clerestory

clerestory or clearstory (both: klĭr`stōr'ē, –stôr'ē), a part of a building whose walls rise higher than the roofs of adjoining parts of the structure. Pierced by windows, it is chiefly a device for obtaining extra light. It had an early use in certain Egyptian temples, as at Karnak, and was used later in the great halls of Roman basilicas. It became a characteristic element of medieval churches, receiving its fullest development in churches of the Gothic period.

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clerestory

Windowed wall of a room that rises higher than the surrounding roofs to light the interior space. In large buildings, where internal walls are far from the outermost walls, the clerestory provides daylight to spaces that otherwise would be dark and windowless. This device was used in Byzantine and early Christian architecture and most highly developed in Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals. As the nave rose much higher than the roofs of the side aisles, its walls could be pierced by a row of windows near the ceiling.

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clerestory, clearstory

1. a row of windows in the upper part of the wall of a church that divides the nave from the aisle, set above the aisle roof

2. the part of the wall in which these windows are set

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clerestory [′klir‚stȯr·ē]

(architecture)

The upward extension of enclosed space achieved by bringing a windowed wall up to interrupt the slope of the roof.

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clerestory, clerestory window

clerestory, 2 A

1.An upper zone of wall pierced with windows that admit light to the center of a lofty room.

2. A window so placed. (See illustration p. 218.)