A covered gateway, at the entrance of a
churchyard, beneath which the bier is rested at a
funeral.
Mail Skirt.—Skirt of chain mail worn under taces and
tuiles.
Mail Standard.—Collar of chain mail.
Manche, Maunche.—A lady's sleeve with a long pendent
lappet; a heraldic charge.
Maniple.—See "Fanon".
Mantle.—In heraldry, the cloth hung over the hinder part
of the helm, like the Indian " pagri ", the edges came
to be fantastically dagged and slit.
Martlet.—A martin, shown sometimes in heraldry without
feet.
Mask stop.—A stop at the end of a label, bearing a distant resemblance to a human face; generally of the
12th and 13th centuries.
Mass Vestments.—These included the amice, alb, and
girdle (which were worn by all clerks) to which a subdeacon added the tunicle and fanon, a deacon the
dalmatic, fanon, and stole (over one shoulder only)
and the priest the fanon, stole (over both shoulders)
and chasuble. Bishops and certain privileged abbots
wore the tunicle and dalmatic under the chasuble, with
the mitre, gloves, and ring, and buskins and sandals.
Archbishops used the pall in addition to all the foregoing. Bishops, abbots, and archbishops alike
carried croziers, and in the same way, but an archbishop had likewise a cross carried before him for
dignity, and he is generally represented holding one
for distinction. The mass vestments were sometimes
worn over the quire habit, and the hood of the grey
amess can often be seen on effigies hanging beyond
the amice apparel at the back of the neck.
Merlon.—The solid part of an embattled parapet between
the embrasures.
Mezzanine.—A subordinate storey between two main
floors of a building.
Mill-rind (Fer de moline).—The iron affixed to the centre
of a millstone; a common heraldic charge. In early
heraldry the name given to the mill-rind cross, or
cross moline.
Misericorde.—1. A projecting carved bracket affixed to
the underside of the seat of a stall so that when the
seat, which is hinged, is turned up against the back,
the bracket forms a rest for the user.
2. Dagger worn with armour.
Mitred Abbots' Vestments.—Same as a bishop's.
Modillions.—Brackets under the cornice in classical
architecture.
Molet.—In heraldry, a star of five or six points, the rays
drawn with straight lines.
Morse.—Large clasp or brooch fastening cope across the
breast.
Mullion.—A vertical post, standard, or upright dividing
a window into two or more lights; generally chamfered, and often moulded.
Muntin.—The intermediate uprights in the framing of
a door, screen, or panel, butting into or stopped by
the rails.
Nasal.—Vertical bar or plate to protect nose.
Nebuly.—Heraldic term for a line or edge, following the
fashion of the mediæval artists' conventional cloud.
Neck-moulding.—The narrow moulding at the bottom of
a capital.
Newel.—The central post in a circular or winding staircase; also the principal posts at the angles of a dog-legged or well staircase.
Nogging.—The filling, generally of brick, between the
posts, etc. of a timber-framed house.
Ogee.—A compound curve of two parts, one convex, the
other concave; a double-ogee moulding is formed by
two ogees meeting at their convex ends.
Or.—In heraldry, gold; a word which, like argent, was
established in English blazon in the second half of the
16th century.
Orders of Arches.—Receding divisions, or concentric rings
of voussoirs, generally moulded.
Oriel Window.—A projecting bay-window carried upon
corbels or brackets.
Orle.—In heraldry, a term used of a number of small
charges, as martlets or the like, set in the shield in
the manner of a border. Also a wreath of twisted
cloth worn on bascinet, or bare head, to take weight
of helm; or on helm to hold mantle in place.
Orphreys.—Strips of embroidery on vestments.
"Out of the Solid".—Mouldings worked on the styles,
rails, etc., of framing, instead of being fixed on to
them.
Oversailing Courses.—A number of brick courses of
which each course projects beyond the one below it.
Pale.—A vertical band down the middle of a shield.
Palimpsest.—Of a brass: re-used by engraving the back
of an older engraved plate.
Of a wall-painting: superimposed on an
earlier painting.
Paly.—In heraldry, a shield divided by lines palewise,
generally into six divisions, unless otherwise emblazoned.
Panache.—A plume or brush of feathers worn on the
helm.
Pargetting.—Ornamental plaster work on the surface
of a wall.
Parted or Party.—In heraldry, a term used when a shield
is divided into two parts down the middle. When
two coats of arms are marshalled, each in one of these
divisions, the one is said to be party or parted with
the other, or, in the words of the later heraldry, to
be impaling it. The word party or parted is also
used for other specified divisions, as party bendwise.
Parvise.—Now generally used to denote a chamber above
a porch.
Passant (of beasts, etc.).—In heraldry, walking and
looking forward,—head in profile.
Pastoral Staff.—Staff ending in ornamented crook;
carried by archbishops, bishops, and heads of monastic
houses.
Paten.—A plate or salver for holding the Bread at the
celebration of the Holy Communion.
Paty (cross).—See "Cross".
Pauldron.—Plate defence for the shoulders.
Pediment.—A low-pitched gable used in Classical and
Renaissance architecture above a portico, at the end
of a building, and above doors, windows, niches,
etc.; sometimes the middle part is omitted, forming
a "broken" pediment.
Perk.—A perch on which to hang vestments.
Pheon.—In heraldry, a broad arrow head.
Pile.—In heraldry, a triangular or wedge-shaped charge,
issuing from the chief of the shield unless otherwise
blazoned.
Pilaster.—A shallow pillar attached to and projecting
from a wall.
Piscina.—A basin with a drain, set in a niche or recess
in the wall S. of an altar.
Pitch of Roof.—The slope or angle of a ridged roof.
Plinth.—The projecting base of a wall, generally chamfered or moulded at the top; also the square member
below a column.
Poppy-head.—The ornament at the heads of bench-standards, etc., in churches; generally carved with
foliage and flowers, somewhat resembling a fleur-de-lis.
Portcullis.—A running gate, rising and falling in vertical
grooves in the jambs of a doorway.
Pourpoint.—Defence of padded cloth or of leather set
with metal studs.
Powdered.—A shield or charge with small charges
scattered indiscriminately thereon is said to be
powdered with them.
Presbytery.—The part of a church in which is placed
the high altar, E. of the quire.
Priests' Vestments (Mass).—Amice, alb, girdle, stole,
fanon, chasuble.
Principals.—Generally the larger rafters of a roof; also
sometimes used for the tie-beams, purlins, and other
main timbers.
Processional Vestments.—Same as canonical.
Pulvinated Frieze.—In Classical and Renaissance architecture, a frieze having a convex or bulging section.
Purlin.—A horizontal timber resting on the principal
rafters of a roof-truss, and forming an intermediate
support for the common rafters.
Purple or Purpure.—One of the colours in heraldry.
Pyx.—Any small box, but usually a vessel to contain the
reserved Sacrament.
Quarry.—In glazing, small panes of glass, generally
diamond-shaped or square, set diagonally.
Quarter.—In heraldry, the dexter corner of the shield;
a charge made by enclosing that corner with a right-angled line taking in a quarter or somewhat less of
the shield and giving it a tincture of its own.
Quartered or Quarterly.— A term which, in its original
sense, belongs to a shield or charge divided cross-wise
into four quarters. After the practice of marshalling
divers coats in the quarters of a shield had been
established, the quarters themselves might be quartered for the admission of more coats, or the four
original divisions increased to six or more, each being
still termed a quarter.
Quatrefoil.—In heraldry, a four-petalled flower. See
also "Foil".
Queen-posts.—A pair of vertical posts in a roof-truss
equidistant from the middle line.
Quills.—Bars forming cross-guard of sword.
Quilted Defence.—Armour made of padded cloth, leather,
etc.
Quire-habit.—In secular churches: for boys, a surplice
only over the cassock; for clerks or vicars, the surplice
and a black cope-like mantle, partly closed in front
and put over the head, which was exchanged for a silk
cope on festivals; canons put on over the surplice a
grey amess. In monastic churches, all classes, whether
canons regular, monks, friars, nuns, or novices wore
the ordinary habit with a cope on festivals.
Quoin.—The dressed stones at the corners of a building.
Ragged, Raguly.—In heraldry, applied to a charge (commonly a bend) whose edges are ragged like a tree
trunk with the limbs lopped away.
Rampant (of beasts, etc.).—In heraldry, erect; one hind
paw on the ground, the other paws elevated.
Rampart.—A mound surrounding a fortified place.
Rapier.—Cut and thrust sword.
Razed.—Of a head, etc. in heraldry, having a ragged
edge as though torn off.
Rear arch.—The arch on the inside of a wall enclosing
a doorway or window opening.
Rear-vault.—The space between a rear arch and the
outer stonework of a window.
Rebate (rabbet, rabbit).—A continuous rectangular notch
cut on the edge of a solid.
Reliquary.—A small box or other receptacle for relics.
Rerebrace.—Plate or leather defence for upper arm.
Reredos.—A hanging, wall, or screen of stone or wood at
the back of an altar or daïs.
Respond.—The half-pillar or pier at the end of an
arcade.
Revetment.—A retaining wall of masonry against a bank
of earth.
Roll-moulding.—A plain round moulding cut upon the
edges of stone and woodwork, etc.
Rood (Rood-beam, Rood-screen, Rood-loft).—A cross or
crucifix. The Great Rood was set up at the E. end of
the nave with accompanying figures of St. Mary and
St. John; it was generally carved in wood, and fixed on
the loft or head of the rood-screen, or in a special
beam (the Rood-beam), reaching from wall to wall.
Sometimes the rood was merely painted on the wall
above the chancel-arch or on a closed wood partition
or tympanum in the upper half of the arch. The
Rood-screen is the open screen spanning the E. end
of the nave, shutting off the chancel; in the 15th century a narrow gallery was often constructed above the
cornice to carry the rood and other images and
candles, and it was also used as a music gallerry. The
loft was approached by a staircase (and occasionally
by more than one), either of wood or in a turret built
in the wall wherever most convenient, and, when the
loft was carried right across the building, the intervening walls of the nave were often pierced with
narrow archways. Many of the roods were destroyed
at the Reformation, and their final removal, with the
loft, was ordered in 1561.
Roundel.—A round disc or small sphere as a heraldic
charge.
Rubble.—Walling of rough unsquared stones or flints.
Rustic work, rusticated joints.—Masonry in which the
jointing is accentuated by grooves.
Sabatons.—Articulated plate defences for the feet.
Sable.—In heraldry, black.
Salade.—Light steel headpiece, frequently with vizor.
Saltire.—In heraldry, an X-shaped cross; also called St.
Andrew's cross.
Sanctus.—A small bell, usually hung in a bell-cot over the
E. gable of the nave, or in the steeple, and rung at
the Elevation of the Host during mass. The name is
also applied to small bells of post Reformation date.
Sash-window.—A window of which the part to open is
made to slide up and down, with pulleys and counterbalances. In late 17th or early 18th-century work the
frames were placed almost flush with the outer face
of the walls (flush-sash, or outside sash).
Scallop.—A shellfish, a common charge in heraldry.
Scalloped capital.—A later development of the 12th-century cushion capital.
Scappled Flints.—Split flints.
Scarp.—A vertical or sloping face of earth in a ditch
or moat, or cut in the slope of a hill, facing away
from the place which it helps to defend.
Scroll-moulding.—A rounded moulding of two parts, the
upper projecting beyond the lower, thus resembling a
scroll of parchment.
Scutcheon or Scocheon.—A shield, a charge in heraldry.
Voided Scutcheon, a scutcheon whose border alone is
seen; incorrectly termed in modern heraldry an Orle.
A door handle in the form of a pendent ring, etc.
A covering for a keyhole.
Sedilia (sing. sedile, a seat).—The seats on the S. side of
the chancel, quire, or chapel near the altar, used by
the ministers during the Mass.
Sexpartite vault.—See "Vaulting".
Shaft.—A small pillar.
Shafted jambs.—A jamb containing one or more shafts
either engaged or detached.
Shell-keep.—A wall of masonry encircling the top of the
mount in a Norman castle.
Shingles.—Tiles made of cleft oak; used for covering
spires, etc.
Sinister.—In heraldry, the left half of a shield (from
the position of the holder).
Slip tiles.—Tiles moulded with a design in intaglio which
was then filled in, before burning, with a clay of a
different colour.
Slype.—A mediæval term for a narrow passage between
two buildings; generally used for that from the
cloister to the cemetery of a monastic establishment.
Soffit.—The under side of a staircase, lintel, cornice,
arch, canopy, etc.
Soffit-cusps.—Cusps springing from the flat soffit of an
arched head, and not from its chamfered sides or
edges.
Solar.—An upper chamber in a mediæval house reserved
for the private use of the family.
Sollerets.—Shoes of articulated plates.
Spandrel.—The triangular-shaped space above the haunch
of an arch; the two outer edges generally form a
rectangle, as in an arched and square-headed doorway; the name is also applied to a space within a
curved brace below a tie-beam, etc. and to any similar
spaces.
Spire, Broach - spire, Needle - spire.—The tall pointed
termination, usually of stone or wood, forming the
roof of a tower or turret. A Broach-spire, rises from
the sides of the tower without a parapet, the angles
of a square tower being surmounted, in this case,
by half-pyramids against the alternate faces of the
spire, when octagonal. A Needle-spire is small and
narrow, and rises from the middle of the tower-roof
well within the parapet.
Splay.—A sloping face making an angle less than a rightangle with the main surface, as in window jambs, etc.
Springing-line.—The level at which an arch springs from
its supports.
Sprocket-pieces.—Short lengths of timber covering the
ends of roof-rafters to flatten the angle or pitch of
the roof at the eaves.
Spurs.—Prick: in form of plain goad; early form.
Rowel: with spiked wheel; later form.
Squint.—A piercing through a wall to allow a view of
an altar from places whence it could otherwise not
be seen.
Stages of Tower.—The divisions marked by horizontal
string-courses externally.
Stanchion, stancheon.—The upright iron bars in a
screen, window, etc.
Stole.—A long narrow strip of embroidery with fringed
ends worn above the alb by a deacon over the left
shoulder, and by priests and bishops over both
shoulders.
Stops.—Projecting stones at the ends of labels, stringcourses, etc. against which the mouldings finish;
they are usually carved in various forms, such as
shields, bunches of foliage, human or grotesque
heads, etc.; a finish at the end of any moulding or
chamfer bringing the corner out to a square edge, or
sometimes, in the case of a moulding, to a chamfered
edge. A splayed stop has a plain sloping face, but in
many other cases the face is moulded.
Stoup.—A vessel, placed near an entrance doorway, to
contain holy water; those remaining are usually
in the form of a deeply-dished stone set in a niche.
Also called Holy-water Stones, or Holy-water Stocks.
String-course.—A projecting horizontal band of brick or
stone in a wall; usually moulded.
Strut.—A timber forming a sloping support to a horizontal beam, etc.
Style.—The vertical members of a frame into which are
tenoned the ends of the rails or horizontal pieces.
Sub-deacons' Vestments (Mass).—Amice, alb, tunicle,
fanon.
Surcoat.—Coat, usually sleeveless, worn over armour.
Tabard.—Short loose surcoat, open at sides, sometimes
worn with armour, and emblazoned with arms; distinctive garment of heralds.
Taces or tonlets.—Articulated defence for hips and lower
part of body.
Tapul.—Ridge down centre of breastplate.
Tie-beam.—The horizontal transverse beam in a roof,
tying together the feet of the rafters to counteract
the thrust.
Timber-framed building.—A building of which the walls
are built of open timbers and covered with plaster or
boarding, or with interstices filled in with brickwork.
Totternhoe stone.—Clunch from the Totternhoe beds.
Tracery.—The ornamental work in the head of a window,
screen, panel, etc. formed by the curving and interlacing of bars of stone or wood, and grouped together,
generally over two or more lights or bays.
Transom.—A horizontal bar of stone or wood across the
upper half of a window opening, doorway, or panel.
Trefoil.—In heraldry, a three-lobed leaf, with a pendent
stalk.
Tressure.—Heraldic term for a voided scocheon surrounded by another. Set about on the outer edge
of the outer voided scocheon and on the inner edge
of the inner one, with alternate heads and tails of
fleurs de lis, it is called a flowered tressure, or, by
careful blazoners, a tressure flowered and counter-flowered.
Tripping.—Applied, in heraldry, to stags, etc. walking
or passant.
Truss.—A number of timbers framed together to bridge
a space or form a bracket, to be self-supporting, and
to carry other timbers. The trusses of a roof are
generally named after a peculiar feature in their
construction, such as King-post, Queen-post, Hammer-beam, etc. (q.v.).
Tuilles.—In armour, plates attached to and hanging from
the edge of taces, or tonlets.
Tumulus.—A burial mound.
Tunicle.—Similar to dalmatic.
Tympanum.—An enclosed space in the head of an arch,
doorway, etc. or in the triangle of a pediment.
Types of Houses.—See "Houses".
Vair.—In heraldry, fur; it is indicated by barring the field
or charge (see Barry), each division being divided
athwart by a waved or battled line into silver and
azure. Other tinctures are found, but must be specified by the blazoners as vairy ermine and gules, etc.
Vallum.—A rampart.
Vambrace.—Plate defence for lower arm.
Vamplates.—Funnel-shaped hand-guard of lance.
Vaulting.—An arched ceiling or roof of stone, brick, or
wood. Barrel vaulting (sometimes called waggon head
vaulting) is a vault unbroken in its length by cross
vaults. A groined vault (or cross vaulting) is one
crossed at right angles by another. A rib-vault is
a framework of arched ribs carrying the material
which covers in the spaces between them. One bay
of vaulting, divided into four quarters or compartments, is termed quadripartite; but often the bay is
divided longitudinally into two subsidiary bays, each
equalling a bay of the wall supports; the vaulting
bay is thus divided into six compartments, and is
termed sex-partite. A more complicated form is lierne
vaulting; this contains secondary ribs, which do not
spring from the wall-supports, but cross from main
rib to main rib, producing a star-shaped plan. Fan
vaulting is made up of compartments or bays, each
containing numerous ribs, spreading from a common
pendent in equal curves, and giving a fan-like effect
when seen from below.
Vernicle.—A representation of the face of Christ printed
upon the napkin.
Vert.—In heraldry, green.
Vestments (ecclesiastical).—See alb, amice, amess,
apparels, archbishops' vestments, bishops' vestments,
buskins, canonical quire habit, cassock, chasuble,
cope, cross staff, dalmatic, deacons' vestments, fanon,
mitred abbots' vestments, morse, orphreys, pastoral
staff, priests' vestments, processional vestments, quire
habit, sub-deacons' vestments, stole, tunicle.
Vizor.—Hinged face-guard of bascinet, salade, close
helmet, etc.
Voided.—In heraldry, with the middle part cut away,
leaving a margin.
Volute.—A spiral form of ornament.
Voussoirs.—The stones forming an arch.
Waggon-head Vault.—See "Vaulting".
Wall-plate.—A timber laid lengthwise on the wall to
receive the ends of the rafters and other joists.
Water-bouget.—See "Bouget".
Wattle and daub.—An old form of plastering in timber-framed buildings.
Wave-mould.—A compound mould formed by a convex
curve between two concave curves.
Weather-boarding.—Horizontal boards nailed to the
uprights of timber-framed buildings and made to
overlap; the boards are wedge-shaped in section, the
upper edge being the thinner.
Weathering (to sills, tops of buttresses, etc.).—A sloping
surface for casting off water, etc.
Well-staircase.—A staircase of several flights and generally square, surrounding a space or "well".
Wichert or Whitchet (white earth).—A local term for a
kind of white marl or mud found at Haddenham,
Dinton, and in the district, and used unburnt mixed
with chopped straw for walling.
Wimple.—Scarf covering chin and throat.
Window.—A term applied to the stone, brick, or wood
work forming the window opening, as well as the glass.
Wyver or Wyvern.—A dragon-like monster with a beaked
head, two legs with claws, and tail sometimes coiled in
a knot. The earlier examples show wings.