STILTED  , a

term in architecture, given to anything raised above its usual level; it is usually applied to the arch, which is said to be stilted when its centre is raised above the capital or impost . In Byzantine architecture this was frequently done in order to give more importance to the twin arches of the windows, and less to the shaft which divided them . In Romanesque and Gothic work the stilted arch was often employed in the semi-circular apses, where in consequence of the closer juxtaposition of the columns round the apse the arches were much narrower than those of the choir; in order, however, that the apex of all the arches should be of the same height, the apse arches were stilted .