A cross-window is a

window A window is an opening in a wall, door, roof, or vehicle that allows the exchange of light and may also allow the passage of sound and sometimes air. Modern windows are usually glazed or covered in some other transparent or translucent mat ...

whose lights are defined by a

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

and a transom, forming a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

.Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture'', 2nd ed., OUP, Oxford and New York, p. 214. . The Late Gothic cross-window is known since the 14th century and replaced the hitherto common Romanesque or Gothic

arched window An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vault ...

on buildings. Since then the latter have almost exclusively been reserved for church buildings. The two, upper lights were usually somewhat smaller than the two lower ones and could be opened separately. The latter is also true for a

transom window In architecture, a transom is a transverse horizontal structural beam or bar, or a crosspiece separating a door from a window above it. This contrasts with a mullion, a vertical structural member. Transom or transom window is also the customary U ...

, which has a horizontal bar or transom separating the lights.

Design

Characteristically the rectangular window is divided into four individual lights by a mullion and transom in the form of a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

. The window cross was original made of stone ('stone cross-window'); not until the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

and Baroque periods did the timber cross-window emerge (e. g. on the abbey castle of

Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up ...

and on other buildings in the

Herrerian The Herrerian style ( es, estilo herreriano or ''arquitectura herreriana'') of architecture was developed in Spain during the last third of the 16th century under the reign of Philip II (1556–1598), and continued in force in the 17th centu ...

style). Where the transom is in the middle, the window is divided into four lights of equal size. Later the windows were often divided into six lights, the two upper ones often being joined and forming a type of fanlight.

References

Literature

* ''Meyers Enzyklopädisches Lexikon''. Bibliographisches Institut, Mannheim/Wien/Zürich 1973, Vol. 8, p. 638.

External links

Examples of cross-windows in Austria
{{Authority control Windows