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reredos
reredos , ornamented wall or screen that rises behind the high altar of a church, forming a background for it. It may be placed against the apse wall at the extreme end or directly behind the altar, as in certain English churches where it serves to separate the choir and the retrochoir. Called dossal, or dorsal in its earliest form, it was a tapestry or a richly embroidered fabric suspended behind the altar. In the 11th and 12th cent. the reredos was generally a screen of gold, silver, or ivory adorned with sculptures in relief. It became a permanent architectural feature in the late Gothic in England and the Renaissance in Spain, where it was seen as a lofty decorative structure filling the entire width of the choir. Relief sculptures of the Passion and figures of angels and saints were enclosed by a rich framework of pilasters and pinnacles. Especially ornate were the marble and alabaster examples in Spain and those of polychromed and gilded wood in the baroque churches of Mexico. The reredos of Italy and Germany were primarily religious paintings within an architectural framework. |
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"reredos." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "reredos." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-reredos.html "reredos." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-reredos.html |
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reredos
reredos. Ornamental facing or screen behind an altar in a church, free-standing or forming part of the retable. In larger churches it separates the choir from the retrochoir, Ladychapel, and other parts to the liturgical east, and is often found enriched with statues in niches, pinnacles, etc. Another form of medieval reredos was the triptych.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "reredos." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAMES STEVENS CURL. "reredos." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-reredos.html JAMES STEVENS CURL. "reredos." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O1-reredos.html |
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reredos
reredos. Any decoration put up above and behind an altar. The earliest were paintings on the walls against which altars backed. In the Middle Ages the reredos was usually made of painted wooden panels, either fixed or in the form of a triptych, or of carved stone or alabaster.
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E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "reredos." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "reredos." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-reredos.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "reredos." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-reredos.html |
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reredos
reredos an ornamental screen covering the wall at the back of an altar. The word comes (in late Middle English) via Anglo-Norman French from Old French areredos, from arere ‘behind’ + dos ‘back’.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "reredos." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "reredos." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-reredos.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "reredos." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-reredos.html |
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reredos
rere·dos / ˈrerəˌdäs; ˈri(ə)rə-/ • n. (pl. same) Christian Church an ornamental screen covering the wall at the back of an altar. |
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"reredos." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "reredos." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-reredos.html "reredos." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-reredos.html |
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reredos
reredos ornamental screen at the back of an altar; (hist.) back of a fireplace. XIV. — AN. *reredos, aphetic of OF. areredos, f. arere behind + dos back.
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T. F. HOAD. "reredos." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "reredos." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-reredos.html T. F. HOAD. "reredos." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-reredos.html |
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reredos
reredos. See altarpiece.
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IAN CHILVERS. "reredos." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "reredos." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-reredos.html IAN CHILVERS. "reredos." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-reredos.html |
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reredos
reredos. See Altarpiece.
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Cite this article
IAN CHILVERS. "reredos." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. IAN CHILVERS. "reredos." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-reredos.html IAN CHILVERS. "reredos." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O3-reredos.html |
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reredos
reredos •across, boss, Bros, cos, cross, crosse, doss, dross, emboss, en brosse, floss, fosse, gloss, Goss, joss, Kos, lacrosse, loss, moss, MS-DOS, Ross, toss
•Laos
•Áyios Nikólaos, chaos
•Eos • Helios
•Chios, Khíos
•Lesbos • straw boss • Phobos • rooibos
•extrados • kudos • reredos • intrados
•Calvados • Argos • Lagos • logos
•Marcos • telos
•Delos, Melos
•Byblos • candyfloss
•tholos, Vólos
•bugloss • omphalos • Pátmos
•Amos, Deimos, Sámos
•Demos • peatmoss • cosmos • Los Alamos • Lemnos • Hypnos • Minos
•Mykonos • tripos • topos • Atropos
•Ballesteros, pharos, Saros
•Imbros • criss-cross • rallycross • Eros
•albatross • monopteros • Dos Passos
•Náxos • Hyksos • Knossos • Santos
•benthos
•bathos, pathos
•ethos • Kórinthos
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Cite this article
"reredos." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "reredos." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-reredos.html "reredos." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-reredos.html |
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