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Nave

Cathedral diagram.

In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral and church architecture, the nave ( Medieval Latin navis, "ship," probably from the keel shape of its vaulting) is the central and principal part of a church, extending from the entry narthex to the and flanked by lower aisles outside the nave area (plan, right). The height of the nave provided space for clerestory windows above the aisle roofs, which gave light to the interior. The architectural antecedents of this construction lay in the secular Roman basilica, a kind of covered stoa adjacent to a forum, where magistrates met and public business was transacted.

In Romanesque constructions, where a gallery was required to allow passage above the aisles, an addition to the elevation of the nave was inserted, called a triforium. In later styles the triforium was eliminated, the aisles lowered and great expanses of stained glass took the place of the clerestory windows.

The nave, ecclesiastically considered, was the area reserved for the non-clergy (the "laity"), while the chancel or choir were reserved for the clergy, and a rood screen separated the sanctuary from the nave (see Cathedral diagram for details). Pews in the nave are a comparatively modern, Protestant innovation.

Some naves

• Longest nave: Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City
• Longest nave in England: St Albans Cathedral (300 feet, in thirteen arched bays) has been outdone by Liverpool Cathedral
• Longest nave in France: Bourges (300 feet, including choir where a crossing would be if there were transepts)
• Longest nave in Germany: Cologne cathedral (190 feet, including two bays between the towers)
• Longest nave in Spain: Seville (200 feet, in five bays)
• Longest nave in Italy: St Peters Basilica in Rome (300 feet in four bays)
  

• Highest vaulted nave: Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, 124 feet (Beauvais is 150 feet high in the choir.)

See also:

• Cathedral architecture
• Abbey, with architectural discussion and groundplans