Crossing (architecture)

A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform (cross-shaped) church.^[1]

In a typically oriented church (especially of Romanesque and Gothic styles), the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir, as the first part of the chancel, on the east.

The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a

A tower over the crossing may be called a lantern tower if it has openings through which light from outside can shine down to the crossing.

In Early Medieval churches, the crossing square was often used as a module, or a unit of measurement. The nave and transept would have lengths that were a certain multiple of the length of the crossing square.^[5]

The term is also occasionally used for

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  Crossing and lantern tower, Rouen Cathedral
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  Crossing with dome, Florence Cathedral, Florence
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  Crossing tower, Canterbury Cathedral
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  Flèche above crossing, Notre-Dame de Paris
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  Crossing tower, Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse
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  Plan of the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, Toulouse, showing enlarged piers to support tower
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  Crossing tower, Hildesheim Cathedral

References

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