TRIFORIUM

This article appears in Volume V27, Page 271 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: TOO-TUM

TRIFORIUM , an architectural term, the origin of which is unknown but probably derived from " thoroughfarum," as it was used as a passage from one end of the building to the other. The derivation from Lat. tres, tri, three, and forisdoor, entrance, does not seem appropriate. The earliest examples are those in the

pagan

PAGAN
PAGAN (Lat. paganus, of or belonging to a pagus, a canton, county
district
- DISTRICT
,
village
- VILLAGE
, commune)

basilicas, where it constituted an upper galley for conversation and business; in the early Christian basilicas it was usually reserved for women, and the same applied to those in the Greek Byzantine Church. In Romanesque and

Gothic

GOTHIC

buildings it is either a spacious gallery over the side aisles or is reduced to a simple passage in the thickness of the walls; in either case it forms an important architectural division in the

nave

NAVE

of the cathedral or church, and being of less height gives more importance to the ground storey or

nave

NAVE

arcade. In consequence of its less height it was usually divided into two arches, which were again subdivided into two smaller arches and these subdivisions increased the scale. On account of the richness of its mouldings and carved ornament in the sculpture introduced in the spandrils, it became the most highly decorated feature of the interior, the triforium at Lincoln being one of the most beautiful compositions of

Gothic

GOTHIC

architecture. Even when reduced to a simple passage it was always a highly enriched feature. In the 15th-century churches in England, when the roof over the aisles was comparatively flat, more height being required for the

clerestory

CLERESTORY, or CLEARSTORY (Ital. chiaro piano, Fr. clairevoie, claire etage, Ger. Lichtgaden)

windows, the triforium was dispensed with altogether. In the

great

GREAT

cathedrals and abbeys the triforium was often occupied by persons who came to witness various ceremonies, and in early days was probably utilized by the monks and clergy for

work

WORK

connected with the church.
From the constructive point of view, the triforium sometimes served very important functions, as under its roof exist arches and vaults carried from the nave to the outer

wall

WALL (O. Eng. weal, weall, Mid. Eng. wal, wane, adapted from Lat. vallum, rampart; the
original
- ORIGINAL
O. Eng. word for a wall was wag or tenth)
WALL, RICHARD (1694-1778)

, to which they transmitted the thrust of the nave vault; even when the flying buttress was frankly adopted by the Gothic architect and emphasized by its architectural design as an important feature, other cross arches were introduced under the roof to strengthen it.

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