UNIT 9 LATE MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE AND ART (c. 1100–1550s)
Tympanum
Vault: A roof built in the form of an arch or arches.
Decoration: Exterior
The north wall is the most richly decorated. It has a deeply carved doorway with a gable pediment, which is decorated with rosettes and chevrons. This pattern continues east over a tomb recess with a roof over it, which is connected to the pediment hood. Human and animal heads form part of the decoration at this level and at the colonnade (row of columns) supporting the eaves.
The north doorway has five rows of arches: three of them project beyond the wall and two are set in the thickness of the wall. All but one have saw- tooth chevron decoration (Fig. 26.8). The middle arch is the most elaborate, with bar-and-lozenge decoration on the inner face and chevrons on the arris (the outer edge of the arch where the
Saw-tooth chevron
Bar and lozenge pattern
Figure 26.8 A row of saw-tooth chevrons on the inner arch surrounds the tympanum on the north door of Cormac’s Chapel. The carving shows a centaur aiming an arrow at a lion.
Barrel Vault
Roof of tomb niche and pediment
North Tower
Tomb Niche
North Door
Section Heads North Tower
Gable Pediment
5 rows of arches Heads
Tomb niche North door elevation Plan
South Door
13th-century cathedral overlapping the chapel
Collonade Stringcourse Rosettes
Blank arcade Chevron decoration
Scalloped capitals
Tympanum South elevation Figure 26.7 Drawings of the plan, section and elevations of Cormac’s Chapel at Cashel, Co. Tipperary. CHAPTER 26 THE HIBERNO-ROMANESQUE PERIOD (c. 1100–1200s) 381 Chancel
