Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of theDoricfrieze inclassical architecture, so called because of the angular channels in them. The rectangular recessed spaces between the triglyphs on a Doric frieze are calledmetopes.[1] The raised spaces between the channels themselves (within a triglyph) are calledfemur in Latin ormeros in Greek.[2] In the strict tradition of classical architecture, a set ofguttae, the six triangular "pegs" below, always go with a triglyph above (and vice versa), and the pair of features are only found inentablatures of buildings using the Doric order. The absence of the pair effectively converts a building from being in the Doric order to being in theTuscan order.
The triglyph is largely thought to be a tectonic andskeuomorphic representation in stone of the wooden beam ends of the typicalprimitive hut, as described byVitruvius andRenaissance writers. The wooden beams were notched in three separate places in order to cast their rough-cut ends mostly in shadow.Greek architecture (and laterRoman architecture) preserved this feature, as well as many other features common in original wooden buildings, as a tribute to the origins of architecture and its role in the history and development of man. The channels could also have a function in channeling rainwater.[citation needed][original research?]
In terms of structure, a triglyph may be carved from a single block with a metope, or the triglyph block may have slots cut into it to allow a separately cut metope (in stone or wood) to be slid into place, as at theTemple of Aphaea. Of the two groups of 6th-century metopes fromFoce del Sele, now in theNational Archaeological Museum of Paestum, the earlier uses the first method, the later the second. There may be some variation in design within a single structure to allow for corner contraction, an adjustment of the column spacing and arrangement of the Doric frieze in a temple to make the design appear more harmonious. In the evolution of the Doric order, the placing of the triglyphsevolved somewhat, especially at corners.
In post-Renaissance architecture the strict conventions are sometimes abandoned, and guttae and triglyphs, alone or together, may be used somewhat randomly as ornaments. For example, the BaroqueČernín Palace inPrague (1660s) has triglyphs and guttae as ornaments at the top of arches, in a facade using an eclecticIonic order.
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One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Triglyph".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 271.
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