Title of Work
Longitudinal cross section of Gothic transept and choir
Begin Date
1185
End Date
1215
Description
Longitudinal cross section. The elevation of the transept has 1) a lower level of unbroken wall, 2) a short false triforium 3)a taller gallery level with 3 bays, each containing two arched openings supported with thin columns. The two openings in each bay are surmounted by a single molding in the form of a round arch 4) a clerestory with three large pointed windows which correspond to the three bays in the gallery. The center window is taller than the two flanking ones- the three windows are separated by tall, thin columns The choir has two rectangular bays in its western part connected to a shallow apse with 5 radiating chapels. On the arcade level, there is an ambulatory that is separated from the central vessel with large, columnar piers. The outer wall has a dado with round arches between thin columns. Above the dado are large pointed windows, The gallery level elevation has pairs of arched openings supported with thin columns. Each pair is surmounted by a single molding in the form of a round arch. There are two such pairs in the two western bays of the choir and one over each of the chapels. The gallery passage has small, round windows in its exterior walls which were added during the restoration of the abbey in the mid-nineteenth century. The clerestory has tall windows surmounted by a pointed arch. The crypt lies under the choir and in entered by a 19th century stairwell entered from a door inside the transept. The western part is Romanesque (11th century) but the eastern part was added when the choir was rebuilt in the 12th century.
Country
France
Location
Vézelay
Monument
Ste. Marie-Madeleine
Style
Gothic
Type of Work
Plan
Subtype of Work
Longitudinal Cross Section
Category of Work
Transept and Choir
Material
Stone
Subjects
Vézelay (Abbey)--Pictorial works.; Sculpture--France--Vézelay--Pictorial works.; Church architecture--France--Vézelay--Pictorial works.; Architecture, Romanesque--France--Vézelay--Pictorial works.
Patron
Abbot Renaud de Semur
Condition
Not Applicable
Bibliography
Photographer
GD
Copyright
Media
Scan of Dehio, Plate 380
Identifier
FVEZ.ARCHITECTURE.SEC.GENERAL.LONG.001

Vézelay: Benedictine Abbey of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, Church

Longitudinal cross section of Gothic transept and choir

(FVEZ.ARCHITECTURE.SEC.GENERAL.LONG.001)
size