Glossary

GLOSSARY of The Meaning Attached to the Technical Terms Used in the Inventory.

Abacus.—The uppermost member of a capital.

Alb.—Long linen robe, with close sleeves; worn by clerks of all grades.

Alettes or Allettes.—In armour, plates usually rectangular, of metal or 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.

Altar-tomb.—A modern term for a tomb of stone or marble resembling, but not used as, an altar.

Amess.—Fur cape with hood, and long tails in front; worn by clerks of the higher grades.

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.

Ankar-hold.—The dwelling house of an ankorite or recluse.

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 arc struck from a centre below the springing line.

Pointed or two-centred:—Two arcs struck from centres on the springing line, and meeting at the apex with a point.

Segmental-pointed:—A pointed arch, struck from two centres below the springing line.

Equilateral:—A pointed arch struck with radii equal to the span.

Lancet:—A pointed arch struck with radii greater than the span.

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 are replaced by straight lines.

Ogee:—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.

Relieving:—An arch generally of rough construction, placed in the wall above the true arch or head of an opening, to relieve it of some of the superincumbent weight.

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 crosier but, in later times, holds a cross-staff for distinction.

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 mediaeval 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.—An edge or angle.

Articulation.—The joining of several plates of armour to form a flexible defence.

Ashlar.—Masonry wrought to an even face and square edges.

Aumbry.—See "Locker."

Azure.—In heraldry, blue.

Baberies.—The "childlike conceits" and other carvings on the underside of misericords.

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.

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 narrow bands, 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.—An advanced protective work before the gate of a town or castle, or at the head of a bridge.

Barbican Mount.—A mound advanced from the main defences to protect an entrance.

Barge-board.—A board, often carved, fixed to the edge of a gabled roof, a short distance from the face of the wall.

Barnack stone.—A shelly oolitic limestone; from Barnack, Northamptonshire.

Barrel-vaulting.—See "Vaulting."

Barrow.—A burial mound.

Barry.—In heraldry, an even number of horizontal divisions in a shield, normally six, but sometimes four or eight. When a greater and indefinite number of divisions appear the word Burely is used.

Bascinet.—Steel head-piece worn with camail, sometimes fitted with vizor.

Baston.—See "Bend."

Battled.—In heraldry, the edge of a chief, bend, bar, or the like drawn in the fashion of the battlements of a wall.

Bead.—A small round moulding.

Bell-capital.—A form of capital of which the chief characteristic is a reversed bell between the neck moulding and upper moulding; the bell is often enriched with carving.

Bend.—In heraldry, a band aslant and across the shield, commonly from the dexter chief. A narrow bend over other charges is called a Baston. The baston with the ends cut off, drawn in the other direction across the shield is a mark of bastardy in postmediaeval heraldry. A field or charge divided bendwise into an equal number of parts, normally six, is said to be bendy.

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 crosier, 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 coat of arms, whether simple or quartered.

Boss.—A projecting square or round ornament, covering the intersections of the ribs in a vault, panelled ceiling or roof, etc.

Bouget or Water-bouget.—A pair of leather bottles, borne as a heraldic charge.

Bowtell.—A continuous convex moulding; another term for roll-moulding.

Brace.—In roof construction, a subsidiary timber inserted to strengthen the framing of a truss. Wind-brace, a subsidiary timber inserted between the purlins and principals of a roof to resist the pressure of the wind.

Brassart.—Plate armour defence for the arm.

Bressumer.—A beam forming the direct support of an upper wall or timber-framing.

Brick-nogging.—The brick-work filling the spaces between the uprights of a timber-framed building.

Brick-work.—Header:—A brick laid so that the end only appears on the face of the wall.

Stretcher:—A brick laid so that one side only appears on the face of the wall.

English Bond:—A method of laying bricks so that alternate courses on the face of the wall are composed of headers or stretchers only.

Flemish Bond:—A method of laying bricks so that alternate headers and stretchers appear in each course on the face of a wall.

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 out the edge of a stone or beam 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 projecting from or 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:—A butting arch transmitting thrust from a wall to an outer buttress.

Cable-moulding.—A 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 the 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.

Caryatid.—Pillar carved as a woman.

Casement.—1. A wide hollow moulding in window jambs, etc.

2. The hinged part of a window.

3. The sinking for a brass in a slab.

Cassock.—Long, close-sleeved gown; worn by all clerks.

Cellarer's Building or Cellar.—In monastic planning that part of the Convent under the control of the cellarer containing store-rooms, wine-vaults, etc. In Cistercian monasteries it also included the Frater and Dorter of the Lay brethren (conversi). Its ordinary position in all orders was on the W. side of the cloister.

Central-chimney Type of House.—See "Houses."

Chamfer.—The small plane formed when the sharp edge or arris 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.

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 squares or checkers.

Cheveron.—In heraldry, a charge resembling a pair of rafters of a roof; sometimes used decoratively.

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, or even more of it.

Chrismatory.—A box containing the holy oils for anointing.

Chrisom-child.—Child swaddled in a chrisom-cloth.

Cinquefoil.—1. See "Foil."

2. An heraldic flower of five petals.

Clearstorey.—An upper storey, pierced by windows, in the main walls of a church. The same term is applicable in the case of a domestic building.

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.

Cope.—A processional and quire vestment shaped like a cloak, and fastened across the chest by a band or brooch; worn by clerks of most grades.

Coped-slab.—A slab of which the upper face is ridged down the middle, sometimes hipped at each end.

Cops, Knee and Elbow.—Knee and elbow defences of leather or plate.

Corbel.—A projecting stone or piece of timber for the support of 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.

Counter-coloured.—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 "Houses."

Cove.—A concave under-surface.

Cover-paten.—A cover to a communion cup, sometimes used as a paten.

Credence.—A shelf, niche, or table on which the vessels, etc., for mass are placed.

Crest, cresting.—1. A device worn upon the helm. 2. An ornamental finish along the top of a screen, etc.

Crockets.—Carvings projecting at regular intervals from the vertical or sloping sides of parts of a building, such as spires, canopies, hood-moulds, etc.

Crosier, or Pastoral Staff.—A tall staff ending in an ornamental crook carried as a mark of authority by archbishops, bishops, and heads of monastic houses, including abbesses and prioresses.

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 smaller arm crossing each main arm; 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 crosses,—with four equal arms not extending to the edges of the shield; 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-staff.—Staff terminating in a cross; carried before archbishops, who are usually shown holding it on effigies, brasses, etc.

Cross-vaulting.—See "Vaulting."

Crow-stopped.—A term applied to gables, the coping of which rises in a series of steps.

Crusily.—In heraldry, covered or powdered with crosslets.

Cuirass.—Breast and back plates of metal or leather.

Cushion-capital.—A cubic capital with its lower angles rounded off to a circular shaft.

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; a loose tunic of moderate length, slit up sides, with wide sleeves and fringed edges.

Dance.—In heraldry, a fesse or bar drawn zigzagwise, or dancetty.

Deacons' Vestments (Mass).—Amice, alb, stole (worn over left shoulder), dalmatic, and fanon.

Demi-brassart.—Plate defence for outside of arm.

Dexter.—In heraldry, the right-hand side of a shield as held.

Diaper.—Decoration of surfaces with squares, diamonds, and other patterns.

Dimidiated.—In heraldry, applied to the halving of two shields and joining a half of each to make a new shield.

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.—In monastic buildings, the common sleeping apartments or dormitory.

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 an angle, window, or other feature when worked to a finished face, whether smooth, tooled in various ways, moulded, or sculptured.

Drip-stone.—See "Hood-mould."

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 under part of a sloping roof overhanging 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.—In heraldry, edged with a series of concave curves.

Entablature.—In Classic or Renaissance architecture, the horizontal superstructure above the columns or jambs of an opening, 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 "Houses."

Fanon.—A strip of embroidery probably at one time a handkerchief, held in the left hand, or worn hanging from the left wrists by bishops, priests and deacons. It is often called a maniple.

Fan-vaulting.—See "Vaulting."

Fascia.—A plain or moulded board covering the plate of a projecting upper storey of timber, and masking the ends of the cantilever joists which support it.

Feretory.—A place or chamber for a shrine.

Fesse.—In heraldry, a horizontal 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."

Flanches.—In heraldry, the side portions of a shield, bounded by convex lines issuing from the chief.

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 of a number of bastons drawn from each side of the shield, and interlaced like lattice-work. 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.

Funeral helm.—A trophy, in the form of a crested headpiece, carried at the funerals and placed over the tombs of important personages.

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 a right angle.

Gable.—The wall at the end of a ridged roof, generally triangular, sometimes semi-circular, and often with an outline of various curves, then called curvilinear.

Gadlings.—Spikes or knobs on plate gauntlets.

Galleted or garretted Joints.—Wide joints in rubble or masonry into which thin pieces of flint or stone have been inserted.

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.

Gargoyle.—A carved projecting figure pierced to carry off the rain-water from the roof of a building.

Gimel-bar or Gemel-bar.—In heraldry, a pair of narrow bars lying close to one another.

Gipon.—Close-fitting vest of cloth, worn over armour c. 1350 to c. 1410.

Gobony.—In heraldry, checkers or panes 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 or Griffin.—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 middle.

Haketon.—Studded, stiffened or quilted body defence, of cloth, leather and metal, with moderately long skirts.

Half-H type of House.—See "Houses."

Hall and cellar type of House.—See "Houses."

Hammer-beams.—Horizontal brackets of a roof projecting at the wall-plate level, and 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 lateral pressure by reducing the span. Sometimes there is a second and even a third upper series of these brackets.

Hatchment.—A heraldic display in a rectangular frame, commonly set lozenge-wise.

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.

Hipped roof.—A roof with sloped instead of vertical ends. Half-hipped, a roof whose ends are partly vertical and partly sloped.

Hood-mould (label, drip-stone).—A projecting moulding on the face of a wall above an arch, doorway, or window; in some cases it follows the form of the arch, and in others is square in outline.

Houses.—These are classified as far as possible under the following definitions:—

1. Hall and cellar type:—Hall on first floor; rooms beneath generally vaulted; examples as early as the 12th century.

2. H type:—Hall between projecting wings, one containing living rooms, the other the offices. The usual form of a mediaeval house, employed, with variations, down to the 17th century.

3. L type:—Hall and one wing, generally for small houses.

4. E type:—Hall with two wings and a middle porch; generally of the 16th and 17th centuries.

5. Half-H type:—A variation of the E type without the middle porch.

6. Courtyard type:—House built round a court; sometimes only three ranges of buildings with or without an enclosing wall and gateway on the fourth side.

7. Central-chimney type:—(Rectangular plan), small houses only.

Impaled.—See "Parted."

Indent.—The sinking or casement in a slab for a monumental brass.

Indented.—In heraldry, notched like the teeth of a saw.

Infirmary.—In monastic planning, a distinct block of buildings, generally including a hall, misericord, kitchen and chapel, and devoted to the use of the infirm or aged.

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 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.—See "Hood-mould." In heraldry, a narrow horizontal band (lying across the chief of a shield), from which small strips, generally three or five, called pieces, depend at right angles.

Lancet.—A long narrow window with a pointed head, typical of the 13th century.

Latin Cross.—A plain cross with the bottom arm longer than the other three.

Latten.—A term applied to the alloy of copper, zinc, &c., used in the manufacture of memorial brasses, &c.

Lenten Veil.—A cloth or veil hung across the chancel or presbytery between the stalls and the altar, during Lent.

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."

Linces, linchets or lynchets.—Terraces on a hill-side formed by the gradual banking of ploughed earth between the main furrows.

Linen-fold panelling.—Panelling ornamented with a conventional representation of folded linen.

Lintel.—The horizontal beam or stone 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 the 14th century; the whole finally developed into a form of turban called Liripipe head-dress.

Locker (Aumbry).—A small cupboard formed in a wall.

Loop.—A small narrow light in a turret, etc.; often unglazed.

Louvre or luffer.—A lantern-like structure surmounting the roof of a hall or other building, with openings for ventilation or the escape of smoke, usually crossed by slanting boards to exclude rain.

Low-side window.—A grated, unglazed, and shuttered window with a low sill, i.e., within a few feet of the floor, in the N. or S. wall of the chancel near its W. end, probably the window at which the sacring bell was rung.

Lozenge.—In heraldry, a charge like the diamond in a pack of cards.

L type of house.—See "Houses."

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 or Mantling.—In heraldry, a cloth hung over the hinder part of a helm; the edges were fantastically dagged and slit.

Martlet.—A martin, shown sometimes in heraldry without feet.

Mask-stop.—A stop at the end of a hood-mould, 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 crosiers, 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.

Misericord.—1. An indulgence in the form of a folding seat of a quire-stall, having a broad edge or bracket on the underside, which can be used as a seat by the occupant when standing during a long office.

2. In monastic planning, a small hall, generally attached to the Infirmary, in which better food than the ordinary was supplied for special reasons.

Mitred Abbots' Vestments.—Same as a bishop's.

Modillions.—Brackets under the cornice in Classic architecture.

Molet.—In heraldry, a star of five or six points, drawn with straight lines. When the lines are wavy it is called a Star. A molet with a round hole in the middle is called a Rowel.

Morse.—Large clasp or brooch fastening cope across the breast.

Mullion.—A vertical post, standard, or upright dividing an opening into lights.

Muntin.—The intermediate uprights in the framing of a door, screen, or panel, butting into or stopped by the rails.

Mutules.—In Classic and Renaissance architecture, small flat brackets under the cornice of the Doric order.

Nasal.—Plate of a headpiece to protect nose.

Nebuly.—Heraldic term for a line or edge, following the fashion of the mediaeval artists' conventional cloud.

Neck-moulding.—The narrow moulding round the bottom of a capital.

Newel.—The central post in a circular or winding staircase; also the principal posts at the angles of a doglegged 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 or concentric rings of voussoirs.

Oriel Window.—A projecting bay-window carried upon corbels or brackets.

Orle.—In heraldry, a term used to describe a voided scocheon, or a number of small charges, as martlets or the like.

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 or stone courses, each course projecting beyond the one below it.

Ovolo moulding.—A Classic moulding forming a quarter round in section.

Pale.—In heraldry, a vertical band down the middle of a shield.

Palimpsest.—1. Of a brass: reused by engraving the back of an older engraved plate.

2. Of a wall-painting: superimposed on an earlier painting.

Pall.—1. In ecclesiastical vestments, a narrow strip of lambswool, having an open loop in the middle, and weighted ends; it is ornamented with a number of crosses and forms the distinctive mark of an archbishop; it is worn round the neck, above the other vestments.

2. A cloth covering a hearse.

Paly.—In heraldry, a shield divided by lines palewise, normally into six divisions, unless otherwise emblazoned.

Panache.—A plume or bush of feathers worn on the helm.

Pargeting.—Ornamental plaster work on the surface of a wall.

Parted or Party.—In heraldry, a term used when a shield is divided 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.—See "Crosier."

Paten.—A plate 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.

Pilaster.—A shallow pier attached to a wall.

Pile.—In heraldry, a triangular or wedge-shaped charge, issuing from the chief of the shield unless otherwise blazoned.

Piscina.—A basin with a drain, set in or against the wall to the S of an altar.

Plinth.—The projecting base of a wall or column, generally chamfered or moulded at the top.

Popey.—The ornament at the heads of bench-standards or desks in churches; generally carved with foliage and flowers, somewhat resembling a fleur-de-lis.

Portcullis.—The running gate, rising and falling in vertical grooves in the jambs of a doorway.

Pourpoint.—A body defence of cloth or of leather, padded or quilted.

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 crossed in front, fanon, chasuble.

Principals.—The chief trusses of a roof, or the main rafters, posts, or braces, in the wooden framework of a building.

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 crosswise into four quarters. After the practice of marshalling several 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 equi-distant from the middle line.

Quillon.—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 angle of a building.

Ragged, Raguly.—In heraldry, applied to a charge whose edges are ragged like a tree trunk with the limbs lopped away.

Rampant (of beasts, etc.).—In heraldry, standing erect on one foot, as if attacking or defending.

Rampart.—A mound or bank 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 spanning 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 an edge.

Reliquary.—A small box or other receptacle for relics.

Rerebrace.—Plate or leather defence for upper arm.

Rere-dorter.—The common latrine of a monastic house.

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 or abutting a single arch.

Revetment.—A retaining wall of masonry against a bank of earth.

Roll-moulding or Bowtell.—A continuous convex 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 gallery. 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.—In heraldry, a round plate or disc of any tincture other than gold.

Rubble.—Walling of rough unsquared stones or flints.

Rustic work, rusticated joints.—Masonry in which only the margins of the stones are worked.

Sabatons or Sollerets.—Articulated plate defences for the feet.

Sable.—In heraldry, black.

Salade or Sallet.—Light steel headpiece, frequently with vizor.

Saltire.—In heraldry, an X-shaped cross; also called St. Andrew's cross.

Sanctus-Bell.—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.

Scallop.—A shellfish, a common charge in heraldry.

Scalloped capital.—A development of the cushion capital in which the single cushion is elaborated into a series of truncated cones.

Scapple, to.—To dress roughly, of masonry or timber.

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.

Scribe.—A term applied to timber cut or fitted to an irregular surface or moulding.

Scroll-moulding.—A rounded moulding of two parts, the upper projecting beyond the lower, thus resembling a scroll of parchment.

Scutcheon or Scocheon.—1. A shield, a charge in heraldry, Voided Scutcheon, a scutcheon whose border alone is seen; termed in modern heraldry an Orle.

2. A metal plate pierced for the spindle of a handle or for a keyhole.

Sedilia (sing. sedile, a seat), sometimes called presbyteries.—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 column.

Shafted jambs.—A jamb containing one or more shafts either engaged or detached.

Shell-keep.—A ring wall cresting a castle mount and sometimes enclosing buildings.

Shingles.—Tiles of cleft timber, used for covering spires, etc.

Sinister.—In heraldry, the left hand side of a shield as held.

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 mediaeval 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 mediaeval house adjoining the dais end of the Hall, and reserved for the private use of the family.

Sollerets.—See "Sabatons."

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 covered with lead or shingles, 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 more 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 of pitch of the roof at the eaves.

Spurs.—Prick: in form of plain goad; early form.

Rowel: with spiked wheel; later form.

Squinch.—An arch thrown across the angle between two walls to support a superstructure, such as the base of a stone spire.

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 often 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, or on a pillar. Also called Holy-water Stones, or Holy-water Stocks.

String-course.—A projecting horizontal band in a wall; usually moulded.

Strut.—A timber forming a sloping support to a 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, with short tab-like sleeves, sometimes worn with armour, and emblazoned with arms; distinctive garment of heralds.

Taces or tonlets.—Articulated defence for hips and lower part of body.

Terminal figure.—The upper part of a carved human figure growing out of a column, post, or pilaster, diminishing to the base.

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 Totternhoe, Bedfordshire.

Touch.—A soft black marble quarried near Tournai and commonly used in monumental art.

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.—In heraldry, a narrow flowered or counter-flowered orle, often voided or doubled, as in the arms of the King of Scots.

Trimmer.—A timber, framing an opening in a floor or roof.

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, Hammerbeam, etc. (q.v.).

Tuiles.—In armour, plates attached to and hanging from the edge of taces, or tonlets.

Tunicle.—Similar to dalmatic.

Tympanum.—An enclosed space within an arch, doorway, etc., or in the triangle of a pediment.

Types of Houses.—See "Houses."

Vair.—In heraldry, a fur imitating grey squirrels' skins, usually shown as an alternating series, often in rows, of blue and white bell-shaped patches. If of other tinctures it is called vairy.

Vallum.—A rampart.

Vambrace.—Plate defence for lower arm.

Vamplate.—Funnel-shaped hand-guard of lance.

Vaulting.—An arched ceiling or roof of stone or brick, sometimes imitated in wood. Barrel-vaulting (sometimes called waggon-head-vaulting) is a continuous vault unbroken in its length by cross-vaults. A groined vault (or cross-vaulting) results from the intersection of simple vaulting surfaces. A ribbed vault is a framework of arched ribs carrying the cells which cover 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 sexpartite. 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. In fan-vaulting numerous ribs rise from the springing in equal curves, diverging equally in all directions, giving fan-like effects when seen from below.

Veil.—A sweat-cloth attached to the head of the crosier. (See also "Lenten Veil.")

Vernicle.—A representation of the face of Christ printed on St. Veronica's handkerchief.

Vert.—In heraldry, green.

Vestments (ecclesiastical).—See alb, amess, amice, apparels, archbishops' vestments bishops' vestments, buskins, canonical quire habit, cassock, chasuble, cope, crosier, cross staff, dalmatic, deacons' vestments, fanon, mitred abbots' vestments, morse, orphreys, 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.

Vowess.—A woman, generally a widow, who had taken a vow of chastity, but was not attached to any religious order.

Waggon-head-vault.—See "Vaulting."

Wall-plate.—A timber laid lengthwise on the wall to receive the ends of the rafters and other joists.

Warming-house.—In monastic planning, an apartment in which a fire was kept burning for warmth.

Water-bouget.—See "Bouget."

Wattle and daub.—An old form of filling in timberframed 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."

Wimple.—Scarf covering chin and throat.

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.