tracery n : decoration consisting of an open pattern of interlacing ribs

English

Noun

1. bars or ribs, usually of stone or wood, or other material, that subdivide an opening or stand in relief against a door or wall as an ornamental feature.

Tracery is a series of intersecting ribs used in Gothic architecture, especially windows and, in the Perpendicular Gothic style, vaulting.

Tracery is the stonework used to support the glass in a stained glass window. When used in windows, it is usually supported by carved vertical shafts. However, it is also used in circular rose windows, where there are no supporting shafts, unless they form a separate window underneath. Unusually, though, Lichfield Cathedral's nave clerestory has rose windows which take the form of triangles with curved sides.

See also

• Rose window
• rosette.
• Gothic Architecture

arabesque, arc, basketry, basketwork, bow, cancellation, catacaustic, catenary, caustic, circle, conchoid, crook, cross-hatching, crossing-out, curl, curve, diacaustic, ellipse, festoon, filigree, fret, fretwork, grate, grating, grid, gridiron, grille, grillwork, hachure, hatching, hook, hyperbola, interlacement, intertexture, intertwinement, lace, lacery, lacework, lacing, lattice, latticework, lituus, mesh, meshes, meshwork, net, netting, network, parabola, plexure, plexus, raddle, reticle, reticulation, reticule, reticulum, riddle, screen, screening, sieve, sinus, texture, tissue, trellis, trelliswork, wattle, weave, weaving, web, webbing, webwork, weft, wicker, wickerwork