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Full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram
Cathedral diagram

This article discusses cathedral diagrams in Western ecclesiastical architecture. These floor plans show the sections of walls and piers, giving an idea of the profiles of their columns and ribbing....
.
For the periodical go to The Transept.

The transept is the area set crosswise to the nave
Nave

In Romanesque architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and Church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar....
 in a cruciform
Cruciform

Cruciform means having the shape of a cross....
 ("cross
Cross

A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire....
-shaped") building in Romanesque
Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which evolved into the Gothic architecture style beginning in the 12th century....
 and Gothic
Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late Middle Ages. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
 Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 church architecture
Architecture

The term architecture can refer to a process, a profession or documentation.As a process, architecture is the activity of designing and construction buildings and other physical structures by a person or a computer, primarily to provide shelter....
.






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Transept1
Full descriptions of the elements of a Gothic floorplan are found at the entry Cathedral diagram
Cathedral diagram

This article discusses cathedral diagrams in Western ecclesiastical architecture. These floor plans show the sections of walls and piers, giving an idea of the profiles of their columns and ribbing....
.
For the periodical go to The Transept.

The transept is the area set crosswise to the nave
Nave

In Romanesque architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and Church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar....
 in a cruciform
Cruciform

Cruciform means having the shape of a cross....
 ("cross
Cross

A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two lines or bars perpendicular to each other, dividing one or two of the lines in half. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally; if they run diagonally, the design is technically termed a saltire....
-shaped") building in Romanesque
Romanesque architecture

Romanesque architecture is the term that is used to describe the architecture of Middle Ages Europe which evolved into the Gothic architecture style beginning in the 12th century....
 and Gothic
Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture which flourished during the high and late Middle Ages. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
 Christian
Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism#Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus and interpreted by Christians to have been prophesied in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament....
 church architecture
Architecture

The term architecture can refer to a process, a profession or documentation.As a process, architecture is the activity of designing and construction buildings and other physical structures by a person or a computer, primarily to provide shelter....
. The transept separates the nave from the sanctuary
Sanctuary

Sanctuary has multiple meanings. A sanctuary is the consecrated area of a church or temple around its church tabernacle or altar. An animal sanctuary is a place where animals live and are protected....
, whether apse
Apse

In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault . In Romanesque architecture, Byzantine architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the term is applied to the semi-circular or polygonal section of the sanctuary at the liturgical east end beyond the altar....
, choir, chevet, presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)

The Presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.References...
 or chancel
Chancel

"Chancel" is an architectural term for the space around the altar at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse....
. The transepts cross the nave at the crossing
Crossing (architecture)

A crossing, in church architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the quire on the east....
, which belongs equally to the main nave axis and to the transept. Upon its four piers
Pier (architecture)

In architecture, a pier is an upright support for a superstructure, such as an arch or bridge. Sections of wall between openings function as piers....
, the crossing may support a spire
Spire

A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from Anglo-Saxon language, so it is related to "spear," rather than the Romance languages and "spirit."...
, a central tower
Tower

Towers are tall human-made structures that are always taller than they are wide, usually by a significant margin. Towers are generally built to take advantage of their height, and can stand alone or as part of a larger structure....
 (see Gloucester Cathedral
Gloucester Cathedral

Gloucester Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Undivided Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the river....
) or a crossing dome
Dome

A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
. Since the altar
Altar

An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices and votive offerings are made for religion, or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place....
 is usually located at the east end of a church, a transept extends to the north and south. The north and south end walls often hold decorated window
Window

File:OldShipWindows.jpgA window is an opening in a wall that allows the passage of light and, if not closed or sealed, air and sound. Windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparency or translucent material....
s of stained glass
Stained glass

For the Blackford Oakes novel, see Stained Glass The term stained glass can refer to the material of coloured glass or the craft of working with it....
, such as rose window
Rose window

A Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in churches of the Gothic architecture and being divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery....
s, in stone tracery
Tracery

Tracery is a series of intersecting ribs used in Gothic architecture, especially windows and, in the English_Gothic_architecture#Perpendicular_Gothic style, Vault ....
.

Occasionally, the basilica
Basilica

The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a ancient Rome public building , usually located in the Forum of a Roman town. In Hellenistic cities, public basilicas appeared in the 2nd century BC....
s and the church and cathedral
Cathedral

A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. It is a Religion building for worship, specifically of a denomination with an episcopal hierarchy, such as the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Orthodox Christian and some Lutheranism churches, which serves as a bishop's seat, and thus as the central church of a dioc...
 planning that descended from them were built without transepts; sometimes the transepts were reduced to matched chapel
Chapel

A chapel is a building used as a place for fellowship and of worship for Christians. It may be attached to an institution such as a large Church , a college, a hospital, a palace, a prison or a cemetery, or may be an entirely free-standing building, sometimes with its own grounds....
s. More often the transepts extended well beyond the sides of the rest of the building, forming the shape of a cross. This design is called a "Latin cross" ground plan and these extensions are known as the arms of the transept. A "Greek cross" ground plan, with all four extensions the same length, produces a central-plan structure with consequences for the liturgy
Liturgy

A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to their particular traditions. The word may refer to an elaborate formal ritual such as the Eastern Orthodox Divine Liturgy and Mass , or a daily activity such as the Muslim salat and Jewish Jewish services....
.

When churches have only one transept, as at Pershore Abbey
Pershore Abbey

Pershore Abbey, at Pershore in Worcestershire, was an Anglo-Saxon abbey and is now an Church of England parish church....
, there is generally a historical disaster, fire, war or funding problem, to explain the anomaly. At Beauvais only the chevet and transepts stand; the nave of the cathedral was never completed after a collapse of the daring high vaulting
Vault (architecture)

A Vault is an architecture term for an arched form used to provide a space with a ceiling or roof. The parts of a vault exert a thrust that require a counter Friction....
 in 1284. At St. Vitus Cathedral
St. Vitus Cathedral

Saint Vitus's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is Saint Vitus, Saint Wenceslas and Adalbert of Prague Cathedral....
, Prague
Prague

Prague is the Capital and World's largest cities of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavn? mesto Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City....
, only the choir and part of a southern transept were completed until a renewed building campaign in the 19th century.

Other senses of the word


The word "transept" is occasionally extended to mean any subsidiary corridor
Corridor

A corridor is a path or guided way .Corridor may also refer to:* Polish Corridor in former West Prussia, which gave Poland access to the sea, but separated East Prussia and Free City of Danzig from the major part of Germany...
 crossing a larger main corridor, such as the cross-halls or "transepts" of The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace

The Crystal Palace was a Cast iron and glass building originally erected in Hyde Park, London, London, England, to house the The Great Exhibition of 1851....
 of glass and iron that was built for the Great Exhibition of 1851.

In a metro station
Metro station

A metro station is a train station for a rapid transit system, often known by names such as "metro", "underground" and "subway". It is often underground or elevated....
 or similar construction, a transept is a space over the platforms
Railway platform

A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams....
 and tracks
Rail tracks

Rail tracks are used on rail transports , which, together with Railroad switch , guide trains without the need for steering. Tracks consist of two parallel steel Rail profile, which are laid upon Railroad tie that are embedded in track ballast to form the railroad track....
 of a station with side platforms, containing the bridge
Bridge

A bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, Rail tracks, river, body of water, or any other physical obstacle, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle....
 between the platforms. Placing the bridge in a transept rather than an enclosed tunnel
Tunnel

A tunnel is an underground passageway. The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon. However, in general tunnels are at least twice as long as they are wide....
 allows passengers to see the platforms, creating a less cramped feeling and making orientation easier.

See also

  • Cathedral architecture
  • Aisle
    Aisle

    An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on either side or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other. Aisles can be seen in certain types of buildings such as Church , synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments and legislatures, courtrooms, theatre s, and in certain types of passenger vehicles....
  • Apse
    Apse

    In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault . In Romanesque architecture, Byzantine architecture and Gothic architecture Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the term is applied to the semi-circular or polygonal section of the sanctuary at the liturgical east end beyond the altar....