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The nave (/ 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. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] When a church contains side aisles , as in a basilica -type building, the strict definition of the term "nave" is restricted to the central ...
A partial plan of a church using the double bay system (Speyer Cathedral).The nave in the center uses large vaults (green), while side aisles use half-sized vaults (blue).The nave exhibits the alternation of supports (black), where the supports carrying the large vault are thicker than the ones only carrying the smaller vaults
"Nave" (Medieval Latin navis, "ship") was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting. [1] The nave of a church, whether Romanesque, Gothic or Classical, extends from the entry (which may have a separate vestibule, the narthex ) to the chancel and is flanked by lower aisles [ 2 ] separated from the nave by an arcade .
The earliest known churches show the familiar basilican layout. For example, the church of Debre Damo is organized around a nave of four bays separated by re-used monolithic columns; at the western end is a low-roofed narthex, while on the eastern is the maqdas, or Holy of Holies, separated by the only arch in the building. [18]
Amiens Cathedral floorplan: massive piers support the west end towers; transepts are abbreviated; seven radiating chapels form the chevet reached from the ambulatory. In Western ecclesiastical architecture, a cathedral diagram is a floor plan showing the sections of walls and piers, giving an idea of the profiles of their columns and ribbing.
A cathedral is symbolically a ship bearing the people of God through the storms of life. In addition, the high wooden roof of a large church is similarly constructed to the hull of a ship. [25] [better source needed] The nave is braced on either side by lower aisles, separated from the main space by a row of piers or columns.
For example, the Gothic architecture period's Chartres Cathedral has a nave (main interior space) that is "seven bays long." Similarly in timber framing a bay is the space between posts in the transverse direction of the building and aisles run longitudinally.
One of the most notable early examples is the tile floor surrounding the tomb of King Philip I of France, in Fleury Abbey in Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire [22] One of the most famous late examples is the Church of Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives in Calvados, Normandy (13th century). The floor of the nave has a circular design three meters in diameter, made of ...