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AISLE (from Lat. ala, a wing)

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Originally appearing in Volume V01, Page 447 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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See also:

AISLE (from See also:Lat. See also:ala, a wing)  , a See also:term which in its See also:primary sense means the wing of a See also:house, but is generally applied in See also:architecture to the lateral divisions of a See also:church or large See also:building . The earliest example is that found in the See also:basilica of See also:Trajan, which had See also:double aisles on either See also:side of the central See also:area; the same number existed in the See also:original church of St See also:Peter's at See also:Rome, in the basilica at See also:Bethlehem, and according to See also:Eusebius in the church of the See also:Holy See also:Sepulchre at See also:Jerusalem . The aisles are divided from the See also:nave or central area by colonnades or arcades, and may flank also the See also:transept or See also:choir, being distinguished as nave-aisles, transept-aisles or choir-aisles . If the choir is semi-circular, and the aisles, carried See also:round, give See also:access to a See also:series of chapels, the whole arrangement is known as the See also:chevet . As a See also:rule in See also:Great See also:Britain there is only one See also:aisle on each side of the nave, the only exceptions being See also:Chichester and See also:Elgin cathedrals, where there are two . Many See also:European cathedrals have two aisles on each side, as those of See also:Paris, See also:Bourges, See also:Amiens, See also:Troyes, St Sernin, See also:Toulouse, See also:Cologne, See also:Milan, See also:Seville, See also:Toledo; and in those of Paris, See also:Chartres, Amiens and Bourges, Seville and Toledo, double aisles flank the choir on each side . The See also:cathedral at See also:Antwerp has three aisles on each side . In some of the churches in See also:Germany the aisles are of the same height as the nave . These churches are known as Hallenkirchen, the See also:principal examples being St See also:Stephen's, See also:Vienna, the Weissekirche at See also:Soest, St See also:Martin's, See also:Landshut, See also:Munich cathedral, and the Marienkirche at See also:Danzig . (R . P .

End of Article: AISLE (from Lat. ala, a wing)
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