Triforium

Triforium

A Triforium is a shallow gallery of arches within the thickness of inner wall, which stands above the nave in a Church or Cathedral. It may occur at the level of the clerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. It may itself have an outer wall of glass rather than stone. This architectural feature should not be confused with the tribune.

The origin of the term is unknown but probably derived from "thoroughfarum", as it was used as a passage from one end of the building to the other. The derivation from Latin "tres", three, and "foris", door, entrance, might also be possible as at this passage the thoroughfares and doors were in triangle shape as can be imagined from the triangled shape of this area. The triangle shape comes from the falling roof as can be seen in the picture on the right between the two arrows.

The earliest examples are those in the pagan basilicas, where it constituted an upper galley for conversation and business; in the early Christian basilicas it was usually reserved for women, and the same applied to those in the Eastern Orthodox Church.In Romanesque and Gothic buildings it is either a spacious gallery over the side aisles or is reduced to a simple passage in the thickness of the walls; in either case it forms an important architectural division in the nave of the cathedral or church, and being of less height gives more importance to the ground storey or nave arcade. In consequence of its less height it was usually divided into two arches, which were again subdivided into two smaller arches and these subdivisions increased the scale.

On account of the richness of its mouldings and carved ornament in the sculpture introduced in the spandrils, it became the most highly decorated feature of the interior, the triforium at Lincoln being one of the most beautiful compositions of Gothic architecture. Even when reduced to a simple passage it was always a highly enriched feature. In the 15th-century churches in England, when the roof over the aisles was comparatively flat, more height being required for the clerestory windows, the triforium was dispensed with altogether. In the great cathedrals and abbeys the triforium was often occupied by persons who came to witness various ceremonies, and in early days was probably utilized by the monks and clergy for work connected with the church.

From the constructive point of view, the triforium sometimes served very important functions, as under its roof exist arches and vaults carried from the nave to the outer wall, to which they transmitted the thrust of the nave vault; even when the flying buttress was frankly adopted by the Gothic architect and emphasized by its architectural design as an important feature, other cross arches were introduced under the roof to strengthen it.

ee also

*Cathedral architecture of the Western World

References

*1911

[http://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/triforium.htm]


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  • TRIFORIUM — Terme issu du vieux français «trifoire» venu lui même du latin transforare («percer à jour»). Le triforium désigne, dans l’architecture religieuse médiévale, un passage étroit pratiqué dans l’épaisseur même du mur; situé au dessus des grandes… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Trifōrium — (lat.), eigentlich Drillingsbogen, eine in gotischen Kirchen in der Dicke der Mittelschiffmauer herumgeführte, auf Säulchen ruhende Galerie (s. Abbildung a b), die anfangs wirklich nach außen geöffnet, später zu rein dekorativem Zweck auf die… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Triforium — (Dreibogen), ein Mauergang der in den mittelalterlichen Domen von basikaler Anlage in der Mittelschiffmauer zwischen den Bogenöffnungen des Seitenschiffes und unter den Fenstern des oberen Lichtgadens hinführt. Durch eine vorgestellte zierliche… …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • Triforium — Tri*fo ri*um, n. [LL., fr. L. tri (see {Tri }) + foris, pl. fores, a door.] (Arch.) The gallery or open space between the vaulting and the roof of the aisles of a church, often forming a rich arcade in the interior of the church, above the nave… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Triforium — Triforĭum (mittellat.), Arkade mit dreifacher Öffnung der Bögen [Abb. 1882], in mittelalterlichen Kirchen häufig als Säulchengalerie in der Wand des Mittelschiffs …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • TRIFORIUM — apud Gervalium Dorobern. in Descr. Eccl. Cantuar. porticus est, seu potius porticuli, in modum claustri, species, quae totum aedis sacrae aedificium ambit, eô fine ducta, ut transitum praebeat locum circuire vel lustrare volentibus, in ipso aedis …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • triforium — [trīfôr′ē əm] n. pl. triforia [trīfôr′ēə] [ML < L tri ,TRI + foris,DOOR] a gallery or arcade in the wall above the arches of the nave, choir, or transept of a church …   English World dictionary

  • Triforium — Echtes Triforium in der neogotischen Kirche St. Peter und Paul in Bern Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Definition …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Triforium — Schéma d un triforium (d après Notre Dame de Chartres) Le triforium est un passage étroit aménagé dans l épaisseur des murs au niveau des combles sur les bas côtés de la nef d’une grande église. Utilisé essentiellement en architecture médiévale… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • triforium — triforial, adj. /truy fawr ee euhm, fohr /, n., pl. triforia / fawr ee euh, fohr /. Archit. (in a church) the wall at the side of the nave, choir, or transept, corresponding to the space between the vaulting or ceiling and the roof of an aisle,… …   Universalium

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