imported>Randy Kryn: /* Record-holders */ uppercase per direct link (Cologne Cathedral)

2025-07-29T02:41:20Z

Record-holders: uppercase per direct link (Cologne Cathedral)

New page

{{Short description|Central part of a church}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Naveh (disambiguation)|Knave (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{multipleimage
| title = Plan of a large Latin cross church with nave highlighted
| image1 = Mittelschiff.svg
| caption1 = Strict definition
| image2 = Langhaus.svg
| caption2 = Broader definition
}}

[[File:Saint-Sulpice, Nave, Paris 20140515 1.jpg|thumbnail|The nave of the [[Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris|Saint-Sulpice Church]] in Paris]]
[[File:The halls of sarrat church.jpg|thumb|The nave of the [[Santa Monica Parish Church (Sarrat)|Santa Monica Parish Church]] in [[Sarrat]], Philippines]]

The '''nave''' ({{IPAc-en|n|eɪ|v}}) is the central part of a [[church architecture|church]], stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the [[transept]]s, or in a church without transepts, to the [[chancel]].<ref name="Brit"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title= nave |encyclopedia= Oxford Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture |page=518 |editor-first= James |editor-last= Stevens Curl |edition= illustrated |publisher= Oxford University Press |year=2006 |isbn= 9780198606789}}</ref> When a church contains [[Aisle#Church architecture|side aisles]], as in a [[basilica]]-type building, the strict definition of the term "nave" is restricted to the central aisle.<ref name="Brit">{{Cite encyclopedia |author= ((The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica)) |encyclopedia= Encyclopaedia Britannica |title= Nave |edition= online |publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. }}</ref> In a broader, more [[colloquial]] sense, the nave includes all areas available for the [[Laity#Christian laity|lay]] worshippers, including the side-aisles and transepts.<ref name="CathEnc">Cram, Ralph Adams. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10724a.htm Nave]. The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. Accessed 13 July 2018</ref> Either way, the nave is distinct from the area reserved for the [[Choir (architecture)|choir]] and [[Clergy#Christianity|clergy]].<ref name="Brit"/>

==Description==
The nave extends from the entry—which may have a separate vestibule (the [[narthex]])—to the chancel and may be flanked by lower [[Aisle#Church architecture|side-aisles]]<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.answers.com/topic/nave |title= Nave| website= [[Answers.com]]| access-date= 11 February 2015}}</ref> separated from the nave by an [[arcade (architecture)|arcade]]. If the aisles are high and of a width comparable to the central nave, the structure is sometimes said to have three naves. It provides the central approach to the high [[altar]].

==Etymology==
The term ''nave'' is from {{lang|la|navis}}, the [[Latin]] word for ''ship'', an early Christian symbol of the [[Christian Church|Church]] as a whole, with a possible connection to the "[[Ship of St. Peter]]" or the [[Ark of Noah]].<ref name="Brit"/><ref name="CathEnc"/><ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.jesuswalk.com/christian-symbols/ship.htm| title= Ship as a Symbol of the Church (Bark of St. Peter)| website= JesusWalk.com| access-date= 11 February 2015}}</ref> The term may also have been suggested by the keel shape of the [[Vault (architecture)|vaulting]] of a church. In many [[Nordic countries|Nordic]] and [[Baltic states|Baltic]] countries a model ship is commonly found hanging in the nave of a church,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sidneyherald.com/archives/ship-hangs-in-balance-at-pella-evangelical-lutheran-church/article_9485d09f-e314-5f3e-b071-0cf8b2059dd7.html|title=Ship hangs in balance at Pella Evangelical Lutheran Church|date=10 June 2008|work= [[Sidney Herald]]| location= [[Sidney, Montana]] |access-date=3 January 2016}}</ref> and in some languages the same word means both 'nave' and 'ship', as for instance Danish {{lang|da|[[wikt:skib|skib]]}}, Swedish {{lang|sv|[[wikt:skepp|skepp]]}}, Dutch {{lang|nl|[[wikt:schip|schip]]}} or Spanish {{lang|es|nave}}.

==History==
[[File:Affresco dell'aspetto antico della basilica costantiniana di san pietro nel IV secolo.jpg|thumb|A fresco showing Old St Peter's Basilica, built in the 4th century: the central area, illuminated by high windows, is flanked by aisles.]]
[[File:bath.abbey.fan.vault.arp.jpg|thumb|Late Gothic [[fan vault]]ing (1608, restored 1860s) over the nave at [[Bath Abbey]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], England. Suppression of the [[triforium]] offers a greater expanse of [[clerestory]] windows.]]
The earliest churches were built when builders were familiar with the form of the Roman [[basilica]], a public building for business transactions. It had a wide central area, with aisles separated by columns, and with windows near the ceiling. [[Old St. Peter's Basilica]] in Rome is an early church which had this form. It was built in the 4th century on the orders of Roman emperor [[Constantine I]], and replaced in the 16th century.<ref name="CathEnc"/><ref name="Brit"/>

The nave, the main body of the building, is the section set apart for the laity, while the [[chancel]] is reserved for the clergy. In medieval churches the nave was separated from the chancel by the [[rood screen]]; these, being elaborately decorated, were notable features in European churches from the 14th to the mid-16th century.<ref name="CathEnc"/><ref name="Brit"/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia| title= Rood screen| url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/509174/rood-screen| encyclopedia= Encyclopædia Britannica| access-date= 11 February 2015}}</ref>

Medieval naves were divided into bays, the repetition of form giving an effect of great length; and the vertical element of the nave was emphasized. During the Renaissance, in place of dramatic effects there were more balanced proportions.<ref name="Brit"/>

By the 1300s, the maintenance and decoration of the nave of parish churches was the responsibility of the parishioners; the clergy were responsible for keeping the chancel in repair.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Parish Life in Mediaeval England |journal=Masterpieces of Catholic Literature in Summary Form | location=New York|publisher=Harper & Row|date=January 1965 |volume=2 |pages=42 |url=https://archive.org/details/masterpiecesofca0000unse_y9m6/page/n5/mode/2up}}</ref>

==Record-holders==
* Longest nave in the world is in Spain: [[Valle de los Caídos#Basilica, cross and abbey|Basílica de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos]], {{convert|262|m|abbr=on}} total; divided via added partition to not exceed that of [[St. Peter's Basilica|St. Peter's]] in Rome<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.feelmadrid.com/valleyofthefallen.html |title= The Valley of the Fallen|access-date= 11 November 2019}}</ref>
* Longest nave in [[Denmark]]: [[Aarhus Cathedral]], {{convert|93|m|abbr=on}}
* Longest nave in [[England]]: [[Winchester Cathedral]], {{convert|170|m|abbr=on}}
* Longest nave in [[Ireland]]: [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin]], {{convert|91|m|abbr=on}}, externally
* Longest nave in [[France]]: [[Bourges Cathedral]], {{convert|91|m|abbr=on}}, including [[Choir (architecture)|choir]] where a crossing would be if there were transepts
* Longest nave in [[Germany]]: [[Cologne Cathedral]], {{convert|58|m|abbr=on}}, including two bays between the towers
* Longest nave in [[Italy]]: [[St Peter's Basilica]] in [[Vatican City]], {{convert|91|m|abbr=on}}, in four bays
* Longest cathedral nave in [[Spain]]: [[Seville]], {{convert|60|m|abbr=on}}, in five bays
* Longest nave in the [[United States]]: [[Cathedral of St. John the Divine]], [[New York City]], United States (Episcopal), {{convert|70|m|abbr=on}}
* Highest vaulted nave: [[Beauvais Cathedral]], France, {{convert|48|m|abbr=on}}, but only one bay of the nave was actually built; however, choir and transepts were completed to the same height.
* Highest completed nave: [[St. Peter's Basilica]], [[Vatican City]], {{convert|46|m|abbr=on}}

== See also ==
* [[Abbey]], with architectural discussion and ground plans
* [[Cathedral architecture]]
* [[Cathedral diagram]]
* [[List of highest church naves]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Subject bar|portal1=Architecture|portal2=Christianity|commons=yes|commons-search=Category:Naves}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Church architecture]]
[[Category:Arches and vaults]]

Nave - Revision history

imported>Randy Kryn: /* Record-holders */ uppercase per direct link (Cologne Cathedral)