AH 1700 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Orans, Transept, Christian Art
Document Summary
Orant- in early christian art, a figure with both arms raised in the ancient gesture of prayer. Liturgy- the official ritual of public worship. Note that the transept appears infrequently in early christian churches. Peter"s is one of the few example of a basilica with a transept from this period. The transept would not become a standard component of the christian church until the carolingian period: apse- a recess, sometimes rectangular but usually semicircular, in the wall at the end of a roman basilica or christian church. The apse in the roman basilica frequently contained an image of the emperor and was where the magistrate dispensed laws. In the early christian basilica, the apses contained the cathedra or throne of the bishop and the altar: nave elevation- term which refers to the division of the nave wall into various levels.
