Geometric Tracery

Westminster Abbey, London., E end

'GeometricGlossary Term' is a termGlossary Term used for the early type of bar traceryGlossary Term, a French invention adopted for the East end of Westminster Abbey, begun in 1245. The chapel windows, seen to the left, are divided into two lights separated by a slim central mullionGlossary Term with a pointed archGlossary Term above filled by a foiled circle.

• See how simple bar traceryGlossary Term is formed

The principal of the window with several lights surmounted by a circle could be elaborated for larger areas, by increasing the number of lights and circles. Large C13 windows of the GeometricGlossary Term period had an even number of lights arranged in pairs, each pair with its own circle. See how a complex GeometricGlossary Term window is composedThe largest example is the eight-lightGlossary Term east window of Lincoln Cathedral Angel ChoirGlossary Term where the window is made up of two times two pairs, or 4 + 4 lights, with a total of 13 circles of different sizes in the window head.

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