Glossary - French castles for sale Patrice Besse Castles and Mansions of France is a Paris based real-estate agency specialised in the sale of castles, historic dwellings.

Abacus

Flat top of the capital of a column.
Abbey

Main or sole church built in conjunction with an abbey
Abbey

A building inhabited by a community of monks or nuns governed by an autonomous leader
Abutment

Solid masonry placed to counteract the lateral thrust of a bridge, arch, or vault.
Altar

A structure on which to place or sacrifice offerings to a deity. In a Christian church the altar is usually a stone table or slab on supports, on which the celebration of the sacrament takes place.
Alure

A passage or gallery behind a parapet at the top of a wall of a fortification.

Ambulatory

A semicircular or polygonal aisle. Often an ambulatory leads around the east end of the choir.
Apse

The semi-circular termination of the east end of the chancel or chapel.
Apsidiole

Semi-circular chapel (in the transept or chancel) or secondary apse .
Arcade

A series of arches supported by columns or piers.
Arcature

Series of small arcades topped by an arch.
Arch

A carved structural member that spans an opening.

Arch moulding

Concentric arches set back from one another above a doorway or a window and topped by the archivolt.
Architrave

The beam which extends across the top of the columns; it forms the lowest part of the entablature.
Archivolt

Set of arches rising above a doorway. In the Romanesque and gothic styles, the archivolt frames the tympanum, a richly sculpted panel.
Arms of a transept

Sections of the transept on each side of the crossing.
Astragal

A small plain or ornamental moulding.
Attic

A room, usually with sloping ceilings, just beneath the roof

Avant-corps

Part of a building which projects prominently from the main facade.