A trefoil arch, or three-foiled cusped arch, is an

arch 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 vaul ...

incorporating the shape or outline of a

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four ring ...

– three overlapping circles. It has been widely used for its symbolic significance in Christian architecture. Trefoil arches are common in

Gothic architecture Gothic architecture (or pointed architecture) is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It e ...

for portals and decoration. Trefoil or "trilobed" arches are also a characteristic feature of decorated portals in late Fatimid architecture and

Mamluk architecture Mamluk architecture was the architectural style under the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517), which ruled over Egypt, the Levant, and the Hijaz from their capital, Cairo. Despite their often tumultuous internal politics, the Mamluk sultans were proli ...

in Egypt, from approximately the 12th to 16th centuries. File:Rampillon Saint-Éliphe 491.JPG, Trefoil arch in the choir of the parish

Church of Saint-Eliphe Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

(13th century),

Rampillon Rampillon () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. The inhabitants are called ''Rampillonnais''. It is home to the 13th-century church of ''Sainte Eliphe'', with a portal decorated w ...

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...

( Ile-de-France) File:Normandie Calvados Bayeux4 tango7174.jpg, Trefoil arches at the Bayeux Cathedral (11th century),

Calvados Calvados (, , ) is a brandy from Normandy in France, made from apples or pears, or from apples with pears. History In France Apple orchards and brewers are mentioned as far back as the 8th century by Charlemagne. The first known record of Nor ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, France Arches and vaults

References

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See also

References