Nave 297040 221610723 2008-06-25T08:04:56Z William Avery 1398 Disambiguate [[Gothic]] to [[Gothic architecture]] using [[:en:Wikipedia:Tools/Navigation_popups|popups]] {{Unreferenced|date=July 2007}} {{Redirect3|Naves|For other uses of the names Nave and Naves, see [[Nave (disambiguation)]]. Nave is a common misspelling of [[knave]]}} [[Image:NefStGeorges1.jpg|thumb|right|Romanesque nave of the abbey church of [[Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey|Saint-Georges-de-Boscherville]], [[Normandy]], France has a triforium passage above the aisle vaulting]] [[Image:Mittelschiff.svg|thumb|right|Schematical illustration of a plan view of a cathedral. '' Colored area'': '''Nave''']] In [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]] and [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] Christian [[abbey]], [[cathedral]] [[basilica]] and [[church]] [[architecture]], the '''nave''' is the central approach to the high [[altar]]. "Nave" ([[Latin|Medieval Latin]] ''navis'', "ship,") was probably suggested by the keel shape of its [[Vault (architecture)|vaulting]]. The nave of a church, whether Romanesque, Gothic or Classical, extends from the entry — which may have a separate vestibule, the [[narthex]] — to the [[wikt:Chancel|chancel]] and is flanked by lower [[aisles]] separated from the nave by an [[arcade (architecture)|arcade]]. If the aisles are high and of a width comparable to the central nave, the structure is sometimes said to have three naves. Though to a modern visitor the nave seems to be the principal part of a Gothic church, churches were sometimes built as funds became available, working outward from the liturgically essential sanctuary, and many were consecrated before their nave was completed. Many naves were not completed to the initial plan, as tastes changed, and some naves were never completed at all. In Gothic architecture, the precise number of arcaded bays in the nave was not a material concern. The height of the nave provides space for [[clerestory]] windows above the aisle roofs, which give light to the interior, leaving the apse in shadow, as at the [[Saint-Georges de Boscherville Abbey|abbey of Saint-Georges-de-Boscherville]]. The architectural antecedents of this construction lay in the secular Roman [[basilica]], a kind of covered [[stoa]] sited adjacent to a [[Forum (Roman)|forum]], where magistrates met and public business was transacted. [[Image:bath.abbey.fan.vault.arp.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Late Gothic [[Fan vault]]ing (1608, restored 1860s) over the nave at [[Bath Abbey]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], [[England]] Suppression of the [[triforium]] offers a great expanse of [[clerestory]] windows.]] In Romanesque constructions, where a gallery was required to allow passage above the aisles, an addition to the elevation of the nave was inserted, called a [[triforium]]. In later styles the triforium was eliminated, the aisles lowered and great expanses of stained glass took the place of the clerestory windows, as at Bath Abbey (''illustration, left''). [[Image:SanLorenzodiFirenze02.jpg|thumb|right|The Early Renaissance nave of [[Filippo Brunelleschi|Brunelleschi]]'s [[Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze|San Lorenzo, Florence]], built in the 1420s]] The '''crossing''' is the part of the nave that also belongs to the [[transepts]] that intersect its space. The crossing may be surmounted by a tower or spire, or by a [[dome]] in Eastern churches, a feature that was reintroduced to the West at the [[Renaissance]], first in [[Filippo Brunelleschi]]'s San Lorenzo (''illustration right''). Brunelleschi restored the original Roman form of the basilica and consciously revived Roman details, such as the flat coffered ceiling. Clerestory windows still light San Lorenzo's nave, setting apart in dimness the crossing, with its small dome. In other contexts, lanterns and openings above the transept might bathe the crossing in more light instead. The crossing may be further distinguished from the nave by the rhythm of its architecture: wider-spaced piers supporting the higher vaulting of the transepts. The nave was the area reserved for the non-clergy (the "laity"), while the [[Apse|chancel and choir]] were reserved for the clergy, and a [[rood screen]] (''cancellus'') separated the sanctuary from the nave. Rood screens were swept away by Protestant reformers in the 16th century. Fixed [[pew]]s in the nave are a comparatively modern, Protestant innovation. On weekdays the large open area often served for the town marketplace, political meetings, places of various trades including, on some occasions, even that of prostitution. {{fact|date=October 2007}} Often smelling of animal dung and human urine, naves were not very clean places. Hence, rood screens were used to separate the more sacred areas of the cathedral and keep out the unwashed and unholy. [[Image:Lichfieldnave.jpg|thumb|right|[[Perpendicular]] [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] nave at [[Lichfield Cathedral]], [[England]].]] == Record-holding church naves == * Longest nave in [[England]]: [[St Albans Cathedral]], [[St Albans]] (Anglican), {{convert|106|m|ft}}. * Longest nave in [[France]]: [[Bourges]], {{convert|91|m|ft}}, including choir where a crossing would be if there were transepts. * Longest nave in [[Germany]]: [[Cologne cathedral]], {{convert|58|m|ft}}, including two bays between the towers. * Longest nave in [[Italy]]: [[St Peter's Basilica]] in [[Rome]], {{convert|91|m|ft}}, in four bays. * Longest nave in [[Spain]]: [[Seville]], {{convert|60|m|ft}}, in five bays. * Longest nave in the [[United States]]: [[Cathedral of Saint John the Divine]], [[New York City]], United States (Episcopalian), {{convert|70|m|ft}}. * Highest vaulted nave: [[Beauvais Cathedral]], France, {{convert|48|m|ft}} high but only one bay of the nave was actually built but choir and transepts were completed to the same height. * Highest completed nave: [[St. Peter's Basilica|Rome, St. Peter's]], Italy, {{convert|46|m|ft}} high. * Highest completed vaulted nave: [[Cathedral of Milan]], Italy, {{convert|45|m|ft}} high. <!-- UNCITED ==Alternate meanings== *According to an [[archaic]] definition, a nave is one's navel *A nave can also refer to the hub of a wheel, which is the small knob that protrudes from the wheel's center. *'''Nave''' also refers to the hub of a [[wheel]], as in "bowl the round nave" from a subplay of ''[[Hamlet]]''. This can lead to confusion of the architectural nave (''supra'') with the crossing of the same with the [[transept]]. --> ==See also== * [[Cathedral diagram]] * [[Cathedral architecture]] * [[Abbey]], with architectural discussion and groundplans * [[List of highest church naves]] [[Category:Church architecture]] [[Category:Arches and vaults]] [[ar:صحن (كنيسة)]] [[be:Неф]] [[ca:Nau (arquitectura)]] [[cs:Hlavní loď]] [[da:Kirkeskib (bygningsdel)]] [[de:Kirchenschiff]] [[es:Nave (arquitectura)]] [[eo:Navo]] [[fr:Nef]] [[it:Navata]] [[nl:Schip (bouwkunst)]] [[no:Midtskip]] [[nn:Kyrkjeskip]] [[pl:Nawa]] [[pt:Nave (arquitectura)]] [[ro:Navă (arhitectură)]] [[ru:Неф]] [[sl:Cerkvena ladja]] [[fi:Laiva (arkkitehtuuri)]] [[sv:Skepp (arkitektur)]] [[uk:Нава]]