The apsidal east end of the basilica was slightly elevated and enclosed by waist-high
stone partitions called cancelli, creating the sanctuary area. The term cancelli, which
refers to wooden latticework, indicates the original structure of these barriers; it accounts
for the Old French and current English word “chancel.” The chancel barriers were
frequently surmounted by decorative pillars and an architrave, while the modest-sized
altar was made prominent by the baldochin, a stone canopy supported by pillars. Two
important modifications to the basic arrangement were the addition of the ambo, a pulpit
for reading and chanting, in the 6th or 7th century under Byzantine influence, and the
roughly contemporary extension of the chancel barriers into the nave in order to
accommodate singers and the entry procession of the clergy.
The essentials of this arrangement persisted well into the Middle Ages, particularly in
Italy. A fundamentally different one can be observed in the enclosed choir of the late-
medieval cathedrals and collegiate churches of the north. To some extent a by-product of
the development of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in France, this arrangement was
achieved by walling-in the entire sanctuary area at the east end of the church, separating
it from the nave on the west and the ambulatory that surrounded it on the north, south,
and east. At the east end of the enclosed area was the high altar; just to the west of it was
an open space for the attendant clergy, called the presbytery; and to the far west, the choir
stalls, two sets of benches facing each other. In the later Middle Ages, the walls of the
choir, generally called screens, might boast splendid sculpture on their exterior facing the
ambulatory, as at Chartres and Amiens, while the portion facing the nave, called the jubé
in France, was surmounted by a gallery that frequently supported a great organ.
The high altar was now oblong in shape with painted panels or a sculptured wall at its
back, the retable or reredos. The celebrating priest faced the altar with his back to the
other participants, and the bishop sat on the cathedra at the north side of the presbytery.
On the altar, in addition to chalice and book, there was a crucifix and candles, the number
of them varying according to the solemnity of the occasion. Lighted candles began to
appear on the altar in the 11th or 12th century; in the early Middle Ages, they had been
carried by acolytes before the entering bishop and placed on the floor near the altar,
sometimes to be extinguished after the reading of the gospel. There was no ambo in the
northern arrangement, but rather one or more lecterns for readers and cantors; a common
decorative feature of lecterns was to shape the book support as a large bronze eagle,
symbolizing the Gospel of John.
The enclosed choir excluded the laity from much of the liturgical action. To remedy
this, an altar on which to celebrate Mass for the people was erected in the nave just to the
west of the jubé. During the Enlightenment, the jubé was dismantled in most French
churches and replaced by wrought-iron gates through which one could observe the
ceremonies.
James McKinnon
[See also: VESTMENTS, ECCLESIASTICAL]
Braun, Joseph. Der christlicher Altar in seiner geschichtlichen Entwicklung. 2 vols. Munich: Koch,
1924.
Chastel, André, et al. Histoire générale des églises de France. (Vol. 1) and Dictionnaire des églises
de France. (Vols. 2–5). Paris: Laffont, 1966–71.
Dendy, D.R. The Use of Lights in Christian Worship. London: SPCK, 1959.
Heitz, Carol. Recherches sur les rapports entre architecture et liturgie a l’époque carolingienne.
Paris: SEVPEN, 1963.
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