chancel-arch

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chancel-arch. Arch at the liturgical east of the nave, carrying a gabled wall above, separating nave from chancel. It is often an object of some magnificence and in the Middle Ages sometimes had a representation of the Last Judgement (or Doom) on the surface above the arch facing the nave. Above the roof (usually higher or lower than that of the nave), the gable was often crowned with a bell- or Sancte-cote.