Illustrated Dictionary of British Churches - Lancet Definition

History and Architecture

Lancet

Lancet is a term applied to any arched opening, typically a window, of tall, narrow design. Technically speaking, the arch radius is larger than the arch span, which in layman's terms simply means it is tall and slender. Lancet windows were the most common style in the early medieval period, and the most common window of the Early English Gothic style.

The term is sometimes loosely applied to any narrow window or grouping of windows. It is also erroneously applied as a synonym for narrow Saxon windows, but a lancet is more often a pointed Gothic arch.

Related: Arch   Gothic   Early English  




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