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Atriforium is an interiorgallery, opening onto the tall central space of a building at an upper level. In a church, it opens onto thenave from above theside aisles; it may occur at the level of theclerestory windows, or it may be located as a separate level below the clerestory. Masonry triforia are generallyvaulted and separated from the central space byarcades. Early triforia were often wide and spacious, but later ones tend to be shallow, within the thickness of an inner wall, and may beblind arcades not wide enough to walk along. The outer wall of the triforium may itself have windows (glazed or unglazed openings), or it may be solid stone. A narrow triforium may also be called a "blind-storey", and looks like a row of window frames.
Triforium is derived from theLatintres,tria 'three' andforis 'door, entrance'; itsGreek equivalent is τρίθυρον, which originally referred to a building with three doors.[1][2]
The earliest examples of triforia are those in thepaganbasilicas, where a triforium constituted an upper gallery for conversation and business;[citation needed] in the early Christian basilicas such a passageway was usually reserved for women, and the same applied to those in theEastern Orthodox Church.[3]
InRomanesque andGothic buildings it is either a spacious gallery over the sideaisles or is reduced to a simple passage in the thickness of the walls; in either case it forms an important architectural division in thenave of the cathedral or church, and being of less height gives more importance to the ground storey or nave arcade. In consequence of its lesser height itsbay was usually divided into twoarches, which were again subdivided into two smaller arches and these subdivisions increased the apparent scale of the aisle below and the clerestory above.[4]
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On account of the richness of its mouldings and carved ornament in the sculpture introduced in thespandrels, it became the most highly decorated feature of the interior. The triforium atLincoln has been described as one of the most beautiful compositions of English Gothic architecture.[5] 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 windows, the triforium was dispensed with altogether. In the great cathedrals andabbeys the triforium was often occupied by persons who came to witness various ceremonies, and in early days was probably used by the monks and clergy for work connected with the church.[6]
The triforium sometimes served structural functions, as under its roof are arches andvaults which carry thrust from the nave to the outer wall. When theflying 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.[6]
Amatroneum (plural:matronea; earlier alsomatronaeum, pluralmatronaea) in architecture is a gallery on the interior of a building, originally intended to accommodate women, inGreek:γυναικαίον,romanized: gynaikaion, Latinised asgynecaeum.[7][8] This definition is disputed by Valerio Ascani, professor of the history of medieval art at theUniversity of Pisa: according to Ascani,matronea were in fact intended for all persons who could not, or did not want to, enter the main body of the church below, including men as well as women, although the sexes were always separated to left and right.[9][page needed]
In medieval churches, matronea lost their function of accommodation and became purely architectonic elements, placed over the sideaisles with the structural purpose of containing the thrust of thecentral nave, and came to consist solely of bays so placed.
InEarly Gothicchurches, the matronea were one of the four elements which constituted the interior walls (arch, matroneum, triforium andclerestory), but they grew rare in the succeeding period of full-blownGothic architecture.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Triforium".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 270–271.
