back to glossary main

Letter "E" Glossary


east end — Term used to describe the apse or hemicycle portion of a church containing the main altar. More broadly, may refer to the area of the church including the choir, apse, ambulatory and radiating chapels. Most Medieval churches were oriented on an east-west axis with the main entrance at the west end and the high altar at the east end facing the direction of the Holy Land.

Ecclesia — Female personification of the Church often shown in conjunction with Synagoga (Personification of Judaism). Ecclesia was crowned and held a chalice and Synagoga was blindfolded and held the Tablets of the Law (the Ten Commandments given to Moses).

egg-and-dart — Decorative molding designed with alternating egg-shaped and dart-like forms common in Classical architecture and used frequently during the Middle Ages.

elevation — A single face or side of a building or an informational drawing or diagram made to illustrate the face or side of a building.

enamel — Colored glass in powder or paste form (composed of quartz, feldspar, clay, soda, and borax) and fused by firing to the surface of an object resulting in a hard, glass-like character. Two main types of enameling were used in the Middle Ages, cloisonnŽ and champlevŽ.

endonarthex — Inner narthex (entrance porch) in basilican and Byzantine churches. engaged column, colonette or shaft - A column, colonette or shaft partly embedded or bonded to a supporting structure. Also called an applied column, colonette or shaft.

eucharist — A sacrament and the central act of worship in many Christian churches performed during the Mass, which was instituted at the Last Supper and in which bread and wine are consecrated and consumed in remembrance of Jesus's death.

eucharistic windows —Small windows, often obliquely cut, in the wall of a church, placed to offer a view of the high altar from the transept or aisles.

evangelists — Four of the followers of Christ - - Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John - - who authored the four New Testament gospel narratives describing the life of Christ.

evangelist symbols — Matthew: angel (man); Mark: lion; Luke: ox John: eagle often used to symbolize the evangelists in sculpture or painted images.

exedra (pl. exedrae) — Monumental or smaller niches or recessed spaces often semicircular in shape and sometimes roofed with a semi-dome.

exonarthex — Outer narthex (entrance porch) in basilican and Byzantine churches.

extrados — Outer curves or faces of arches or vaults forming a convex face. Cf. intrados.

back to top