Abat-son

Last updated
Illustration of an abat-son Abat sons 1.png
Illustration of an abat-son

An abat-son (plural usually abat-sons) is an architectural device constructed to reflect or direct sound in a particular direction. It consists of large louvers. The term is commonly used to refer to angled louvers in a bell tower or belfry designed to redirect sound or to prevent ingress of water. [1]

Contents

Abat-son can also refer to a louver or board used in the device. [2] [3] These boards or sheets are typically made of wood or metal. [4]

The term comes from the French term of the same name, which literally means "to strike down" (abat) the "sound" (son) or "sounds" (sons). [5] [6]

In the windshields

The slats, generally of the grid type and fixed to a carpentry frame, are usually made of wood or covered with metal, slate or lead; In addition to redirecting the sound of the bells towards the ground, they prevent rain or snow from penetrating the bell tower and allow the tower's carpentry to be ventilated. «Beffroi», is an architectural technical Gallicism that appeared in the 19th century, replacing the popular name of «windscreen» (abat-vent). [7]

Loudspeakers are often inserted into twin bays on each of the steeple faces, more rarely in the skylights of steeple arrows. These vain bell towers are typically flanked by columns with capitals and decorations, in Romanesque architecture, with archivolts, and with interlocking fretwork in Gothic architecture. Turntables developed especially from the 13th century, and were often already decorated with fretwork, serrated bottoms, or embossed in lead. [8] [ failed verification ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanessa Bell</span> British painter, designer and member of the Bloomsbury Group

Vanessa Bell was an English painter and interior designer, a member of the Bloomsbury Group and the sister of Virginia Woolf.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belfry (architecture)</span> Structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of building

The belfry is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached to a city hall or other civic building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell tower</span> Tower containing or designed to hold bells

A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell towers, often part of a municipal building, an educational establishment, or a tower built specifically to house a carillon. Church bell towers often incorporate clocks, and secular towers usually do, as a public service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman architecture</span> Styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans

The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used for English Romanesque architecture. The Normans introduced large numbers of castles and fortifications including Norman keeps, and at the same time monasteries, abbeys, churches and cathedrals, in a style characterised by the usual Romanesque rounded arches and especially massive proportions compared to other regional variations of the style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church bell</span> Bell in a church

A church bell in Christian architecture is a bell which is rung in a church for a variety of religious purposes, and can be heard outside the building. Traditionally they are used to call worshippers to the church for a communal service, and to announce the fixed times of daily Christian prayer, called the canonical hours, which number seven and are contained in breviaries. They are also rung on special occasions such as a wedding, or a funeral service. In some religious traditions they are used within the liturgy of the church service to signify to people that a particular part of the service has been reached. The ringing of church bells, in the Christian tradition, is also believed to drive out demons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)</span> Church in Ontario, Canada

The Cathedral Church of St. James is an Anglican cathedral in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the location of the oldest congregation in the city, with the parish being established in 1797. The church, with construction beginning in 1850 and opening for services on June 19, 1853, was one of the largest buildings in the city at that time. It was designed by Frederick William Cumberland and is a prime example of Gothic Revival architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mechanical floor</span> Mechanical rooms-only skyscraper section

A mechanical floor, mechanical penthouse, mechanical layer or mechanical level is a story of a high-rise building that is dedicated to mechanical and electronics equipment. "Mechanical" is the most commonly used term, but words such as utility, technical, service, and plant are also used. They are present in all tall buildings including the world's tallest skyscrapers with significant structural, mechanical and aesthetics concerns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tented roof</span> Type of polygonal hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak

A tented roof is a type of polygonal hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak. Tented roofs, a hallmark of medieval religious architecture, were widely used to cover churches with steep, conical roof structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louver</span> Window protection with horizontal angled slats

A louver or louvre is a window blind or shutter with horizontal slats that are angled to admit light and air, but to keep out rain and direct sunshine. The angle of the slats may be adjustable, usually in blinds and windows, or fixed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giralda</span> Bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain

The Giralda is the bell tower of Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain. It was built as the minaret for the Great Mosque of Seville in al-Andalus, during the reign of the Almohad dynasty, with a Renaissance-style belfry added by the Catholics after the expulsion of the Muslims from the area. The Cathedral, including the Giralda, was registered in 1987 as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, along with the Alcázar and the General Archive of the Indies. It remains one of the most important symbols of the city, as it has been since the Middle Ages. The tower is one of the most famous monuments of Moorish architecture in Spain and one of the most refined examples of Almohad architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Luke's Church (Smithfield, Virginia)</span> Historic church in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, US

St. Luke's Church, also known as Old Brick Church, or Newport Parish Church, is a historic church building, located in the unincorporated community of Benns Church, near Smithfield in Isle of Wight County, Virginia, United States. It is the oldest church in Virginia and oldest church in British North America of brick construction. According to local tradition the structure was built in 1632, but other evidence points to a date of 1682; see Dating controversy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church</span> Historic church in Michigan, United States

St. Boniface Roman Catholic Church was a Roman Catholic church located at 2356 Vermont Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It was also known as St. Boniface-St. Vincent Roman Catholic Church. The church was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1983 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989, but was subsequently demolished in 1996. The church was removed from the NRHP in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Nicholas Church, Wrea Green</span> Church in Lancashire, England

St Nicholas Church is in the village of Wrea Green, Lancashire, England. It is an active Anglican parish church in the deanery of Kirkham, the archdeaconry of Lancaster and the diocese of Blackburn. Its benefice is combined with those of St Matthew, Ballam and St Michael, Weeton. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bell-gable</span> Architectural element

The bell gable is an architectural element crowning the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small hollow semi-circular arches where the church bells are placed. It is a characteristic example of the simplicity of Romanesque architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steeple Barton</span> Human settlement in England

Steeple Barton is a civil parish and scattered settlement on the River Dorn in West Oxfordshire, about 8+12 miles (13.7 km) east of Chipping Norton, a similar distance west of Bicester and 9 miles (14 km) south of Banbury. Most of the parish's population lives in the village of Middle Barton, about 1 mile (1.6 km) northwest of the settlement of Steeple Barton. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 1,523. Much of the parish's eastern boundary is formed by the former turnpike between Oxford and Banbury, now classified the A4260 road. The minor road between Middle Barton and Kiddington forms part of the western boundary. Field boundaries form most of the rest of the boundaries of the parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mghvimevi monastery</span>

The Mghvimevi monastery is a Georgian Orthodox monastery in the western Georgian region of Imereti, near the town of Chiatura, partly carved into rock. Its main feature is a 13th-century two-nave basilica, dedicated to the Nativity of the Mother of God. The complex also includes a small hall church, bell-tower, and a circuit wall. The monastery is a functioning nunnery. It is rich in ornamental architectural sculpture which decorate the exterior of the churches. The Mghvimevi complex is inscribed on the list of Georgia's Immovable Cultural Monuments of National Significance.

Electrical demonstrations during the eighteenth century were performances by experimental philosophers before an audience to entertain with and teach about electricity. Such displays took place in British America as well across Europe. Their form varied from something similar to modern day carnival shows to grand displays in exhibition halls and theatres. With concern about safety of electrical power, these displays were sometimes pushed back upon.

Roger Andrew Stalley is a scholar and teacher in medieval architecture and sculpture. His speciality is Early Gothic and Romanesque architecture and sculpture in England and Western Europe with a particular focus on Irish architecture and art. He has published numerous papers and books including Cistercian Monasteries of Ireland in 1987, for which he was awarded the Alice Davis Hitchcock Medallion in 1988 by the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain, and Early Medieval Architecture in 1999 for the Oxford History of Art series. He is noted for his innovative teaching practices for example, The Medieval Architecture Online Teaching Project, and is recognised in the 2021 publication Mapping New Territories in Art and Architectural Histories, Essays in Honour of Roger Stalley.

Charles William Justin Hanbury-Tracy is a British scholar and heritage consultant on the history and development of medieval British and European continental church furniture. He publishes under the name of Charles Tracy.

Julian Perry is a London-based British artist.

References

  1. Curl, James Stevens, 1937- (2015). The Oxford dictionary of architecture. Wilson, Susan (Historian) (Third ed.). [Oxford]. ISBN   978-0-19-175298-8. OCLC   913074935.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. Bond, Francis. An Introduction to English Church Architecture from the Eleventh to the Sixteenth Century. London: H. Milford, 1913. Print.
  3. Montague, Don (2003-09-02). Dictionary of Building and Civil Engineering. doi:10.4324/9780203475430. ISBN   9781135821685.
  4. Ph.D, Maxim Newmark (1950-01-15). Dictionary of Foreign Words and Phrases. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   978-1-4422-3401-7.
  5. "Definition of ABAT-SONS". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  6. Passy, Paul; Hempl, George (1904). International French-English and English-French Dictionary. Hinds, Noble & Eldredge.
  7. Pierrel, Jean-Marie (2013-11-25), "Structuration et usage de ressources lexicales institutionnelles sur le français", Ressources Lexicales (PDF), Lingvisticæ Investigationes Supplementa, vol. 30, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company, pp. 119–152, doi:10.1075/lis.30.04pie, ISBN   978-90-272-3140-6 , retrieved 2022-03-26
  8. . doi:10.17658/issn.2058-5462/issue-06/jillson/figure1 http://dx.doi.org/10.17658/issn.2058-5462/issue-06/jillson/figure1 . Retrieved 2022-03-26.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)

Further reading