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nave

{{Short description|Central part of a church}}

{{Other uses}}

{{Distinguish|Naveh (disambiguation)|Knave (disambiguation)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}

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File:Saint-Sulpice, Nave, Paris 20140515 1.jpg in Paris]]

File:The halls of sarrat church.jpg in Sarrat, Philippines]]

The nave ({{IPAc-en|n|eɪ|v}}) is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel.{{cite encyclopedia |title= nave |encyclopedia= Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture |page=518 |editor-first= James |editor-last= Stevens Curl |edition= illustrated |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn= 9780198606789}} When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type building, the strict definition of the term "nave" is restricted to the central aisle.{{Cite encyclopedia |author= ((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)) |encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia Britannica |title= Nave |edition= online |publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. }} In a broader, more colloquial sense, the nave includes all areas available for the lay worshippers, including the side-aisles and transepts.Cram, Ralph Adams. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10724a.htm Nave]. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Accessed 13 July 2018 Either way, the nave is distinct from the area reserved for the choir and clergy.

Description

The nave extends from the entry—which may have a separate vestibule (the narthex)—to the chancel and may be flanked by lower side-aisles{{cite web| url= http://www.answers.com/topic/nave |title= Nave| website= Answers.com| access-date= 11 February 2015}} separated from the nave by an arcade. If the aisles are high and of a width comparable to the central nave, the structure is sometimes said to have three naves. It provides the central approach to the high altar.

Etymology

The term nave is from {{lang|la|navis}}, the Latin word for ship, an early Christian symbol of the Church as a whole, with a possible connection to the "Ship of St. Peter" or the Ark of Noah.{{cite web| url= http://www.jesuswalk.com/christian-symbols/ship.htm| title= Ship as a Symbol of the Church (Bark of St. Peter)| website= JesusWalk.com| access-date= 11 February 2015}} The term may also have been suggested by the keel shape of the vaulting of a church. In many Nordic and Baltic countries a model ship is commonly found hanging in the nave of a church,{{cite web|url=http://www.sidneyherald.com/archives/ship-hangs-in-balance-at-pella-evangelical-lutheran-church/article_9485d09f-e314-5f3e-b071-0cf8b2059dd7.html|title=Ship hangs in balance at Pella Evangelical Lutheran Church|date=10 June 2008|work= Sidney Herald| location= Sidney, Montana |access-date=3 January 2016}} and in some languages the same word means both 'nave' and 'ship', as for instance Danish {{lang|da|skib}}, Swedish {{lang|sv|skepp}}, Dutch {{lang|nl|schip}} or Spanish {{lang|es|nave}}.

History

File:Affresco dell'aspetto antico della basilica costantiniana di san pietro nel IV secolo.jpg

File:bath.abbey.fan.vault.arp.jpging (1608, restored 1860s) over the nave at Bath Abbey, Bath, England. Suppression of the triforium offers a greater expanse of clerestory windows.]]

The earliest churches were built when builders were familiar with the form of the Roman basilica, a public building for business transactions. It had a wide central area, with aisles separated by columns, and with windows near the ceiling. Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is an early church which had this form. It was built in the 4th century on the orders of Roman emperor Constantine I, and replaced in the 16th century.

The nave, the main body of the building, is the section set apart for the laity, while the chancel is reserved for the clergy. In medieval churches the nave was separated from the chancel by the rood screen; these, being elaborately decorated, were notable features in European churches from the 14th to the mid-16th century.{{cite encyclopedia| title= Rood screen| url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/509174/rood-screen| encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica| access-date= 11 February 2015}}

Medieval naves were divided into bays, the repetition of form giving an effect of great length; and the vertical element of the nave was emphasized. During the Renaissance, in place of dramatic effects there were more balanced proportions.

By the 1300s, the maintenance and decoration of the nave of parish churches was the responsibility of the parishioners; the clergy were responsible for keeping the chancel in repair.{{cite journal |title=Parish Life in Mediaeval England |journal=Masterpieces of Catholic Literature in Summary Form | location=New York|publisher=Harper & Row|date=January 1965 |volume=2 |pages=42 |url=https://archive.org/details/masterpiecesofca0000unse_y9m6/page/n5/mode/2up}}

Record-holders

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

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Category:Church architecture

Category:Arches and vaults